April Goodwin is a faithful member of Lake Avenue Church. She and her husband Chris have attended here regularly since they first got married. When April was a child, her mother was a Christian but her father was essentially agnostic. While her father was not a believer, he was very supportive of her mom bringing her to church each week and sending her to religious schools.
“I think having this day in and day out exposure to God was what planted the seeds of His reality in my heart. I look back and know that I have believed in God since I was a child. I knew He was real and I don’t remember ever questioning that fact, ” said Goodwin. But April has not always identified with the Christian church as an establishment. Before she went to college, she experienced a devastating disappointment in the pastor at her church and decided to turn away from church altogether. While in college, she lived in rebellion against God. She surrounded herself with distractions and questionable company and found herself living out “the party scene.”
“I had been brought up in small, intimate circles of friends and families at school and church, so being away at a big university, I was exposed to a bigger, “more exciting” world in which I wanted to partake in. Not everything was bad – I met my husband at school! – but I definitely pushed the boundaries,” said Goodwin.
After graduating from college, April gradually began warming up to the idea of attending church again. Her cousins gave her a Bible as a gift one day, and she started reading it again. Through the Word her heart was slowly softened.
“My life was fine as lives of many young 20-somethings go, but there was a gaping hole where God belonged. That Bible has been one of the biggest blessings on my life. I began to read it and found I enjoyed the stories, but reading it also helped to draw out things I had heard and learned long before as a church-going kid. I felt a tug to move back toward God. I started to see the importance of Jesus and to understand that there was a relationship that could be had with Him, which was not something I had ever really understood before,” said Goodwin.
After April and her husband were married, the same cousin who gave her the Bible invited them to Lake Avenue Church. The first Sunday that they attended, they were both incredibly challenged by the message and knew that Lake was the church to which the wanted to commit themselves for spiritual nourishment and growth. Following the birth of April’s first child, her cousin invited her to MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers).
“Joyce Warman’s teaching was food for my soul and a great support for my parenting skills. I loved the way she would weave lessons about God and his righteousness and faithfulness and merciful character in with her invaluable insight into parenting. MOPS was a place where I learned more about prayer and how to pray. I started to understand that serving God’s people meant I was allowing God to work through me rather than me just doing good work,” said Goodwin.
One morning at MOPs, April decided to truly and completely commit her life to Jesus Christ. April explained that during Lois Barry’s final meeting as a mentor mom, she knew that it was time for her to ask Jesus to be the Lord of her life. Since asking the Lord to reign in her life, April has been transformed through community groups, time in the Word, and the constant promptings of the Holy Spirit.
“I’m currently part of a small group of young families that meets every other week. Our group is focusing on justice and what the Bible says to us about God’s justice and about helping him execute that justice during our time here on earth. We are focused on serving together as families in our community,” said Goodwin.
As April continues to grow in her faith, she grows in her understanding of what it means to represent Christ in all that she does. Each moment is an opportunity to love Christ through loving those around us.
“God is constantly reigning me in, pulling me closer, honing me for His work, helping me to believe passionately in Him, showing me how to be His hands, His feet and His voice,” said Goodwin.
April was baptized recently during the weekend services. We’re thankful for her sharing her story. We celebrate with her in her public declaration of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For information about LAC’s Women’s Ministries visit https://lakeave.org/womens-ministries. For information about MOPs visit https://mops.lakeave.org
For more information about baptism, contact Pastor Roger Bosch or visit https://baptism.lakeave.org