My God is gracious.

I began to follow Christ when I was about 15 years old. I grew up in church my whole life, but prior to my salvation, God was merely something that I had learned about—not a loving God who had transformed my life.

God and I had a meeting one night when I was in Wilderness State Park in upper Michigan. His Spirit began to press on my heart, and I was deeply convicted of my sinful nature. I had been living a “Jared-centered” life. I was selfish, prideful, disrespectful, unloving and hardened to God and the reality of His nature. That night, God not only revealed to me how disgusting I was, but He also revealed to me how loving and gracious He was. Praise God that He did not leave me where I was, living in sin and rebellion. As Psalm 40 states, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and the mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

It was then that my love for music and worship began. As I grew in my relationship with the Lord, He instilled a passion for worship leading in my heart. In high school, I bought my first guitar—a bass named Abigail—and joined our worship team in my youth group. I continued to grow and mature in my faith, and God continued to sanctify me and purge out old habits.

Now, I’m in my second semester of my junior year at Cornerstone. I’m studying youth ministry/Bible, co-leading the Evensong worship ministry, and anticipating my wedding in June (I’ve got the countdown down to the day). I plan on living in married housing next year, wrapping up my collegiate education and starting that thing they call “real life.”

God has blessed me so much during my life. He has given me a beautiful, God-fearing woman that I do not deserve to marry, a worship ministry that I am not worthy to lead, loving friends that show Jesus to me daily, and a family that loves and supports me.

I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me in the future! He is so good!

E-mail: jared_g_doty@cornerstone.edu