Both my mother and father originally grew up Catholic and raised their children as such. As time went by, their hearts yearned for something more. Even though we had tried different churches in the Syracuse area, nothing seemed to satisfy them. They were still searching. While we were in search of the whole truth, my father’s cousin started teaching us a Bible study. She was a member of Christian Life Assembly. After much consideration, my parents had decided Christian Life Assembly is the place for them… They realized that this is the place that would save their entire family.
The CLA family accepted us with open arms and made us feel very welcome. We began to attend regularly. As a child, I always enjoyed going to church with my family because of the Sunday school program. To this day, I am still friends with the kids I met there. Since then, I have become a faithful and active member of this church.
As I grew up, I needed God’s direction in my life. I wanted His will for my life. I knew He had a plan and a purpose for me. However, discerning exactly what that was, had not been easy. A few years ago, the decision for college was a major crossroads for me. I had been accepted to several colleges and like many young adults; I didn’t know which to choose. After much prayer and the guidance of my pastor, God had worked a way where there was no way. He had opened up all the doors and made it possible for me to attend and afford Syracuse University. From all the blessings God has given me, I know I made the right decision. I have my pastor and my church to thank for helping to guide me in my decisions. The Lord has continually blessed my family and I through Christian Life Assembly and today I do as much as I can to help the church and my pastor. To this day, I still thoroughly enjoy Sunday school and our church services are phenomenal. I truly believe that I would be lost without Jesus.
I come from a large family (7 brothers….I’m the only girl) and for as long as I can remember we have done almost everything together: birthdays, dinners, vacations, and holidays. Six of us even went to the same college. One of the things we always did together was go to church. My mom sang in the choir and taught Sunday school, my dad was a deacon, grandma was a missionary, and the list goes on. A lot of my memories of home involve church and my family. So when my husband of six months got a job transfer to Syracuse, New York, my world seemed to turn upside down. For the first time in my life it seemed I would be alone. I would not have my family near me anymore and we would be leaving the church that I had spent my whole life in.
We moved to Syracuse in October 2003. I knew no one in the area except for my husband, Ryan. After getting settled into our home, it was time to go out and find a church. I grew up in a Pentecostal-Apostolic church and I wanted to find one in Syracuse as well. Because our home church from Washington, DC did not have any sister churches in Syracuse, we had to start from scratch. We looked in the phone book under Pentecostal churches and began our quest for a new church. Every Sunday we would visit a new church. As the Sundays continued to go by, it seemed as if we would never find a church. I began to feel discouraged and even dreaded having to get up on Sunday mornings, because I didn’t want to go to another church that didn’t preach the true Word of God. In my prayers I would ask the Lord to help us find a church home where we would feel His Love and not have to settle for anything less than the complete truth of His Word.
After months of searching, we visited Christian Life Assembly Church. At first I was a little nervous, because I didn’t know what to expect. That all changed as the ensemble began to sing and the people began to worship. For the first time in months I felt excited about being at a new church. The service that day was excellent. I could really feel the Spirit of God there. The people were very nice and seemed very loving and genuine. Most importantly, they preached the truth. The Lord really answered my prayers. We have been at Christian Life Assembly ever since.
Although coming to Syracuse was a big transition for me, I could have never done it without the Lord in my life. When things seemed so dreary, God was always there beside me to encourage me and keep me going. Being in Syracuse, away from my family, has really helped to strengthen my relationship with the Lord. For the first time I had to seek out the Lord for myself. I couldn’t rely on my parents and the rest of my family anymore. I had to learn to lean on and trust in God for everything. He hasn’t failed me once yet.