I’m James, a senior at Fountain Valley High School.

I grew up in a Christian household. Church on Sundays, Bible study during the week. My life was pretty much centered around church and school. I always followed what my parents wanted. But still something was missing. I knew all the right things, but it didn’t really hit home for me.

I was a “good Christian kid,” a pastor’s kid. I tried to live up to this image of being perfect. But inside, I was struggling. I wore this mask, pretending like everything was fine, but deep down, I was afraid – afraid of being fully known and fully loved, because what if people didn’t like what they saw?

So, I buried myself in my performance. I thought if I could just do enough good things, then maybe I’d be worthy. But no matter how hard I tried, it never felt enough. I was stuck in this cycle of trying to prove myself, trying to earn my worth. I wanted to prove that I could do it without my parents’ guidance or advice.

When asked about my desire for the future, I said I wanted to find a well-paying job that would make me rich. That was my mindset before Christ.

One day my brother and I visited a different church. The message hit me like a ton of bricks – Salvation isn’t earned by works, it’s a free gift from God. I didn’t have to prove anything. God’s love wasn’t something I had to earn; it was freely given.

That realization shook me to my core. Suddenly, I understood that my works had nothing to do with my salvation. I didn’t have to earn God’s love because He loved me unconditionally, flaws and all.
It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Because for all my life, I wanted to be the one calling the shots, making the plays, wanting to win it all. But instead I felt like a loser, a failure, and weak.

Now, I can put my trust completely in God, knowing that He’ll never fail me. I’m not here to boast about my own goodness because honestly, I’ve got nothing to prove. My only proof is Jesus.
I no longer have to constantly strive to prove myself, because I know that I’m already loved just the way I am.

Not that the Christian life is easy. I have a problem with self-control. Lately, I’ve seen myself losing control of my words, my thoughts, emotions, and actions, which led me to delete my social media. But through it all, God’s grace is still abundant towards me.

I have spat in His face, mocked Him, and misrepresented Him, but He still is merciful to me no matter how many times I have sinned against Him.

And I stand here today to tell you that even though you’ve done a lot of wrong things in your life, God’s grace never leaves you.

Hi my name is Jill* and I am a Sophomore.

Growing up I always thought I was a Christian but I never really felt like it. My family would never go to church but say we were Christian. So growing up I struggled with actually feeling Christian, because I knew it was more than just believing.

Also I didn’t have the best childhood. I had been getting emotionally and physically abused by my dad, and getting sexually abused by my godfather, since the young age of 3. So growing up I always felt like there was a burden on me and It was always my fault.

When I was in 4th grade my parents broke up and my mom moved out which was really stressful on me because I didn’t want to see my dad anymore. But I knew I would be forced to because they had split custody. I also felt stressed because I felt their breakup was my fault.

I was bullied really badly in elementary school for just about everything, but especially my weight. Even though I was a good student, that made me hate myself.

Starting middle school, I was hoping I would make some friends and have a fresh start. I met and became really good friends with Linda*. She introduced me to Parable, where I found a caring community – it actually made me want to start going to church again.

My loneliness was still hard to deal with, so eventually in 7th grade I resorted to self-harm as a way to cope with my feelings. When my mom found out in January of 2023, she decided to put me in therapy. So since January of 2023 I have been free from self-harm.

At the same time I was really stressed because my godfather was still sexually abusing me. One day at Bible study I broke down and I told a leader, Sue. She helped me tell my mom about it, which lifted a huge burden off of me. I had never thought I would ever tell anyone no matter how bad it got.

The other big event in January of 2023 was going to the Fastbreak conference. It was there I finally gave my life to God with the help of Dan, with Linda right beside me.

Then I went to last year’s summer Getaway, which was another turning point in my relationship with God. I felt more connected than ever before, and I realized that even when I felt alone, I always had God by my side and He would always be there for me even if no one else was.

I have been through some rough times, but today I look forward to going to church instead of hating it.

I would like to share Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This verse meant a lot because I realized that no matter what I went through, I would always have Him by my side and He would always be there for me to get me through the hard times. Thank you.

*Name and photo are representative