Growing up in a catholic family, going to church maybe twice a year and growing up with friends
who did the same thing at my age, which was believing that when Jesus gave His life for us,
that was Him doing it all, and we didn’t need to do anything “extra”, to make it to heaven, BUT
NOW seeing who I’ve become and doing everything I was against doing when I was growing
up, and now knowing what I am doing is right and pleasing to God, all happened when I walked
into THE church, Change of Life Pentecostal Tabernacle.
In January of 2022, I had just been diagnosed with having PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)
and I started occasionally going to a church and I did want a church to be 100% in but when I
would go, there no meat to the Word, there was no FULL explanation about the scripture being
displayed and different Bibles were being used and I was so confused as to how everyone there
was getting the same conclusion when the wording was different in each version of the Bible
they had. No matter how much I went, no matter how many questions I asked, I could never
fully grasp what I was being taught. It was always “Well, I believe…” or “I feel…” but never “The
Bible clearly states…”. Later that year, I was baptized in that church, only I wasn’t fully informed
or aware of what I was doing. There was no scripture to back it up, nor a sermon on the
importance of knowing what you’re doing and why you are doing it. Not only that, I was baptized
in the titles which is the exact OPPOSITE of what Jesus commanded us to do (Acts 2:38 KJV)
and I remember when I rose out of the water, I felt no different and I continued doing what I was
always doing, I continued using foul language, wearing pants, etc. nothing changed nor was I
taught that I am the one that is supposed to do those changes (2 Cor 6:17, 2 Cor 7:1 KJV). I
continued going to that same church for about a year, growing complacent and accepting the
fact that I was never going to understand the word of God fully, and feeling uneasy and never
happy or at peace.
About a year later, in April of 2023, my now husband and I got married. However, I decided that
if I was never going to be fully comfortable or grow in that church, I didn’t want to go anymore. I
felt something wasn’t right, and I told myself, “I’d rather not go at all than to go down a
potentially destructive path”. My husband and I, before getting married, were having relationship
issues, and nothing was helping fix it, not even trying to go to church, but little did we know, we
were in the wrong church. During that same period, I was not aware my husband was
questioning so much about God and the Bible, and he started having these conversations with
our mutual coworker and Samsung rep, whom we now call Brother Edward.
A couple of months later, in June, my husband and I decided to visit Change of Life Pentecostal
Tabernacle, and the first night we went, I was blown away. For the first time, I was being taught
the Word like never before. I understood what was being said, and it was backed up with
scripture after scripture, never once deviating from that. That same night was also Brother
Edward’s birthday, and he commented that my husband and I visiting was the greatest birthday
gift he could’ve received, and I knew he meant it, and I knew I was home. Not shortly after, there
was a sermon on Baptism in Jesus Name (Acts 2:38 KJV) and my husband and I were baptized
at the church in Jesus name, and once I rose from the waters of baptism, it was the cleanest I
EVER felt, and once I looked at myself in the mirror, I knew what I did was right.
Not long after, my marriage was being rebuilt. 6 months later, we had our apartment slightly
closer to the church, not only that, I had been healed from the PCOS that doctors said could
never and would never go away… Little do they know the God I serve. One night after service,
my husband and I were having one of many conversations with Pastor Hoffman, and I
remember telling Pastor, “This is a better way of life,” and it truly is. The name of the church is
Change of Life, and it is very fitting for what comes next. I hope you get something from my
testimony. Thanks for reading!
