On the 18th of December, Lilydale Church celebrated six baptisms! We have summarized their testimonies for you. Congratulations to our new church members for making this very special decision.
When asked about how he came to know Jesus, Matt Gaydon described the parable of the precious pearl as being a key influence in his decision to give his life to God. Despite being raised in a Christian family, this parable encouraged Matt to take his spiritual life into his own hands, making the conscious decision to follow God. “Giving everything to God has been a journey, and a challenging process but it is also fun and freeing, I have been able to enjoy myself, grabbing every opportunity with both hands.” Matt questioned why it seemed like some people are more passionate about Christ than others. It was only until he decided to try and get to know Jesus through Bible study and prayer that He was given that passion that he saw in others. Matt emphasised, “God just really loves us, no matter what. When I feel anxious or in turmoil, this is the anchor that pulls me close to God every time – His love.” In describing what the future holds for him in his walk with Jesus, Matt said “I know that there will be challenging times to come. God is awesome and I know that whatever happens, it’s going to be okay. I guess what I’m trying to say is hey God, I’m in!”
Mary Aloysius described how her family had been through a number of challenging experiences before coming to Christ. “We didn’t know how to face the pain, it felt too much to bear.” It was during this time that one of Mary’s friends encouraged her to watch online sermons however, none of them resonated with her. One day, Mary was scrolling through YouTube and randomly pressed on Mark Finley’s sermons, “I felt the passion of his message and after that I googled the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Melbourne, and I couldn’t believe that there was a church just five minutes from our home.” When Mary came to Lilydale Church for the first time, she described how she was welcomed, “this tall elderly gentleman approached me, pointed to his wife and asked me whether I would like to come and sit with them. This was the first step that made me feel welcomed at Church and up until this day, that call every week to check whether me and my family are keeping well.” After the service, the pastor and his wife invited Mary to do Bible studies. “When I started studies, it became my favorite time of the week, I really looked forward to learning more about God. It’s not just the Bible knowledge that made me love this Church – I saw the Bible knowledge embedded in the hearts of this Church community.” Mary emphasized, “together with my family we are very glad that we are getting baptized into the SDA Church.”
Derek Aloysius described his experience in getting to know God, “I had a passion to find the truth about Jesus.” Derek spoke about how he prayed to find the right Church, “my father decided to get involved with Jehovah’s witnesses, his uncle was an elder and this was the beginning of sorrows for the family.” However, after finding that the preaching was not suited to him, Derek found himself searching for the truth more and more. After a while, Derek began to give up “I thought we didn’t need a church, that you can just be a good person. This set me on the path of a very busy working life, as a young family we were overwhelmed.” Derek described how this lifestyle started to take a toll on his marriage, “My wife and I were planning to divorce, we went our separate ways for a couple of years and then I realised what I missed as a family.” Derek found that the Seventh-day Adventist Church was not only preaching doctrine but practicing what they preach, “This Church comes with the humility of Christ which I didn’t find in any of the other churches. Many churches are focused on them instead of Jesus, the way this church worships is different.”
Tiff Aloysius spoke on behalf of her siblings in describing their church experience. Having grown up in a Christian household, Tiff and her siblings were aware of God but felt like they didn’t have a connection with Him. “We were quite involved in the Catholic Church, but we never felt close to God. We knew that if we kept going to that Church, we would never expand our relationship with Him.” Tiff described her experience in coming to Lilydale for the first time, “it was terrifying, I didn’t think that getting involved in church and youth gatherings would be my thing.” Despite her initial fear God continued to lead Tiff and her family, “it’s been incredible to watch all my siblings grow in the church and the connections they have built with everyone and God.” When Tiff was asked to be a Youth Pastoral Worker at Lilydale Church, she was hesitant at first, “I was very unsure, and I had that why me moment especially being so new to the church but getting to minister to the youth and teens has been so special.”