As a standout athlete, I had opportunities to experience things that someone in middle school should not. Through these experiences, I participated in many activities that I should not have. Then one Sunday after taking part the night before in a local party, we were at church and it was as if the pastor knew exactly what I had done the night before. He continued to share how the negative things we do in this life against God and/or others separates us from God for all eternity. I regularly felt bad for the things that I was participating in, so I knew what the pastor meant by being separated from God. I did not want to experience this separation for all eternity, so on June 28, 1988, I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. Once again, we know that things were not perfect from there, but with the forgiveness of God and the knowledge that I can spend eternity with Him, I now had a freedom to choose what is right.
I knew I wanted to experience something called discipleship, but there was no one who knew of or felt able to assist in this desire. Through my years in high school, I still sought after this discipleship, but still, could not find someone to share his or her life with me. Yet, throughout this time, I knew that God had set ministry in my heart and for that reason each summer I would work at a Christian camp in Maryland. Here I first felt the call into full-time ministry. It was then that I decided to attend Word of Life Bible Institute in Schroon Lake, NY. At Word of Life, I was able to grow and comprehend the urgency in my faith to work in full-time ministry. After Word of Life, I graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Religion and began my career as a middle and high school Bible teacher. This form of ministry allowed me to collaborate with area churches for the spiritual formation of our joint students. Yet, I knew my passion was for a future ministry in the church. Today I understand that role as a future senior pastor.
jeffreymluchun 