What is God doing in your life?

We love to hear your stories. Our community is not a self-help group but a place where God intervenes and changes lives. We know of people who have seen physical healing, financial and job provision; people to whom God has spoken in really meaningful ways and for whom He has provided comfort and clear guidance in difficult times. Others can testify to the life-changing effect of receiving His forgiveness. Some have been powerfully impacted during worship or whilst listening to teaching.
 
We would love you to share your story. Writing down a story helps make it even more real and memorable for you. It also allows many others to celebrate with you. You can do this in a couple of ways depending on who you want to hear your story.

 

 

 

Tell your story forum

Just start a new thread on the Tell your story forum.  Tell us about something God said to you or ministered to you on one of the weekends away or at housegroup or weekly worship or simply in the normal course of life.  Or an occasion when you prayed, or shared your faith with someone.  For reasons of confidentiality be careful about identifying other people.

Your story will immediately appear on the front page of the church website (in the forums area) but visible only to people who have logged in.  Sometimes you might get encouraging comments or follow-up questions.  It will be interesting if people then give updates to what is happening after time passes.

 

Tell your story e-mail

If you'd prefer to share your story in a way that is not quite as public quite so quickly, or would like to have the opportunity to craft it a bit more by getting some feedback before making it public, you can send us your story by e-mailing it to:

 

my.story@wharfedale-vineyard.org

Your story will be read by Erik Peeters or one of the pastoral staff, and will only be made public if we have your permission to do so.

  

100-word personal story

We are encouraging everyone to write a story of less than 100 words describing something about their faith or God at work in their lives. Stories should be brief, clear and simple. They might answer questions like:

 

• Why do you believe in God?
• You seem different - why is that?
• You have changed - why?
• What's your story?

The point of keeping them to 100 words is that you may be able to memorise that and it takes only about 45 seconds. So when you are in one of those situations where someone asks you why you follow Jesus you can share something you have carefully thought through without ending up waffling!

 

Please try and avoid jargon and Christianese but tell us what God has done for you and why your life is different as a result.

 

With your permission we publish a selection of stories submitted below in the Personal Stories part of the website. 

 

My story

 

Name:
Story:
Permission:	OK to show to publicShow Vineyard people onlyDon't show my story at the moment

 

 

A selection of stories

Here are a few examples of personal stories, so you can see the kind of thing we mean.  Lots more stories have been published over here.

 

 

Erik	I was alone and afraid in the dark. I could not remember a single reason why I should get up again in the morning. Then Jesus spoke to me and said a curious thing. He said to me, “It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. You are mine.” And I realised that I was alone because I was scared that other people were determined to hurt me. I was in the dark because I had begun to believe they were right to despise me. Through his grace and love Jesus changed my mind.
David	I have known and loved Jesus all my life. I grew up in a missionary family in Bangladesh. I made my own decision to follow Jesus at boarding school when I was 9 because I was faced with the issue of what happens when I die. I decided to believe in Jesus' promise of everlasting life. I wanted to be able to approach death without fear, and so gave my life to him then. I now enjoy this life to the full and look forward to what happens next not with fear but with enthusiasm.
Ian	Brought up in a non-church family I had never had anything to do with God. I went on holiday to Greece with 6th form friends. I was miserable, my body was in pain with two injured feet and sunburnt eye-lids. My friends were only interested in drinking and "having a good time". I read a book called, "The shock of your life" which inspired me to pray about where I was right there in my life – God revealed himself to me and removed all the pain that I was experiencing. I have never doubted him since, and intend to follow and serve Jesus for the rest of my life.