“I once thought God was just a genie, and I prayed when I wanted or needed help with something. I placed my trust in Jesus as my Savior last year. My dad had always taught me about the messages in the Bible and about Jesus. After recovering from some hard times, I finally accepted that Christ had a plan.” - Emma
It’s an understatement to say that being a middle school or high school student today is more difficult than it ever has been. But in the midst of struggles with peer pressure, loss, and discouragement, meet a group of students who have chosen to trust in the security of God’s Word. Each one of them publicly declared their faith in Christ by being baptized at Watermark last month, along with dozens of others. Here is how the Lord has worked in their hearts in the last few years.
“I first trusted Christ when I was five. When I was eight years old, our family adopted my brother from an orphanage my parents had volunteered at. During that process, we went to Uganda and spent three months there working with children who had just been rescued from prison and learning about the culture. While I loved playing with the kids at the orphanage, it saddened me to realize how many kids were hurting and without parents. I felt like the whole world was just pain and sadness. I felt like I couldn’t trust God to take care of me because I thought He wasn’t caring for the people suffering in Uganda.
“After several months, I poured my heart out to my parents and they told me that God cared for me AND for those that were suffering in Uganda. While I still wrestle with understanding why God allows suffering, I have learned that God is always good! I can trust Him when things don’t make sense. I know that my hope can only be found in God alone. He sent His only Son to die on the cross to take away sin and death’s dominion over those who believe and confess this truth.
“Almost two years ago, my family started attending Watermark, and I joined Wake, Watermark’s junior high ministry. I found that I was saying I was a Christ-follower, but I was focusing too much of my attention on what other people thought of me. So, I confessed my sin to my parents and am now trying to abide in Christ and honor Him in everything. It is not easy, but it is my goal to grow up as a strong young man, rooted in Christ.” – Isaiah
“Before I came to Christ, I was completely focused on myself and what I wanted. Christianity was just a title I gave myself because I went to church. But going to church doesn’t make you a Christian! I once thought God was just a genie, and I prayed when I wanted or needed help with something. I placed my trust in Jesus as my Savior last year. My dad had always taught me about the messages in the Bible and about Jesus. After recovering from some hard times, I finally accepted that Christ had a plan.
“Now I know I don’t have to do everything on my own. I quit believing that my good works could get me into Heaven. There’s only one way – through Jesus. Now I trust and walk with the Lord and go through every day because of my faith in Him.” – Emma
“I once just saw God as a buzzkill who was going to take the fun out of everything. I went to church, but I lived two different lives: a life of rebellion and the façade of a good Christian girl. I was trying to control my life on my own – going to church during the week then going out and not represent Christ at all. I’d made an idol out of other people’s opinions. I knew about Christ my whole life, but I put my full trust in Jesus in November 2016. The Lord showed me that His plan was much better than any of mine could ever be. God brought along so many friends into my life and my life was filled with joy. Now I live in with joy and fully centered in Christ Jesus.” – Kamryn
“I’ve grown up in a Christian home and have been surrounded by God my entire life. I placed my trust in Christ in 2008 when I learned what God had done in Christ to save me from my sin. Since then I’ve become more aware of God’s love for us. God used Matthew 6:19-21 to remind me not to live for the things of the world.” – Ben