TheFireFalls.com

Hey, I'm Chris. I grew up in a Catholic family and I didn't really have much of a faith at a young age. All it really meant to me was to attend Mass every Sunday, which was never something I particularly thought about it a great deal. It was just part of my routine. God was not someone at this time who was very real to me or who I felt I could ever have a personal relationship with. When I was about 15 I was invited by a friend to go to a Christian youth group called Ambassadors for Christ. It was running an Alpha Course which gave a basic introduction to Christianity. I was initially attracted by the thought of being part of a social group that I felt comfortable in and particularly by the meal that was served before every talk.

Throughout the duration of the course, I learned more about God and what role he could play in my life. Some of my friends who had came along at first with me drifted away from this group but I continued to attend. I felt comfortable in the group of people I was with because I felt they had something that I didn’t have. They had a personal relationship with God and that was something I began to desire greatly in my life.

I have never had a dramatic conversion in my life but I have really felt God change me over a number of years now. I have grown closer to Him through my prayer and by offering myself as a servant to Him. I’ve had many opportunities in recent years to go on weekends away and to summer conferences where I have met other young people who are part of similar groups and have a similar desire to know God.

When I was 19 I went to Detroit for 2 months to participate in a youth program. I stayed with 6 other guys and we would pray every morning and it was definitely one of the most powerful experiences of God working in my life and I really felt called to live my life for Him. It was also around this time that I joined a prayer group which had families and people of all ages as members. We meet every Sunday for a prayer meeting and this gave me the chance to draw even closer to God.

I continue to attend these meetings and I try every day to pray to God and offer my day to Him. I believe God has a plan for my life which is better than anything I could come up with. Sometimes I struggle to follow his plan or even to let go in allowing Him to work in my life. There are still times when I do turn away from Him but I know that he is always there waiting for me to come back to Him.

God is the most consistent aspect of my life in that he always has been and always will be by my side. I believe that he wants me to get closer to him and to put Him at the centre of everything I do. I know that if I continue to put my faith and trust in Him then I have nothing to worry about in life.