Multiply Generosity Initiative

NATHAN LI

Champion Forest has impacted my life in ways no other organization has.

At the age of 7, my father passed away, leaving behind my mother, my year-old sister, and me. Sometimes it’s hard to remember those moments 9 years ago, but I can be sure of one thing: the church became an anchor for us. Whether it was in a life group being discipled by Godly men, or serving alongside fellow believers on community projects, I can’t imagine where I’d without the constant influence of the ministry of Champion Forest.

As a high school student, I battle with the odds and ends of life’s problems. Champion Forest has allowed me to find healing and hope through mission trips, camps, and bible studies made just for people like me. As a lifetime attender, member since 2010, and Spoken Word artist for CFBC, I have been able to develop and grow in the gifts God has given me and my daily walk with him. I know that I would not be where I am today without this church’s role in my life. I am so thankful to be a part of this church family and am happy to call CFBC my home.

Eliacin & Yesselyn Casillas

My family and I are immensely thankful to be part of Champion Forest Baptist Church, a place we call home. To see the joy our kids’ experience at CFBC and to see them grow in God at an early age is priceless.

The moment we walked through the doors of CFBC, we experienced the love and grace of God and felt overwhelmingly accepted. At that moment we knew that we wanted to be part of what God was doing here. Since we began attending in 2014, we have been challenged to go higher in a relationship with God. We have seen our faith grow by investing in relationships with others, and most of all, we are challenged to be a difference maker in the world. At CFBC we found a place where we can use our talents to help others grow. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of a diverse church where the gospel is shared in our community and around the world.

We are so thankful and humbled to be part of this exciting time in our church where we can sow and invest in God’s Kingdom, not only with our talents and our time but also financially. We can't wait to see God’s promises fulfilled as we continue to expand our impact in Northwest Houston and beyond!

Sonny & Tiffany Sedate

God called me to repentance and faith when I was a little boy. It was like a firm smack on the head, “Turn away from sin. Trust Me. Tell somebody.” Well, I was a child with a vivid imagination, but I wasn’t confused about what I needed to do... what I had to do... immediately.

A bit later, while still young, I dreamed of becoming a missionary... but when I prayed about it, I felt like God said, “No, watch the stuff” (1 Samuel 30:24). Which was disappointing to me, but OK. If only one of us can be in charge, it’s really much better if it’s always Him (confession time: The “always” is a regular challenge for me.).

Decades later (if that makes us sound old, then you are understanding perfectly), Tiffany and I had been serving for years mostly within the CFBC student and children’s ministries. We still prayed for missions, and taught about missions, and gave to missions, but we didn’t pray to become missionaries (other than the regular short-term trip). We had found our place of service and were truly happy. God’s plan is perfect, right?

God’s plan is perfect, but God’s plan isn’t finished... and so God called us to become missionaries – removing obstacles and glorifying Himself along the way, in ways that were completely unexpected, entirely perfect, and uncomfortably stretching.

So we went from a big Texas house (swimming pool, cars, etc.) to living in a small urban apartment in Lisbon above a busy ice cream shop. Fitting everything we owned into a small handful of suitcases (well, OK – they were big suitcases). No A/C. No clothes dryer. No car. Different language and cultures in grander dimensions than we anticipated. 0.6% evangelical and shrinking. Stretching.

When we first were called here, a friend exclaimed, “Wow – that’s like being a missionary to Disney World.” And, yes – Lisbon is a popular tourist destination. The weather is glorious, the food is wonderful, the people are polite and generally spiritually-minded – within moderation. Yet, only about 1 in 200 believe – or rather 199 out of 200 are headed for an eternity separated from God. We’ve been uncomfortable for a little over 18 months, I can’t imagine eternity... and for many it will be quite a bit harsher than uncomfortable.

We don’t know exactly what God will do next. But, we do know we are never alone. We do know we are always loved. We do know that we are called to trust and obey – to give and to go... to multiply disciples and plant churches... And yeah, for us that’s stretching (1 Cor 1.9).