From Knowing to Following | 从认识到跟随

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings!

My name is Jerry.

I came to the United States when I was nine and a half years old, and I came to the Chinese Christian Church when I was ten. Although I wasn’t raised in the church like most of my church friends, the church was still a big part of my childhood.

When I first came to church, I honestly just wanted to make friends. Here, I met some of my best friends. They were all very warm and welcoming, and they quickly accepted me and included me in their group. At that time, my English was very poor, so every time I went to Sunday school, I couldn’t understand the sermons at all. But honestly, I was just there to have fun, so it didn’t really matter to me whether I understood or not.

When I got to high school, I don’t know if it was the Holy Spirit guiding me or if I simply became more mature, but I started thinking, “I’ve been at church for five years already. Shouldn’t I try to understand this faith more deeply?” From then on, I paid much more attention during sermons and genuinely wanted to understand this God everyone was talking about.

During my freshman and sophomore years in high school, I thought about getting baptized many times. But my dad once told me, “If you believe, then believe wholeheartedly.” Because of that, I never fully made up my mind.

The moment I truly began taking my faith seriously was during the Honduras mission trip I went on last summer (Read Jerry's Honduras STM Trip Testimony here). In Honduras, all of us youth bonded closely with the local children. We visited prisons, poor communities, rundown houses, and very small churches. Yet everywhere we went, people were deeply devoted to God and completely dependent on Him.

I remember during VBS (Vacation Bible School), there was a very adorable little girl. After the activities ended, we played with her together, and we even visited her home. Although it was very run-down, it was still a home. But then they told me they could no longer afford the rent, and within a week, they would become homeless and have to sleep on the streets.
I was shocked. When we were playing with her, she smiled so brightly without a trace of worry. That is something very difficult to experience in America, yet they were still able to have such joy while having almost nothing. I believe that is the love God gives them — not material, but from the heart.

After returning home, I could not stop thinking about that mission trip. Although it impacted me deeply, and I told myself many times that I would get baptized after coming back, a month later, I became hesitant again. I knew I already believed in God, and I understood that baptism is simply a public declaration that I am God’s child. A person does not need baptism in order to become a Christian. For a long time, I felt there was no real need to get baptized.

But recently, the gospel retreat changed my perspective. This Blue Mountain retreat was my last time attending the gospel camp, and I felt very emotional about it. What impacted me the most was on the final day, when my good friend Justin brought me into the prayer room. He looked at me and said, “Let’s pray together.”

As we prayed, it felt as though time had stopped. We talked to God about the past, the present, and the future. Just like that, we prayed together for an hour and a half. Afterward, I felt as if I had been born again. From now on, I want to live for God and glorify His name. I also want to become a Christian like Justin — someone who helps brothers and sisters who are struggling in their faith.

That is my testimony. Thank you!

亲爱的弟兄姐妹们大家好，

我叫Jerry。

我是九岁半来到美国，十岁来到中华基督教会。虽然不像我的大多数的教会朋友，在教会里长大的，但是教会还是陪伴了我一大部分的童年。

刚来教会的时候，我是单纯过来找朋友的。在这里，我结识了我最好的朋友们。他们都非常热情友好，很快就接纳了我，并且让我加入了他们的朋友圈。当时我的英语非常差，所以每次去主日学，我都听不懂讲道的内容。反正我当时就是来玩的，听不听得懂对我来说都无所谓。当我上了高中后，不知道是圣灵给了我指引，还是我的心理变得更加成熟，我就自己想过：“我好歹在教会待了五年，我是不是应该更进一步了解一下他们的信仰。”所以从那时候开始，我会在讲到的时候更加专心去听，更加想去理解他们所说的这位神。

从高一到高二，我都有过受洗的想法。但是我爸爸说过：“要信，就要信的彻底，”所以我一直都没有下定决心。我真正开始认真对待信仰，是因为我去年夏天去的那次洪都拉斯短宣（阅读Jerry的洪都拉斯短宣见证）。在洪都拉斯，我们青少年跟那里的小孩打成了一片。我们去过监狱，去过贫穷的社区，去过邋遢的房子，也去过非常小的教会。但是那里的所有人都对神非常的执着，非常依赖着这位神。

我记得做VBS（ Vacation Bible School）的时候有一个非常可爱的小女孩， 活动结束我们一起跟她玩。我们还去了她家参观。虽然非常破旧，但是也还算是一个房子。可是他们告诉我说他们已经付不起租金，一周以后他们就必须开始流浪，睡在街上！我当时就震惊了：我们跟她一起玩的时候她笑得那么灿烂，没有一丝的担忧。这是我在美国很难体会到的，可是他们却能在一无所有的情况下还有这样的喜悦。我相信这就是神给他们的爱。不是物质上的爱，而是精神上的爱。

回来之后，我对这次短宣念念不忘。虽然这次短宣给了我很大的冲击，我也很多次告诉过我自已，回来之后就受洗。可是一个月以后，我又变得犹豫不决。我知道我已经相信神了，我也理解受洗只是公开声明我是神的孩子，人不需要受洗来变成基督徒。很长一段时间，我觉得没有受洗的必要。

但是最近的福音营改变了我的想法。这次blue mountain是我最后一次参加福音营。我非常不舍。让我印象最深刻的是在最后一天，我的好朋友Justin把我带到祈祷室。他看了我一眼，对我说：“Let’s pray together.”

当我们祈祷时，时间仿佛停止了。我们跟神谈起了过去，谈起了现在，也谈起了未来。就这样，我们一起祷告了一个半小时。结束后，我仿佛经历了重生。我以后要为神而活，并且荣耀他的名。我也想变成像Justin那样的基督徒，帮助正在信仰中挣扎的弟兄姐妹。

以上就是我的见证。谢谢各位。