My nephew prayed to receive Christ about a week ago. For those who are clueless to his story just need to know it is magnificent answer to prayer and a little bit surprising to tell the truth. He has always been one of those who related church with hypocrites in his family and blamed God for some tragic events in his past. Even in the youth group at First Baptist Church Woodstock, he would often argue and challenge the legitimacy of some of the students who claimed to be Christians yet acted different when they weren’t singing songs and talking to other Christians about spiritual matters. Ultimately, that meant the pressure was on us to try and be “perfect” around him to set a proper Christ-like example. And of course we failed…often. Ultimately, my goal became to not be such a bad witness that I too became another example he used against God and the church.

The biggest challenge we faced was something I thought would come much easier. How do you explain to someone who does not believe in God or the authority of the Bible why you choose not to cuss or drink alcohol or waited to marriage to have sex? I learned some very valuable lessons about my personal convictions and on what grounds logically and reasonably I hold them completely outside of scripture. The best part is, I was still able to clearly defend them in scripture so when he finally became a believer, it was extremely easy to make the connection within the confines of his newly discovered relationship with Jesus Christ.

To aid in this transition comes the God-ordained ministry of Oak Leaf Church. Michael, our pastor, speaks in such a clear and understandable way our nephew understood and related to most of what he spoke about long before he ever decided to believe God existed. This is just one of the many strengths Oak Leaf shoulders as it passionately pursues the lost and confused in the Cartersville community. Every Sunday there are new faces, many of whom do not go to church or have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And there are many more out there who just need to hear about God’s love in an understandable way and witness authentic people living their life to please God and show Him love. That is Oak Leaf. That is my church.

I love my nephew like a son and am so proud of him. My wife and I are so pleased to know we are a part of a church that cares enough about people who don’t know God to do whatever it takes to introduce them to the savior of the world. My prayer is that many more like my nephew will be exposed to the goodness and relevance of Jesus Christ and the entire community of Cartersville will be forever changed by the ministry of Oak Leaf Church.