When I was 19, I had not been in church since I was 9 or 10. I despised the church as I envisioned it. To make her happy I visited a neighborhood UMC on my mother’s birthday with no intention of ever going back. I was greeted very warmly by a kind gentleman at the door. Five minutes after arriving home from the service that afternoon, the same gentleman, Mike Kitchens, was at my front door. We sat and talked about the congregation’s history and ministry. I still was not convinced. Then I received a phone call from someone my age, Jim Grier, telling me about the college age group that met on Sunday night just before the evening service. I returned that evening and was welcomed by a group that were to become my closet friends. The youth minister, Larry Parton, a young seminary student, delivered the sermon and at the end opened the altar for anyone who desired to kneel down and pray. As I watched person by person rise and go to the alter, I felt called to do so also. It was at that altar that I began to reconcile my tortured soul to God’s love. Ken Compton's story of his first encounter with Brookhaven. Thank you, Ken, for sharing.
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