My Story

Welcome to the "My Story" stage of membership at Forefront! Here you will submit your story and also prepare to read it at an upcoming Forefront Family Dinner.

Your story does not necessarily need to be a tell-all, but we do want to hear about how God has changed and is continuing to change/shape you throughout your life. We'd like to hear about the dreams and desires that you have for the rest of your life as well, so feel free to share just about anything you'd like.Telling your story will affirm your commitment to Christ, your commitment to joining the Forefront vision, and to participating in accomplishing the mission God has placed before us in New York City.

We've provided a few questions to help guide your writing process, and you can also read the example below to get started.

Angela's Story

At age 7, God was good, just, loving, kind, and generous. Both my parents were active in the church, and church was like a second home for us. By 17, God seemed cold, distant, unfair, uncaring, and devoid of any affection for me. My father had an affair with a woman in our church community when I was 10. When my mother filed for a divorce, the church leaders reprimanded her and sided with my father. My mother left the church and hasn't been back. My father enjoyed a life with a new family. I spent my high school and early college years trying to earn the affection and approval of my parents, my peers, and boys I dated. I laid down my self-respect for small moments of acceptance. A pattern of self-destruction, binge drinking, and disrespect for my body went on for years as I looked for something or someone to heal me of my feelings of abandonment and worthlessness.

I met my husband, Clay, my senior year in high school and he was foolish enough to stick with me as I cheated and lied my way through the first two years of our relationship. When I was 20, his patience and God's love won out. I walked away from a lifestyle of destruction and into the shelter of God's love and acceptance. I am only now beginning to fully understand the ways in which God protected me from even further self-inflicted pain. I am full of gratitude for a God who loved me even when I didn't love myself and couldn't return His love. My heart’s desire is to use the rest of my life to share His love with others. There are so many hurting and wounded among us and I know God can do for them what he did for me.

I am excited to belong to Forefront because I believe this is a place I can both grow and help others grow. Forefront is a place that spurs me on to serve and to put others before myself. It is my sincere desire to leverage all that I am and all that I have for the Kingdom of God. I believe God has a use for the pain of my past and that He has endowed me with gifts, talents, and resources that are to be used for His glory.

-Angela Speakman

 When you're finished, don't forget to copy and paste your story in a separate document so that you can bring it with you to an upcoming dinner party.

*All stories will be stored securely in our database and will not be used for any reason unless granted permission by the author.