Jeff was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He was still in a high school youth group when he first met Patrick, and later had the opportunity to serve with him in Nigeria. This ultimately resulted in the formation of a ministry partnership between the two as Dayspring Mission. Jeff spent from 2000-2007 on the mission field in southern Belize. He returned to Nigeria in late 2007, where he currently ministers. He serves in the capacity of pastor and teacher, and writes and edits for Horse & Buggy Publications. Jeff is also a singer/songwriter whose music is a reflection of his life and ministry.     

Jeff’s Testimony

As many do in the southeastern United States, I grew up attending church quite regularly. However, I didn’t perceive God as having any sort of active role in my life outside of the formalities of Sunday morning services. I remember hearing the Gospel for the first time when I was about eight years old, and then on several occasions over the following years. Throughout my childhood I didn’t deny God’s existence. But I also didn’t have any real sense of committing myself to Him. It’s always been clear to me that a person who makes the claim to follow Christ should live a radically different life from those who do not. Over time, the discrepancy I observed between word and deed among many professing Christians was one reason that I began to question Christianity, and religion at large.

Through the influence of music I was listening to, certain books I was reading, and as a result of pursuing of my own desires, I came to a point in my first year of high school where I began considering myself an atheist. Contributing to this position was my increasing frustration with life and its ultimate purpose. This was a question I was continually trying to make sense of. I reasoned that if there is no God, then life is meaningless. This led me into periods of sadness or frustration, and fueled my rebellion against what I considered an artificial society with pretentious standards. Ironically though, the more I sought to be a non-conformist of sorts, the more I simply conformed to others who held similar opinions.

After a couple years of making poor decisions and glimpsing their potentially far-reaching consequences, I found myself at the age of 16 at a point where I was willing to evaluate the direction my life was heading in. In hindsight I now realize how many different ways God was working to get my attention. My best friend at the time, whom shared a similar worldview, changed dramatically almost overnight. He was quick to accredit this to the fact that he had become a Christian. Of this I took notice. I also remember two specific instances that occurred the previous year. On one occasion I was heavily convicted after hearing a sermon about the return of the Lord. I knew I wasn’t ready for that encounter. At another time, I sat through a youth rally in which I was clearly confronted with the Gospel in light of my own sinfulness. I was increasingly having trouble quieting my conscience in spite of my professed atheism. One particular youth pastor took time to answer my “tough” questions about Christianity. He also encouraged me to read Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament and John in the New. The former spoke of the futility of life without God, to which I could readily relate. The Gospel of John told me of Him who claimed to give life abundantly, Jesus (John 10:10).

One night that summer, I bowed my head after a Gospel presentation and sought God’s forgiveness through Christ. It marked a major turning point in my life. I began allowing the light of God’s truth to shine in. However, it would take two more years for me to come to the place where I was willing to lay everything at His feet. Though I did begin praying, periodically reading the Bible, attending church again, and making changes in my lifestyle, I hadn’t yet realized the degree to which sin had driven Jesus to the cross on my behalf. I still allowed certain sins to run unchecked in my life. And, I still sought fulfillment of my own plans instead of God’s will. But as my last two years of high school slipped by, my desire to escape this lukewarm spirituality was growing. I knew I wasn’t experiencing the peace spoken of by Jesus (John 14:27).

Again, the Lord’s timing was impeccable. The Holy Spirit was in the process of awakening in me more and more my own inconsistencies when Patrick, whom I now minister alongside, returned for a furlough from mission work in Nigeria. I’d met him before, but really got to know him well during this time that he was back. He challenged me to spend consistent time in the Word and spoke of the Christian’s call to holiness. Through my reading of Scripture and seeking God’s will, I began to realize that my life was not reflecting Christ as it should be. I began to comprehend as never before my lack of surrender and brokenness before God. I saw afresh what it meant that I had transgressed God’s Law; that apart from Christ, I stood condemned as one who had told lies, harbored hatred, entertained impure thoughts, and generally rebelled against my Creator. On top of all this, I was guilty of breaking the first commandment by not putting God first in everything (Exodus 20:3).

Then it began to come to me in a flood of realization that since Jesus gave His life for me, I owed Him nothing less than my life—all of it. I can’t pinpoint a specific day that these truths cemented themselves in my heart, but I do know that my faith came alive as never before, and my desire to draw close to God became all-consuming. I was truly a new creation in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). From that season on there was no question that my life wasn’t my own, that I had been bought with a price, and that I would never be the same again (I Corinthians 6:20).

My desire to share what had become to me truly Good News with others was immediate. This longing naturally extended particularly to those whom had never the opportunity to hear the Gospel. I jumped at the chance to return to Nigeria with Patrick to assist him in his mission work there. After those first six months, there was no doubt in my mind and heart that the mission field was where I belonged. By God’s grace and guidance I’ve been able to continue pursuing ministry in a foreign context up until now.       

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