My Special Day

From the Archives: 2010

Written by Sam Peterson

My name is Sam Petersen and I am now 12-years-old. My family first started going to Bethel Baptist in Cary, NC when I was about 3-years-old. I started Awana Cubbies when I was 4. I heard about the plan of salvation many times in Awana and in other church services. We memorized verses in Awana. One of them was Romans 3:23, which states: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” It was then that I knew that I was a sinner.

The Time Was Right

Sam Peterson

In the summer of 2009, when I was 10, I went to a Vacation Bible School at my Grandparent’s church in the mountains, Pleasant View Baptist Church. On the last night of VBS, the pastor preached a message about the plan of salvation and gave an altar call. When I heard it this time, it was different. When he asked, “If you know that when you die, you will not go to heaven, raise your hand?” I felt my stomach starting to hurt and I had to raise my hand. I knew that I needed to ask Jesus into my heart. I did not go to the altar because I did not have my parents or grandparents sitting with me.

The Special Day

The next day on Sunday morning, June 21, Pastor Dwight Shepherd preached the message and gave another altar call at the end of the service. I was sitting with my Grandma and I told her that I wanted to go to the altar. So I went, and my Mom, Dad, and Grandparents prayed with me. I asked God to forgive me of my sins and to come into my heart.

It was a special day; all my family was with me. It was also Father’s Day. My pastor, Tom Farley, suggested that I write my testimony. I read this testimony on the day of my baptism, July 12, 2009.