I started to go to church when I was about 29 years old. One of my acquaintances asked me to join the church which she belonged to. I thought it would benefit me to be a member of a church.
The people who belonged to the church were very friendly and highly sociable. They often gathered together to read the Bible, pray for each other, and have fellowship. I enthusiastically took part in church meetings and volunteer related to the church. Not long after, I was persuaded by my pastor to get baptized. At first, I refused to get baptized, because I had little knowledge of God and the Bible. But he told me that if I got baptized I would get eternal life after death. He also said that baptism was the sign of becoming a child of God and the person who got baptized would be recorded in the book of life. Finally, I accepted his suggestion to be baptized, and was baptized by the sprinkling of water.
In August 1996, my family moved to U.S.A. for further education. My family joined the Korean Methodist church in Michigan. The church was bigger and more organized in many ways than the one, I used to go to. I attended Sunday worships and other church events, too. For some time everything looked fine. However, it didn’t take long to realize that the group that I belonged to in the church was not much different from those who didn’t belong to the church. Their desires were the same as common worldly people. While they were praying they asked God to give them more material things, to be more renowned, to being healthy, etc... They kept asking God for more things that were tangible. I knew Christians should have a different way of life compare to non-Christians. Many people belonging to the church seemed to just listen to the word of God, and not to practice it. They seemed to blindly believe in God like a superstition. I needed something else beyond Sunday worship and fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters. As time went by, I felt empty, although I attended church every Sunday. I thought going to church was a waste of time. Eventually, I got tired of insipid and repetitive church life. I decided not to go to church any more.
In September 2014, my family moved to Canada for a better future. One of my friends introduced me to a bible study in the Gospel Hall. At first, I was interested in learning English. As time passed, I found myself more interested in learning the word of God than in learning English. I never heard that kind of Bible explanation before. The teachers, Lloyd and Matthew, explained the Scriptures line by line to us, like solving a puzzle. I was totally amazed at what they taught us. I had many questions about the Scriptures, and asked Lloyd and Matthew many questions that reflected my doubts. The most impressive thing of all was that they answered me through Scriptures of the Bible, not their own knowledge or their personal opinions. They never tried to force me to believe in God. They just frequently crossed over between the Old Testaments and the New Testaments to prove the Truth in response to my questions. At last I was persuaded by the power of God’s word. From that time, I read the Bible as often as I could. Now I know what I was missing before.
One day while I was studying Gospel John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” with other colleagues in Lloyd’s class, I received Jesus Christ as my Savior. I have known that “Eternal life is the free gift from God in Christ Jesus our Lord”, through Romans 6:23,and I have also realized that I was a sinner through Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I never accepted I was a sinner before. I was blind, deaf, and a mute in a spiritual sense before. But, God has opened my eyes, ears, and my hardened heart. Since I have understood the Gospel, the Word of God keeps correcting and guiding me these days when I read the Scriptures. I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and he took my place. Now I would like to confess I have sinned before God. For that reason I would like to get baptized as a part of obeying God.