by The Park | Jun 24, 2025 | Story Formed
I grew up in a relatively small town in Missouri located squarely in the “Bible Belt”. My parents were charter members of the independent Baptist church that we attended and were extremely involved; my dad was a deacon, and my mom was a Sunday School teacher, pianist,...
by The Park | Jun 24, 2025 | Story Formed
My early church life began at Oak Hills Church (at the time, Oak Hills Church of Christ) which was a very traditional christian denomination with a large emphasis on acapella worship (everyone in CoC can sing!) international missions, ministry to every age group, and...
by Heather Utley | Jun 18, 2025 | Story Formed
Creation I was born into a large Hispanic family where connection and family were central to my life. My mom raised me as a single parent for the early part of my childhood. My biological father struggled deeply with anger, which was something I also struggled with...
by Heather Utley | Jun 18, 2025 | Story Formed
In hardly what I can call my story, I like to start in the 1860’s where a man by the name of Hudson Taylor crossed over from England to China with the desire to share the Gospel with the country with the largest population in the world of 500,000,000 people. With his...
by Heather Utley | Jun 18, 2025 | Story Formed
Creation I grew up going to church, but not in the way you might think. For me, it seemed like it was more out of tradition. I grew up in a small town and “good” people went to church. Looking back, it feels like we were just going through the motions. We attended...
by Heather Utley | Jun 18, 2025 | Story Formed
I first asked Jesus into my life at Vacation Bible School when I was six years old. From an early age, my faith was a constant part of my life—nurtured through youth groups, Bible studies, and regular church attendance throughout high school and college. I was...
