I was born in Huntington, West Virginia on May 1, 1969. My parents divorced when I was about 2 years old. I lived with my saved, Baptist mother and had visitation with my lost, Catholic father on weekends. My mother took me to church as a child and had devotions with me in our home. She sent me to AWANA and vacation Bible schools, as well. So I grew up around the gospel and the word of God. I made a profession of faith at the age of 9 and followed this by being baptized by immersion in a local, independent, Baptist church in Huntington.
However, i was not saved. I did not understand what I had done, I was simply do as others were doing when the invitation was offered. My teen years were spent in rebellion, as I hung out with the wrong crowd and did many wrong things. In 1988, I joined the Navy. After completing boot camp and my first service school, I was stationed in Beaufort, SC. I began to attend Calvary Baptist Church. Under the preaching of Pastor Karl Baker, I came under conviction about sin, righteousness, and judgment to come.
Pastor Baker preached repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. I repented of my sins and placed my faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone to save my wretched soul. I was at that point born again by the grace of God and my sins were washed away. This was in September of 1988 (I do not know the exact date). Afterwards, I was re-baptized as a symbol of my faith and began my new life as a child of God. That was nearly 23 years ago and it remains the single most important decision that I have ever made in my life.
Name: John D. Howe, Th.D.
Association: Independent Baptist
City: Emeralds Isle
State: North Carolina
Country: United States
