To Be Loved
Quest Community (Alliance) Church in Lexington, Kentucky, continues to impact lives for the Kingdom. More than 5,500 people have received Christ and experienced healing and restoration through this 10-year-old church’s many outreaches. John’s* story, below, provides a glimpse of the exuberant joy Quest members share.
My wife was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 38 and died shortly thereafter. I was left alone to raise two children—and struggle with what had haunted me my entire life. Loneliness, pride, selfishness, and many bad choices led me into the gay lifestyle for the next 13 years. I was marked with a sexual addiction as well as drug and alcohol abuse. Worst of all, I turned my back on my children and robbed them of their right to have a healthy relationship with their only living parent.
The enemy didn’t want me to realize where he was taking me until I was already in the pit of despair. The only way out for me, I thought, was to end it all. Twice I tried, but God sent His Christ followers to my house. Both times, these people recognized my hopelessness and told me how much God loved me, but I didn’t understand. They encouraged me to find a church.
I did go to a church and spoke with the pastor about my plight. He responded, “Tim, you can come to my church if you want, but we really don’t have a place for someone like you.”
I left his church and screamed at God that I would never go to another church again. And I didn’t for the next six years.
And then on a Monday morning in October 2006, for the second time, one of my students invited me to visit Quest Community Church. On Tuesday morning, I was in an airplane, and the man sitting next to me, also from Lexington, invited me to his church—Quest Community.
Wednesday while flying back to Lexington, I ran into a former student of mine. She told me that she and her husband had heard about a “really neat church” called Quest Community. Then Thursday morning, a young teacher invited me to visit his church—also Quest Community.
Friday morning, I was discussing this strange series of interactions with one of my employees. He said, “Mr. Carson, you should go to that church. It’s a really neat church. That’s where I go, too!”
I really didn’t want to go but was compelled to go that Sunday. As I approached, I saw all these guys with tattoos and piercings, smoking cigarettes. Then the front door burst open. A big guy came running out to me and gave me a hug. “Tim, you came!” he said. “I’m so glad. Welcome to my church.” He was the man I sat next to on the plane.
I was welcomed and felt safe for the first time in years. I will never forget the first song I heard. It really touched my heart, and for the first time, I started thinking, “Could it be, God? Could You really forgive me and everything that I’ve done?”
Then Pastor Pete said, “Do you know how much God loves you?” I didn’t, but I listened and left that Sunday morning feeling for the first time in 18 years that there was hope for my life.
I called my daughter, who had been praying for years that her father would meet Christ. I told her that I went to church and how much I liked it. I kept coming back, listening and talking to people, and I finally realized that throughout my life, I had wanted only two things: to love and be loved.
When I sensed that my daughter and the people who attended Quest loved me just because I was me, it was the most humbling realization that I could have had. When I understood that the source of that love was Jesus Christ Himself, I ran to Him, invited Him into my heart, and surrendered my life to Him.
As a new Christ follower, I began attending The Mat recovery program that is available at Quest, and I was on the road to freedom. Today, after more than two years of sobriety, I am blessed to help facilitate one of the men’s groups. God has redeemed my past and is using me to bring glory to Him. Through Quest Community Church, Jesus Christ has literally saved my life!
*Name changed
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