My Introduction to Jesus

By Rachael Renee

How was I introduced to Jesus? I was born at Darnall Army Hospital, Killeen, Texas in 2006. Prior to me being born my parents began going to Christian House of Prayer in Killeen, Texas in 2005 where Apostle Bishop Nathaniel Holcomb was the founding Pastor. I was raised under the teachings of Bishop.

I considered him my “spiritual grandpa” until the age of 4. My parents asked for permission to keep me in the sanctuary service with them and it was permitted. I was a quiet toddler. I didn’t cause any commotion and to be honest, I didn’t like a lot of noise and still don’t, but I loved being in the sanctuary. We would get to church extremely early on Sundays and Bishop would always come out and speak to everyone. He loved the children and they loved him too! I would look forward to him coming to say hello. At the age of 2 or maybe 3 my parents decided that they were going to take me to Children’s Church. Which did not work out well. My Mom said every time they tried I cried profusely and said I wanted to be with Bishop in the “big people” church. So I continued to stay in the “big people” church with my parents and scribble my notes from the message. By the time I was 2, I could say the entire Psalm 91 chapter. After every service at altar call Bishop would have us pray along with him, and the prayer of salvation was always included. I attended Sonship School of The Firstborn ( a ministry school inside the church) with my parents, until Bishop said children were no longer allowed at the in person classes. My parents completed the rest of the course at home and I was present for every single class. At graduation, I cried and asked Bishop if I could have a robe because I went to class too. He told me he didn’t have a robe for me this time, but knew one day I would get one.

The next year my family and I moved to Europe, Bavaria to be exact, and that’s when I had a cultural shock. I was 4 years old when we moved to Europe. I don’t know how we got on the subject but my Mom and I were talking about being saved. I told her I was saved but she didn’t seem to think so because she said I would have to have a full understanding of what it meant to be saved. I told her I said the prayer with Bishop every day with everyone else and I believed I was saved. She told me I needed to be at an age where I understood and be able to decide I would live for Jesus which meant obeying Him and His Word. She wanted to make sure I understood and I told her yes, I am going to Heaven to be with God and not hell. I want to be with Jesus. She explained Heaven and hell to me; again, I understood because of Bishop and we talked about it at home all the time. But, I didn’t know I had to be older and that there was an age of accountability. I just knew I wanted to be with Jesus. Mom was in awe but I knew what was up! I really thought I was saved because of what my parents and Bishop taught me, and I had said the prayer every time! The thought that I might not be saved caused me to panic, so I asked how we could fix it because I wanted to be sure I was saved. Mom said when Dad got home from work we would sit down and talk about it but I cried and cried. I asked what if something happens before he gets here and it’s not fixed!! I cried and cried! I asked her to call Dad and she called him and told him what was going on. She put him on speaker phone and he asked why I was crying. I told him I thought I was saved, but I might not be, and asked if we could fix it right then. My Dad talked with me about salvation, saying the same thing Mom said and confirming that I understood. At that very moment, at the age of 4 my Mom and Dad led me in the prayer of salvation! I was so very happy!! What a relief!!

I went to my play room after that and played until Dad came home. When Dad came home I was so excited!! I grabbed him and Mommy by the hand and took them to my playroom. I had ALL of my dolls lined up against the wall and asked them to lead each one to the Lord and if we could get the oil this time! That is my story. I was introduced to the Lord by my parents and my “spiritual grandpa”, Bishop Holcomb.

No matter how or when you were introduced to Jesus, the main thing is having a relationship with him. You can never be too young to follow the Lord as long as you understand the fullness of the commitment you’re making.

You can follow the author of this post, our teen writer Rachael Renee on Instagram.