OUR STORIES
Stories of faith, struggle, and the life-changing work of God among us.
Prayer and the Washing Machine – by Maria Hutton
Recently I was at church getting ready for service and visiting with Bill, our assistant pastor, about what the church needed. He mentioned there was a need for a heavy duty laundry appliance to help serve the warming shelter. We stopped and prayed right then for the need, and Bill and I brainstormed ways to collect the money for the one.
Later that day, at lunch, I was talking with a couple who were visiting. I asked what brought them to Impact, and they shared they were looking to help out and did I know any specific needs. Well, yes, I did!I introduced them to Bill, who took it from there.
It was such a blessing to be in on seeing a direct and immediate answer to prayer. Before I even knew to pray for the need God had supplied the answer. Before Bill shared with me, those people were on their way. Praise God for miraculous timing.
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My Story is God’s Story – by Gerald Brooke
After forty years of drinking, I knew I had to quit. It was about two and a half years ago. I had this moment of clarity after a bender, and I knew I needed to stop. In desperation, I opened my Bible. I don’t remember what passage it was, but as I read, I started crying. I needed God’s help. In that moment of recognition, I felt this feeling course through me. It was like that scene from Flashdance when Jennifer Beals gets doused by a bucket of water. It was a deep feeling of God’s grace being poured over me. It humbled me, and I felt like it was washing me clean from the drinking, the broken promises, the monster I felt like I was. And I’ve never wanted a drink since that day.
That’s when I decided to come to church. My wife had been to Impact Church a couple times, and she suggested we go. It wasn’t a formal church, and that helped me feel comfortable. There’s a family here, with all kinds of people. Some of us are more needy that others, like in any family.
Church has become a base for my new life, my new humanity. I think the greatest help to me has been the ability to help others, and that’s really helped me work through my issues. With a lot of the friends we serve, I was right there with them. I can honestly say, “I know what you’re feeling.” Church has also surrounded me like-minded friends. It’s like birds of a feather that flock together: when I hang around barflies, I become a barfly. But here, my friends help me be the Christian man I want to be. Like, I now know that when I make a promise, it’s real. It’s not the cheap broken promises of an alcoholic. That light of God’s love is shining again in me and through me.
So I now manage the kitchen and make sure that we have good food every Sunday after church, every Wednesday night, and any other time people need to eat. Jesus said ‘Feed me, shelter me, give me something to drink.” And he didn’t say, “Feed me bad food.” So I want to provide good food and good drinks to people. The more I’m here, the more I realize that my purpose is here, serving God and serving people. And the blessing of it is that it allows me to see other people grow, too. I feel this honor of witnessing miracles here.
Smiley and MaryAnn’s Story
