First United Pentecostal
Church of Rogers, AR
2200 South 13th Street Map to church
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First United Pentecostal
2200 South 13th Street Map to church |
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The testimony of Roberta Zehm, 11/2/04
This story begins in Poplar Bluff, Mo. My husband is a contractor, and we were in the process of building us a new home in a subdivision that he was developing. The subcontractors had just finished framing and putting the roof on the house.
It was Saturday and we had gone to work in the garden we had planted on a lot beside our soon to be new home. We had two children: Sky who was 2 at that time, and Jimmy who was 5. While we worked in the garden it began to rain. Since it was just a summer shower, we let the boys play in the rain. When we started to get wet, we decided to go into the garage. Sky had no shirt on and like most little boys in the summer, no shoes.
Contractors sometimes run electrical wire from the meter on the pole and put a plug on the end, to plug in their equipment. They usually just wrap the connection with electric tape.
As we got into the garage we heard Sky whimpering. Looking around we saw that he had picked up a plug-in with a wire connected to pole. The wire had worn through the electrical tape and he stood with it in his had unable to let go. Only by the grace of God did my husband know to run to the pole and cut the electricity off. The connection was a 220-volt. Had any of us touched him we may have been killed. When the electricity was cut off, the plug fell from his hand. My husband ran and picked him up. He looked at this dad and said, “That hort”. We checked his back and all over his body and there was no harm. Even his hand was not burned.
We had only had the Holy Ghost for a short wile, but God showed himself strong in our behalf. Some people tried to explain it away, but he was wet, had no shirt or shoes on and was standing on a concrete floor. God still works miracles!
Sky is grown now. He and his wife Jackie attend the United Pentecostal Church of Rogers, AR.
I grew up on a wonderful church. They loved the Lord and cherished His word. They taught me to believe because the Bible said so. We covered every facet of life with the Word of God and I knew I could trust Him.
But there were areas of the Scripture that I had problems with in the New Testament. When I would ask questions about the experiences in the book of Acts, particularly the issue of speaking in tongues, I was told that it had ceased because we had the Word of God and didn’t need it. But I knew it happened to people because I was there in prayer meetings when it happened.
The more I studied, the more God increased a hunger in my heart to have this scriptural experience and I saw that it was a sign of God’s Spirit in my life. (Acts 2:40,45-46) I not only wanted, it I needed it, Romans 8:9.
I prayed and fasted and God gloriously filled me just like on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:4. I had never felt such a joy and a power in my life and I knew it was real and my spirit had truly been reborn. I sincerely believe that if those that believe on Him as the scripture says, John 7:37-39, and open their heart, they would find their own Pentecost.
Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? Acts 19:2
Hello, my name is Michael Leon. I am part of the outreach team and also the Sunday morning bus driver of the Untied Pentecostal church. I haven’t always been in church however. Unfortunately and sad to say, I haven’t always walked with God. I started my childhood like most of our children today, where parents divorce at an early age. It was an adjustment, but nothing that couldn’t be worked through. My life however was about to take a small turn for the worse. I did not know it at the time but the choice I was fixing to make was going to take me on a road I didn’t imagine ever being on. When I was 12 years old my sister’s boyfriend offered to smoke a joint with me. I had never gotten high before so the thought somewhat intrigued me. I mean I had smoked cigarettes before but that was about the height of my rebellion. Well let me tell you I tried it for the first time and it wasn’t the last. I liked getting high, and I quickly turned into a regular thing along with drinking at an early age. When I turned 15 I moved out of Oklahoma and retuned to my home state that was Kansas. After being there for a while I hooked up with an old friend of mine who belonged to a local neighborhood gang called the PIRV Bloods. I was initiated not too long after that into their set or gang as some would call it, from then on the road got harder and harder. By the time I was 19, I was kicked out of school for selling drugs, tagged by the Police a gang member and well, other things I’m not too proud of. To top that off my dad died of liver failure. I felt so miserable and empty. There were times I would wander off by myself and cry, wishing that all the pain and loneliness would leave. But something happened that would change my life forever. A friend of mine was accused of a serous crime and needed a place to hide, so I took him to where my stepbrother stayed. My mother came over a few days later. She had gotten involved with a Pentecostal church in Rogers, Arkansas. She knew something was up and began to talk to me. Then all of a sudden it was like God began to speak through her and she began to speak to my pain and my friends as well. She invited us to the U.P.C. of Rogers. We went that night and the power of God was so strong there. Conviction was there and I was tried of running from God. I went to the altar and broke down asking God to forgive me for all that I have done. I looked over at my friend and he had his hands up worshipping God. I couldn’t believe it, this young man was tougher than nails, he didn’t have a strong Christian background as a matter of fact, his dad was Muslim, but he was also impacted by the power of God. The next day the police caught up with us and we both went to jail. One night while I was in jail I realized that all my doings were in vain, it had gotten me nowhere but jail time, facing up to six years in the pen. I told God if he could help me I would serve him, and guess what he did, I got out of jail. I got out of jail and 2 weeks later I was baptized in Jesus name and two weeks after that God filled me with the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, just like the Bible says. I look back on my life, I have three friends in jail for murder, and one who was murdered, and the only difference between them and me was I had a praying mother and a merciful savior who said. “2PET 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” There truly is peace, joy and righteousness in the Holy Ghost. If you have a hungry heart God will not let you down. He will be there if you’ve tired everything and everything else has failed try Jesus, he is the water that you’ll drink and never thirst again.
At the ripe age of 23, I realized that I have lived a lifetime. Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo, I was reared in a widely accepted religion. Some of the closest and most admired friends I’ve had have come out of my years learning about the love of God at my church. My true relationship with God, however, did not begin until much later in my life.
Unfortunately, I have always been one of those stubborn souls that must be completely broken before I will even consider that I might be in over my head and enlist help. Between a series of drug addictions, family problems and alcohol abuse, I found myself in that place that I had always claimed I’d never be. Broken and out of control. I had tried everything that the doctors had prescribed but despite their best efforts I suffered with panic attacks and overwhelming fear. I knew just enough to know that my only help or hope laid in getting a hold of God and obtaining mercy on my ever-worsening situation.
I
found myself at a Pentecostal altar. I
had been invited previously and thought it was just familiar enough to try
again. I wasn’t sure about a whole lot but I knew at least that I felt God in
the services and that’ all I needed to know at that point. It was a Wednesday
night and I had come once again. Resolving that I would change my life if only
God would help me to take away the fear and the panic attacks. At the altar
service I went once again and knelt in desperation. Five precious children of
God and I prayed and prayed but I just couldn’t seem to get anywhere. I was so
emotionally dead that I could not even cry. One of my now dearest friends
grabbed my hands and in talking told me to go back to Calvary. When I envisioned
Jesus hanging on that cross so that I may be free, I was able to cry. I raised
my hands and loved the Lord as he gloriously filled me with his beautiful Holy
Spirit. I have never had another panic attack since that night. My life has
completely changed as I live an overcoming life of victory and peace through the
strength of Jesus. I will never be the same and I will never go back. I thank
God always for his beautiful gift and love Him with all my heart. Peace I
leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 17:27.
I attend the Roger’s United Pentecostal Church. I was not raised in a family that went to church. Even though my mom believes that there is a God, neither she nor my dad went to church. When I was about 8 or 9, maybe even 10, I was invited to a Baptist church. The church bus came along every Sunday to pick me up. I was in Awanas while attending there. Maybe that is why I have such a love for the ministry we have in our church called Bible Quizzing. The thing I do remember during the time I went to church was hanging out with our youth. I do remember having a conversation about dances and going to the movies. At that time the Baptist did not believe in participating in those activities. As time went on I drifted away from church and just kind of live life. Even though I lived in sin I felt like I was a good person. I really never gave heaven and hell much thought. I guess that makes me all the more grateful for God’s grace that he shows me every day. As time went on I got married and we went on through our life just living one day at a time. A move from California to Arkansas was about to change all that. My husband got a job first at Wal-Mart and started working with a guy named Danny McCracken. He went to the Roger’s United Pentecostal Church. First he became friends with him, and then began talking to my husband, Terry, about the Lord. Well I then got a job at Wal-Mart and the Lord placed my in the very same department as Danny McCracken’s wife, Amelia. The definitely wasn’t coincidence. Especially if you knew how many departments there are and how many people work there. And Amelia had no idea who I was or that I was even looking for a job. So to make a long story short we started having a Bible study and saw our need to be baptized in Jesus name. Even at this point we didn’t see the need to attend a Pentecostal church. Remember I was raised Baptist somewhat and my husband was raised Catholic. As we visited other churches and study our Bibles we begin to see the true importance of being baptized in Jesus name and believing there is only one God. We saw very few churches preached this. The Lord led us time after time again back to the Roger’s United Pentecostal church. We could feel how much love the people had for not only one another, but also for us. So now this is our home, we have been here since 1987. Even though I have no dramatic story of my life being from the pits of Hell, I can say God saved my soul and filled me with the Holy Ghost and with the truth from his word.
I was born September 15th, 1956. I was born again April 30th, 1972. My old self was immersed in a watery grave of baptism. God gloriously filled me with his Holy Spirit for the first time. This rebirth experience was the beginning of my life as an apostolic, Pentecostal Christian.
I was only 15 years old. My life had not been steeped in sin. My parents never attended church much. I had attended Sunday school on a regular basis since 7 years old – thanks to an aunt and uncle who made it a point to insure my sister and I did attend. I had always tried to live as holy a life as I humanly could. I had working class parents that loved me and provided a decent environment for growth. I had that good ole American work ethic instilled in me. My high school life was moving in a lot of good directions – a 3.96 GPA and membership in some good social and academic clubs.
It seemed like I was heading in the right direction of the good life. My biggest problem was an insatiable curiosity about almost everything. I sometimes wonder if that curiosity would have gotten me in trouble eventually, if it had not been for Jesus Christ coming into my life in a personal way.
After I received God’s spirit into my life, my curiosity turned toward religious history in a big way. I read my bible even more than ever before. I questioned all I had learned in my prior Sunday school years – even though these had been in a United Pentecostal Church. My Senior High Sunday school teacher repeatedly provoked the class “Don’t believer me by my words alone. Read the Bible to prove their truth. “ My heart was driven to prove the biblical reality of my new experience, why didn’t all “Christian” churches believe this way? Why didn’t all “Christian” churches baptize in the name of Jesus Christ? Why did some churches not believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost? I found evidence of my same beliefs all throughout the history of the Church. I read how human minds had corrupted God’s true Word in times past. I discovered how the ebb and flow of time continually tried to hide Truth, but somehow the light always found a way to shine away the darkness.
Being mortal, I’ve not always led a perfect life. Only one has and He had to die on a cross to fulfill the Old Testaments sacrifice – an unblemished sacrifice – for our shortcomings. But I have never been a real, bad person either. I had always been taught to be hones and kind. I would not have made a good drug addict either, Even now; I have a hard time just swallowing a Tylenol tablet. God has blessed me to not have to know much about a terrible, sinful life.
Instead, I have to be careful lest I forget what I could have become without God in my life. I need to constantly remember that I’ll always need God. The Church is not a crutch in my life. It’s the Rock, the strong foundation, which I’ve built my life upon. God is the steadying force when my world is shaken by the storms that come to everyone. John 4:45 reminds us “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” I’m just an average American, with a typical American family, trying to live the American dream. I’ll conclude with the words of the “preacher” of Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. My prayer is that God helps you in search for life as he has helped me. Amen.
The testimony of Amy
Amy's testimony and personal website
The testimony of Gary The testimony of Judy Hamby I was raised by loving and responsible parents, the
youngest of three kids, and the only girl. My life was blessed with more
than everything I needed. My parents loved, taught, supported, and
disciplined me. I can't say enough good things about them. They
weren't "religious" people, but we occasionally went to church. When
I was really young we went more often, but by the time I reached 4th or 5th
grade, we didn't seem to have
time. The weekends were busy with sports, travel or other things.
As a young boy in Kindergarten and all of the lower grades
of school. I was never really able to "fit in," as they always said. I was the one who had the "Saddle shoes" and the hair parted on the wrong side.
There was much torment, and a lot of pain, I was picked on, especially because I had glasses, big ole Coke bottle glasses. The other
kids did not much care for me to be allowed near them and to have
much part of anything but to be their "Scape goat." I was feeling as suicidal as
they come from the time I was in kindergarten. All the way
through school, whatever little bit I would go was miserable. I was close enough
to the school that I was a walker, and when I was
having so much trouble with the other kids hitting me, and poking me, and
spitting at me and on me, knocking my glasses off, and pushing
me down, I was allowed to leave early each day for the hopes of being gone by
the time the other kids were let out. My sister, one
year older than me was mad and went to bat for me while I was in school and boy
did the make things worse. The truant officers would
come to the house and always give my mom and dad a hard time about my missing so
much school mom would put me on the bus I
would get off the bus the next stop. Finally the school called the courts into
it, and made the file a P. I. N. S. petition Person in need of
supervision. against me. The judge ordered that I was to either go to school as
I was told or that he would ship me off upstate New
York. Things only grew worse, I went to court again, and they took me and put me
upstate. I was 11 yrs old, I saw things happening to kids and things that they would do to one another and I was
terrified. I did not attend school there either, by this time I was
already out of the schooling long enough I did not have the desire to sit and
try to get the understanding that I needed to continue with
school. This place was a large institution; it held about 500 kids and staff
members, from what I can remember. I was always running
away per things were just not very pleasant there. I wanted to be home with my
parents but they had no control over it any longer.
Depression was my closest friend. I did everything that I could do to get thrown
out and hoped that they would send me home from
there. This did not work, I had a long journey in and out of these places, every
once in a while going to stay with my mom and dad and it
just never seemed to be right. I went from place to place, and from town to
town, growing more and more depressed, and more and
more suicidal. After many years of this happening, in and out of group homes,
hospitals, and institutions I was told that after I graduated school I could return home. I took that as my only way out,
finally I was of age to take my GED test, I did so, and passed it well
over the base score for passing. During my stays in these places I was
introduced to depressions buddies, Drinking and Drugs and cigarettes, smoking was a way to fit in, drugs worked better, and
drinking was a filler when I could not find drugs. Once I was able to return to "Regular society," I was only worse than anyone thought off,
for not being prepared to function. I could not hold a job, I was angry
all the time, I was depressed beyond recognition, and it was just a failure
after failure situation. I did not learn how to have relationships, I did not learn how to love, and I did not learn how to do
much of anything but, hold all my pain and frustration in. Resentment built and harbored itself in my depressed mind. There was a
paranoid feeling that EVERYONE was out to get me. No matter
what I did, someone was using me, and people were just setting me up for the
greatest fall of my life. I had trust in everything that
was false and dangerous to me. I would go to AA meetings to find women; I would
go to the crack house looking for acceptance. I would
look for the women in the bars, places of the like. Take a drive looking for
someone to accept me as I was without having to do anything special or have money to blow on Crack, Pot, Crank, and LSD ...
or anything else I had done.
I was
miserable; I turned out to be the town mechanic on most of the poorer people’s
wannabe street car/muscle cars. I would do work
for a "Buzz" or cheap enough to get some weed or some crack, or whatever suited
me for the night. Got mixed in with the crowds of what
the town considered the "Dirt bags" of that day. Through all of that, I was in
and out of work continually. There were some GREAT
jobs that I had, and ruined them. I moved out of state to be with a woman that I
thought was the greatest thing to happen to me. I
stayed with her for about 8 mo. and things did not work out. I came back home,
after a while I was in and out of relationships again. Then a
Job came open in a carnival. I took the job; I was setting up and tearing down
the rides, from site to site. There I met the mother of my
daughter (daughter came about 4 yrs later). We hit it off well, and we dated for
about 6 months. She had a 4 yr. old boy from another
man. Pretty much the way things were for me, I had been marked wherever I went
in whatever I drove, the law was always there busting my chops. Always getting tickets, in trouble for possession, and
or something else. So we decided that we would move out of state,
she happened to have a high school friend that she wanted to come see, her
friend had just had a miscarriage, and she wanted to be
there for her. So, in due time we married, and moved to Arkansas. Things were
always rocky for us; we never had the same goals. I
received many injuries, and was having a hard time with a lot of car troubles,
jobs were not plenty, and money was tight. After a few yrs, my
daughter was conceived, we had a lot of marital troubles, and had moved about 3
times already, and things had only grown worse
and worse. We had split up, and gone our separate ways. During the year that my
daughter was born, I was working a lot of hours,
and doing well for myself, enough to buy a motorcycle. There was a fire at the
duplex I lived in, (the shop building burnt), I took 3 days
off of work in order to clean up the mess. I then brought my bike home, and
during the cleanup process there was apparent damage
to the Lincoln town car I was driving at the time. I took the m/c to work the
next day, 03/09/96, when I was at work, (Chrome plating
plant, temperatures above 100 degrees) there came a cold front in, and it
dropped temperatures to 11 degrees. I attempted to ride
home, and got hypothermia, blacked out, and awoke in the hospital a couple days
later. My wife and I were separated before this, and she
had moved her stuff in with me to help me as I was unable to tend to myself. I
had snapped my Femur bone off (right side), jammed
it into my pelvis, breaking it, and my sacrum, as well as breaking my hip. There
were also head injuries. There was some question as to whether or not I was going to be able to walk, and if I
did, it was going to be most likely with a limp. Our marriage did
not do to well even in that time of need for us to be working
together. After about 2 yrs of recovery and several surgeries, I was able to
walk again, without crutches, and without a wheelchair, and
without assistance. I returned back to the work force about 2 1/2 yrs after the wreck. Within the first 8 yrs of staying in Arkansas, we had moved about
19 times. This was unsettling; our marriage had not gotten any
better. Things were terrible for our marriage had become a dreaded failure, it
was inevitable. The end was going to have to come to all of
that pain and anguish.
Finally
at the year 1998 I had come into the knowledge of the Lord, I was looking for
the only way I knew to be done without making
me live through it. I wanted to take myself out of this life. All that happened
was bringing my lifelong failure streak to the surface again.
This was something I did not want to do; leaving my marriage all the way and
forever seemed too much to bear. I visited after a request
of a man that worked in the area, my church that I now know as my home church. I
went a few times, it was not for me, as I had
allowed my hair to grow for about 15 yrs by that time, and was nothing even
close to being what I thought would go to church. I decided
to leave and not go back, it was about 2 yrs. and a few months later, that I was
driving my car, and just started dreaming of how
successful I wanted to be, that I wanted a home for my family, that was what we
fought so hard about, we had nothing to show for our
work but debt, and pain. I looked up one day, and asked the lord to help me
become successful, that I wanted to be something that could
leave behind a name for me, that I could be recognized as a great person that
accomplished something within his life span. I was compelled to go back to the church, and try it out, this time I was
seeking, I had no idea what was in store for me, and still look back thinking, how merciful God had been to me. Little did I know, my fight
had just begun, my marriage finally collapsed, my whole life as I knew it
was shattered, and all I could do was think, How come all of this has to happen
to me, what have I done so wrong? I was baptized in Jesus name for the remission of my sins (Acts 2:38) rather
quickly, I repented and was speaking in tongues as the spirit gave
the utterance for about 2-3 weeks before I claimed the Holy Ghost. My journey
for the lord was by no means easy, but nor was his up
Calvary's hill for me, by his merciful, and precious grace, I am able to stand
and say, I have not had a drink of alcohol, or done any drugs,
and have kept clean (by deliverance) for 6 plus yrs, and I have been cigarette
free for about 7 1/2 yrs, (cold turkey from about 2 packs a
day). God has been so very good to me and given me custody of my precious
daughter, and has blessed me more than words can
EVER say. I Love him and want to serve him with all my heart, soul, and might. I
have dedicated my daughter to him and look to serve
him all the way through. Many new changes took place in the year 2006 for me. I
am now remarried to my beautiful wife Amy and now my
daughter has a good mother/role model to help me raise her up in the right way.
Thank God For That!!! I hope you have seen the
grace of our lord.
I grew up in a beautiful part of
Time passed, but my hunger for God remained. Questions about life and
death were in my mind. I was busy in sports, pets, girl scouts,
friends, and school, but I still hungered to know God. In seventh
grade I tried to find God in a confirmation class at the church we rarely went
to, but I seemed to come away with only a little knowledge. I would
pray, " God, if you are there I don't know why you won't talk to me…. You
must be there….." I just felt such an emptiness, and the vastness of the
universe scared me.
Years passed, my hunger for God continued. I threw myself into
friends, sports, and school. I went on to college, and learned to
study hard during the week, participate in sports, and then on the weekends
we'd party. Friday and Saturday nights were party nights.
Thank God nothing in the world - friends, sports, entertainment, partying - nothing
removed the hunger I had for God. Some friends of mine were in a Christian
fellowship on campus call the Navigators. They did a survey on campus
about
religious beliefs, and I did the survey. They followed up with a
Bible study. In that study for the first time I understood that it was my SIN
that separated me from God. I learned that He is love, and that He is
Holy. I realized that my sin was the reason that He couldn't
communicate with me, as I had desired for so long. With a simple
illustration my friend showed me that Jesus bridged the gap between God who
was holy and man who was sinful. The simple but powerful truth dawned in my
understanding that Jesus died in my place, for my sin. I understood
my sin, God's holiness, the reason for the cross - the love of God,
repentance, and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ. I
was overjoyed in my newfound faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Gospel -
His death, burial and resurrection for me. That night, I
confessed I was a sinner, turned from sin, and asked the Lord Jesus into my
life.
There was a change in me. I believed! I read the New
Testament. Many questions were answered. The Bible became my favorite
book. Christians became my closest
friends, partying with old friends stopped. I began to go to church
with friends, and depending on where I lived in my course of college, I went to
different types of churches. Different friends along the way helped me on this new journey. I met a few kids
in college who had something called the baptism of the Holy Ghost. They
couldn't tell me scripturally about it, but called it a prayer language. As
I had times of prayer with them, their intimacy and power in prayer "blew
me away." I knew if there was more to experience in God, I wanted it. I
knew the answer to my hunger was the Lord, and my prayer became "Lord I
want a deeper walk with you." I read more in the Bible about
this Holy Ghost baptism. Some
spiritual leaders in churches I had gone to felt the baptism of the Holy Ghost
was only for the early church, and that speaking in tongues was a thing of the
past. Meanwhile, I graduated from college, began to work, continued
to go to church, hungered for more of the Lord. I met a Christian
man, fell in love, and got married. I continued to work, hungering
for more, and studying my Bible. I remember wishing modern day
churches were like the church in the book of Acts. I really wanted to
see that kind of church life!
My life was going OK, but my hunger for God increased. I became sick,
several visits to the doctor and 2 emergency room visits failed to diagnose a
ruptured appendix. I was full of fear. It seemed my
doctors couldn't diagnose me. It felt so strange to be in this state
of sickness and what felt to me like spiritual confusion. I wondered
why my prayers were seemingly unanswered. After 2 weeks or more, a
doctor finally decided to do surgery with an incorrect diagnoses. He
discovered in surgery the real problem, and was amazed to see a wall of scar
tissue keeping the infection contained. I had a rough recovery with
complications, pain, and poor hospital care. I requested the elders of my
Presbyterian church to come and pray for me anointing me with oil. They
did so, and thank God, I began to improve the next day. At that time
I determined to seek God like
never before!
After recovering, I returned to work, part-time. I spent more time in
prayer and in the Word. Then amazingly God sent four spirit-filled
Pentecostal ladies to my place of work. I worked with one and her
walk with God was so much closer than mine. She had a deeper joy,
and such a strong faith in the Lord. I could see she had something
more. She shared with me that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is not a
thing of the past, but for all of us today according to Acts 2:38, 39. After
spending more time studying the Word, it wasn't long until I also received the baptism of the Holy Ghost
with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. It was joy
unspeakable and full of glory! I also obeyed the scriptures and was
baptized in Jesus name for the remission of sins, and experienced a feeling of
being cleansed that amazed me. It wasn't just a church ordinance, but
a wonderful experience of his love and cleansing power.
It is all because of