Personal Testimony

"My Personal Testimony," about 300 words

I have grown up in church all of my life, more specifically Mingo Baptist Church. I was raised in a Christian home. We went to church every Sunday, went every Sunday night, and every Wednesday night. For me, going to church was natural. If I ever missed a week, it was because I was sick. I was baptized when I was six years old. The entire congregation of Mingo Baptist Church supported me and helped mould me into who I am today. During my junior year of high school, my father had a heart attack and died. This was a huge shock to me. For the next couple of weeks, I kept all of my emotions to myself. Even now, it is still hard to talk about. Eventually my emotions bottled up for too long and I thought about suicide. I did not want to talk about it, but I did not know another way to release my pent up emotions. The one thing that allowed me to cope was working in the audio and video team at Mingo Baptist Church. The crew members there really helped me to forget about what had happened. They have been very supportive in many different ways. Because of their commitment to helping me cope with the loss of my father, I wanted to help out in any way I could. It made me feel very good to work every week in church, knowing that I was repaying those people who helped me out during one of the darkest parts of my life. I am still working on the audio and video team at church. Even though the work that the audio and video team and I do often goes unnoticed, I still enjoy serving God in my own way. My church is what made me who I am today.

Explain why the Cooperative Program is relevant to today's generation," about 300 words

The Cooperative Program is not only relevant in today’s generation, it is necessary. Matthew 28:19 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” The Cooperative Program makes it possible for churches to provide information to people in addition to providing churches with the resources they need to teach effectively. In today’s generation, it is harder than ever for churches to keep their services free. With rising inflation rates and unemployment at an all-time high, The Cooperative Program is the only source of income for some churches. Not only does the Cooperative Program help finance education in churches, but it also promotes mission trips. The Cooperative Program helps missionaries to, quite literally, survive through their ordeals. Without the Cooperative Program, missionaries would not have the amount of resources they need to spread The Word of God to developing countries worldwide. In today’s generation, it is almost impossible for missionaries to go to other countries and preach unaided. Not only does it help to alleviate the burden of missionaries who are already serving, but it helps the people who stay home find a way to support their missionaries. The Cooperative Program allows Christians to be able to help missionaries without having to go themselves. This is not only a wonderful way to get involved with missions, but it is a tremendous help to the missionaries already deployed, particularly to the ones overseas. This is why the Cooperative Program is so important. It allows missionaries to continue their service in addition to providing a service opportunity to those who choose to serve in other ways. The Cooperative Program is one of the most beneficial programs that Christians can utilize.