Hi everyone, my name is Bradley and this is my testimony:

I’ve attended church since I was a kid and I’ve called Cornerstone my home church for some time. Both Cornerstone and I were born in the same year – 1998. When Bill Clinton was President of the United States, the movie Titanic won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and a major ice storm affected Ontario and Quebec that year. A lot has changed since then. And so have I, and so has this church.

Much like how Cornerstone has grown since then, I feel that I’ve grown too – both personally and spiritually. From when Cornerstone was at Markville Secondary School to the move to this building and into the future, I’ve been part of this church’s journey and God has been part of my journey even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

Although I knew from a young age that Jesus died for our sins, I wasn’t fully committed until recently. In high school and university, I questioned faith and Christianity because I saw a lot of focus from my peers – including Christians – on seeking happiness through partying and casual relationships but I was looking for something deeper.

And then after university, I moved across the country from place to place looking for a job that would bring me fulfillment – whether it was money, personal and professional growth, or the work itself – but over time, it would wear off and I kept looking for something more.

I realized that what I was looking for was here the whole time and that is Jesus – only He is enough for me. I came to this realization when I moved back home recently, which in turn brought me closer to God. As I returned to Markham, I had time to reflect on my time across the country and I realized that even though I left home, God never left me. Even though I was searching for fulfillment in people and work, He always provided what I needed and He reminded me of what Jesus said to His Disciples in John 14:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

This opened my heart for my first church service after moving back when there was an announcement about baptism. Although there were announcements like this before, I felt something stirring in my heart this time.

For a while, pastors and family have asked me about baptism but I always brushed it off. I didn’t feel the need to be baptized if I had accepted Jesus in my heart. But this time, I questioned myself: “Why not be baptized?” And I realized that I didn’t have an answer, I just had an excuse.

Looking back now, I see that God kept knocking on my door until I fully committed myself to Him through baptism and I would like to thank the pastors here at Cornerstone and my family for encouraging me along the way. I’m usually not an emotional person but once I made the decision to be baptized, I couldn’t help but become emotional during that church service and every one since then because for years, I was hesitant about taking this next step in my spiritual journey but now, I’m ready!