Raphael and Michael

Raphael: Growing up I always attended church and Sunday school. I had believed that Jesus was God and that He had risen from the dead. However, my actions told the truth, that I did not have a relationship with Him. Through my teen years I found pleasure and identity through drugs, relationships, and sports. It wasn’t until my relationships with my family and God were broken because of my lies that I realized the weight of my decisions. After being confronted with the reality of my sin, I turned to God and said, “God, I know I don’t deserve You and I have been a hypocrite my whole life. But if you are willing to heal me of my sickness and broken heart, I will follow you with my whole life.” Since that day, the Lord has healed me of my hurt and addictions, restored my relationships, and has shown me how to walk by His Spirit.

After giving my life to Jesus in June 2023, I was going into my freshman year at USF eager to find a church. On the first Sunday of the semester I visited Cornerstone Christian Church. The first person I met that day was a minister and he immediately set up a Bible study with me. He taught me how to walk with God and encouraged me to share my testimony to others as well. Two weeks into the semester I invited my roommate Michael to church. 

Michael (pictured on the left): Coming into USF I believed in God, but I did not truly know Jesus. Each week my roommate Raphael invited me to church and eventually I decided to go with him. The worship and sermon were not like anything I’ve experienced in church before. In the past, I went to Catholic Sunday school, but I hadn’t been to church since then. Right away, I felt the presence of God at Cornerstone. After church I was eager to learn more about God and began a Bible study. The fourth week, my Bible study was about repentance and counting the cost of surrendering your life to Jesus. I knew there wasn’t anything keeping me from repenting, but felt I was not worthy of salvation due to my lack of knowledge of the Bible. For around an hour I reflected on that and focused on the topics of God’s Love, Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for me, and the powerful testimonies shared with me from friends in the church. After this I felt ready and eager to surrender my life to God. I surrendered my life to Jesus that night on September 26th, 2023. Since then, my faith and my relationship with Jesus has only continued to grow. I have been a witness by sharing my testimony and the next semester (Spring 2024), I led a weekly prayer meeting with other believers to pray for my dorm at USF.