My Experience of Christ in the Local Church, Ray Fletcher

I am a Chemical Engineer, aged 42, who has known the Lord for over 20 years. My experience of salvation was extremely dynamic. I had been studying the major religions of the world for about four years and had come to the conclusion that religion was a construct of mankind to ease the uncertainty of death.

I was about 19 when I met a young Christian woman who gave me a ride as I was hitch-hiking. She witnessed to me in a way that I was willing to seriously consider. Later that night I challenged the Lord in this way, “Lord, if You are real, prove it to me right now.” The Lord entered into my heart in a very clear and dynamic way. This was my beginning of my relationship with the Lord.

Through many years of pursuing the Lord I had difficulty living Christ and knowing Him in an experiential way. I knew all the doctrines but I found little help in dealing with the sin that reigned over me in many areas of my living. While in college, I met a believer whose living and speaking matched. This was new to me and very attractive. In addition, his love for the Lord was genuine and contagious.

I went with him to many meetings of the local church and found the same love in so many of the believers who were meeting together in oneness. This is what I had been longing for since my initial receiving of Christ.

Since those early days I have studied carefully the teachings prevalent among the believers meeting as the local church. What I have found is that there is an insistence that the truth come from only one source: the Bible. And moreover, that the teachings be consistent with the entire divine revelation in the Word. To summarize: I desire to pursue those things that cause my love for the Lord Jesus Christ to grow. This is what I have found in meeting with the local church.