My Spiritual Walk

My mother told me when I was about 6, I was picked up and bused to a Sunday school class.  That may have been where I learned the song of John 3:16 that is seared in my memory.  My father was a careered military man in the US Air Force.  We were stationed at Ramey Air Force Base (A.F.B.) in Puerto Rico at that time.

We transferred to Ellsworth A.F.B. near Rapid City, South Dakota.  There I attended two consecutive summer Protestant youth group camps.  Our family attended a few church services like Christmas and Easter.  We spent 6 years there.

Then transferred to Offutt A.F.B. near Omaha, Nebraska.  Now, 15 ½ and a high schooler. During my senior year, our family became members of  Bethel Baptist Church in South Omaha.

Onward to college at Alabama A&M (Agriculture and Mechanical) University.  I attended some church services on campus and as well churches within the Huntsville, Alabama area. One of the most moving concerts that I ever attended was when Shirley Caesar performed on campus.  I think the concert was in 1978.  

After college I took a position with a well logging company in Houston, Texas.   When I was 30 years old something came over me one night revealing that I would become a preacher.  Before leaving Houston, Texas in 1988 unemployed, I attended and started the membership process at a large Baptist Church there.  I think I was only in my 3rd week when I decided to leave Houston and go back to my parents home in Bellevue, Nebraska. 

I started attending Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Bellevue, Nebraska.  A few weeks later, I got my mom to attend with me and we both joined.  A couple months attending there, I believe  May of 1988 I was baptized at 31.  I joined a men’s church group called “The Brotherhood”.  We met on Wednesday nights to study the bible and fellowship.  We were also a singing group, who performed on one Sunday per month at our church and at area churches and group homes.  

Working on Sunday’s in 1992 led to me stop attending church and back sliding with sporadic church visits again over the years

2016, I lost half of my foot on the left side and below knee the leg on the right.  The infection that took my leg could have also taken my life.  Now more conscientious in prayer my interest in God’s Word began to grow.  Even at that, I wanted to try my hand at comedy.  But, before I could start that, my son, who lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with his mom at that time convinced her to move back to Bellevue to be near his dad regularly.  He went back and forth living with us.  That’s the work of God, now I had to focus on parenting again. So, I gave up my desire to perform comedy, at least in the format that I was going to.

2017 I started attending church more semi-regularly.  Even with all my previous exposure to Church, I still felt I knew very little about the Bible.  So, that year I started buying bible DVD’s and Cd’s.  In 2018 mid-summer, I started attending a Sudanese Lutheran Church. Well, my son being part Sudanese, the two of us finally made it out for a visit.  Most of the service was in Nuer language making it hard for me to get much from it.  I keep observing the kids playing, on cell phones, tuned out.  So, I told the Pastor they should to do the sermons in English so that the kids, being American, in American schools, can get more out of coming.  Plus, the church itself could potentially grow more.  Then after it seem they were not ready for that change, I suggested they have someone have a program for the children while they had service.  They had discussions and nobody volunteered, so he said for me to do it.

I accepted the challenge, even though I still didn’t know a lot, but felt I could learn and stay a step ahead of the children.  

January of 2019, the program for the youth kicked off.  Over a year with them, but when Covid pandemic hit in 2020, I continued services at my home with the family and a few of them with my son’s friends.

January 27, 2022 my ordination and the beginning of the Minister Holloway Ministry.