I’ve been attending Antioch Orlando since 2012, and I love calling this church my home. I grew up in a different church but was never taught how to have a relationship with Jesus. To me, it was just a set of rules I had to follow. I had no concept of the family of God either. God has used this church family to love me well and to grow me in maturity.
I still remember my first time going to an Antioch Lifegroup as a college freshman. I was immediately treated like a friend. People I didn’t know were asking about my life and wanted to know more about me. They wanted to meet with me and hang out even after the church event. I was deeply impacted by people simply pursuing me in friendship. God took a guy like me, who struggled to find friends, and dropped me right into a loving family. He has used the loving people of this church to draw me near to Him.
Before attending this church, I viewed God as simply a set of rules to follow. I have been impacted by the people at Antioch Orlando who challenged me to walk with God according to the Bible. Discipleship is a big value at this church. Through discipleship, I’ve been able to grow in my walk with God while someone challenges me and loves me through whatever junk I have hiding in my heart. I was taught how to read the Bible. I was taught how to see that God wants to personally walk with us. I was taught how personal and intimate Scripture is. Discipleship has changed me from someone who only saw the laws of God to someone who now sees His heart and love for me.
I am very thankful for the different leaders who helped and discipled me in my years as a Christian. Two people I want to honor are John Curiale and Tyler Wathen. John is the pastor of the church. I have great respect for the sacrifices he has made to plant this church and to make sure the people of God hear Scripture. He was pivotal in my walk with God in my early 20s, challenging me to walk closely with God and loving me even in moments of sin. Tyler Wathen is an elder of the church and a friend. He started coming around the same time I did. In our early years at Antioch, Tyler loved me well in different seasons. The grace and compassion he showed me demonstrated how God was impacting him to go on and impact other guys like me. These leaders, along with many others, loved me and served me in my early years at this church. To this day, I am still loved and challenged by them, and it is encouraging to see that after all these years, they are still fighting to walk with God and fighting to love the people around them.
This church is an incredible blessing in my life. I am encouraged when I think back on how I’ve met different friends over the years and seen them grow into family that I can’t live without. I’ve been to many weddings and celebrated many birthdays with my church family. I’ve had low points where it took people who knew me deeply to help pull me out of the pit. I’ve been on many mission trips where I’ve had the chance to see God save people. My hope is to continue being involved in what God is doing at Antioch Orlando. I love this church.
I ❤️ Antioch Orlando 