Dear Friend,
My name is Christopher Weltin, and I am the pastor of Race Street Baptist Church. I would like to personally invite you to our church, take a minute to share my testimony of salvation, and share how I came to know the Lord in truth.
I was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and lived in the Lehigh Valley most of my formative years. My parents were professing Christians, and as such, I spent many Sundays on a church pew. From a child, I was taught and believed that Jesus Christ had died on the cross for my sins, was buried, and had resurrected from the dead. I had said the “sinner’s prayer” many times, and sincerely believed that I was saved and going to Heaven.
In 1995, I joined the United States Air Force, and was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. As a member of the 437th Security Forces squadron, I was afforded many opportunies to travel around the world, experiencing new cultures and things. Sadly, this newfound-freedom also caused my moral compass to turn southward. I began doing things that someone that claims to know the Lord should not do.
Two years into my military career, I met the love of my life, and we were soon married. Shortly after, we were expecting our first child – a baby boy! At this point in my life, I tried to “grow up” and “clean up”. My wife and I started attending church again, as I tried to realign my moral compass.
Shortly thereafter, I earned a spot on the newly formed Security Forces Phoenix Raven Team. Life was good! I was enjoying my growing family, and my exciting new career. I was young, healthy, and thought I was ready to tackle life!
In late March of 1998, my Raven Team was deployed to Africa to provide a security detail for Former President Clinton. As the administration visited various African countries, our Team followed behind, guarding the planes and equipment. I distinctly remember an overnight assignment in Cameroon, where the mosquitoes were particularly bothersome.
Within two weeks, I was lying in an ICU room at the Medical University of South Carolina, fighting for my life against the deadliest strain of malaria. After traditional treatments failed, I started taking a turn for the worse. My parents were called and told that they should get to Charleston as soon as possible if they wanted to see me alive.
It was at this point that disease specialists from Johns Hopkins suggested a different course of treatment, and by God’s mercy, I started to turn the corner. After several weeks, I eventually made a full recovery! Praise God for His grace!
This brush with death, along with the birth of my first child, caused me to start seriously considering life and eternity. My wife and I really started seeking for truth. Was I really saved? Did I know for sure? Which “religion” was right? Which Bible was right? If I died, where would I be? Heaven? Hell? Could I know for sure?
These important questions led me to start diving deep into my Bible to find the truth. I wasn’t interested anymore about what a man said. I knew the Bible was God’s holy word, and I only wanted to know what His word said!
After attending a Bible-believing church for two months, the Lord opened my eyes to the fact that I had never truly been born again. During the preaching one Sunday morning, the Holy Spirit convicted me and showed me that I needed to repent of my sin and trust Jesus Christ for my salvation. I responded to the Lord’s dealing with my heart, and went forward to receive the Lord Jesus as my personal Saviour!
My past attempts to “get to God” had been in vain, as there was always something I was not willing to give up in my heart. But this time was different! The Holy Spirit was definitely impressing upon me my need to be saved, and I responded the best way I knew how – calling out to the Lord to save me from my sin, and placing my faith and trust in Jesus’ blood atonement on the cross of Calvary!
What about you, friend? Are you trusting a prayer, a baptism experience, church membership, or your own good works for salvation? Do you know for SURE where your soul will spend eternity? Have you read the Bible, from cover-to-cover, to see what God says (not a church or a man)?
Please take some time to consider your eternal soul today – before it’s too late! Malaria was my “wake-up call”, but this pamphlet may be yours! Don’t put it off, friend! While it’s still called today, pick up a King James Bible and “Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read:…” (Isaiah 34:16). Tomorrow could be too late!
Saved by His Blood,
Pastor Chris Weltin