Like many others, my story begins with growing up in church. I knew about Jesus and what Christianity meant on the surface. However, I never really had a true, intimate relationship with Jesus. I was actively involved in church, care groups, and other church events throughout high school. But as my senior year approached, I began to get more involved with girls, drinking, and partying.

By that time, I had completely ditched church and started living a life that was full of toxic relationships that led to many wrong choices. When I turned 21, I started going to bars 5 to 6 times a week, went from relationship to relationship, and got involved in fights. I didn’t care about anyone but myself and this went on for nearly 2 years.

One night after going home late, I walked into the room I shared with my 11-year-old brother and thought to myself, “How can I be the man I am now and expect my brother to look up to me?” I knew I needed to change. The lifestyle I had was only going to lead to my own self-destruction—I had been left with nothing but a broken heart, an empty wallet, and faded memories. I made a choice to turn my life around not knowing that it was the Holy Spirit leading me to make that decision.

I started spending more time with my family and making memories I could actually remember. I began climbing out of my debt by making wiser decisions with my money and being more intentional with who I pursued in terms of relationships and friendships. I spent less time at bars as I started going back to church and made the commitment to be involved in ministry once again.

Around this time, I had just been introduced to Joseph Prince and was still trying to wrap my head around the message of grace. While waiting for my friends to pick me up for a night out, I would find myself watching Pastor Prince’s sermons on my phone. I just couldn’t seem to get away from the small, quiet whisper that was calling out to me. My heart was crying out for the only love that satisfies—Jesus.

A few months later, I was introduced to Pastor Prince’s book Destined to Reign. This book completely changed my life. As I read, I began to see Pastor Prince unveil the simplicity of the gospel of grace in a way I had never experienced. He showed me the beauty of Jesus and the perfection of His finished work in a way that caused my heart to melt all over again for my Savior.

I remember sitting in a coffee shop reading the book with tears rolling down my face, staining the pages below, and I could feel a burning sensation in my heart with the unconditional love that Jesus has for me. I was being changed page by page.

I started spending more time in coffee shops than in bars and had a book in my hand more often than a beer bottle. I’d stay up till 2am reading and hanging out with like-minded people rather than driving home after a long night of partying. I began to see a transformation take place in my heart that eventually led to a transformation in my life.

I found out that Pastor Prince has a church planted here in Texas, so I decided to spend one Resurrection Sunday at Grace Revolution Church. I remember thinking to myself, This is it. This is what my soul has longed for my entire life. I walked out of that service completely changed from the way I walked in that day and immediately knew this was the house God wanted to plant me in.

So I started going to service every Sunday, joined the young adult ministry, and eventually started serving. I’ve been faithfully attending and serving at Grace Revolution Church since. The Lord has transformed me from who I once was to who I am today by His grace. I’ve lived my entire life knowing about Jesus, but it wasn’t until I was exposed to the beauty of the gospel of grace that I truly knew Him.

I give thanks to Pastor Prince and his ministry for showing me the unadulterated gospel of grace that has changed my life forever!