I was pretty raised up in the church. My parents were Christians and went to church and I went along with them. Even at a young age I did enjoy going to church. Granted, there were some days when I wanted to go back to sleep or just watch Sunday morning cartoons, but overall church was cool with me. After my family had moved to Arizona we found a church there called Scottsdale First Assembly. This is the church I grew up in. I made some really good friends there, many of which I still have to this day. Before I think I could really call myself a "Christian" I enjoyed going to church, had built relationships there, and had my own cool Bible. (It was red and I had a cool highlighter pen for it. I know, pretty legit.)
Though I grew up in church and went to Sunday and everything else, it wasn't until I joined the youth group, called The Refuge, when I began to see the reality of God. The people there were passionate. I had never seen anything like it. In kids church we sang songs and the leaders there tried to get us involved but the Refuge took it all to a new level. It was there were I made even more friendship that I still have today and that I'm sure will last a lifetime. These are the friends I grew up with. We went through life together, the good parts and the bad.
It was at the Refuge where I gave my life to Christ. But to be honest, I don't really know exactly when. Growing up in church has kind of blurred the line to when I really accepted Jesus in my life. But, for the purpose of having some form of a timeline, I mark the time I really became a Christian in January 2006. I was 15 years old then and had been going through the basic troubles of a teenager; school, Mom & Dad, girls, etc. It wasn't until my first official heartbreak, where I was at my lowest of lows, that I turned to God. But even after that life didn't really get easier. The only difference was that now I had Jesus. Which is pretty huge. I don't know what I would have done during that time without Jesus. Well, yes I do. I probably would lived in my sorrow and pain and never try to venture out and do anything. I threw myself into the Refuge and got involved with anything I could. I was surrounded by people who cared and loved me and wanted the best for my life. They took me on the journey of knowing God and building a relationship with Him. I give a lot of credit to my friends and leaders in the Refuge for helping me become the man I am today.
So, I've decided to post the "What We Believe" statement from the Hillsong website below. What follows is a quick but detailed explanation of what the church believes but also what I believe as well.
We believe that the Bible is God's Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our everyday lives.
We believe in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.
We believe that sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ as both God and man is the only One who can reconcile us to God. He lived a sinless and exemplary life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove His victory and empower us for life.
We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and the 'new birth' we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives.
We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to use spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues.
We believe in the power and significance of the Church and the necessity of believers to meet regularly together for fellowship, prayer and the 'breaking of bread'.
We believe that God has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives which is to worship God, fulfil our role in the Church and serve the community in which we live.
We believe that God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives in order to help others more effectively.
We believe that our eternal destination of either Heaven or hell is determined by our response to the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as He promised.
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