Stories of Life Change

Yesterday was an exciting day at Northwest. We started the day at Cooper Elementary and kicked off the CLEAN series by gathering to worship the God who makes us clean. The worship was authentic, the friendships were genuine, and the stories of life change spoke of the power of Jesus Christ. Afterwards we came back to the Northwest office building for an outdoor bbq lunch and baptisms in Spanker Creek. Wow that water was cold! Be sure to check out the stories below of Gary and Becky Jaworski. Jesus Christ has transformed their lives and we celebrate that at Northwest. God is so good!

Outdoor BBQ Lunch

Becky 

Becky Jaworski
I was raised in a Christian family. My parents set a good example for me. I remember times in my life when I felt really close to God and times when he felt so far away. I remember even being angry at God when my life was in shambles and I felt as if He deserted me. It took me years to learn and accept that the reason for my life being a mess was because the poor choices I made were my fault- not Gods.

I always prayed to God, and never really considered Jesus or the sacrifice that God made for me giving his son to die for me. I knew of Him but thought, why do I need to pray to him? Why not just pray to God since he is the main One. I thought of Jesus as the Messenger, the one who brought the Word. Jesus, to me, was like a prophet and not my Savior. I knew that God loved me, he loves us all.

I was still searching for something and began to church hop. It seemed to me like a lot of people who called themselves Christians were judgmental and teaching fire and brimstone. I still knew God loved me, but I just never committed myself to living the life he wanted me to live. We took our children to church, and attended now and then, but I never really gave myself to God.

In 2013 we were asked by our landscapers to help support a mission trip that they were going on. It was the invitation to their church to see a film of what they did on their trip that finally got me to say, okay, we will go to church and see it. Once I was at this church, I could feel Gods love, I knew I was missing something in my life, and a relationship with God was it. From that point on I felt as if something was changing in me. God started to work in our lives

We moved to Arkansas only a few months after attending Cedarbrook. We prayed that we would find a church like the one we left behind and wanted to continue to grow in our faith. I am still growing as a Christian. I know that Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and my relationship with him is growing each day. I know that God has paid the Ultimate Randsom for me, his Son. He is my personal Lord and Savior. What He wants from me is my heart. It is His.

Gary

Gary Jaworski

Religion and Jesus have been a part of my life since I can remember. Whenever I needed something I would ask God for it and when I did not get what I wanted I would blame God. See Jesus was someone that was always there, but I did not really understand who he was.

I moved to Arkansas from Wisconsin not that long ago. Back home I had everything I needed and more. A brand new house, a perfect yard, new truck, and a prefect job. I thought I deserved these things because I had worked hard for them. And yet there was something missing in my life. I started going back to church not really understanding if it would be the answer to this hole that was in my life. Like I said Jesus was always around in my life but I did not know who he really was. Have you ever known someone as a friend but did not know all the things they have accomplished? This is how it was between Jesus and me.

The more I found out about Jesus I was amazed at all the things he did in his short time on earth. I needed to know more. I have also seen amazing things that Jesus has done with ordinary people and the lives that have been changed in his name. How unselfish people like BJ and Jill changed my outlook on life. Those THINGS I thought I deserved; they are not happiness but learning to give back to God for all his blessings that is happiness.

I have been learning to build a friendship with Jesus and continue to be amazed that he would love me in spite of my faults. How many friends do I have that would lay down their life for me I not sure but I know Jesus did. I would like to share with you that I have accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior and I would like to offer my life to our Lord and allow him to take control for I know our God can do a lot better job at it then I can. Thanks Northwest for making me feel so welcomed. I want to thank Will and Greg for believing in me too.

Thanks to our Lord and Savior for His patience in waiting for me to be saved.

Towels and Hugs

Check out the video clip of Gary's baptism in Spanker Creek.