Baptism Testimonies: Sojourn’s Heather Bougher

We will celebrate another Baptism Sunday on September 12. If you would like to take this important step in identifying with Christ and His bride, email baptism@sojournchurch.com by Sunday, September 5.

And now, Heather Bougher tells the story of her salvation, which led to a recent baptism at Sojourn Gathered:

I was raised in church my whole life.  My dad was a deacon and when I entered high school, he became a pastor. My life of rebellion from God and my parents occurred during my four years in college.

Before Christ entered my life, I was full of self-pleasing desires, not caring about others. I focused on college and career goals, pushing relationships to the back of my life, so my friendships were empty.  I thought of God as a crutch and only leaned on Him when I was sad or felt lonely. I went to church on occasion during my years at school but often felt so convicted, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I quit attending regularly.

I was a self-pleasing sinner who cared nothing of others and used them to get what I wanted, to feel needed, and to feel sufficient. It is a miracle of God’s grace that I am still alive today.  After running from God’s ways, He intervened and wooed me to Himself after graduation in June 2009, but I still denied Christ.  I was sinful and fully deserving of God’s wrath but as God was drawing me to Himself, he gave me a desire to seek out community.

In community, I found sisters in Christ who walked with me and prayed with me and for me. Christ revealed Himself to me as the substitute for my sins and opened my eyes to His truly amazing grace. God changed my heart of stone to a heart of flesh and saved me in February 2010.  I fell on my knees and repented of my sins. Christ died and drank the cup of wrath and judgment for my sins and with that knowledge God strengthened me to turn from my old lifestyle of living for myself to a life as a new creature in Christ.  Now I know I am a child of God!

Christ gives me a reason to wake up in the morning and practice being a servant at my job everyday. Even though I still fall and struggle with sin as a Christian, I am daily reminded that Christ understands how I am feeling and is my best friend. He knows my every thought. I don’t know how I got through my days without calling out to Him in my sadness and my joyfulness before.

Using Christ as my conversation starter, I have bonded with many of my coworkers through Christ and have even had the doors of opportunity opened to invite them to Church and buy Bibles for many through my testimony. My Family has grown so much closer because of my faith in Christ.  My parents and I are being more transparent with one another and my brothers and I are learning how to look out for each other’s best interests. I no longer view the people in my life as people who can help me, but I seek to serve them as Christ served me with his death on the Cross. I long to sacrifice of my time and energy as long as I need to in order to share Christ.