Kelly Powell can’t pinpoint the exact moment she gave her heart to the Lord. It was a process of working through the gospel with others that led her to faith. 

“I can’t tell you an exact date, but it was probably a feeling that was growing for a while,” she says. 

Attending Christianity Explored at St Luke’s, Hornsby Heights, Miss Powell was left with a lot on her mind. However, the course format helped her to feel safe to wrestle with these thoughts. “I liked that it was a group thing, because it was my first go at [understanding Christianity] and I think if it was one on one I would have found that intimidating. But having a group let me sit back when I needed to and just listen. There were heaps of opportunities for people to talk. It was the group dynamic that I found helpful.” 

Two key concepts caught her attention and had her mulling over them for days.  “One was the way they explained that we humans have a heart problem. This is what makes us treat others and God in a shameful way. But Jesus can cure our heart problem. It’s kind of talking about sin but it was interesting wording, ‘heart problem’, and it stuck with me that this is what Jesus can free us from.” 

"Jesus can cure our heart problem"

Miss Powell also found herself contemplating the way we receive eternal life. “The course explained that eternal life is an undeserved gift from God, paid for by Jesus’ death. There’s nothing we could ever do to earn eternal life. God gives it to us for free, like a kid getting a really great Christmas present (I think that was the analogy they used in the course.) It’s because Jesus took our punishment by dying on the cross. The course explained it in a way I’d not heard before and it really makes sense why it’s called the good news!” 

When she had the opportunity to join the next course that St Luke’s was running, Faith Explored, she jumped right in. “That’s when it started to come together in my head,” she says. “It made sense and felt right.” 

Since joining the saints at St Luke’s, Miss Powell has been blown away by what it is like to belong to God’s family. “It’s an amazing feeling to be welcomed into a community,” she says. “Pray that I can keep learning and coming to church and being part of the church.”

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