I always believed in God, and even at my angriest and most delinquent I was the drunk guy at the party ferociously debating religion. I thought God just wasn’t actively interested in humanity and He would do nothing to impact my life. I was never angry at Him though. I was angry at the Church.

When my wife and I came to Poema...Oh man, I was SO angry. I literally stood at the back of the Church, my hands white knuckling the seat in front of me. Here I am trying to wrap my head around the fact the most compassionate display of Christ like teaching just came from a female pastor after a rock music laden service. I "literally could not even" as the kids say. Then I encountered Christ. It was during worship on a Sunday. The band was playing “For The Cross” and I just fell apart...I mean full out weeping. It was in that moment that I knew that I was truly forgiven and that Christ was with me still.

One College really was a crucible for me, were it not for Poema College I don’t know that I would be as firmly planted as I am today. Having a forum where questions, doubts and deliberation over the Bible was encouraged really helped me realize that Church, done correctly, could still serve a purpose and really have an impact. It helped restore my faith in the church. I realized that God is not afraid of our questions or our doubts and that if my faith stayed in Him I couldn't go wrong.

LINO'S STORY