Jan Futrelle

I only have vague memories of going to church as a child. My family stopped attending church when I was five.  When I was 17, one of my older brothers accepted Christ, which raised a lot of questions for me. I attended my brother’s baptism with my parents on August 3, 1975. As I listened to the sermon, the Lord convicted me of my sins. When the invitation hymn began, with tears flowing down my face, and the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart, I stepped out and made the long walk to the front of the church to accept Jesus as my personal savior.   I truly felt cleansed of my sins and I followed through with Baptism. However, I made a big mistake. I didn’t stay connected to the church at that critical time in my life. This caused me not to grow as a new Christian should. I do remember praying often and I finally did return to the church. I met my husband at church; (An answer to prayer by the way.)  We eventually married and started our own family.

In the early 1990’s I realized that I was not putting Jesus first in my life, and I was not growing spiritually.   My father passed away in 1992 and it took his death to make me see life from a different perspective.   I got on my face before the Lord and I prayed to rededicate my life to him. I had a lot of catching up to do in the area of spiritual growth.

I was 17 when I received Christ and although I neglected my relationship with the heavenly father, he still loved me and I know for certain he never left my side.   I am thankful for his faithfulness.

Jan Futrelle