I grew up in a very “religious” household.\u00a0 I have no positive memories of church or religion in general from my childhood.\u00a0 When I was old enough to make my own decisions, it was easy to decide… never going back.\u00a0 My sister, however, did give church a second chance.\u00a0 Thank God she did.<\/p>\n
She had been going to The Gathering for several months and repeatedly invited me.<\/p>\n
I’m surprised she didn’t just give up on even asking since I turned her down so many times.\u00a0 In January of this year (2012), I decided to go just one time.\u00a0 I went with a very pessimistic opinion that this would never work for me.\u00a0 With full anxiety, I climbed to the very top row of the theater, in hopes that I wouldn’t even be noticed.\u00a0 Something amazing happened, I actually enjoyed church!\u00a0 None of the words I had used to describe church were going to fit in this place.\u00a0 In the past I thought of church as: cold, judgmental, formal, restrictive… the list goes on.\u00a0 Pastor Dave’s church was warm, welcoming. open-minded, loving, accepting…etc.\u00a0 It was as if the Pastor was speaking directly to me.\u00a0 I mean, his message was exactly what I needed to hear, and how I needed to hear it.\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 I’ve never missed a Sunday since that January day.<\/p>\n
Who would’ve thought that one man can have such a deep impact on a life in three months?\u00a0 Each Sunday, I learned things that would change the course of my week, and ultimately my life.\u00a0 My mind and my heart have been sponges, soaking up Dave Foster’s messages of hope, love, life, and happiness.\u00a0 No one could have prepared me for his passing as well as he did.\u00a0 In his last sermon on April 1, he said no matter how old someone that you loved was when they passed, it would be too soon.\u00a0 He also shared a story where a friend of his had asked how he would react if he were to lose one of his own children at a young age.\u00a0 His response was that he hoped that he would be able to thank God for the gift of that child and the time he had been given with her.\u00a0 These words have brought me so much comfort throughout his passing.<\/p>\n
I know I always had the love of Jesus Christ, but thanks to Dave and Paula Foster, I finally FEEL it!\u00a0 Yea God!\u00a0 Pastor Dave spoke of leaving a legacy and being remembered for how he made people feel.\u00a0 Wow… talk about accomplishing your goal!\u00a0 Just from reading some of the posts online in various social medias, I can see that his legacy was amazing.\u00a0 So many people were inspired to be better thanks to David Foster.\u00a0 I am extremely thankful for finding The Gathering, but I do have one regret… I wish I had found the Fosters years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I grew up in a very “religious” household.\u00a0 I have no positive memories of church or religion in general from my childhood.\u00a0 When I was old enough to make my own decisions, it was easy to decide… never going back.\u00a0 (…)<\/p>\n