Reuben Barnhart

For as long as I can remember, my dad has been a pastor. When I was five or six years old, I wanted to give my life to Jesus because that’s what my parents believed. Fast forward to when I was nine: I was talking to my dad about getting baptized, but I still didn’t really know what it meant to be a Christian. I wanted to be baptized mainly because that’s what my brother did, and I wanted to be like him.

This was pretty much the extent of my faith for a long time—just checking the boxes and doing things because that’s what my family did. When we moved from Ohio to New York, I decided to make my faith my own. I started reading my Bible more and enjoying church, but after a while, I got lazy, put off reading, and sort of put my faith on hold.

Recently, I have started putting more effort into my relationship with God and spending time with Him in His Word. My time away from God, though short, helped me realize that I am much happier with Him, and I want to keep growing my relationship with Him. I now love spending time with Him in the Bible and worshiping at church.