The success of TimberRidge Community Church is not determined by how many people show up on Sunday, or how much money we have in the bank... our success can only be measured by changed lives. If people aren't changing, we're doing something wrong.
Our desire for the people who choose to attend our fellowship is that, as time goes by, they will know God better, love Him more, and discover and fulfill His eternal purpose for their lives!
The following is just a glimpse of the difference God is making in people's lives at TimberRidge:
Stephanie Watson
Ten years ago, my life was an absolute mess. After a childhood filled with heartache and rejection, I put all of my faith and energy into a boy who eventually led me into a lifestyle consisting of sex, drugs and alcohol. Searching for love and acceptance through the haze, I became pregnant and married before my 20th birthday. Six years later, living one drama after another with little hope for peace, I was sitting in a bar talking with my sister, the "Bible-thumper" of the family. After many questions and tears, I discovered that the intense need for love and acceptance I had craved all my life could actually be fulfilled! In fact, those very needs had actually been instilled in me by a loving God who cared about me in a way that went deeper than any earthly love ever could. That night was only the beginning of a life that has been changed and enriched by an amazing God who is real and is interested in giving purpose to everything He touches.
God has touched
Cindy Sherrell
How do I explain being de-churched for over 30 years, and my 12-year-old son being un-churched his whole life, when we realized we needed God in our lives? How do I explain that the first church we sought turned out to truly be a house of the Lord, and how amazed I was, how humbled, that I should be able to feel the Holy Spirit's presence there as a glowing confirmation of God? And to gain the understanding of what confirming means, as God continually showed me over the last year and a half?
Who gives me the strength to speak His name out loud now, and watch the wonder on familiar faces as they witness the transformation of a lost soul into a foundling of the Lord's? Who gives me the strength to rely solely on His forgiveness, and the understanding that His Word alone will save me?
How do I explain the comfort I feel, the joy I experience, when I realize one of my strongest bonds with God is through my son? How sometimes I just praise God for giving me such a stalwart companion for such a miraculous journey?
How do I say all this in 300 words or less? I just got started...
Jeneen Rasch
I grew up in church but then decided early into my marriage that going to church wasn't all that necessary. I still prayed everyday but I didn't live a Christian life at all. Instead of putting God first like I had been taught, I put fun and friends first. Five years later I had a son. He was born with many problems, and by the time he was 4 I was at my wits end. My parents, who all along told me to put God first in my life, finally got through to me. Someone had invited my son to church so I said we would all go. We stayed at that church for almost 6 years. I was involved in every aspect of the church. Towards the last 2 years at that church it seemed like we were going more for fellowship than for Jesus.
One day we decided we needed a change and entered the doors of TimberRidge. The love we feel at this church is something we have never experienced before. I've learned how to pray better, I read my Bible everyday, and I have finally really learned to love the Lord with all my heart. I've always heard people talk about how they can feel the Holy Spirit move in them. Well, when I walk through the doors of TimberRidge, I know what they mean now. God is so awesome! The Lord has been working in my family this past year. We are doing things that we thought were impossible. But nothing is impossible with God.
I never thought I had much of a testimony because of all the great and wonderful things I had grown up experiencing. I always thought, "How did God change me if I never got into drugs and alcohol like most people?" But then I thought about where I would be if I had never put my trust in Him and if I didn't have such wonderful Godly examples to follow through my whole family. After thinking of it that way, I begin to appreciate my life with God. I wanted to live for Him and to be all that I could to further His kingdom.
There are many stages in life, and I am now old enough to start noticing when I am going through them. My relationship with God went to a new level about a year and a half ago when my husband, Daniel, accepted the call to preach and became a youth pastor. I found myself being involved in anything and everything whether I wanted to or not. I finally realized how fulfilling it was to serve God. I soon became an example and a mentor for the teenagers in our youth group. I did not have too many bad experiences throughout my teenage years, but it was so amazing how God would bring back a memory of something I had gone through to encourage our teens when certain topics came up. I found that God was really using me to encourage them and to help them. That was an amazing feeling.
Not only was God using me to speak to the teens, but since Dan plays in the church's worship band we were always at least an hour early for church so he could run through his songs. I am generally a very friendly, talkative person, so someone approached me about being a TimberRidge greeter on Sunday mornings. I get the pleasure of shaking anyone's hand that walks through the door. I get to meet everyone before anyone else does and I get to help visitors find a seat and different classes available for their kids. It is such an honor to be able to show God's love by such a simple job. I love the feeling of knowing that God is using me!
I also have joined a small group at our church called
I know my testimony does not have major life changing events, but I can see God changing me everyday. The more I strive to live for Him, the better I become in Him. It is so amazing to live for God and know 100% that when I die, I will spend my eternity with Him. For the time being, I get my joy out of serving Him and letting Him use me any way He sees fit. He has blessed me with such a wonderful husband to share my life with, the best family anyone could ask for, a job to help pay our bills, a church family of our closest friends, and a fulfilling life in Him. I could not ask for more. I know some days are better than others, but I also know that God will never leave my side.
Thank you Jesus for saving me, loving me, and using me!!!!!!!
Sabrina Doster
Like the pages of a fairy tale…. She was an honor student. She was pretty. Almost everyone in her small town knew her and thought highly of her. Rarely a week went by that something didn't occur to put her in the spotlight for one reason or another. She had it all! Life was good…except for the three suicide attempts…except for the fact that she was anorexic and bulimic…except for the fact that she hated herself. Aside from all that, she was doing great. It was real easy to hide all that pain and anger behind the notoriety and a pretty face, though. No one ever knew.
Time passed. Some people say that their Christianity "happened in one big moment"…but not so for her. It seemed that when she finally did accept Christ, it was often one step forward and two steps back. Through trial after trial, though, she overcame through the power of God. Over time, she saw a progression in her life toward Christ. And that felt good! She was far from perfect but she could remember the person she had been and knew that her former self had no room to return…because now the Holy Spirit was residing within her. Like any good story, hers has a happy ending. But it is the sad times that she treasures the most…because it was those hard times that brought her to her knees before Jesus Christ. During those times on her knees, God shaped her and molded her more and more into His image.
Oh, by the way, "she" was me. I look back at "her" as if through a fog or a haze. After all these years, through the grace of God Almighty, I'm finally satisfied with who I am. I'm far from perfect, but I am God's child and that's all I need. Finally, I have it all…and life really is good. I invite You, Lord, to continue the process of molding me! And I invite you, the reader, to walk God's path alongside me. It won't always be easy. You may take one step forward and two steps back for a while. But, if you allow the Holy Spirit to reside within your heart, you may just begin to see yourself change into someone amazing. That's what we're all about at TimberRidge…changed lives! It really does happen. I'm living proof!