Josias
I grew up going to a Haitian church every Sunday, and although I’m fluent in Creole there was a language barrier. I knew all the big, important concepts like Jesus died for my sins, God is all knowing, and sinning is bad. But I never truly understood the gospel.
My senior year of high school was built off of pride and idolatry. I found my worth in how many achievements I could rack up. I also heavily idolized my girlfriend at the time. Towards the end of the senior year, it was time for me to commit to a college. I chose NSU because I was comfortable staying close to home, and my girlfriend at the time was also going there. However, shortly after, I withdrew because the cost of attendance was too high, and I instead choose to attend my local community college, Broward College.
During all of that, I hit the lowest point I’ve ever hit in my life. I watched all my friends and classmates go off to their respective colleges and universities and I felt like a failure. On August 28th, 2023, I spoke to the pastor of my church. We had a whole conversation about Jesus and how He had a plan for me. And that night, I fully surrendered my life to the Lord.
Josias (left)
After getting my Associate of Arts degree from Broward College, it was time for me to transfer to a bigger college. I got accepted to UCF and moved to Orlando on January 4th, 2025 – the same time that the team from ROC was moving to Orlando to start the ministry. It was my first time living on my own away from family so I prayed to God to connect me to a church. I was sitting outside of a Chick-fil-A on the UCF campus when Chris Baker came up to me and started a conversation to set up a weekly Bible study. Those weekly Bible studies changed my life completely and grew my relationship with Christ deeper.
As much as my relationship with Christ grew, I was still living a double life. I would do Bible studies during the week and go to church on Sunday, but still engaged in the Kingdom of Darkness. One Sunday, during a sermon at the ROC church service, the pastor spoke on choosing which kingdom to serve and that heavily convicted me. A few days later, I was doing a Bible study about repentance with Chris and that also convicted me. I finally stopped living in compromise and fully engaged myself in the Kingdom of God. I have even taken on the role of becoming a Bible Study Leader to reach my classmates, friends, and peers with the Gospel!
-Josias