• Ashley Robinson

    Age 34 | Born Again Age 6

    I went to a Catholic school until I graduated high school. But I was often confused and things didn't quite fit together for me. I was always searching for more, always looking for a better way to fit in. At the age of 16, my parents got divorced and I was devastated. I found comfort and healing in alcohol. After I graduated high school, I moved to Florida. I was living the dream. But shortly after, I was introduced to prescription pain pills. Not only did I feel like I finally fit in, but wow, it took away any pain or loneliness that I had ever felt. Pills became my new best friend and I would do anything, and I do mean anything, for them. I gave up my friends, my home, my family, my life. They had a hold of my life before I ever realized what was happening.

    In 2009, my dad came down to Florida and gave me no other choice than to come home with him and get clean. So I did. But I wasn't doing it for myself so, of course, it didn't last long. It took no time at all for me to be reunited with my best friend. It's amazing how things find you, how quickly the devil seeks his prey.

    In 2010, I met my husband. What a wonderful man that I loved, but I still kept drugs #1.  In August 2010, we found out that we were pregnant. And this still wasn't enough. I continued using drugs all through my pregnancy and my son was born   addicted to opiates. He spent 3 months in the NICU and this was my rock bottom. While my son was in the hospital, I went to an inpatient rehab. My family, especially my husband, was there and supported me through every step. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But I did it!

    A few years after treatment, my husband kept insisting we go to church. He always said, "You have nothing to lose."  Sister Hina visited me quite a bit and showed me nothing but love and kindness. There was something tugging at my spirit. And so I gave in and went. It felt pretty good so I kept going back. For so long I thought drugs were my answer but they weren't, it was Jesus. And he didn't care how dirty my soul was, he only wanted to help me clean and restore it. He showed me that my life was meant for so much more. On September 21, 2014, I received the Holy Ghost and my life has been forever changed. I have been clean for over 4 years now and all I can say is, TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!

  • "I have been clean for over 4 years now and all I can say is, TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!"

    Ashley Robinson

  • Shelley Fisher

    Age 37 | Born Again Age 29

    From the time I was 8, my parents took me to church. Growing up I never thought about what life would be like outside of the church. I never really had a strong desire to rebel and leave the church, but at the age of 18 I had moved away from home and I had every freedom in the world. I began distancing myself from the church and eventually my own family. I guess you could say I felt a sense of conviction. God just has a way of revealing right from wrong through the power of His guiding Spirit. Despite those feelings I found myself surrounded by a different set of people, under a different set of circumstances, with a different set of beliefs. I ended up numb towards the true things of God. I allowed myself to believe the things I was doing were bringing me closer to God. I found myself judging the Christian, even hating the Christian for their beliefs at times. I didn’t understand how anyone could be so (seemingly) closed minded. Seven years passed, but there was this certain day that I was all alone and I felt something inside of me that told me to open my Bible. I managed to find it! Curiously, I opened and randomly pointed. It was at that moment that I had a revelation of what we call “The Living Word of God.” It was speaking to me, in my situation and I could not deny it. I immediately felt a change, but my fears for the future surrounded me. What if I couldn’t stay? What if I disappointed everyone again? My mom told me, sometimes, Shelley, you just have to live minute by minute. So eight years later, I am still taking her advice and living minute by minute, in His loving and revelatory presence. Seeing where God has brought my family from and His ability to keep His people gives me all the security I need, now, and for the times to come. I can honestly say I’ve never felt more open minded to the miraculous, the impossible, and the supernatural than I do now. I had once been deceived, but I remain forever delivered. In Jesus Name.

  • "I had once been deceived, but I remain forever delivered. In Jesus Name."

    Shelley Fisher

  • "Living for God
    is the best life!"

    Alan Bortree

  • Alan Bortree

    Age 58 | Born again age 28

    More than 30 years ago the Lord was reaching for me. He used people that didn’t even know each other to begin witnessing to me and my wife. At first we didn’t even know that someone was talking to the other one. But, God was working on us.

    We spent all of our spare time and money drinking, doing drugs, and smoking pot. Life was a big Party! We never even talked about quitting. We didn’t think we had any problems because of it. I certainly didn’t think I needed God.

    Even when we had decided to visit church, we weren’t considering ending our partying lifestyle. It never occurred to us that we needed to quit.

    On Easter Sunday 1984 we walked in to an Apostolic church. It was my first encounter with Pentecostal worship. The first thing I said to myself was “I will never act like these people”.

    I didn’t get the Holy Ghost. I didn’t even realize that I had an encounter with God that day. But, our lives have never been the same! We got home, and before we got out of the car, we decided we were going to quit the lifestyle, the drugs and alcohol and partying.  And we did! That day!

    The Lord delivered us in one day! We didn’t even know that we needed delivered!

    God chose us! I thank God we were listening. There have been problems along the way. Sometimes listening to God isn’t easy. But, God has blessed us and supplied every need.  It’s been over 30 years and not once have I ever considered going back.

    Living for God is the best life!

     

     

     

  • "I fell away from God and tried to live without him guiding my life....BUT GOD....gave me a new life, a new job, a new wife... better"

    Bob Jeffries

  • Bob Jefferies

    Age 44 | Born Again Age 23

    When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he has done for me... God has kept his hands on me through my entire life. I thank the Lord for my dad who is a Bishop and Pastor of the Apostolic House of Faith in Columbiana, Ohio, who sought the truth in God's word (the Bible) since the time I was just a young child. I thank God for my Mother who stood beside him and supported him and our family through many many trials. I give all glory to God and he has delivered us out of them all. I thank the Lord for my wife who is such a blessing to me and my family. I thank God for my children and all my family and friends and brothers and sisters in the Lord.
    I thank the Lord for the baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. When I was sick he healed me, when I was in trouble he helped me, when I couldn’t take any more of this world he brought me out of it. When I was in danger he saved me. I fell away from God and began going the way of the world and tried to live without him guiding my life. I began doing the things the world does and following the crowds and living the worldly life which led to many failures in my life and many sufferings that caused great pain. I dropped out of college and began a family without his guidance. I was working just to pay the bills and keep food on the table. I continued on that path for many years until I received a wakeup call. I had lost my job, gotten a divorce, lost a vehicle and went bankrupt. I was scraping by to put food on my table. My car was struck by a deer on the road and I had no coverage for it. I had to scrounge to put a trashed car back together piece by broken piece, sort of like my life. The devil tried to tell me that I couldn’t, but God says I can. God humbled me and brought me to a place where I could see if I just trust and love him and do his will he would go before me and prepare the way to make things work together for good for me and my family. With God's help, my mom and dad, my family and the Pastor's I was able to find a new job, be the dad I needed to be, marry my loving wife Amy and begin rebuilding my life and recovering all the things that I lost and some things I never had. He gave me a new wife, a new job, a new car and made it possible for us to bring my children to church with us. I thank the Lord for his word that he allowed to remain in my heart. When I was away from him he pulled at my spirit and brought me to where I needed to be and redeemed me. He brings all things to our remembrance and his word is a comfort to my soul. He prepared the way for my salvation. We must hide his word in our hearts. His redemption draweth nigh and we must be vigilant to stand and fight the good fight of faith.

     

     

     

  • Belinda Gifford

    Age 52 | Born Again Age 43

    My parents joined the Apostolic church when I was a baby, so I had the great privilege of being raised in this great truth.  It was never a question in our home, "Are we going to church this week?"  When the church doors were open, our family was in the House of God. I'm so thankful for my parent's dedication, and for teaching my 4 siblings and I to love the Lord. They were, and continue to be, pillars in my life! My Dad will turn 80 in November, and he is still preaching Jesus Name doctrine, and holding the banner high.
    I was baptized in Jesus Name when I was 8, and I received the Holy Ghost when I was 9. It was the happiest day of my life! There is nothing more beautiful than Gods spirit living inside of you. I can't begin to explain the joy that I felt.
    When I was 16 I met husband, and it was pretty much love at first sight.  We married 3 years later.  We were blessed with 4 children, and now 5 grandchildren.  We will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this coming year.  We've had our share of ups and downs, twists and turns, but every hardship we've faced, God has been there to help us through it, and for that, I am so thankful. God has truly been so good to my family.  We have failed him many times, but he has NEVER failed us!
    We are living in an ever increasing dark and wicked world. Does it not seem to get a little darker every day? God help me to be a light!  Jesus is our only hope! He is my JOY!! He is long suffering, and he is GOOD.  He is EVERYTHING I need, and more. I can't imagine not serving Jesus.  This is the best life I could ever live! There are pleasures in the world, but they only last for a short season. The end result of sin is DEATH.  Jesus offers LIFE ETERNAL! If you don't know Jesus, you can get to know him today.  I love the saying "You will never be satisfied, until you know Jesus.”

  • "We've had our share of ups, downs, twists and turns, but with very hardship we've faced...God has been there to help us through."

    Belinda Gifford

  • Tina Branscum

    Age 52 | Born Again Age -

    From about the age of 8 years old, my family started attending the little 3 car garage where The Temple originally began their worship services. With Bishop Fries as our pastor, and though the church was small the presence of the Lord was mighty. As a child I was baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. My brothers and I loved church so much that we played church at home. It was very upsetting when we would miss a mid-week service. When our parents decided to leave the church, unfortunately us kids had no say in the matter.

        When my brother Stanley was 16 and became ill unto death, my mother knew she needed to bring him to the church so he could get saved, so we went back to church. Bishop Fries baptized my brother and he received the Holy Ghost, and shortly after passed away, I was 18 at the time. I tried to live this christian walk alone, but after a short time I found it too hard and I also fell away.  I’ve went through trials in my life, (too many to mention), but I always knew God had never left me, and I talked to him often.

        One of my biggest regrets in my life is that I did not raise my two daughters in the church, and from a result of that they grew up very uncaring, selfish, and heartless with no morals or remorse. Now that Randy and I are raising my 2 granddaughters, I knew I needed to get them in church. It seemed every time I would try to go to church, something would be there to block us, and my husband was unsure of this apostolic faith because he had never attended a church like The Temple. But after attending the funeral of Mae Morris, as Bishop Fries was preaching it, he seemed to be hitting all the feelings I had had over the years, again I knew I needed to be back in the church, again the stumbling blocks were there to hinder me.

        As my mind was made up to go to church, I started having a lot of pain in my back and hip and things came to a halt. In March of 2016 I was having severe pain in my back, I was being treated for my sciatic nerve, but a month later while playing with the dog, he jumped on my chest and when I grabbed my chest, I felt a lump. The mammogram showed a mass smaller than a golf ball. The needle biopsy came back benign, but the doctor ordered a surgical biopsy and it came back breast cancer. Now I’m using a cane, sleeping on the couch, in severe pain and more scans, the news was, it has spread to my bone, which diagnosed me with stage 4 breast cancer. I had one chemotherapy session, and lost my hair. One day while standing in the kitchen with every thought, worry and tear, I said God, I put this in yours hands because I am not strong enough to deal with this, I felt God take my hand and every bit of worry and fear left me right then and there.

        My new doctor at OSU took me off chemotherapy and we began a new program. I began to get better, and started walking again. Then I began to worry about the medical cost, and I prayed about it, and 2 different benefits were unexpectedly started to help with the cost. My whole family was worried, but I was not, God was answering prayers, but I still needed to get my grand babies to the house of God. As I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for a checkup I was planning my vacation, the news came to me that I was fine. People around me tell me how strong I had been, and how I’m an inspiration to them and I just say… It’s not me at all, it’s all Jesus.

        I have a new appreciation and I see things differently now. I hug my little girls and tell them more often that I love them. God has blessed me with a husband that cares so much for me. (He rarely tells me no ?.) I’m not sure what God has in store for me, and I know he’s not through with me, but it’s ok, I now have God back in my life.

  • "One day while standing in the kitchen with every thought, worry and tear, I said God, I put this in yours hands because I am not strong enough to deal with this, I felt God take my hand and every bit of worry and fear left me right then and there."

    Tina Branscum

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