| The Sign |
| Written by Judith Yeoman |
 Visit Fort Wayne Church on Sabbath morning and you will discover a special class for guests and friends with questions about Christianity, Scripture and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The class prepares people for baptism, disciples them afterward and provides a safe place for “vacationers” considering a return to church. The teacher is Ramon Ulangca, pastor of this growing congregation who believes, “It takes about two years for new people to integrate into a church.”
Recently, Steve Poenitz, ministerial director for the Indiana Conference, joined the group of about 15 people as they sat around the table and shared their personal testimonies. “I was amazed,” says Steve. “These precious [individuals] passionately told their stories of coming to Christ.”
David Tackett is a member of this class. He was raised in the church but left early on to pursue a career in rock music. His rock band was on the verge of signing a major contract when the atheist girlfriend he was living with became pregnant. That brought David’s plans to a screeching halt. One evening David tuned the TV to a channel that carried the wild music he liked. The lyrics to some songs were so filthy regular stations refused to air them. However, he didn’t realize the station was gone, and that another station called 3ABN had taken its place.
As David watched, he realized he was hearing Bible truths from the church of his childhood. He called his dad, an Adventist in Spencer, Indiana, and asked what he should do. “Go to the church and you’ll see the pastor’s name and phone number on the sign,” his father replied. So began David’s journey back to God. Early on, the pastor introduced him to Matt Ensign, a member of the Fort Wayne Church who knew David when they were children. Because of their shared history they instantly reconnected, and Matt accepted the task of preparing David for baptism. The pastor told David, “Baptism is like getting married to Jesus, but before you can get married to Him you need to make sure your other relationships are in order. How’s your relationship with Michaelyn?”
David took the hint, and so he and Michaelyn were married ... and David was baptized. Ramon then told David, “My job isn’t done until you’ve led someone else to Jesus.” He invited David to start by telling his story to the congregation for the worship service and to finish by inviting others to accept Jesus. He did, and two young ladies surrendered their lives to Christ. One was a single mom named Misty. The other was Michaelyn. Today both ladies are baptized and actively growing in Jesus.
One day David asked his dad, “How’d you know to tell me to go to the church and look for the pastor’s name and number on the sign?”
After a long pause his dad responded, “I don’t know.” David’s dad had never seen the sign before, so he had no way of knowing what was on it. How marvelous are God’s ways!
This article first appeared in the May 2010 issue of the Lake Union Herald and is reprinted here by permission. Judith Yeoman is the correspondent for the Indiana Conference.
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