The Local Church

My Testimony of Christ and the Church

Some twenty years ago, I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. My experience of regeneration was real, dynamic, and undeniable.

My first month as a Christian was spent reading the New Testament, repenting for past sins, and eventually, giving myself to the Lord. Each day, as I read the Bible and prayed in a halting, stumbling manner, the Lord's presence became dearer and dearer. For the first time, I truly experienced peace and love. It was as though I had at once found my source, my destiny, and the path in between.

After this first month with the Lord, I attended my first Christian meeting. As it happened, it was also my first communion. That meeting was full of the most enjoyable singing and praise. Following this, there was a time of spontaneous speaking and sharing by many of the attendees. It seemed to me that those who spoke expressed the same love for the Lord and joy in His presence I had so recently come to know. This was not “church” as I had ever known it. This was a group of people whose love for and commitment to the Lord were real and obvious. Furthermore, as I learned, this was also a group of people who cared so much for the oneness of all the Lord's believers, they refused to take a name that would distinguish or divide them from other believers. According to the New Testament pattern, since these believers lived and met in Dallas, Texas, they could only call themselves the church in Dallas.

That was my first Christian meeting and first meeting with the local church. Over twenty years later, I still meet with other believers as the church in Dallas. During the ensuing years, I have, by the Lord's mercy, grace, and faithfulness, read the entire Bible through at least thirteen times and studied most of the sixty-six books, mainly through the ministry of Witness Lee. I have served in the church in many practical ways and am learning, with others, to shepherd people for the Lord's increase and the building up of His Body. I am married, have raised my children, advanced professionally, and helped manage the affairs of my parents through aging, illness, and death. Through it all, the Lord has supplied every need both directly and through the members of His Body.

From that first month as a believer, nothing has changed, though some things have become clearer. Each day, I know that God is my source, the New Jerusalem is my destiny, and the present, practical church life in Dallas is my path.

P.B. | Back to List

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