Annie, the co-captain of the Incredible Rangers, counseled a girl from her team on Thursday night. Though she had come to the Christian School, she realized that night that she had never been saved. She was able to get that settled that night! She testified on Friday, 

I’m in sixth grade and I came from California and I moved here when I was six…with my mom and I came to Westwood, and it’s been a blessing here, and I got saved when I was younger and I didn’t…really feel that I was saved and this week with special forces here…I got saved and I’m really happy and I just felt like a burst of joy in my heart when I got saved.

She also counseled another girl about salvation. She got assurance, and the next day was burdened about her bitterness against her dad. She made the decision to trust the Lord in every circumstance. She also gave a testimony on Friday night,

Growing up, my dad wasn’t like your typical like good normal dad. He was someone who didn’t do good things like at all and he wasn’t really around. So, I got saved when I was younger, but this week really showed me things that were really important to me because I have a lot of resentment towards my dad and anger because a lot of things happened this summer and it really hurt, like a lot. And I grew up saying things my sister didn’t, so it was different for me. But this week with all the preachings that has have happened and all the testimonies, it really helped me to understand that I can’t stay like that and I can’t have that in my heart. That I need to let it go and I need to let God…be in my heart. So, yesterday I let that go and I got stuff that would help me with that and it was very good.

Ashton, the captain of the Super Seals, counseled a young man about his moral purity and bitterness. He had seen a measure of victory for a few months, but had never brought his sin into the light. He was convicted to have a clean conscience and come clean with his parents. He testified on Friday,

 I’ve had a lot of people who you know, come into my life and I might not think the best things about them, and some people I’ve just held a lot of bitterness for in my heart…And this week through all the preaching, it’s just helped me realize that I don’t need to hold such a deep grudge against all these people…I can just give God all my worries and anything that I might think about all these people. And I was bitter and angry for my dad…And then I was like, “God, please meet me.”…And I prayed and I went to the room and…you guys were dealing with me when I realized that…Jesus was for us.

Austin, the captain of the Might Marines, was able to counsel a few young men on their assurance of salvation. One of them had helped the team all week long with posters, competition setup, and teardown. On Friday, after the testimonies, he responded to the invitation and got his salvation settled. 

Carissa, Super Seal’s co-captain, counseled a girl about her purity. She was very convicted about a sin she had been hiding from her mom. She knew she needed to confess it, but she was scared that her mom would react in the wrong way. Carissa was able to share some verses with her, and the girl decided to trust God even if it would be hard. She testified on Friday,

I got saved in fourth grade and this week when I heard the testimonies…I thought about this one thing I was hiding from my mom and I was really scared to tell her. I didn’t know how I was going to. I thought about writing a letter or I thought about maybe telling her half of it, not all of it, but…And yesterday night I told her. It didn’t go the way I expected it. But…I’m glad I at least told her. It was very freeing to let her know that. She was disappointed and not proud of what I did, but I told her.

Hyles, the captain of the Incredible Rangers, counseled a young man who responded to the invitation on Thursday. He was struggling with failure in moral purity. That day, he began to take the steps towards victory by talking to his parents.

Here are a few more testimonies from Friday evening:

So I got saved, but it didn’t really stick with me. I thought…maybe if I kept on doing the wrong things or sinning, it was done.  I kept on doing wrong and I realized it’s not working…I even got into a habit saying words I shouldn’t….This week when they were preaching, I, I told myself I need to get saved…I thought, oh, I should like go up there and I was shaking…but I didn’t. It’s really hard when you’re nervous….The next day was on the same and they were speaking about salvation and how you need to get saved. So, I went up there and I got saved and those people prayed for me.

 Hi, this week God took out the bitterness and my angerness that I had on that one girl that used to bully me so much in school. She used to say things so rude about me behind my back. She used to say, “Man, she’s an ugly girl. Man, she’s a rude girl.” And I wish that man, I should have just hit her. Man, I should have killed her. Well, not killed, but kick her. I wish I could have hit her or kicked her. And now God put that angerness and threw it away and now I say things, “Man, I’m gonna pray for her.”

 I was saved at a very young age. I was in like pre-k4 when my teacher was talking about salvation of the class. And later that night I talked to my parents and they led me to Christ in my bedroom. And sometimes after that I struggled with assurance. But…two years ago I was able to…reaffirm my salvation. And this year it has helped me notice that…I need to set an example for unbelievers and I should do my best to be an example. Because those who are not saved look to people who are saved as an example to what they need to be and we should be a good example of a good Christian. I pray for those who aren’t saved that you would talk to anyone, someone, anyone. I’m sure they want to help you.

 I started this week laughing in chapel and at the end of the week I’m not laughing anymore. I want to thank the Special Forces especially Annie for helping me and guiding me to salvation…And today me and one of my friends, we went up to Mr. Powell and he’s gonna give us a female to help us.

I’m from sixth grade and…yesterday I got saved and…that was cool because because I’ve never got saved.

I’m in tenth grade. Most of you probably know me….I’ve been saved since I was like six, I think. And I’ve struggled with assurance, but I know I am saved…The message that really affected me was don’t give like land to the devil because I struggle with temptation so many times…I do and I’m sure all of you do I just want to let you know like sorry….Always pray. Like I always struggle with praying…but I’ve learned this week always pray…God can get you out of that temptation and it is so freeing…like you actually get tempted, but he can pull you away from that and he can bring you to such a happier place and it’s amazing.

I just want to talk about something that’s been with me, which was the fear of man because I used to have that fear a lot and cared about what other people think even though that…didn’t really matter what they thought because what really matters is what happens at the end of your life…this life is just like a vapor. It goes away…So, it’s like it’s not worth it to surround yourself with people that are not going to make you prosper, make you grow in your Christian relationship with God…I feel that a lot of people might struggle with that and I just want to say that um it’s just not worth it…because God loves you way more than that person that’s leading you in the wrong direction does….Αs Christians, we should just have a love for God…be able to be more kind to other people and just be able…to speak God’s name.

I’m just glad God saved me. I’ve been going through some mental health problems and family problems and I’m just glad God um saved me from that and to stop doing what I was doing.

I’m in sixth grade. When I was in third grade, I got baptized in my old school and when I was in fourth grade, I thought I got saved, but I never really acted like a Christian, um, when I took Christ. And most of my family except me, my mom and my grandma, um, are not saved. And this week, um, with all the testimonies, I really felt like God was trying to touch my heart that I need to really become a Christian. Stop doing stuff show that doesn’t really look Christian and today helped me with that yesterday, um, in chapel. I went to the back and it was near center and my seventh grader teacher helped me.

I’m new to Westwood Christian and I just want to thank the school and the War for giving me the opportunity to be here. I actually applied to Westwood intrusively. I was like all of a sudden, “Oh, let’s go to Westwood.” When I hadn’t even been to the school. I hadn’t seen anything in the middle of summer. So…I know that God said, “She needs to be here in war. She needs to hear the message.” The message specifically was about one about repentance about how it’s not you need to get better. You need to show God what you’ve been doing and you need to say, “God, I can’t do this, but you can.” I’ve been really dealing with like self-resentment for why can’t you get out of these things when in reality I don’t need to do it on my own, but I need to do it with God…I know some people are going to leave this week and they’re going to say, “I’m going to get better.” But you need to do it with God. You can’t do it alone.

I grew up in church. My parents were Christian, my grandparents were Christian and I was a kid….So I went through life like all the Christians, but I…didn’t really ever feel…saved…because you always hear people…that they have their testimonies where some big thing happened in their life and it changed them. It was never really like that for me, so I just never felt like truly Christian. And I always struggled with like trying to fit in or trying to be enough for people…but that’s literally the opposite what God tells that we need to be. Like we need to be light where there everybody where everybody else is dark. It’s like in school there’s always going to be people that don’t like you or people that talk a certain way or behave a certain way and you want to be like them, you want to be funny, you want to have a humor, but it’s not like not really when you think about it. It’s just like everyone’s trying to, well everyone’s trying to be cool and trying to impress everybody else. But why would you want to be enough in a world where you’re not even supposed to be like you’re not supposed to fit in because if you fit in how would people tell you apart?

I got saved two years ago and um I was actually saved after War Special Forces. Um, so I remember the last few years I didn’t really…pay attention too much. I kind of listened a little bit, but I wasn’t I wasn’t truly intent on the messages and the preaching. And…this year I came and now I’m saved and…I definitely have devoted my life to Christ, and yes I’ve had a little bit of rocky…ways, but I’ve definitely gotten way closer than I have been these past few years….I wasn’t expecting too much…coming from War Special Forces, but I just have to say like now that it’s Friday, God has shown so much to me this entire week that I didn’t even expect….God works in miraculous ways and he usually works in ways that we can’t even imagine. If we have a plan, God has a totally different plan…Actually this entire week I’ve been hearing so many people that I’ve never considered to truly care about the word of God and…actually consider the preaching and the messages. They have been coming up and they’ve been…having conversations and been talking about the word and the preaching and everything. And I’ve been praying for the school honestly for a revival because I feel like that is so needed in…our day and age that we need right now. And I definitely believe that we just need to listen, we have to devote, listen to the testimonies, listen to the people who are saying hey I’m here for God and I want to work and…I want to be in a relationship with God.

I feel like with so many people talking, there’s still people who are confused, there’s still people who are unsaved….We’ve seen here them spreading the gospel, sharing the word. If we can learn how…to say that to other people, even those who are saved and who need like re-intentionality, like they have to…get right with God and learn new stuff, we just need to be here to plant the seed and let God work in them and to pray for them and…just share His Word, be an encouragement.

War Special Forces has impacted me greatly this week and it was especially Ashton’s testimony on hiding sin….What was really bad is that I’ve been bottling up the sin in my life and I hadn’t gotten that right with my parents. And I knew that I had to confess that, but I didn’t. And it was not until this week that I took that step of obedience to confess to my parents that I had bottled up the sin. And you know what? The thing is if you keep on hiding that sin in your heart, it’ll eventually catch up to you and it’ll be revealed in a way that it will actually hurt you and the people that love you. You need to have the courage to confess and open up to the people that love you, and that will really bring healing in your life…There’s stuff like looking at filthy things on the internet or bottling anger in your heart. You need to seek counsel because that is what’s important and if you want to live a life for Christ…you can’t do it alone. You need help. You need God’s help and the help of other believers and the church….The other thing is if you’re not willing to live for Christ, then you can’t die for Christ. You have to live a life…that you need to give up to God.

 I haven’t told anybody this, but 7th grade I was sexually assaulted by somebody that I trusted and it ruined my relationship with God a lot. And I did things that I wasn’t proud of and I wasn’t right in my middle school….Two years ago at War Special Forces, my team captain confessed everything that had happened to him, and he shared the gospel with me, and it was one of the most important decisions I’ve ever made in my life. And I just want to encourage anyone, if you’re going through something, if you know someone that’s going through something, help them, speak up for them because I talked to…Pastor Van Gelderen yesterday with one of my friends and I got reassurance that being…with Christ in heaven is…just one trust fall. You got to put all your trust in Him, believe in Him because that’s what the Bible says, the only way to get to heaven is through God and God only.

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Ashton, the captain of the Super Seals, counseled a young man on his team early on in the week. He was struggling with his assurance and got that settled! He was also very burdened about giving the gospel to his grandpa. He testified on Friday night,

Hi, everyone…I’m in seventh grade…Five years from now about, I was…in chapel or whatever, and they were asking if anyone here was not saved. And they said, “Put your hand up.” So I put my hand up, and they took me to the youth center, and I prayed and I asked the Lord to be my savior. And um, maybe it was like a month later, and they were doing the same thing. So I thought maybe that I wasn’t actually saved. So I raised my hand again. I did it all over. And maybe another year later, I still didn’t think that I was actually saved. So, I did the whole cycle over again. And then now this this week…I have realized throughout that you don’t have to get saved multiple times or like a thousand times. You just get saved that once. You accept Christ as your savior once. And that is the only time that you do it, and he comes into your heart. He acknowledges you. He saves you. He rescues you. And I just have been awakened by that by…everything that the Special Forces have done this week. It just has opened my eyes to the Lord even more than I’ve ever known.

Ashton was also able to counsel a young man dealing with immoral viewing. He was struggling with suicidal thoughts as well. After walking him through some verses, Ashton encouraged him to bring his sin into the light and the young man was able to talk to his dad that week.

Violet, the co-captain for the Mighty Marines, recruited a boy on Thursday. He came on Thursday night and was clearly moved during the gospel message. He went back to be counseled, but his brother called and pulled him out of the counseling room before he could make a decision. We prayed for him, and thankfully, the young man came back Friday night as well. During the testimony service, the youth pastor in the church was able to talk with him and lead him to Jesus.

Hyles, the Incredible Ranger captain, counsled a young man on his team about immorality. While talking to him, Hyles realized he was also struggling with is assurance of salvation because of his sin. He got that settled that week and made steps to have victory in the moral arena. He gave a testimony on Friday,

So for the past, I don’t even know how long in my life, I’ve been struggling with deep addictions and very sinful things that have taken a toll on my life, that have taken a toll on people I love’s life, and it’s been horrible. But recently, like a good month ago, I was able, by the grace of God, with prayer, a lot of prayer, and trusting in him to fully and completely take that from me, I was able to beat that addiction of mine…And I’ve felt so much better….So I just tell any of y’all that have addictions in anything…give that to God. He will help you with it. No matter how big the addiction is, no matter how small it is, no matter anything, whatever it is, he will help you through, and he will help you beat that addiction only by his grace.

Austin, the Mighty Marine captain, was burdened for a boy on his team all week. Finally, on Friday, he responded to an invitation. He was trapped in the bondage of viewing things on the internet. That week, he was able to talk to his parents and take the first steps toward victory.

Violet also counseled a girl on her team. She was a very smart student and had won many state and national awards. She realized that she was holding herself to this level of perfection and came to understand that she couldn’t do it herself, but it’s 100% God. She testified on Friday,

I wanted to talk tonight about something that God taught me through…Mr. Van Gelderen’s message on Sunday night and through chapel today. Being a senior, I have really wanted to make a difference in the people around me this year, but I’ve been going about it all the wrong way…I’ve been putting this unattainable expectation of perfection on myself. And at times I’ve felt as though I’m being crushed trying to live up to what the people around me think, trying to keep the mask on just a little bit longer so that I’ll seem perfect. And that…expectation that I’ve been living with for so long…it’s been really bad for the past month…to the point where I’ve had anxiety attacks and everything like that. But on Sunday night and today in Chapel, Mr. Van Gelderen talked about the happy topic of failure. And the fact that we all fail spiritually. And when we fail, it’s because of our unbelief, something we’re believing a lie about God. And then we get discouraged like I’ve been and we’re answering our unbelief with more unbelief…and God started dealing with me. Even the weeks before this week, I knew I was miserable and I needed to make a change. And God showed me that the way I was dealing with failure…was not the way that he wants me to deal with it.

Failure is an indication that I have stopped depending on God and have started depending on myself. And one thing that stuck out to me is that the same way that we were saved is the same way that we have to live the Christian life. Absolutely nothing of us and absolutely everything of him…And I know he I was really scared trying to make this decision because…there was that part of me in the back of my mind saying, you’re going to mess this up again.  It’s not going to last. And what Mr. Van Gelderen said, making a decision this week is not about promising perfection to yourself or promising it to God. It’s about telling God, I’m changing my direction and then pursuing wholeheartedly after him. And I want to leave you guys with…a really liberating thought, at least to me, is that the Christian life isn’t hard, it’s impossible. At least for us. But we know a God who can do the impossible. And when we let him work in our lives, when I let him work in my life, I can see him do the things that I could never do. And so that is my goal.

God has touched my heart about several different ways that several small areas where I’ve backslid, some seen some defeat in spiritual battle. But now I know how to deal with those failures…with the mind of God. And I’ve set up preventions to keep myself…not living in discouragement.

Here are a few more testimonies from Friday night,

 They preached on, I’m pretty sure on Wednesday…it was the topic of bitterness and forgiveness. Like, I didn’t even realize how much bitterness I had in my heart towards people that…have done me wrong and…how much I lack..forgiving them. And even though…the people that…I did have bitterness towards, I can’t talk to them physically and be like, I forgive you, I did my best to forgive them in my heart and I make a decision every day when I wake up, okay, I have forgiven and these people are no longer my enemies. They’re no longer people that I need to be bitter towards….And…I pray for them every day that the Lord can work in their hearts also….And it is just a liberating experience. Like, if you have bitterness towards anybody in your heart that you know…you need to forgive them, please do it because it is the best experience you will ever have…aside from salvation.

This week has definitely been a amazing week as far as the games and then also just the services have been such a blessing in my life…This week has definitely been a big eye opener to me of how much just hate and bitterness I have in my life towards just people that have done me wrong…I had a very rough childhood…three years ago…my mom passed away. And I think ever since then, I just I carried such hate in my life because I was like, why did she leave…Why why did God put this situation in my life? Why did God take my mom?… I just I carried that hate towards God and my mom because it’s just like, why?… I’ve always been like, like a good outside Christian. I try to do what I can do to show people that, oh, I’m a good Christian. I don’t do anything wrong. But honestly, I really do…I’ve done some things that I can never take back, but I know that God has forgiven me for them….andI just want to encourage you guys that you really can find refuge in God. You really can because…my burdens are so gone now.

 My grandpa just recently passed away in January…after that, I just I left God…I didn’t want anything to do with him. I was so close to my grandpa and I miss him so dearly. But this week has shown me so much that no matter what I’m going through, I give it all to God.

For the last year and a half, my relationship with my parents has been basically non-existent…I’d get home, constant arguing and…I knew they loved me, but for a while, I didn’t think I loved them. I truly hated my parents. I’m not going to go into details about anything…It was really hard for a year, year and a half, you know? I’d come home and I’d tell to myself, this isn’t my fault, you know? This isn’t me, this is them. They’re they’re the ones causing all this. And no, that was me. That was all me. And that was because of pride. And I talked to Dr. JIm and he told me that. He said that I have been causing strife in my household because of my own pride. And that’s not fair to my family who adopted me, who loved me, who cared for me, who provide for me….My parents sacrificed everything for me. They do everything they can and I treat them like dirt. And I came home and I talked to my dad and I told him, Dad, I’m so sorry. I do not want my kids to treat me this way and I should never, ever have treated him that way. He doesn’t deserve it. He deserves my respect. He’s given me everything and I gave him nothing in return. And I’ve been really burdened about that and it’s been destroying me on the inside. I’ve been heartbroken…on the outside, you know, I try and make everything seem okay…But it’s been destroying me at home and I couldn’t live with it any longer. And you know, I thought about running away many, many times because of my own pride. Not wanting to apologize, not wanting to get it right every time. I would think about apologizing. I would be like, no, it’s too late, I don’t want to bring it up. And that’s what pride was. Pride was such a big thing in my life that I couldn’t even say sorry to my own parents who gave me everything. They’re the only reason I’m even alive today. And I want to tell you guys that no matter what you think you’re so far in that you can’t ever give up, you can’t say you’re sorry, you can’t get over that, you can. You always can. If anybody else deals with pride, get it right. Anybody else won’t forgive, get it right….My parents never deserved that.

And I’m going to do the as best as I can for the rest of my life to treat them the way they deserve to be treated. Because I know when I’m an adult and I have my own kids, I don’t want my son coming to me and telling me that he hates him to his face. That’s not what I want. And that’s what I did to my dad. And that is not what he deserves whatsoever. And that’s going to break my heart for the rest of my life, and I won’t ever say that to my dad and that’s a scar in his heart that he will never ever forget. And I’ll always regret that. They love you, okay?…Can’t treat them like dirt.

I’m a lot like these other teenagers that have spoken. I go to the school…I’m also here at this church almost every single Sunday…every Wednesday. But there’s been one thing that God has really spoken to me about…and Dr. Van Gelderen spoke on it, I think Wednesday, and it was a message about bitterness, a lot like these other teens have talked about. And what I realized is that it’s become such a habit of mine to be bitter at people that have wronged me. Especially for my parents. You know, just point, pointing things behind their back. So even to those students like when school is easy and we’re all on the same team, I get mad at them for stuff. I just want to say I’m sorry… I’ve offended you with words or I’ve physically…just push you and it’s kind of took a toll on you. I’m sorry. And I just want to make it right.

Not that long ago, probably two years, something happened that changed my life. And…a lot of people treated me really poorly after that. But in Dr. Van Gelderen’s…message, he said that…mistakes don’t define you, but your salvation does….I was extremely bitter to a lot of people. And…I’m not bitter at you guys anymore. And I’m going to go to every one of you and apologize. But also, another thing that God brought to me with Matthew’s testimony is…I’m also adopted, which means my parents chose me. And I’ve treated them terribly….I would either yell at them all the time or never talk to them. I’ve even said to their face I wish that I didn’t get adopted. But I’m so thankful for them and everything they’ve done for me. And if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here…getting right with you this week.

 God has spoken to me a lot this week, but I think this week he’s pointing out to me is that actually today…he talked about how the Christian life is not just hard, but it’s impossible to do unless you’re doing it for Christ. It’s zero percent your own strength and 100% his. And almost every single moment of the day, I keep pushing. I think I strive to be the perfect Christian. I strive to be the perfect student, the perfect daughter, the perfect Christian, the perfect friend. But I know I can’t. And I have to learn to submit everything…to God. And actually, about last year, um, my grades, I started slipping, and it was because I kind of just gave up on…being perfect…But now, I will always strive to do my best, but remember that I don’t have to be perfect because Christ is the only one who can be like that. And in 2nd Corinthians, Christ says, “My grace is sufficient and in God’s eyes through Christ, I am made perfect even though I mess up sometimes.”

I would just like to keep this short and say that if the Lord’s special forces wasn’t here at this school, I wouldn’t be saved right now. I’m glad I got saved.

Wednesday chapel, I think, we were talking about bitterness and all the bitterness I have against my parents, my brother, everybody around me. I want to say I’m sorry, Mom and Dad. I think it was this morning or yesterday night when my mom was talking to me, and I didn’t want to listen to her. I want to say I’m sorry. And ever since my grandma passed away this summer, it’s been very hard on me. I was so close to her…And it’s just so hard on me. I want to say I’m sorry for everybody that I’ve been bitter to this year or last year, and I’m sorry.

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Ashton, the captain of the Super Seals, counseled a young boy on his team on Wednesday. The boy was convicted about his bitterness towards his sister. Ashton was able to share some verses with him, and the boy decided to write his sister a letter of forgiveness. He testified on Friday,

The Lord talked to me yesterday during one of the messages. I was bitter because of something said by my sister…And the Lord said you shouldn’t do that…you shouldn’t be holding grudges. And you don’t hold grudges when you ask for forgiveness. And I’d encourage y’all to not take grudges against any of your family members because the Lord doesn’t want that to be your future. 

Violet, the Mighty Marine co-captain, recruited a young boy on Tuesday. He came Thursday night and got saved! He was so excited to share what he had heard with his mom.

Hyles, the Incredible Ranger’s captain, was burdened for one of the guys on his team. He hadn’t responded to any of the messages. But on Thursday, he went back after the team meetings and confessed his bitterness. He got that right, and Friday encouraged the boy next to him to respond to the message as well. His decision to stand caused other boys to respond as well. He gave a testimony on Friday,

I feel like all week the Lord has been telling me that I should go up, especially on Tuesday whenever…we was talking about bitterness, but…I guess it’s the pride in my heart. I just didn’t want to go up because I guess I was too embarrassed. I was worried about what other people would think about me, what they would say, but…I’m really glad that I did decide to go up and get it right with God because the longer I kept the the bitterness in my heart, the…more miserable my life got. So, I encourage everyone to just if there’s anything that you need to get right with God, your parents, anyone to just do it and like do it as quick as possible.

Violet counseled a girl on the Ranger team on Wednesday. The girl was struggling with bitterness and immorality. She knew it was wrong, but didn’t understand why. After talking with her, the girl realized she had never accepted Jesus as her Savior. She was fighting the sin by herself because she didn’t have Jesus’ power. That day, she got saved! As the week went on, she began getting convicted about her sin and wanted to get it right. She told Austin and Carissa on Friday night that she was so glad the Special Forces came because if we hadn’t come, she would still be going to hell.

Every time I did something that was wrong, I knew in my heart that it was wrong, but I still did it. And when the Special Forces came, the healing in my heart happened…I talked to a friend about it, and she says, listen to God, just keep listening to Him. I was like, okay. So, first week, I kind of just ignored it. Second week, I was like, okay, it’s interesting. So, I accepted Christ, and my life has been better.

Carissa, the co-captain for the Super Seals, counseled a girl from her team on Wednesday. She was convicted about her attitude towards her parents, and her response to them when they corrected her. Carissa encouraged her to pray for her parents and to depend on God to help her obey. Annie, the Incredible Ranger co-captain, was also able to talk to the same girl on Friday after the message. She realized that she was depending on herself to obey instead of on God. That day she decided to be totally reliant on God for victory.

Violet had talked to a girl on Sunday and was burdened for her. She began praying and that girl ended up on her team! She finally responded to Friday’s message and confessed her bitterness and self-harm. Violet showed her that self-harm was a coping mechanism she was running to instead of Jesus. Though the girl has more needs, she was able to take steps of victory that day.

Here are a few more testimonies from Friday night:

This week on Wednesday…the message about bitterness really hit me hard…because for many years now I’ve struggled with bitterness against my parents and just situations that were misinterpreted and I kept that grudge for a really long time. And in the message he said, God has bigger plans for you than just spending your entire life thinking, oh, I’ve been hurt this way, I’ve been hurt this way. You don’t know what they’ve done to me. So why do you have the right to tell me that I need to let go of stuff? But I realized it’s a lot deeper than that, and I realized God has a lot more plans for me than just saying I’ve been hurt my whole life. And so I decided to…let go of that hurt and let go of my bitterness and let God turn it into something that I can use to help other people….I’ve just realized like even every day I’m just more happy, I feel closer to God, I’ve been praying more, I have more of an urge to read my Bible.

 I didn’t know if I was saved or not because I got saved at…a young age and…Hyles, he brought me into the other room and he explained to me…how God loves me and how I can’t…not be saved whenever I’m already saved. And I got the assurance of salvation.

God has done a lot this week. He’s like changed my life this week. He’s…saved me this this week and… every day of this week, He’s…urging me to…give it all I’ve got and…it’s just been a blessing. So, I encourage y’all to just give it all up to God.

My mom and my dad…I know why they sent me here…They want me to trust them. They want me to trust the Lord. No matter what you’ve been through…. if you’re here today and you’re going through something that you think is just indescribable…No matter what you’re going through, I realized that you just have to trust. It’s hard. Every day I have battles. Every single day….You have to…replace it. You have to tell yourself, you have to trust God…what he’s telling you in His Word every single day.

When Dr. Jim came to school and he was talking about bitterness and anger. And he said everyone go to the back if you needed to…I chickened out and I was too scared. But today when he was talking about it, I felt that I needed to do that. And I did and the Lord helped me

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On Tuesday, Annie, the Incredible Ranger co-captain, recruited a group of teens at McDonalds. The school was able to pick them up, and they all accepted Jesus as their Savior the first night. One of the girls told Annie that she knew God was pursuing her because she had been in South Carolina with her aunt this last summer. She had heard the gospel and never responded. When she came and heard it again at the War, she knew she had to get saved. 

Austin, the captain of the Mighty Marines, was burdened for one of his guys all week. It was clear God was working in his heart, but he resisted during each message. Finally, after the split session on Friday afternoon, the boy surrendered and stayed back to talk with Austin. After going through the gospel, he realized he had never accepted Jesus as his Savior. That day, he got saved!

Violet, the co-captain of the Might Marines, recruited a young girl at the local high school on Monday. She signed up online and said she’d be there on Wednesday. She came, and we found out that she had walked almost four and half miles to get there!

Annie counseled a teen on her team on Wednesday. The girl realized she was bitter at God and was very excited to know there was an answer for sustained victory. Annie showed her how to use the Battleplan for Victory, and the girl decided to confess to her mom that day. She testified on Friday,

 I think one of my biggest issues in my life is pride. I’ve always been a very prideful person when it comes to asking for help in anything, whether it’s school or bigger things like mental issues or spiritual issues. I just have always been feeling like I can do it or if I pray, then it’ll all come together…Austin taught yesterday a lot of things, but one of the things he talked about was pride and that really spoke to me in a deep way… A few days ago there was a message on bitterness. And at first I was like, I’m not bitter towards anybody, really…I don’t hold grudges, I don’t stay angry at anybody. But as I thought about it more, especially today, I realized that I’ve been pretty bitter towards God because…I lost my grandfather this year…So, I think even though I have processed that grief, I think deep down I’m still bitter that he was taken…just like out of nowhere basically felt like….it’s not…that dramatic or anything, but it’s more just…I’ve realized this week that I have bitterness. 

Carissa, the co-captain for the Super Seals, counseled a senior girl after the Friday message. She hadn’t responded throughout the week, but that morning, she realized that the reason she was never having victory was because she was doing it all in her own strength. She was convicted about wearing a mask and pretending to be perfect to everyone around her while struggling with all this sin inside. She decided to be more open to her parents and cultivate a relationship with God.

Violet talked to two girls on her team living in a split home. They were struggling to trust God in the midst of circumstances they could not control. Violet shared some verses with them and counseled them to pray for their parents. They could be a gospel light in their homes as they trusted God even in the hardest of situations.

Hyles, the captain of the Incredible Rangers, was able to counsel some of his guys about getting their sin into the light. They realized they could never have sustained victory while hiding their sin.

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Austin, the captain of the Mighty Marines, was out recruiting on Monday. He found a teenager in the park and recruited him. One of the school guys on the Marines happened to know him, and without either knowing, invited him as well. He came out to the War on Friday night heard the testimonies, responded to the invitation and got saved!

Annie, the Incredible Ranger co-captain, counseled a girl on her team on Friday. She was very broken about having a bad relationship with her mom. She responded to the message on Friday after chapel and realized she needed to trust the Lord with obeying her mom, rather than try in her own strength.

After the invitation on Wednesday, Violet, the co-captain of the Mighty Marine’s, was able to talk to a girl on her team. She was struggling with bitterness and realized that you didn’t just have to be bitter at a person, but could be angry at a situation. Violet was able to pray with her, and she was also able to talk with a staff member. The girl testified on Friday,

So this week the message about bitterness, that really helped me because I realized that bitterness isn’t just towards people, it could be towards a situation as well…So a few years back…my grandfather with Alzheimer’s passed away and since the time that I was really little, he was like my best friend…And I was really sad…I was able to resolve that I had bitterness towards the situation that happened. And like I said, if you have bitterness but you can’t like point out a specific person, you might just have bitterness towards a situation. And once you figure out what that situation is, I I encourage you just go sit down and pray. Whatever your personal safe spot is, sit down and pray…and talk to God for a while.

On Tuesday, a young man on the Marine team stayed back to talk to. He had a tablet his parents didn’t know about and was viewing inappropriate media. Austin was able to walk him through some Bible passages and he was convicted to get his sin in the light and get it right with his parents. He confessed to his mom that night and got rid of the tablet. He testified on Friday night, 

During the War of Special Forces on Monday and Tuesday, the preacher was talking about what you were watching online, and it was talking right to my heart…the Lord convicted me of that. I went to talk to my team captain, Mr. Austin. And he told me some very helpful things…that showed me what I needed to do. So then I went home and told my mom. And thank the Lord, I handed over a secret that she did not know I had that I was watching things I shouldn’t. I was in lockdown. Thank the Lord…I’m no longer in sin. Thank you Jesus.

Carissa, the Super Seal co-captain, talked to girl on Wednesday about her eating disorder. She finally connected it to the fact that she was bitter at her parents being angry all the time. She realized that she was trying to control whatever she could. That day, she prayed and handed the situation over to God and chose to trust Him even when it was hard.

The Marines were out recruiting on Tuesday and struggling to find teens outside. Violet found a house that looked like it might have teenagers, knocked, and left a flier when there was no answer. On Wednesday, a young man came to the war because of that flier! He came each night, and Austin was able to lead him to the Lord Friday night. On Sunday, the church contacted us to let us know that the entire family had been in church that Sunday!

Annie was working on some Minutemen responsibilities in the gym on Tuesday when one of her girls approached her and asked to talk. She had been too afraid to respond to the invitation, but Annie took her to the lobby. That girl ended up getting saved that day! After her salvation was settled, Annie was able to walk her through a pathway for victory over the sin she was struggling with.

Ashton, the captain of the Super Seals talked to a guy on his team. He was bitter towards one of his classmates had been really struggling, but realized that anger was not the answer. Ashton was able to give him verses and help him see that God would enable him to forgive his sin. After they prayed, the boy realized that the classmate was also being counseled. They were able to talk and forgive each other in person right there! He gave a testimony on Friday,

There’s a situation…earlier this year where…I was wronged…it really really hurt me and I lost some friends over it. And…that message on bitterness really got me and that really helped. I really felt I was able to…get in there with God and get inside of the problem and….I really want to thank you so much. Thank you.

Here are a few more testimonies from Friday night:

This week, in my heart God convicted that I needed to be saved. And I did. And I want to thank that He did that for me….and today in chapel the Ranger captain was talking about having to answer to God someday. I would also like to thank all of the captains for everything, and I got saved yesterday.

The whole week I didn’t really want to go up, I was like, everyone will make fun of me. But after the pastor was done preaching, my heart was…breaking out of my chest and I just stopped gambling with God and I just…felt like God literally picked me up and made me walk over there….I just want to like encourage everybody like I know all y’all trying to fit in and do like what all the people are trying to do and like y’all might think it’s cool and stuff, but…at the end of the day…everybody’s going to go up…one day…and praise God and…today…when we were up in the small groups…each girls and guys…The guys they just were preaching and saying…we’re all going to face Him and we’re either going to go…to the judgment where God wrath is going to be poured out on us or…God is either going to accept us into heaven and if there’s anybody like in the crowd that is…trying to fit in and don’t want to come up here, I just like want to encourage you and…I just want to try to say that it’s okay to be different, especially in a Christian school where you should be….encouraging each other.

When I was born, I was born with a big tumor on this side of my head and I had to get a lot of surgeries just so I could live. I almost died at birth and I never…really fit in society like other kids. My mom would always say it’s okay, God will always protect you. And I lived by that….but as a child, a lot and a lot of people would question me, make fun of me because of my face. And now I know my face doesn’t define me. My parents started coming to church here in 2016…I would come here every night, Sunday school and…You know it didn’t really click. I just kept on coming. Why do I have to know about God? Jesus guy? Is he actually real? And it’s week after week after week after week, my mom would force me to go to church, make me go. I didn’t want to. And then suddenly when I was around eight, I got a massive fear of death. And I remember um April 22nd, 2018…Mr Wright was um talking in the Music Room.He was talking about heaven and hell. And if you die without accepting Jesus as your savior. I started to cry a lot….And then one of the women took me to the stairwell and I got saved…We went to church a lot more often after I got saved.And then COVID…Suddenly I wasn’t getting fed spiritually. And um it it was an interesting thing where I knew I should read the Bible and stuff. Come on, we have the TV, right? Why should why should I do something that’s more boring?…And I went on a really dangerous path. Watching stuff I wasn’t supposed to, doing things I wasn’t supposed to do. And doubt was creeping in slowly….But even then, if the Christian life like Dr. Jim said, is impossible. And so I started to rely on myself and not on God…It would be like this all the time. But it slowly got lower and lower. Eventually it got to the point where I stopped praying. I stopped reading my Bible. I stopped repenting. And doubt and depression started to seek in….And I went back to my sin deeper than last time and it destroyed me. I tried to do things that you know maybe a bit of pleasure here, a bit there.

I didn’t want to admit back then that I was suicidal. Really suicidal….I’m already saved so I have on stupid mentality of being like that….And when I say prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapon we have….But God is always with us. He always is. He loves us so much that he’s dying on the cross for us. He’s love will always fill us up. Infinite supply that he will always have. Because the devil has no power over you once you get saved. If you’re not saved, well, it’s really not choice of mine. But once you get saved, it’s going to fight. You start opening a relationship with God and God will mold and shape you to the person he wants you to be. I remember um sitting over there to the Rangers a few years ago. We won…so I’m just listening to everybody’s testimonies and I got that feeling like Lucas, you should go up there, but I suppressed it. Nobody cares. I wouldn’t change anything…I got home and I regretted it instantly. I did not want to make that same mistake twice…This week has changed so many people’s lives…And I implore you, if you don’t know Jesus as your savior, please. Accept the gift…Jesus is always ready. He’s always ready. And please, if you have any secret sin or you don’t you feel like nobody loves you, talk to someone…And you must seek God and he will seek you. 

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Austin, the Mighty Marine Captain, was able to counsel one of his guys who responded on the second war night. He was bitter at God because his mom died, and thought that since he was angry at God, God was also angry at him and would no longer accept him. He was so broken over his bitterness and that night, he got assurance of his salvation!

On Friday, Violet, the Mighty Marine co-captain got to counsel a girl on friday night about immorality. She was hopping between coping mechanisms becuase she wasn’t finding fullfillment in God. Violet told her that God pursues in His love and He was waiting for her to turn back to him. She already knew what she needed to do and was planning to confess to her parents. Violet counseled her to talk to her boyfriend, confess to him and put specific boundaries in place. She testified on friday night,

I was raised in a Christian household…But I didn’t accept the Lord Jesus Christ until I was 15 years old. I’ve been hearing the gospel for 15 years and never once did I believe. For all my life, I have hopped from sin to sin to sin, and each time I was getting caught. I’ve always thought to the verse…your sin will find you out and that just never sunk to me….before I got saved, I was struggling with sin like homosexuality and transgender. Then I got out of that because I got caught. And then I hopped to self-harm and then I hopped to an eating. And every single time God met me where I was and I cleared that up. But then I was just hopping to the next thing. And when I was hopping to the next thing, that’s when I stopped emotion. That’s when I stopped believing in God. And now even here, I’m still struggling in sin. I mean, I’m dealing with sexual immorality, especially thoughts and desires. And God met me where I was on Friday and he was like, what are you doing? I mean, what are you doing? Like you’ve been raised in a Christian household since birth your entire life. And I was hearing messages and I just decided to ignore it. I decided to twist scripture into thinking of what I believe was right. And you can’t do that. God’s word says exactly what is true. You can’t twist scripture; it doesn’t work like that. So… today especially, I just decided to go forward and be like, God, I can’t do this without you. All my life I’ve done this without you. I am so weak. We’re all so weak. Everyone in this room is weak. You can’t do this without God. So, I just wanted to give an encouragement. You need to lean on Jesus. You need to spend time with him. You need to spend time in prayer. Or else you’re just going to be hopping from sin to sin to sin.

Annie, the Incredible Ranger’s co-captain was able to talk to a girl on Friday. She had already been counseled by Violet, but was struggling with a lot of awful things that had happened in her life. This week she learned to trust in the Lord to fulfill her every need and trust God in her circumstances. She testified on Friday,

I have been struggling with depression since I was eight years old. It all started when my mom told me I was a mistake because I wasn’t a boy because she wanted all boys. And I was like, okay, that’s not right. But for the first like two years, I was like, okay, maybe she didn’t mean it, maybe she was just mad. But no, after time went on, she kept saying I was a mistake and the abortion should have worked because she took a shot. And that my biological father, he tried to kill me before I was out of the womb. And I never really had a relationship with my biological father because when I was four, he went to prison…And ever since I was like 10, I had been bullied severely to the point where I started cutting myself. And that went on for about three years…And then…I got with the wrong crowd and I started feeling like I wasn’t wanted, so I started going on dating apps…And I thought that was the only way to be loved, so I did it. And I was like, this isn’t right. I can’t do this anymore, So I stopped doing that…if you’re dealing with like anything like depression, anxiety, anger issues, God’s with you.

On Monday out recruiting, the co-captains found a whole group of kids in a neighborhood. They came out Wednesday, and three got saved. They brought back friends the next day, and more got saved! It was such an answer to prayer because we prayed that we would find kids outside, and there they were! There is even a possibility that the church will start a bus route because of that connection.

Hyles, the captain of the Incredible Rangers, was burdened about a guy on his team the whole week. He raised his hand after almost every message but never responded. Finally, on Friday, he responded to the invitation and he was able to counsel him. He was struggling with immoral viewing and had been struggling for years. He kept trying in his own strength to get rid of the addiction, but failed every time.  This week the Lord changed his perspective that he had not been depending on Jesus to rescue him from his sin in his Christian life.

There was a large homeschool presence from the athletic teams in the school. One of them was on the Super Seal team and came to every evening rally. On Wednesday night, he was one of the first to respond to the invitation and was able to talk with Ashton, the captain of the Super Seals. That night, he got gloriously saved. He got saved and testified on Friday.

I was always raised in a Christian household… both my mom, my dad, they’re Christian, everybody in my family’s Christian….I’ve always agreed with what Jesus…had taught and everything…and I lived a great life. I was a great kid until I was about 12 years old…then…a good friend of mine who I thought I could trust…ended up abusing me. And…that really kind of was…a moment where after that point I….kind of stopped. I stopped being good. I stopped going towards what I should. I just started being bad. I fell into…a numerous loads of sins…just terrible things. I became a terrible person and I stopped living for God and I was just running from Him, and I was running away from everything that I knew that was true and everything I knew that I thought I believed, but I knew that it was in my heart I didn’t. I didn’t have that faith. I didn’t have that commitment. And then last night when I came…that sermon hit me so hard and all I could think of was I’m not. I’m not saved. I’ve been going through my life thinking I’m saved, calling myself a Christian, wearing shirts that are Christian and just thinking that, you know…I’m good with God and that God understands me, but the truth is is that it wasn’t because I haven’t accepted His gift. So…when everybody had their heads down and their eyes closed last night, said raise your hand if you think that you would go to hell. And I was thinking about it. I said, I would. So, I raised my hand. And then when I was told that you have to stand up and go to a room if you want to go and accept Jesus, my first reaction was no, no, no, no. Because I have friends, all my teammates are here…some of my good friends, people who know me for years, who have always thought that I was a Christian…I can’t stand up, they’re going to know that about me…and some all consuming feeling, something inside my heart just told me it it said, Gabe, you need to stand up, you need to go. I won’t call it an audible voice, but it was near that. And all I could think of was I need to go, I need to be saved because I know Jesus is true and I want to follow him and I want to accept him. So, I went in that room and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. So, I want to give encouragement to anybody out there…who has been raised in a Christian home and thinking that they’re Christian, but deep down they know that they’re running from God and they know that they’re not…I want to give encouragement to all of you that you can accept the Lord Jesus Christ for who He is, and you can stop running and with Him you can break all those bad habits that you have, and that you can break every sin and the hold that Satan has in you, You can run into God’s arms because He is your new Father and He loves you.

Carissa, the co-captain of the Super Seals, was burdened about a girl on her team all week. She seemed to be hurting, and she felt like there was something deeper she was dealing with. She never raised her hand or responded to any messages, so on Thursday night, Carissa was surprised to see her come into the counseling room. Right before she was supposed to talk to someone, she asked to tell her parents to wait for her, and then decided that she would just talk to them instead. She prayed for her all Friday, and she still never responded. That evening, the testimony service was about to end when she approached Carissa and asked to talk. She got assurance that night and confessed a lot of immoral sins she was struggling with. The joy on her face was evident and such a change from the girl we met on Monday!

Ashton also got to counsel a young man on his team. He was from a Methodist background, but was saved. His parents had gotten divorced when he was younger, and he was struggling with viewing. He hid it from them for so long, but finally confessed to them his week. He testified on Friday,

My testimony tonight will be discussing about an issue and addiction I had of pornography that no one here knew. I hid it from my parents. I hid it from everyone I knew. It tore me out from the inside. I was saved at a young age, but…during seventh to ninth grade, I was addicted. And Tuesday’s message with Dr. V… just broke me. And I went and talked with Ashton and with Austin about these issues. And just to thank the Lord that people that can help you out and…they told me just confess to the Lord, confess to your parents what you’ve done. And that night I confessed to my mother, I confessed to my stepfather, I confessed to my…biological father. And…I felt the relief, I felt all the stress and everything that was with that go away as the Lord lifted it up and I followed His Word. And I just want to thank the Lord, I just want to thank him so much. He broke the siege that Satan had on me and…it was just relief on me just saving me from impending doom I would have had. And I just wish for anyone here, male or female, if you have the addiction, talk with your parents, talk with your youth pastors, talk with your pastors, talk with anyone who’s a religious leader. I just want to say…it’s not a good secret to hide and it will destroy you from the inside out and just talk with Christ.

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Ashton, the Seal Captain was burdened for the teens on his team. On Thursday night, we saw very few respond to the invitation. Ashton went fishing after the teens were dismissed and found out that a young man in the school had brought his friend. This friend struggled with believing God’s Word, and was very worldly. The Lord answered prayer and helped him to understand the simplicity of the gospel and he was gloriously saved that night! He had a younger sister and she was saved Friday night as well!

There was also a young man in the school on Ashton’s team that was struggling with bitterness. He responded to a message on Tuesday and it was clear that God was working in his heart. It was incredible to see the visible chagne in his heart and on his face. On Friday night he testified, 

This week…I was convicted with bitterness. I’ll tell you why. So a few months ago, actually like a year ago…my dad passed and it was…pretty fast…I had a pretty good relationship with my dad, so that… made me bitter towards God and…for a long time…I was angry towards God and I didn’t really care. I didn’t care about…church or nothing. I never wanted to listen…to the message or anything….But again this week God convicted me of bitterness and…Dr. Jim did help me this week…he told me that you have to trust that…God does everything for a reason and a good reason….Just trusting God and…you may never know…what may come…of this, but…God knows and it’s always gonna be good. 

Hyles, the Incredible Rangers captain, counseled a young man on Wednesday. He had been struggling with viewing problems and listening to wrong music and was very broken about his sin. Hyles was able to share truth with him from God’s Word and talked about how to confess to those who needed to know.

He was also able to talk to another boy strugging with secret sin. Hyles addressed salvation and found out that he was also struggling with assurance. He was able to get that settled and testified on Friday,

I just like to tell you a little bit about what God has done for me this week. God has told me that just because you grew up in a Christian home, just because you lived right your whole life, does not mean that you are good enough for heaven. We’re all sinners, we all come short of God. One thing I want to remind you what God has reminded me of, God is our strength. He will never fail you, he will never give up on you. So as long as you follow God, as long as you keep your trust in God, he will carry you through.

Annie, the Incredible Ranger’s co-captain spoke with a girl on bitterness toward her family. She knew that it was creating a barrier in her relationship with God, so she made some decisions to get that right and to talk to her family. After Friday’s message on dependence, she made the decision to fully depend on God to make that right rather than her own strength. She gave a testimony on Friday,

I’ve been going to church my whole life…I was a pastor’s daughter. So…I’ve been going to Christian camp since I was old enough to walk…but I would go to these camps and I would get right with God and then I would go home and the next day I would mess up or the next week I would mess up…And this week I realized that there was kind of this bitterness that sometimes I didn’t see, sometimes I did see it and…you know how the flesh is, it’s like, no, I want to keep this, like this is my normal, right? Well, I realized that that bitterness was…keeping me from actually getting these things right because…pride and bitterness are kind of the gateway to everything else…This week I was able to get a lot of that bitterness right with the people around me, my family and everything…And God’s just been really helping me.

Carissa, the Super Seal’s co-captain, counseled a girl on her team on Tuesday after chapel. She had an extremely rough past and was bitter at her family and angry at God. That day, she recognized her unbelief in God and asked Him for forgiveness. Carissa was able to show her some verses and she decided to trust God even in the hardest of circumstances. On Friday night she testified, 

My name is Aubrey and most of you probably know me, but a lot of you don’t know about my past…I’ve been in and out of foster care most of my life, but when I turned 10 then I got permanently separated from my mom and dad and some of my siblings…I just was very mad at God for taking my family away and when I got adopted at 14, then I had a very mad and bitter heart towards the family that loved me and adopted me…a half a year after we got adopted, then my adopted mom passed away and I just went into another relapse of being…extremely mad about the way my life was going and the situations that God had put me in. But this week I just felt a lot of peace about it and just knowing that everything’s going to be okay.

Annie counseled a girl her team on hidden sin. She knew she was spending too much time on her phone as a replacement of spending time with God. She made the decision to get rid of her social media accounts and put God first. On Friday night, she said,

God convicted me about…doing my devotions because I haven’t been doing my devotions in a long time and…I’ve been hiding a lot of stuff from my friends and my family and that ended up in me lying to my family and my best friends. And now…I have two accountability partners…that…are helping me to remember to do my devotions and encouraging me.

Here are a few more testimonies from Friday night.

At a very young age, my parents had struggles with their marriage and got divorced…and as I grew up, I learned the story of what was happening and I got very bitter…And about 2 or 3 years ago, my brother started trying to help me with God cause I…just wouldn’t listen in church…I kept shutting him out because of my bitterness…I wouldn’t listen to him. I’d push him away. I’d say, I don’t need it. But this week on Wednesday, I heard Austin’s testimony that we should take care of our bitterness and we shouldn’t have it. So, I got saved on Wednesday night and I’m now at peace with the Lord.

Hi…I just wanted to share…what God did with me this week…Mrs. Van Gelderen actually helped with this during her…Thursday afternoon split session during our school…She talked about devotions and I’ve been struggling with being with God and stuff. I knew my feet were pointed towards God, but I wasn’t walking towards God. And so now I’m gonna be reading my Bible and praying. And also helped me with…my pride because I just thought I was the biggest best person, but I’m not cause God is.

So I’ve been struggling with bitterness for a while and I didn’t really notice it until Austin gave his testimony on it and talked about it…He didn’t notice it either until a preacher was preaching on it. And you always think like it’s not me, this is going for someone else until you really self-reflect and God convicts you about it. And that’s what he did to me this week. I was bitter at my sister and my parents for so long. And God just convicted me about it and I’m not all the way done being bitter yet, but I know God’s working on it, and I can see it right now in my life.

God has dealt with me and…he’s been saying to me that I have not been spending enough time and…thinking about what he’s done in my life and…I haven’t really been…thankful for it really. And…I haven’t been spending time with praying…and devotions and if I’ll get something out of a devotion, I’ll just forget it like in the next hour. And uh so I God just helped me to…read my Bible more and…write what I’ve got out of a devotion on a piece of paper…so I can remember it. God’s been teaching me about his love for me and for others and how I want to…show others God’s love through telling them the gospel.

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Austin, the MIghty Marine captain, was out recruiting on Tuesday with some of the Christian school teens. They had gone to a park, but hadn’t found anyone there. One of the teens suggested they head to a small town a few minutes up the road. They found a general store, and Austin went in to see if there were any teens. Providentially, there was one young man at the counter. Austin thought he was too old, but felt led of the Lord to invite him anyway. The man ended up being a teen and he was able to come out Wednesday night where he heard the gospel, and accepted Jesus as his Savior.

Ashton, the Super Seal captain, was able to hand out fliers at a stop sign near a public high school. On Monday, he was able to talk to a teen and recruit him. He saw him again the next day, and this teen came to the War with a friend on Thursday. Ashton said, “I was praying for him and at the invitation they raised their hands.” He was able to go through the gospel with them and they both accepted Christ as their Savior. The team was praying we would see more fruit from those fliers Ashton had handed out even though we had no phone numbers to follow up. On Wednesday, two middle school girls came from one of those fliers. They both got saved!

Carissa, the Seal co-captain, was burdened for a girl on her team in the Christian school. She began praying for the Lord to work in her heart, and the girl responded to the invitation on Wednesday. She was from a very rough home situation and was angry at her dad. Carissa was able to talk to her about her bitterness and the sins that bitterness led to. She was able to take some steps towards victory that week!

Here are some testimonies from Friday night:

…Something that the Lord talked to me about this week was…I had to get something right with somebody, and I was really nervous too because 3 years ago when I did, I didn’t feel any better, honestly….But at lunchtime, I went and I talked to that person, and I got something right with them, and I felt so much better. It was literally like this weight lifted off my chest. And it was, it was the best thing ever. If you guys have to do that, I encourage you to do that. Another thing was…I’ve been struggling to do my doing my devotions so much…I have been for years…And then Dr. Jim Van Gelderen preached a message this morning in chapel about being 0% you and 100% God. And even though I was praying, Lord, help me to do my devotions for you, I was still putting me into that. So, today I changed my prayer, and I said, “Lord, teach me.” So, instead of me being the person that is leading, “Lord, teach me every day…” It’s great to have a relationship with God, and I love it so much. And I’m going to encourage you all to do it too.

 I…got assurance of my salvation…and just having the doubts…out of my head was awesome cause it was really annoying cause every time I hear something about salvation or just even not hearing something, it’s just being in my head. It was like, “I want to go to heaven when I die, but I don’t know if I’m saved, but I think I got saved.” And it was just driving me nuts. So, I got that settled with my pastor, and youth pastor.  So, thank God for that. And…just any of you who got saved…this week, just keep going for God. Get a Bible, do your devotions. I’ve got devotional books in my locker if any of you want some.

…We need to be witnessing to other people. My grandpa, he passed away…about a year ago and it was very sudden…we weren’t ready. But I want to encourage you guys that there are a lot more people out there who are unsaved and might die in 5 minutes. We don’t know, but we really need to be spreading the Gospel to others.

Hey, I just wanted to…give a testimony of something the Lord put on my heart this week…I’ve been right in with you guys sitting there, and obviously, I’m an adult, so it’s a little bit different. This year…we’ve gone on mission trips, we’ve gone to camp, and there’s been a ton of stuff that feels like spiritually we’ve been marching forward. And…this week came, and I almost felt like spiritually amplified out. Like, okay, we’ve already had our times and times and times of testimonies and moving forward and moving forward. I mean, we just had the leadership canoe trip and stuff like that, which was a wonderful time. And honestly, I came into this being like, okay, my decision-making time, my personal growth, and I’m thinking your guys’ growth was was done, right? Like, we’ve done enough. We’ve gone enough forward…but then throughout this week, I quickly realized that’s completely wrong. That’s a terrible mindset to have. There’s never a time in your life that you’re not going to be continuing to grow in your knowledge and understanding of Christ. There’s never going to be a time where God’s going to stop convicting you of sins and stop convicting you of of things you could be doing better. And the same thing happened in my life. I mean, I’m a youth pastor, right? I do this for a living. I preach to teens about stuff, but even I was super convicted even today…by the message about it being 100% of God and not me. You see, one of the biggest things I struggle with is…going out and talking to people and evangelizing and trying to bring them to church…I like to be liked, right? I like to for people to think I’m cool. I like to be socially accepted, and…so when it comes to going out and… talking to people I’ve never talked to…and really just asking them about their relationship with Christ, asking them if they’re saved, that’s something that I am terrible at, even as a youth pastor. And I’ve loved being able to see these guys and their willingness to just go forward…This is an urgency thing. And then tying that with the message today about how it’s God, not me anyway. So, I have nothing to fear. It is a very serious thing to be able to go out and tell others about Christ, and I need to be doing that because it is very urgent, and I don’t need to fear while doing that because it’s 100% God and 0% me.

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On Tuesday, the Seal co-captain Julianna, had the opportunity to council a young lady through bitterness towards her divorced parents. It was not an easy situation as her father had sat her and her sister down and told them he didn’t love or want them anymore. During Dr. Jim’s message on bitterness, the young lady realized that she was bitter and slowly becoming just like her parents. She chose forgiveness that day and prayed for her parents for the first time. The freedom on her face was truly evidence of God’s grace. 

Simeon, the Marine team captain, talked with a young man who responded on Tuesday. He had been harboring bitterness towards his parents who had divorced the previous year. He released it to the Lord and felt so free. He testified on the final night:

“There’s only a few of y’all that actually know this…my dad left our family and these past years have been the 2 hardest years of my life just seeing my mom with the way she’s been. But on Tuesday, I believe, Brother Jim gave the message about…bitterness, and the bitterness in my heart towards my father was just eating me alive…I went back and I prayed. And I talked to God. And I got that settled. And this past week since Tuesday has been the best week of my life spiritually.”

Annaleese, the Ranger co-captain, counseled a young lady who responded on Wednesday. She had been convicted in most of the messages that week. When she found out her friend’s dad had passed away that night, she knew she needed to make some key decisions to live her life for Christ and to get rid of the worldly things she had been pursuing. She gave a testimony on the last night:

“Just wanted to say that last year…I wasn’t right with God and I did really bad stuff…last year…I was struggling with self harm…Some people will try to take advantage of you…don’t hang around people who just want to take stuff from you…They just wanted to take, take, take…When God compels you, you just have to set boundaries with people…I just wanted to say that, you young people who have gotten saved tonight, you have like, really lifted my spirits cause you don’t get to really see that.”

On Wednesday after the chapel invitation, Alex, the Ranger team captain, counseled a young man who was struggling with bitterness towards his parents. After they worked through forgiveness, Alex asked the young man about his salvation. He responded that he was unsure of where he would go when he died. Alex went through the gospel and the young man trusted Christ alone as his Savior.

On Wednesday evening, a young lady from the Christian school responded to the salvation invitation. Polly talked with her and was able to clarify some of her questions. The young lady made sure of her assurance. She testified at the testimony service: 

“I grew up in a Christian home. My parents are in ministry. I’ve been in this school my whole life…but I never really felt like I had an actual relationship with God…There’s that scripture that says draw close to God and He will draw close to you…also I felt not confident that I would be going to heaven because of sins that I’ve committed…but when Jesus died on the cross, He died for like the sins that you’ve committed, even in the future…just ask for forgiveness and He’ll always be there waiting for you, waiting to have a relationship with you.”

Julianna was able to talk to a young lady who was convicted about her bitterness towards her divorced parents. She was coping with her pain by turning to self-harm and attempted suicide. She chose to accept Jesus’ love for her and forgive those who had wronged her. She also made a plan to spend time with God and begin having a personal relationship with Him. She testified on the last night: 

“I grew up in a Christian home—two Christian homes—my parents were divorced. I have had a very rough home life. For the past 3 years it’s gotten worse and worse…A few years ago, I started struggling with anxiety which turned into spiraling depression. I started self-harming. I have attempted to take my life twice in the past two years, the most recent being a month ago…I’ve been hateful to people…And I had a really good talk with Lord and with the Seal co-captain and with Mr. Portillo. And they showed me I am loved by one person…the Lord. And I dedicate my life to Him because I am saved.”

There was a quiet teen guy who was secluded and enjoyed drawing. Simeon was able to develop a relationship with him throughout the week. On Tuesday, he asked the young man if he was saved, but it was clear he did not understand. A couple days later, Simeon began talking to him again about his salvation. This time, Simeon asked if he could draw in the teen’s notebook. He began by drawing the garden of Eden and drew pictures leading through the gospel. Meanwhile a group of students noticed what was taking place and began praying together for this young man’s salvation. It finally clicked and this young man prayed and trusted Christ as his Savior.

Levi, the Seal team captain, counseled a young man who responded on Thursday. He had grown up in a really tough situation being exposed to inappropriate viewing as a child. His dad went to jail, and since that time he had been in seven to eight foster homes. He settled his assurance that day and opened up about his purity. He described his life as bound and addicted. He took some key steps toward victory. At the testimony service, this young man took a major step and shared his testimony for the first time to his peers:

“I’m sure a lot of people struggle with addictions and things they should not look at. I had biological parents [who gave me] to a very bad man. At first, I didn’t know it. I lived with this man for the first eight years of my life, from 2-10. He showed me pictures I should not be seeing at that age, or ever. I had to deal with that for 10 years…2016…I remember being taken out of my house and being taken away. Turns out that very bad man was arrested. And he went to jail, and he died there a few years a later. However, God put me in some very good families. He led me here…eight  families later, I’m in a good family. And I’m with the family that I’m with now because of God, and I was saved a few years ago and the Wilds summer camp…He showed me how much people value me, and how much people care for me. He put a very bad man away so He could help me get better and I’m still recovering, but I can officially say, God is still helping me, and He’s never forsaken me.”

A young lady responded on Wednesday after the chapel service. She had been convicted the previous night when the gospel was preached. Her parents were unsaved, and she was burdened about sharing the gospel with them. Her mom grew up in Myanmar and was into Buddhism. She talked with Annaleese and decided to specifically pray for Satan’s lies to be exposed and God’s truth to be realized.

Polly, the Marine co-captain, talked with a young lady who responded on Tuesday to the bitterness message. She had quite a bit of emotional wounds with her dad being in jail. She chose to forgive and set up an accountability plan for her devotional time. She shared her story on the last night:

“I did not grow up in a Christian home…my parents came home from a trip to North Carolina, and they told me that my mom’s best friend had taken her life. [She] took a gun to her head and she shot herself. And then I came here and I came to hear about this guy who had always known me, but I never knew Him, and His name was Jesus…I started to think, why couldn’t I know Him sooner…Everyone, I just want to tell you that that person that you’re thinking about that maybe isn’t the best Christian or maybe that you think does not know Jesus that you have to tell them today. Because they say it so often, but we are not promised tomorrow, and Jesus says ‘what greater love is this than to give one’s life for his friends’. And that’s exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross.”

A young man responded on Wednesday burdened about his eternal destination. He had made a decision when he was young, but did it just to please the people around him. Levi was able to lead him through the gospel and this young man chose to trust Jesus as his Savior.

Alex talked to a young man who responded on Wednesday. He was convicted about his anger towards his friends when they provoke him. He talked to the Lord about his anger and then went to each of his friends and asked for forgiveness. The next day he responded about his purity journey. Alex helped him get a plan and become accountable with his parents. He shared his testimony:

“When I was younger my parents would argue a lot. They would have some problems, and I grew up always being mad at everything and I just had problems, and I was always angry and sad…never had anyone to talk to. But this week, I had a talk with God, and I was saved this week. And I asked for His forgiveness because I know this bitterness I had was not right, and I was not right for being mad at everyone. And I just prayed to God to forgive me and to save me. And to use me how He thinks He needs me.”

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A special needs young man attended the Thursday rally night. He didn’t participate in the outdoor competition, but he enjoyed the food and indoor competition. During the invitation, he responded. Simeon, the Marine team captain, began talking with him and did a gospel drawing. The young man was tracking and seemed to understand, but Simeon wanted to make sure not to push him into a decision. He promised to come back the next night and talk. Friday night after the service, Simeon went through the wordless book with him. He clearly understood and prayed on his own to accept Jesus as his Savior!

During the Friday chapel invitation, Julianna, the Seal co-captain, sat down to talk to a girl who responded. Julianna asked her what God was doing in her heart, but she responded “I don’t know…I’m not really sure.” So, Julianna asked her if she knew for sure she was saved. The young lady began to cry and said, “no, I really don’t.” A few minutes later the young lady trust Jesus alone as her Savior.

Matthew, the Ranger team captain, was able to talk with a young man who responded on Wednesday during the chapel invitation. This young man was on a journey of forgiving his dad, who had walked out of his life twice. Matthew was able to counsel him through to full forgiveness with Christ’s strength. He shared Romans 8:28 and this young man decided to trust the Lord to work is situation out for good.

Polly, the Marine co-captain, was able to counsel a girl on Wednesday about her bitterness. Her dad is in her life on and off. This young lady struggled with anger towards her dad for drinking and neglecting his family. She chose to forgive her dad that day.

A young girl responded to the invitation on Thursday evening. Annaleese, the Ranger co-captain, talked with her about her salvation. She mentioned that at her church they believe the way to heaven is Jesus plus baptism. After going through the gospel with a drawing, this young girl realized her split trust and chose to believe fully on Jesus Christ.

A young man attended the war night rally on Wednesday. He enjoyed the competition and stayed for the Bible message, but did not respond to the invitation. The following night, he came again, but this time he responded to the gospel invitation. Mattew was able to talk with him and he settled his salvation that night.

After the Friday evening service was finished, a young girl came up to Polly and asked to talk. She was unsure of her salvation. Polly was able to take her inside the church and go through the gospel again. That night she trusted Jesus as her Savior.

One of the girls from the Christian school invited her friend to come on Friday. During the testimonies and preaching the friend was very engaged. In the invitation, she responded. As she talked with Annaleese, she told her how when she was young, she made a profession of faith, but it was just to please those around her. When she got older, she moved in with her Grandparents who leaned towards atheism. She began to questioned if God was really real. Through the testimonies that night, she had seen that those teens had something that was different, and confessed that she had felt God telling her to go back in the invitation. After talking a little more, this young lady prayed to accept Jesus as her personal Savior. When she was done praying, she looked up with tears and a big smile!

Here are a few testimonies from Friday night:

“My dad takes us out…to spend time with us and he asked me what I was struggling with in my Christian life and I said that I wasn’t able to grow…Today Mr. Van Gelderen taught about how the Christian life is impossible without God and I was trying to grow in my own strength and I realized today that I can’t grow on my own and that I have to rely completely on the Lord…I just need to give my life completely to the Lord.”

“I’ve had some rough moments in my life…I’ve been taken away from my biological family…placed in a new one…and just this past week He helped me get over my bitterness…I’m just very grateful for that.”

“This year, I noticed that I was depending on myself…to get through sin and stuff I was stuck on, and this morning, Pastor said that to get out of the boat and not depend on yourself like Peter and not drown in your struggles, but let Jesus take you by the hand and pull you up. And I did that and so far, I used a tract book that they gave us to do a 20-minute thing every day and it has helped so far.”

“I just wanted to admit, especially to my friends at Calvary that I’m not perfect and I know you guys know that, but one of my besetting sins has been doubting God, doubting my salvation, and that’s 1000% wrong because in the Bible it says, “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And I know that in my life I have called on Jesus’ name to save me and the reality is He’s done it. And I’ve definitely struggled with getting my eyes off myself and on the Lord, but I know for those of you out here, you might not be struggling with doubt…you might be struggling with something else, but it’s very easy to get your eyes on yourself, on what you can do and what you have done and I just want to tell you guys to look to Jesus because He is the author and finisher of our faith and so we can’t do it without Him.”

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