Cliff top conversion

My name’s Bethany but a lot of my friends call me Beth. I was born into a Christian home and have always been to church. Doesn’t sound exciting does it? Nothing too radical, dangerous or adventurous in my life, is there?
But don’t judge a book by its cover. I’ve had the most radical transformation that could ever happen to any human being. And it could happen to you. You see, I have become a Christian.

What’s a Christian anyway?

When I was about 7, I went to a church service and the guy at the front said that whoever wanted to become a Christian should pray this prayer with him. I didn’t really understand what it meant but I prayed the prayer anyway. After that everything really passed over my head. I knew the Bible stories but I didn’t know what they meant for me. I thought that I had said the words so I was fine. I was a Christian, wasn’t I?
But then, when I was at this camp near Carlisle, the leader asked us why we had become Christians (because we all said we had). I couldn’t think what to say. That puzzled me. Why had I become a Christian? And what really was a Christian anyway?
As you can see, I wasn’t picking up 10 marks for being a genius. I put it to the back of my mind and didn’t really think about it again until a few years later at the same camp. One night there was a sermon on becoming a Christian. The speaker said that if you said the words but didn’t really receive Jesus into your life to be your King, then you were not a Christian – you were still an enemy of God.

All became clear

A week later I was in France on holiday with my family. I was standing on a cliff top near some battleground (my dad likes war stuff) and I couldn’t get that message out of my head. Suddenly it all became clear to me. I realised why Christ died for me and what I had to do.
So there on the top of the cliff I gave my life to Jesus. I remember looking out over the sea and thinking, ‘There is a God out there. A God who cares – and I want to give my life to him!’