“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
—John 17:3

Hello Marcia,

I have removed the copyrighted material from my post. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.

It has been almost two years since I wrote the post on the EE testimony.

I was under the impression that the EE testimony was the culmination of what had been taught in the previous Units, and was saddened to read the parameters the Awana Children were given to write a testimony. I also did not understand why Awana was using EE materials for teaching.

It seemed at the time that the children in the Awana group who understand that a testimony had to do with telling people your sins were forgiven, were confused and had a hard time writing the testimony. The adult leadership questioned if those children knew the Lord.

The children that wrote the testimony the way EE and the leaders told them to, were counted as being Christians, but not because it was evident they understood about getting their sins forgiven.

I feel strongly that giving one a format to tell a testimony is unbiblical. When a person has their sins forgiven, they are excited to tell others, and do not have to be taught how to give a testimony.

In 1978, I was a part of a Navigator’s 2-7 group and we were to write a testimony which had paramaters similar to the EE testimony that the Awana children were to write.

I was in tears because I could not write the testimony and do it with the Navigator “rules.” Perhaps the reason I could not write the testimony was that even though I had read the Bible through for years, and believed Jesus was the Son of God and died on the cross to forgive sins and give us eternal life, I did not realize I was a sinner.

A couple years later, when I was about 31, in my daily Bible reading, I read Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The Lord brought to mind several other Bible verses and finally I understood that I was a sinner, and repented of my sins. My Saviour rescued me from my sin.

If you are interested, my testimony is on this post: http://justthebook.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/what-is-so-appealing-about-the-pursuit-of-god-by-a-w-tozer/

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”—Acts 17:30

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”—1 Corinthians 2:4–5

I see two problems with your review: First, you have taken only one part of the 14 units of study, and from that, passed a false judgment. That would be like me taking only one part of a scripture, let’s say “For the wages of sin is death …” (Romans 6:23 a) and passing judgment on the entire writing of Romans or the Bible.

Second, you used copyrighted material without requesting permission. That is not legal, and as Christians, we must encourage each other to do what is right and fair.

I encourage you to go to our website at http://www.kidsee.org and also order a Teacher’s Manual (used by teachers and parents worldwide) and see how the depths of the Gospel are presented to children and adults with completeness. Kids’ EE is a 3-year study, that allows children and adults to come together each year for 14 weeks to grow in their faith and be equipped to share with others. That’s life-long learning and equipping.

Yes, Unit 6 is focused on Testimony. Many Kids’ EE ministries teach this unit for 2 weeks, and repeat it for 3 years as children continue to “work out their faith” and share the Gospel w/ others – which includes sharing their testimony.

Please review the rich Gospel content of the other 13 units of study. I have not seen a more comprehensive study of the Gospel (to be grounded in our faith AND equipped to share it) than I’ve seen and experienced with Kids’ EE.

May God bless you as you endeavor to know His Word and the Gospel message and share it daily w/ others.

Thank you for your insight,

Jim

Thank you so very much for your testimony, too.

It is so encouraging to read yours and Sue’s testimony to know that the Lord loves us so much, is so faithful, and rescues us from the world of darkness.

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”—Ephesians 5:8

The lights went on for me as I read this and the thought occurred to me, “I’ve got it all wrong, it’s Jesus Christ, not Mary.” That was the beginning of God’s “deprogramming” me from the false doctrines of Catholicism. I never said another prayer to Mary or another Rosary to her since this astouding act of God’s grace in my life.

Once during Mass I thought I saw Jesus, but then the Holy Spirit told me that this was a demon, and a form of idolatry and I shouldn’t partake of this anymore.

Thank you for this insightful article. Alexander Hislops, THE TWO BABYLONS, was an important part of confirming what God began to show me thru Scripture that day.

His amazing love and grace never cease to fill me with joy. Blessings to you all, Lynn Prince

Thank you so much for sharing your testimony.

What a wonderful loving God we serve.

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
—Luke 19:10

“The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”—2 Peter 3:9

I became a Eucharistic Minister because I understood this position to be the highest position for a lay person in serving God. My desire was to be intimate with Christ and have him fill my life. I had no understanding of what it meant to be “born again” simply because that biblical doctrine was never taught to me as a Catholic. But my heart was open and God knew my deepest desire.

I attended the 3 hour class that was necessary to beome a minister of the” Body of Christ “and as I look back in hindsight, something stirred within me. I had reservations but passed it off as fear and s sense of unworthiness. I didn’t understand the power of the Holy Spirits prompting or that such a thing even existed.

I served my first mass several weeks later and initially, I remember feeling so privaledged, not in a boastful way but in a humble way, if that makes any sense. The second time I served, I became acutely aware of the way these people were looking at me as I gave them communion. Many looked at me as if I was this angel of light, some special person because of my ministry. It made me very uncomfortable and I lamented over this decision I had made.

I served one more mass after that and I knew I had to give up this ministry. I became uncomfortable and started to question my belief of this Catholic doctrine. I never discussed this with anyone except Jesus.

I attended a bible study and then another. The church was praying that someone would come forward and offer to have a bible study in their home. I remember waking up from a dream in the wee hours of the morning with Psalm 119:105 on my mind. I was so “annoyed” because I couldn’t fall back to sleep. After that I jumped at the opportunity to open my home for Gods word to be shared.

The more I read, the more convicted I became that the Jesus that I had been taught about was still hanging on a cross somewhere very far away and not up close and personal. He was not present in a piece of unlevened bread to be consumed believing it was his physical body and blood.

I prayed my heart out as I asked for guidance and truth as I began to research about the church of my youth, the only one I had ever known. I prayed for forgiveness just in case my doubt was coming from the enemy. I knew that because I desired the truth that even if I was wrong in my growing doubt, God would lead me where “He” wanted to lead me.

As a former Catholic. I have a burden on my heart for these people. I know what they are taught to believe even if they truly don’t believe it. There is a long list of cultural influence that keeps this church ands it’s people in bondage. Many Catholis DO NOT believe in transubstantiation but very few discuss it. I was involved with the “in crowd” if you will and I know for sure many Catholics are so hungry for God. They are spiritually parched and frustrated. Many stay in the church because they don’t have to think. The church does it for you. They are ignorant to the truth and when confronted become so obviously uncomfortable. It is very sad.

My testimony is a lengthy one. I realized early on in my walk that God has no boundaries. I became “born again” in a church system that is blinded by their own human desires dating way back.

After 3 years, I left and attended a wonderful bible teaching church. I learned how to study the scriptures inductively and went to bible college for awhile. Their mission statement was to teach, equip and send out. Because it was too far to travel, I left that church and now I’m in a church home where I am meant to be.

God has taught me that there is no perfect church here in this world as we know it. But if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead those of us who are willing to grow and learn and desire to do His will, there in lies the peace that surpasses all human understanding. Faith, Love and Hope. But the greatest of these is love.

Have a blessed day!