Testimonies

Pastor Jason Gaddis

There are many people and events the Lord used in bringing me to salvation and calling me to preach. I must give thanks for a mom who kept me in church at Grace Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky. As a result, I was saved at the age of eight. Our pastor's wife, Milinda Carson, taught our primary class on the importance of salvation. She used Matthew 7:13-14 regarding the narrow and broad path. I realized that I was not saved and asked the Lord to save me and put me on the right path. It was April 1, 1984 when I trusted Christ as an eight year old boy.
     During my early teen years I was nowhere near having a walk with God although I was still in church. At a youth conference in Louisville, Kentucky in 1990, the Lord got my attention and I began to cultivate a walk with God. The actual call to preach began in the spring of 1991. Over the course of the year, I had begun to separate myself from individuals and ways of life that were not becoming for a believer. As a result, I began to understand that God had a purpose for my life. I desired to see Him at work in other lives. Our pastor, Bro. Marvin Carson, preached out of Matthew 14 regarding Peter's desire to walk on water. I related with Peter. I believed the Lord was calling me to preach, but I wanted to make sure. I had a desire to preach and a desire to serve the Lord in the ministry. Like Peter, I began to pray, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee…” (Matt. 14:28).
      That summer I preached for the first time at youth camp. The passage was Revelation 3:20. The message was way out of context, but the desire for preaching was growing stronger. During that same week on August 1, 1991, I surrendered to preach while Bro. Tommy Stone was preaching. I prayed with my youth pastor and future father-in-law, Joe Decker.

I surrendered to allow the Lord to use my life however He saw fit. It has been an incredible journey ever since.