Gene Rowell, Jr.

How Jesus Changed My Life

“Dad, don't wreck. I don't want to go to hell,” I cried. I was only 11 years old, and we had just left a revival service. He was turning the car around to go back to the church.

I hadn't listened to the revival preacher that night. I had perfected pretending to listen to the preacher to avoid a thump on the head that echoed through the whole sanctuary. That's exactly what I was doing until the end of the sermon when I just started crying. I could tell something was wrong with me, but I didn't know what it was. Dad kept looking at me like “what's wrong with you? A typical Baptist invitation followed, and I took off...outside to run around with my friends, not even thinking about the last few minutes. It wasn't long before Dad came out and said let's go.

Once we got in the car, he asked me why I had been crying. “What are you talking about?,” I replied. “You were crying like a baby,” he countered. All I could say was, “I'm not sure.” “You think God was dealing with your heart,” he continued. “Yes, I sure do,” was my reply.

Then, he asked me “the question”: “If you died right now, what do you think would happen?” I knew what would happen. “I would burn in hell,” I confessed. When he asked if I wanted to go back to church and get this right, all I could think was please don't wreck. I don't want to go to hell! We made it back to church in one piece and went to a side room with the pastor, my dad, and a couple of deacons with me crying again and confessing my sins. I gave Jesus something that night He had already purchased – my heart and life, and He has been working in my life ever since.

Some people may say that's not a powerful testimony, but I would say it is to me. I was saved not OUT OF a life of drugs and alcohol, but I was saved FROM drugs and alcohol and a life filled with the the pain and scars that many other bad choices bring. I knew that night as an 11-year-old boy, my sin was no different than any other. I put Jesus on the cross where I deserved to be. When Jesus removes the guilt of sin, that's powerful because any amount of sin condemns a person to hell. His forgiveness literally saves us from the grip of hell. That is powerful ….every single time.

When you encounter that kind of power, you can't help but be changed. Mine life changed drastically. The way I viewed the world, others, and myself all changed. I also say my “wanter” changed that night. I didn't want the same things my friends wanted growing up because, when I violated His law, the Holy Spirit would crush me. Yes, my life totally and permanently changed.

My wife Laurie, who just so happens to be the greatest wife on the face of the planet, and we do our best to govern our home with biblical principles and model what God commands. Our kids have been a blessing to us, and I pray they are blessings to others as well.

Being a military family, we lived in several different places and knew lots of people. When God stationed us in Valdosta, we found some old friends from another base. This friend had high expectations and a strict doctrine, so, when he said he'd found a church, I knew it was worth checking out. I actually told him, “I have been around dead Christians my whole life,” so it would not hurt to check them out – because they met in a funeral home. We did check out Covenant Baptist Church, and we loved it. That was the early 2000's, and we've been there ever since except for a few years when God temporarily moved us to another church.

My Prayer for Covenant

I pray our church cries out to God for His knowledge and wisdom and then cries out for the courage to implement it. I also pray we live like the book of Ephesians calls the church to live – loving each other as we understand how God views us and His church. That would be powerful.