The prayer that changed everything

This is a post written by Charis Alumni, Curtis Phillips.

I discovered Andrew Wommack’s teaching while driving down Virginia Beach Boulevard searching for something worth listening to on the radio. Years of religious teaching and misunderstanding melted away in just one partial lesson on the Holy Spirit.

I was hooked on the message of God’s unconditional love and grace. I called the ministry and ordered the tapes (yes, cassette tapes!).  A few years later, Andrew began offering all of his teachings on his website, so I loaded my MP3 player and devoured everything he had during six years of work commutes!

After one of the teachings concluded, and I was too close to my destination to begin another, I lofted a simple prayer heavenward, 

Lord, I would love to one day attend Charis Bible College and have implanted within me the same spiritual DNA that I sense when I listen to Andrew’s teaching. 

Little did I know how faithful God would be to that prayer. 

In 2010 I made a decision that would forever impact my family’s future. A year earlier God called me to retire from the United States Navy. In the fall of 2010, with the details of my retirement in order, my family and I began the process of moving to Colorado Springs. Uncertain of exactly what God had in store for us—and not entirely confident at the time that Colorado Springs was the right destination—we began a true faith journey. 

Now, four years later, I am a graduate of Charis Bible College and the Third Year Ministry Program. More than that, CBC has impacted my entire family; my wife and my oldest daughter are also graduates. In November our oldest daughter and her husband gifted us with our precious first grandchild. 

The impact of a prayer and decision made four years ago means that my grandson will grow up in a home permeated with the message of God’s unconditional love and grace. I am truly blessed, knowing that generations of my family will be sharing the Gospel that was taught to us at Charis Bible College!