Prospective New Members: Everett & Chia
As a church, we are excited about how God is working among and through us. One aspect is seeing people excited to lock arms as they seek to partner with us in Church Membership.
Please read the testimony of Everett and Chia. Take some time to get to know them over the next couple of weeks.
If you are curious about what it means to partner with Knollwood in Church Membership or just want to learn more about it, consider signing up for our upcoming Next Steps Class.
Everett Hamilton
I was born the same year that U.S. president John F. Kennedy was assassinated. When I was 5 years old I vaguely remember watching the news of the assassination of his brother Bobby Kennedy, on our black and white television. At this very young age I learned the fear of death. I was gripped by the reality of its certainty and finality and also by the mysteries surrounding it. The following year a phone call came in the middle of the night and I remember my mother crying because her father, my grandfather had died. It was surreal, to say the least, to see a family member lying lifeless in a coffin, while attending my grandfather’s funeral. As a child I remember going to a Protestant church with my parents, on occasion. This was a bit of miracle considering that my father was an alcoholic and my mother was raised Catholic. I was blessed as a child to hear bible stories and we even had a children’s book series of bible stories for me to read and look at the illustrations. When you’re young you’re exposed to many fantastic fictional stories. But when I heard about or read these stories from the bible, something inside me knew that these things really happened.
In the beginning, God really did create the heavens and the earth, Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath. An episode from a Christian animation called Davey and Goliath really spoke to me when I was a kid. This series was about a boy from a Christian family and his dog Goliath. Shortly before Easter, Davey’s beloved grandmother dies and of course Davey is grief stricken. His father takes him to see a rehearsal of a theatrical group doing a play about Jesus dying on the cross and His resurrection. Davey’s father explains to him that he can see his grandmother in Heaven one day because of what Jesus did for us. My grade 5 school teacher was a Christian and he made sure that all of his students received a Gideon New Testament bible. It was around this time that I began to understand and accept the Gospel of Jesus. Of course, I still had a lot to learn about repentance. Matthew 7:21-23 warns… 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness! (ESV) Matthew 7:13-14 instructs. 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few!” (ESV)
As a teenager I heard a message in a small church that impacted me and stayed with me. The lesson was to praise God always, not just for the good things, but always, even when things are bad. Unfortunately by my own fault, throughout the course of my life I have followed several wayward and unbiblical churches and teachers. If you want to have your ears tickled and to hear a ‘feel good gospel’ there are many people out there making a career out of providing that. Of course our Heavenly Father is faithful. In Philippians 1:6 we can read, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” And every bit as important Philippians 2:12 instructs, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” John MacArthur offers a reality check in saying, “hate yourself, hate your own life, hate all the things that are precious to you, and come be a slave with Jesus.” He qualifies this by explaining, “I don’t know how that message would fly, but that is the message.” After decades of trials and tribulations, First Corinthians 2:2 sums it up, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (ESV) …and resurrected, of course!
The song Amazing Grace speaks of our truth, “Saved a wretch like me.” “I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, (was absolutely blind) but now I see.” And it’s so triumphant. “We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we’d first begun.” Just try to imagine how long eternity is?! I’ve recently discovered the teachings of Paul Washer. He makes it very clear what truly being a Christian and living for Jesus Christ is. None of that very dangerous ‘luke warm’ stuff. On a lighter note, I’ve also heard John MacArthur say, “You don’t have to be a Baptist to get to Heaven, but why take that chance.”
Chia Rothschild
I was born in Saigon, which was later renamed to Ho Chi Minh city during the Vietnam war. My birth mother was a poor street merchant and unable to care for me and placed me in an orphanage. As an infant, I contracted the polio virus and it severely damaged the muscles in my right leg. I was fortunate enough to be adopted by a family when I was 4 years old and I travelled to Nova Scotia Canada. My adoptive mother is a British non-practicing Anglican and my father a German non-practicing Jew. I was hospitalized on numerous occasions for procedures dealing with the effects of the polio disease. Being an ethnic minority with a visible disability I was constantly harassed, made fun of and bullied in school. Growing up I never heard my parents say that they loved each other and they were not affectionate, I never saw them hold hands. My father was a high school teacher and put emphasis on the importance of education.
My 3 siblings are very successful in their respective careers and this made me feel inferior to them. I always believed that GOD existed even though my friends and family did not. I wanted to know what the purpose of life was and why there was so much suffering in the world. During the summer before grade 12, I was approached by Mormon Elders, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or LDS. I was a perfect target for them. They seemed to offer the emotional support and the sense of belonging that I longed for. Seeking love I got involved in a false unbiblical religion, that did not make sense to me and went against my spirit.
On Sunday, March 5 of this year, I was invited by friends to attend their church, Knollwood Baptist Church. Since then each Sunday I would listen to the sermons and soon began to enjoy being part of the Christian family here. I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt I have a deeper understanding of who Jesus Christ is. I know that I have sinned against the Almighty God. I testify that the death of Jesus on the cross completely paid for my sin. I rely on Jesus to receive everlasting life and be able to return to our Heavenly Father. My Lord and My God Now that I am part of the Jesus’ family I know that He gives to me true emotional support and provides for me a sense of belonging I never had before. In closing I would like to share a poem The Salvation Poem “Jesus, You died upon a cross And rose again to save the lost Forgive me now of all my sin Come be my Savior, Lord, and Friend Change my life and make it new And help me, Lord, to live for you”