TESTIMONY: KEVIN RAY

Growing up I witnessed many broken relationships. I moved around quite often and bounced around from place to place and from school to school. I never had a lot of friends nor a large family. I was quite often bullied and had extremely low self-esteem. As a child I was diagnosed with ADHD and given every medication you can think of. As I grew up the hyper activity subsided but the attention span was still on the short side. School was difficult and so was my home life. During my teen years I experienced my first bouts with depression. This eventually turned into anxiety, anger, and rebellion. 

All my life all I ever wanted was to belong somewhere, to a group of friends, to a sports team, to a large extended family etc. I could never find that place where I belonged. During High School I developed a huge lack of accountability. I was constantly putting the blame on others for my childhood, for my attitude problem, and for my general direction in life. I got mixed up with the wrong crowds and traveled down some dark and scary roads. Once again just wanting to be a part of something…anything. When I was 26 God gave me the greatest blessing of my life in my Son. In many ways he saved my life. I got married and thought I had finally found somewhere to belong. It wasn’t to be. In 2015 I got divorced. Once again I was left feeling lost, broken, lonely and rejected. At the time, I was working for my former spouse’s family, which as you can imagine didn’t pan out. So I had to rebuild my life from scratch at 30 years old. It was difficult, but I got there…well…halfway there.    

In or around April of 2019 I was going through a rough time in my life and began praying a lot. However, my prayers were mostly empty and I was really just going through the motions. I had not fully accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, even though there were many signs of Him reaching out to me. Fast forward to late March early April 2020. Covid-19 came along and I was laid off for close to 14 weeks. I was in dire straits financially and needed to move out of my current home by August 31st. I again began to pray and this time with all of my heart, mind and soul. During one of these prayer sessions I asked God to bring me my stimulus check and my federal income taxes as fast as possible to help me in my dire situation.  At the end of that same prayer session I began to weep and started to scream Yes, Yes, Yes I do -  which was more of a stream of consciousness and not something I was actively thinking to say or speak. I would realize what I was saying yes to and why the very next day. 

I was in the front yard throwing a football around with my son when I decided to check my mailbox. In my mailbox was my stimulus check…I immediately picked up my phone to check my bank account balance and guess what? My federal income taxes were in my bank account as well! I was astounded! That same night I ordered Grubhub as many of us have during these times. The delivery driver left me a pamphlet about a local bible study and I hit my knees. I knew who was talking to me, who was continuing to send me signs and I knew what I had to do. 

I ordered a study Bible online and began watching every documentary I could find on being a Christian and Christianity in general. I was actively studying my bible, praying steadfastly, and researching as much as I could. It wasn’t enough I needed to be closer to God I wanted to be in his house, The house of The Lord! I reached out on Facebook looking for recommendations for churches. I received a few responses, including one from a long lost friend of mine Tunde Oduyingbo. He told me about Legacy Church. I went to the Legacy Facebook page and picked a random service to watch and Pastor Ron’s message for that service moved me in a way I still can’t describe. It was like he was speaking directly to me. I was sure I had finally found a place to belong. I started watching all of the Facebook live broadcasts and went to the website and filled out a connect card, signed up for growth track as well as baptism and every other opportunity that was available to me. 

One of the many church leaders of Legacy, Joe Papino reached out to me and encouraged me to attend the first outdoor prayer rally that the church was having since the pandemic began. I was introduced to a lot of great people I now call not just friends, but family. Pastor Ron gave me the “soul stare” when I introduced myself to him and if you know Pastor Ron you know what I mean by the “soul stare”! He knew I belonged and I knew I was home. I was finally accepted and felt the love of God for me. I was finally part of a family.  

I am now an active member of the Legacy Church family serving as often as possible and attending every event and service that I can. I also joined a small group called Crews to make new friends. My 10- year old son loves the church too and is as excited and happy to be a part as I am. I now know I was never alone.  In my life, God was always trying to reach out to me. I am grateful I finally listened and became a part of His family.

Author: Kevin Ray a member of Legacy Church

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