Hello, my name is Sarah and this is my story.

 

I was born in Sunderland to Malaysian parents who took me to church every week and so I learned about Jesus from an early age. As a child, I knew many famous Bible stories and saw church a bit like school – a place I could learn and gain knowledge. As I grew up, I knew more and more about Jesus but I didn’t yet know Jesus.

 

When I was 14, I attended an event for young people with friends from church. It was there that I considered for the very first time what Christianity actually meant to me. I knew that one of my friends was a born-again Christian and I had observed how different she was to other friends of mine. I also knew that even though I had attended church my whole life, I wasn’t a Christian. Yes, I did believe in God but what made us different was Jesus. She had a personal relationship with Jesus but I didn’t. Up until then, God was real but nothing more to me; He had no influence on my life. But that day, what I saw was Jesus living in and shining through a Christian and I wanted that in me.

 

I knew that growing up in a church-going family didn’t automatically make me a Christian. In fact, I was a sinner in God’s eyes; one who had broken His laws and I needed God’s forgiveness. I couldn’t rely on church; it had to be me making my own decision whether or not to believe on Jesus. Finally, the story I had heard from young, of how Jesus, God’s Son, came to seek and save the lost (including me!), how He was crucified, buried and rose again was no longer just a knowledge, but was truth, saving truth. It was this truth that I relied upon for salvation that day.

 

Since becoming a Christian, my love for Jesus has grown and grown. I attended Bible school at Bethesda Free Church for 4 years having a thirst for knowledge and a desire to know my Saviour more. I’m constantly amazed by His Word and His goodness to me. I hope to never lose sight of Jesus, who has cleansed me and forgiven me of my sins. To God be the glory.