“For me, prior to being born again as a Christian, Easter was really just another holiday. But now it’s the day that I celebrate Jesus bringing me from death to life.”

Growing up, Max had limited experience with Christianity and didn’t have a personal faith. Even though he worked a successful career and had financial stability, he felt empty and unhappy. On a biking trip in Vietnam, Max stepped away from his day-to-day routine and began to reflect on the materialistic life he had been pursuing. When a friend invited him to Mariners, Max decided to go.

During his first weekend service, Max experienced God in a personal way and decided to put his faith in Jesus. He got baptized on Easter, went through Rooted to discover more about his faith, and started volunteering in the junior high ministry. Where he had once been directionless and lost, Max found fresh purpose and felt the transforming love of Jesus.

Watch and see how Jesus changed Max’s life and brought him from death to life!

“I’m a child of God and that’s the only thing that really matters. That’s the true label—the only thing I really need.”

Brooke was single and felt isolated, struggling to find friends and feeling stuck in a cycle of work and home life. In 2017, she realized she needed Jesus in her life, and she got plugged into community at Mariners. Two years later, she found out she was adopted. She put her dating life on hold and began to focus on learning more about how God saw her.

Around that same time, she was at church and heard the truth that she was adopted into God’s family—she was a child of God, and her identity was in Christ. She got very involved in the Care & Recovery program at Mariners, experiencing a new joy in life, in building relationships with her friends, and in serving others.

Watch and see how Brooke found joy and hope through her identity as a loved child of God!

“I found myself at a crossroad…Was I going to commit to my desire to find love? Or was I going to commit to love itself, which is God?”

May and Jake were happily dating. However, when May felt called to leave Southern California and pursue a mission opportunity in Indiana, the couple began to pray, asking if God was calling them to different paths.

Watch and see how May and Jake faithfully pursued God and one another!

“They tell us their stories, and we learn about their families, their hopes, their dreams–and that just sheds all the barriers.”

Laura felt fearful around people who were different from her. As a result, she didn’t want to serve where she would be in unfamiliar situations. Then, during her Rooted experience, she had the chance to learn about the Mariners Food Pantry. Though fearful, she felt God encouraging her to take a step of faith and decided to sign up to serve.

As Laura began to serve, she got to hear people’s stories. She talked with them about their families and circumstances, praying with them and finding common ground. As she connected in relationships with people coming to the Food Pantry, her fears began to fade.

Watch and see how Laura experienced a brand-new view of God’s people through serving!

“As I go through things in my life, whether it be adversities, challenges, or problems, I rest assured that God’s in control of my life…”

Though he grew up in a Christian household, Nathan never had a personal relationship with God. In high school, he felt isolated and struggled to find a purpose in his life. Video games became an addictive outlet for him, and he stayed up playing late into the night. He would sleep in and skip church, and his schoolwork began to suffer.

Then Nathan joined a Life Group at Mariners. As he stepped into community with other students, he felt a brand-new sense of purpose. While at HSM conference, he put his trust in Jesus. He also discovered a passion for photography and started serving in HSM as a photographer, finding a way to use technology for the good of God’s Kingdom.

Watch and see how Nathan found fresh joy in God’s purpose for his life!

“Praise God that He has given me my identity, that I know that I am His daughter. And that no matter what, I have the Lord with me.”

After growing up in a challenging family, Lavonne craved real connection and community. When she was 19, she was introduced to Mormonism, and for 20 years, she raised her family in the Mormon faith. Though she had been seeking community, she started to resent God, feeling crushed by all the rules and believing she could never earn the love she desired.

When her daughter came and told her she couldn’t be a Mormon anymore, Lavonne cried out to God and asked Him what to do. In that moment, she felt Him draw close, calling her to read His Word and listen to His voice. Together, Lavonne and her family made the decision to try their local community church—and little by little, Lavonne began to be set free. Despite the challenges, and even after losing her house in a fire, she found peace in her unchanging identity as a loved child of God.

Watch and see how Lavonne experienced real grace and love as a daughter of Christ!

“I just remember feeling hurt and confused for so long, and the answers always seemed so far out of sight. So I started to pray.”

Johnny was raised in a Christian household, but as he got older, he started putting his heart in the wrong places. Resentment, hurt, anger, and confusion pulled him away from God, and though he went through the motions each day, he felt numb inside. With nowhere left to turn, Johnny started to pray and felt Jesus pulling him back to Him. 

Shortly after, Johnny got connected with Mariners. He went through Rooted, started volunteering at services, and got baptized, growing in his understanding God’s truth. Now, when faced with stress and hurt in seasons of life, Johnny feels a deeper sense of peace rooted in his identity in Jesus. 

Watch and see how Johnny surrendered to Jesus and experienced new life in Him!

“Through us, God can have an impact. If we just put one foot in front of the other and serve without questioning, we see God show up. We see lives changed.”

Matt had been a Christian for 30 years when he got involved with the Mariners Homelessness Ministry. Before he started serving, Matt would see people on the street holding a sign or sleeping on a park bench and respond in his heart with judgment. However, when he served for the first time and prayed for people experiencing housing insecurity, his view began to change.

Matt took a step of faith and decided to start serving with the Homelessness Ministry. Through the Mariners Hosted Here program at the Illumination Foundation, he continued interacting with and praying for those he was serving, and as he served, Matt saw God transform his heart. Where he had once felt judgment, he was now filled with Christ’s love, finding fresh joy in serving His people.

Watch and see how Matt experienced life change through God’s call to serve His people!

“This very man who I grew up fearing brought me to Christ. I am now able to forgive—and it’s been beautiful.”

Nicole grew up in a household with an angry father, fearing his unpredictable moods and outbursts. Her parents ended up getting divorced due to her father’s anger, and Nicole began living with her mother. Years later, she reconnected with her father and was shocked—the angry man she once knew now had an active relationship with Jesus and was totally transformed. As she watched him live with newfound peace and love, Nicole began to pursue Jesus.

She still struggled with unprocessed hurt from her childhood, and after getting involved in an unhealthy relationship, she turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. Nicole had a drug-induced heart attack and afterward decided to get involved with counseling, alongside her father. Together, they learned to communicate without anger and found freedom in Jesus from the guilt and blame they had been carrying. For the first time, Nicole was able to fully forgive.

Watch and see how Nicole surrendered her life to God and found forgiveness and healing!

“Before I met Christ, it was a business. Since then, it’s a ministry.”

Before Dr. Pete met Jesus, his career as an obstetrician gynecologist was self-focused. He took pride in guaranteeing a perfect baby and a perfect family to his patients. But when he grew to understand the incredible love Christ showed him while he was still a sinner, he received Jesus into his life and began viewing his work as a ministry, rather than a business. He started inviting people to church, asking people about their faith, and praying over his patients in the midst of crisis.

Watch and see how Dr. Pete joyfully loves God’s people through his profession!