Category Archives: Testimony

Chinese Pastor Who Opposed Cross Removal Imprisoned

A Chinese Christian pastor who vocally defended area churches when government officials removed crosses from buildings has been thrown in jail.

Pastor Huang Yizi was sentenced by the “People’s Court” of Pingyany County for “gathering crowds to disturb the social order.”  He was given one year in prison for the conviction.

Pastor Huang’s conflict with the local authorities was sparked by demands for the government to explain the beating of more than 50 parishioners in his government-sanctioned Fengwo Church.  The parishioners were attempting to stop the removal of a cross from Salvation Church in Pingyang.

The police stopped more than 400 Christians from attending the trial.  A witness said they stopped cars at first and then blocked off a perimeter of almost three football fields around the courthouse.

The destructions were revealed to be a government plan to stop the Christian churches from continuing their fast growth.

“Empire” Actor Says His Faith Makes Hollywood People Uncomfortable

Trai Byers has been given his big career break in the Fox smash hit “Empire” and says that he has to lean on his Christian faith to keep him grounded in the avalanche of attention, praise and even criticism.

Byers says that people sometimes confuse him with the character he plays on the show, which has drawn threats on social media.

“On social media and on the street people were saying, ‘If I see Trai on the street, I’m going to slap him in the face.’ Whether it’s true or not, it’s not a good thing to hear,” Byers told The Christian Post. “Ultimately, knowing God and reading the Word, it helps with patience with people, understanding, empathy and sympathy that they might not have that I have. If God gave it to me, why not exercise it?”

Byers says he believes that God has blessed him with this opportunity so he can tell others about Jesus.

“I know a part of my journey now, the reason I’m an actor now, the platform that I have now. I’m supposed to share the Lord with people. All of us are disciples on some level,” he told CP. “You don’t have to be behind the podium to tell a story, connect with people and share the Gospel.”

However, Byers is quick to point out that before he received this opportunity, he struggled with his faith during the hard times.

“I felt success on me, and I was wondering why it wasn’t manifesting itself in the way I thought it would. And it was just a war between flesh and spirit. But ultimately, God got me to a place where I delved deeply into the Word,” Byers explained. “I’ve read the Bible before, a couple of times cover to cover. Some things stuck with me and some things didn’t, but it was time for me to really get to know God.”

He said that Psalms 117 and 118 along with Matthew 6 have been great bedrocks in the rebuilding of his faith.

All Fun and Games, Until the Darkness Begins (Pt. 3)

I had promised myself that I was DONE smoking weed forever. And I was done smoking! At least…until the very next weekend…  I’m sure many people in that world can relate to that vicious cycle. So, the next weekend I was at one of my favorite spots down by the lake with some of my buddies.   “Hey, we’re gonna go smoke, do you want to come?”  I told them, “yeah, I’ll go with you but I’m not smoking anymore.”  Walking back into the woods with them I remember this big tree that cut right across the path, it was the perfect place for us to sit. Continue reading →

All Fun and Games, Until the Darkness Begins (Pt. 2)

It was my birthday weekend; my buddies were passed out from smoking weed laced with something that had caused all of us to hallucinate. I was the only one awake. The feeling of being entirely alone swept through me in horrifying waves of fear. While everyone slept, odd memories started to come forth and I remember thinking about God and Heaven and hell. This voice in my head began contradicting and disproving the Word of God to me, whispering it through my brain. I remember running to the bathroom and vomiting blood. That was when I really knew I hadn’t just been smoking weed. I still do not know what it was that had been slipped to us, I just remember sitting on my stairs feeling as if I had been sucked into another world. Was I crazy? No. Was I high? Yes. That is what drugs do, but I was aware enough to know that this was not just a simple case of hallucination. Continue reading →

All Fun and Games, Until the Darkness Begins (Pt. 1)

It has always struck me as funny how people’s image of you is never the image you have of yourself. Whenever I tell people here at the ministry my testimony, they are always a little bit shocked.  Most here have only known me for perhaps the past four to six years and when I tell them that I used to dabble in drugs and not live for Jesus, they are like “What?!”  Even Pastor Jim, when I first got here and I told him some of my testimony said, “Well my goodness, I thought you were a good church boy all along!” Continue reading →