Wondrous Grace, Daniel Bayes

My parents began meeting with the local church in Houston, TX before I was born. As a child, I always enjoyed going to children's meetings where I would sing hymns, make crafts, and play with the other kids.

But it was at the age of twelve that I remember having my first personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ becoming real to me. This experience took place at a junior high retreat where I was baptized. After being baptized, I felt like a new person and I realized that I could know and contact Jesus Christ through praying, reading the Bible, and singing. It was also at this time that I consecrated myself to the Lord to love Him and serve Him for the rest of my life. Although I was young, my prayer was sincere and I can testify today that through His mercy the Lord has kept my heart loving Him.

Looking back on my life, I realize that the main reason that I'm in the local church today is because of the shepherding that I received from not only my family, but also all the believers in the different local churches. They have always encouraged me, prayed for me, and often invited me over for a home-cooked meal, especially during my high school years when I struggled with all the typical things such as peer pressure and popularity. The members of the local churches are like my extended family. The brothers and sisters here have always made me feel warm and at home. I can remember specifically certain ones who encouraged me to read the Bible daily and even read with me in order to encourage me. Others showed me the importance of having a time every morning to pray to the Lord and spend time with Him. It is these daily habits that today have become a strong foundation for my walk with the Lord as well as a source of daily supply.

In college I had various opportunities to visit different local churches all over the world. I had the wonderful realization that everywhere I went, the Christians in the local churches were just like the ones back home in Huntsville. They were all dear, caring people who love the Lord and His Word, and above all they expressed Christ!

Seeing this expression of Christ in these brothers and sisters and experiencing the genuine oneness of His Body over and over again has gained me for the church. I praise Him for His mercy and grace in bringing me into His house!

Light in the Darkness

My father touched the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee in the early 1970's. Before then, he had been a young Christian hippie who was not satisfied by what he had found in organized Christianity. He was desperately seeking for some real spiritual food from the Word that could nourish him and help him grow. It was about that time in Houston, TX that he and my mother met some Christians in the local church who seemed to have what they were looking for. As they began to meet with these believers, they realized that these Christian brothers and sisters not only were filled with life and enjoyment but they were solidly grounded in the truth. He asked where they received such truth and life and the saints introduced them to the rich ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Through these faithful brothers' publications and Witness Lee's conferences and trainings, my parents were fed, enlivened, and filled with the enjoyment of Christ.

Growing up I used to see all the books of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee on our bookshelves, and I wondered how they could have gotten so much light from the Lord and His Word. As I grew older and began to read these books myself, I was amazed with the light and supply that I would get without fail from this ministry. I am thankful for the truths of the Bible concerning Christ that this ministry has opened up to me and my family. It has changed our lives. However, it was not until recently when my father and I visited the memorial gravesite of brother Witness Lee, who went to be with the Lord in June of 1997, that I truly knew how much his ministry meant to me. As my father and I stood reading the inscription on His tomb, my father began to cry. He told me how much he owed to this brother and his ministry, and how lost and empty he would have been without this truth. I began to cry with him as we held each other. After a few minutes, my father looked at me and told me, “Dan, you need to bring your children here someday and tell them that this is what our family is about. Without this ministry I don't know where we'd be right now. We owe everything to the ministry of this faithful brother.” It was at that moment I realized how much I owe these brothers and their ministry. Their faithfulness to expound the truths concerning Christ, His Person, and His work are not only the foundation of my Christian life but the foundation of my family.