Before coming to Antioch, I would have considered myself a cultural Christian, knowing religious ideas but not having, or even knowing, what God really wanted, which is a personal relationship with me. Honestly, I was fine with that because I believed that as long as you profess Jesus, you should be good.
When I was invited to come to Antioch Community Church, I saw something different. People not only professed Jesus, but dedicated their lives to knowing Him and making Him known, and they wanted that for me as well. Looking back now, my heart was very hardened to change, but I experienced people who genuinely wanted me to know who Jesus really was and what He really said. These people, who did not know me, wanted to demonstrate love to me by dedicating time to help me understand the true gospel message. They were convinced that Jesus can truly change someone’s life for the better, all of which I personally didn’t take too much time to look into myself.
When I started to read the Bible for myself, I began to realize that God truly desires to change His people and make them holy for Himself. His desire is to transform minds through the Holy Spirit and to replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. The personal miracle I received from God was watching Him remove my desire for the world and replace it with a desire to love Him and see others saved.
Over the next few years of walking with Him, He removed my security in riches, lustful relationships, and personal pride. He gave me a desire to know Him, make Him known, and love righteousness rather than sin. I genuinely have the people of Antioch to thank, who dedicated time to knowing God first and foremost and then proceeding to love other people out of a place of loving God first.
Attending this church now for ten years, I have come to understand how important it is to tell people to put real thought into their idea of who God truly is and to know that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I take this as a core value now because of the people who showed me love and prayed for me, no matter how long it took me to understand. I have also dedicated myself to God’s people. Whether I go through times of uncertainty, times of offense, or hardships, trials, and persecution, I am fully confident that as we seek God’s wisdom together as a family, we can grow and get through any difficulty that may and will come our way.
I ❤️ Antioch Orlando 