THIS IS A MEANINGFUL LIFE: CHARLIE’S STORY

What an incredible week as we prayed, fasted, and gathered together as a spiritual family for Prepare 2019. I continue to be blown away by God’s faithfulness as He moves in the lives of people all over our church. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to share a bit of Charlie’s Prepare story with you. This was so powerful, I wanted you to get to see the whole story:

“We first came to Milestone the very last weekend of 2017. My marriage was in trouble. We fought all the time and I told my wife, Elizabeth, that we needed to go to church and see if God could help our marriage. It didn’t seem like anything else was working. 

When I walked in the doors of Milestone that first time, I didn’t know a soul. I hadn’t been to church in years and had no idea what to expect. I’d never even seen a worship band before. But, even then, something was drawing me in. That weekend they showed a promo for Prepare 2018 and I thought, “let’s just try it.” 

So we went all-in and fully participated in Prepare 2018.

We came early to be a part of the prayer time. Even though our kids were up until 9 or 10 o’clock those nights, it didn’t matter. Each night we felt like God was talking to us and we were finally getting filled up. It wasn’t about the speakers or the messages—it was about the spiritual atmosphere we walked into every night. It was like a normal service on steroids.

I had never even thought about fasting before, or even prayed about it. But I decided to do it. I did the fast all by myself because I didn’t know anyone. Then on Day 2 of Prepare, I saw a guy from my work walking through the Commons. When I saw him a couple of week later I asked if he went to Milestone—I wanted to get connected and knew I needed the support.

It was at that moment that something just pulled me in.

Following Prepare I joined a Who Am I? Small Group, then a Freedom Group. It changed my world. I started serving everywhere I could. I led a group in Financial Peace University and then I served on the ministry team at the last Freedom Weekend.

My journey has been incredible. I went from walking into Milestone that first weekend knowing no one, to participating in a fast, to seeing a random guy from my work, to joining a Small Group, to serving, to having the greatest group of friends a guy could want. And now my whole life has changed!

And the best part is what God has done in my marriage. Before we came here, we had zero faith it would work out. We went from fighting all the time and talking about divorce to being incredibly blessed. We’ve continued to grow spiritually and want more.

And Prepare was the catalyst for it all—it was like divine intervention. This year I have felt more alive than ever. I feel His presence in all aspects of my life—my work, family, and church. I think about things differently now and see things in a whole new light. It’s not about how I feed my stomach, but it’s about how I feed my spirit.

My 2019 started entirely different than 2018. Last year, I attended Prepare as a guest, this year I went as family.

I know I’ve found home. During the services this week, my small group sat together. I looked down the row of people and saw them worshipping and just thought, this is a meaningful life.”

—Charlie

Milestone, I’m so proud of you for going on the journey with us this week. Like Charlie, I know that many of you have a story of your own to tell about what God did in your life during Prepare. To share your story with me, email info@milestonechurch.com. 

Pastor Jeff Little