The following is a testimony presented by Kirby Key on Sunday, September 18, 2022…
My Life in Christ
I’m incredibly honored to share the story of God’s graciousness to me. I have been blessed to know the faithful kindness of Jesus throughout my life. I cannot remember a time that I did not know Jesus. My parents faithfully raised me in church and persistently prayed for my salvation since I was born. I was always inquisitive about God as a child and was concerned with spiritual things from a very young age. When I was five-years-old, one night before bedtime I was asking my mom questions about everything from Noah’s ark to eternity in heaven when she decided to share the gospel of Jesus with me. I confessed my need for Jesus as my Savior and I prayed to receive him as my Lord. After talking to the pastor of our church at the time, I was baptized as a believer in Christ.
While I don’t remember anything specific about my conversion or baptism, I do believe that God honored the prayer of my parents and my five-year-old self by giving me new life in Christ and filling me with the Holy Spirit. He has been gracious to grow me in Christlikeness and increase my faith throughout my life. I can recall special seasons of spiritual growth during my childhood where God convicted me of personal sin and compelled me to trust Him more. One of the most significant seasons of spiritual growth in my life was ignited when my parents decided to enroll my sister and I at Christ’s Legacy Academy. Over my five years as a student at CLA, I was blessed by the influence of several godly teachers who exemplified the character of Christ to me and encouraged me to pursue godliness. I was inspired by my Bible classes to devote myself to reading Scripture, and my heart was drawn to God through reading His Word.
Another significant season of personal growth was the summer following my freshman year at Bryan College. I was given the opportunity to serve as a ministry intern at First Baptist Church in Athens, where I was faithfully mentored by the Student Pastor. He taught me about church ministry and advanced my growth in godliness by counseling me through regular conversation, challenging me to serve students and families in the church, and requiring me to read several incredible books, such as The Mortification of Sin by John Owen.
My Journey to Trinity Grace Church
I continued serving as the ministry intern over the next two years while I finished my undergraduate degree. God blessed me with many sweet friendships during my time at FBC that enhanced my love for the local church. As I finished my degree at Bryan College, I was promoted from intern to director of the Student Ministry at First Baptist. This was a very exciting and challenging time for me, and I
learned a lot about leadership and teaching and caring for people. I have many precious memories of significant moments with students and faithful encouragement from my church family that I will cherish all my life. However, after receiving the counsel of many wise and godly people in my life I decided to leave my ministry position and accept a teaching job at CLA.
Deciding to transition from First Baptist to CLA also meant that I needed to find a new church to call my home. Trinity Grace was the first church I visited, and I was immediatley compelled by the clear gospel teaching, sincere worship, and joyful fellowship. I knew that Trinity Grace was the place where God wanted me to join, but I was hesitant to commit. I was worried that I would feel isolated and would struggle to find community and friendship. Now I’m so glad I pushed through those worries and decided to join the church. I have been blessed by several wonderful friendships within the church that have challenged me to grow and encouraged me in Christ. I’m very thankful for the pastoral care of Walt and Buddy and Taylor, and for the hospitality of godly families like the Smiths and the Finches. My heart has been refreshed and my soul enriched over the last year of participating in the gospel community of this church. The preaching of the Bible and the love of the people have consistently reminded me of the goodness of Jesus, and now I can’t imagine belonging to any other church. God has been so gracious and faithful to save me and grow me and preserve me throughout my life, and I’m very grateful that His fatherly hand has guided me to Trinity Grace.