No strings attached
Tera smiles as she talks with a Decision Follow-Up Counselor at the Southern California Harvest.
She came with her boyfriend, a strong believer who was praying that her life would be touched. It’s obvious that God truly worked a miracle in her heart as she shared her emotional story and held back her tears.
Tera came from a broken family; her mom had been married and divorced several times and she was physically abused growing up. She often questioned the meaning of her existence.
Because her mom was not a believer, she had no role model. She struggled through her impressionable years and sometimes felt the burden was too hard to bear.
When Pastor Greg started sharing about his childhood, she felt she could relate. She was moved to tears and sensed God moving her spirit. Tera knew in her heart that it was no accident she was here tonight.
Tera said she was moved by Pastor Greg’s story of people’s reluctance to accept a free ticket to Disneyland for fear that there were strings attached. It made her realize that accepting Jesus in your life is as simple as receiving a free Disneyland ticket.
She recognized that all you have to do is believe and ask God for forgiveness and Heaven awaits us. Pastor Greg’s words, “Heaven is not a place for good people. Heaven is a place for forgiven people,” brought tears, hope and relief instantly to Tera’s life.
In her job as a nurse, she helps people with their physical ailments, but now she has found a way to heal people’s lives spiritually and help them mend their broken hearts. She wants to tell them not to live quiet lives of desperation, but to live with the knowledge that there is a God who reaches out to us and pulls us out of a sinking boat with the knowledge that He will never leave or forsake us.
A mother’s prayers are answered
Mother and daughter share a prayer together.
Melissa had been to the Southern California Harvest in previous years and wanted to go down onto the field to make a commitment, but didn’t. She also made a decision for Christ at camp when she was young, but she didn’t follow through with it.
Melissa, her two sisters, and her mother had been going through a hard time recently. Ester had also been praying for her children and was overjoyed at her daughter’s decision. It meant a lot to both of them to experience this night together.
Melissa said she is very serious about following through this time and plans on attending Harvest Christian Fellowship and getting plugged into The Well College and Career ministry.
Friends in recommitment
Irma and Maritza came to the Southern California Harvest together and rededicated their lives to following God.
Maritza had prayed to receive Christ before, but became discouraged when her Catholic family disapproved of her new faith. When trials came, she turned away from God and put her focus on making money.
“I pushed myself away,” Maritza said. “I really wanted to come back and I needed inspiration in my life, and that’s what I got tonight.”
Irma said she was raised in a Christian home, but had been never serious about her faith. She said she has always wanted something more in her life, looking for it in all the wrong places.
“I thought I would find worldly love and that would make me happy,” Irma said through tears. “That caused me a lot of pain. I’ve learned from my mistakes . . . His love is all I need.”
Maritza and Irma said they intend to bring more people to the Southern California Harvest next year so they can experience everything they felt when gave their burdens to Christ on the field.
Finding the answer he needed
Adam prayed to receive Christ on Saturday night at Angel Stadium.
As he grew up, he became bitter and completely turned away from God, wanting nothing to do with church. He said he felt his life was going nowhere fast. A year ago, he felt God was reaching out to Him and since he felt so lonely, he began going back to church.
Rachel, Adam’s girlfriend and a believer, took him to the Southern California Harvest on Saturday. He soaked it all in, from the music to Pastor Greg’s entire message, and it spoke volumes to his heart. He knew he needed to dedicate his life to Christ.
When Pastor Greg said, “Come just as you are,” he felt the tug in his heart and made a public declaration of his faith and trust in Christ.
A family united in faith
Rianne prays with a Decision Follow-Up Worker, while her mother Diane looks on.
Although the family is attending church, Diane said that things could be better.
“They’ve been going, but just going through the motions, not really with any growth there,” Diane said. “We get so busy and caught up in day to day stuff, and God needs to be our focus.”
Both Jesse and Rianne said there wasn’t any one thing that Pastor Greg said that convinced them to make the decision to come forward, but that it just felt like the right thing to do and the right time to do it. Please pray that this family will grow in its faith in the days and weeks ahead.
“I’ve been praying for this a long time,” Diane said. “It’s a really good feeling, and hopefully I can continue to minister to them and help them grow.”
