How did The Gospel Focus form?
Almost 10 years ago I ended up in Boone, NC after I had hit rock bottom from drug addiction. I became part of a ministry called Freedom Farm that helps men become free of drugs through Jesus Christ. I also became part of an amazing church called Alliance Bible Fellowship where the pastor that leads is as solid as it gets in terms of correct Bible teaching. I have been saved for a very long time; practically a year after graduating my best friend in high school introduced me to the Gospel and I accepted Christ a year later. However, like many young Christians, I had a shaky understanding of the gospel and still wanted to live life on my terms. We can see where this got me, but it was about 4 months ago when the idea of forming The Gospel Focus came to be.
Up until two years ago when the COVID pandemic was just beginning I Had been living in Boone, NC continues to grow in faith and knowledge of God’s word. I had been an active part of Freedom Farm and my church in terms of fellowship and teaching. I also would serve as a volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse on a few of their disaster relief missions. I also held down a full-time job with Harris Teeter. However, I got a call from my brother saying that our mom wasn’t doing well and that I should come home to help care for her; which I did. I quickly started to feel disconnected in Maryland and got away from being in God’s word and fellowship. But I got to spend two of the best remaining years with my mom before her passing in July. She had been there for me all those years and just the thought of me not getting to spend time with her before dying from complications related to Parkinson’s scares me. After her death, I started to stumble quickly until I myself had a close call with death in December 2021. What I learned next was even more profound than it was God-directed.
During my mother’s final hours in hospice, I remember whispering in her ear that when you see Jesus you would tell Him that I miss Him, feel so far from Him, and that He would just make Himself known to me. Well sure enough on December 8th, 2021 He revealed Himself through the Holy Spirit in such a powerful, real experience that only the person could understand. It was like the veil had been removed and I saw Him in an entirely different way and fell in love with my savior. Since that moment my life has not been the same. Things that I used to care about mean nothing to me. I have become interested in doing His will, not mine, and praying for people to be saved. I started to understand and feel what the apostle paul felt; that to live is Christ, to die is gain, and that I count everything as rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus.
One day I was sitting at the table brainstorming ways in which I could serve Him and share The word. For some reason optics in terms of the human eye started to pop up in mine and I would draw diagrams of the eye focusing on the cross and the rays hitting the retina would send a signal to the brain which would lead to a transformation and growth in the gospel.
