My name is Camden Mason. I’m 15 years old and a student leader in Student Ministries here at Blue Ridge.
It’s been over the past year or so where God has really moved in me and changed my whole view of Jesus and church. I used to think of church as a chore really.
It never was real for me. I only went because my parents went and I never really understood the point of singing songs and learning about someone who I had never met and couldn’t even see. I had so many questions but being pretty shy around strangers, I never felt comfortable asking them or making friends or making any effort to get closer to the leaders. I was one of those people who came for the great cookies from the cafe and to socialize with friends, or really, the pre-service games.
About a year ago, almost exactly, I began to have a constant thought that just would not leave my mind: Accept Jesus into my life. Every time I had a moment to think about anything, my mind would always go back to that. It was really God’s way of telling me He wanted me.
Still, however, shyness had gotten the best of me even though I had grown close with the leaders. It wasn’t until the middle school camp week where my life and faith completely did a 180. It was Tuesday, June 13th, when, in my one-on-one talk with Andrew Nobilini, I made the decision to give my life to Christ. This eventually led to me getting baptized on September 10th. It was one of the best moments in my life, and I finally felt the weight of the world was off my shoulders and that I didn’t have to go through life alone.
God has taught me many things in the short time I’ve been a true Christ follower and He’s totally flipped my faith from believing that I’ll get to heaven by doing all these good deeds and stuff to focusing on building my faith and having a strong
relationship with Jesus.