From a Buggy to a Pulpit

The Story of Pastor Ivan Yoder

The year was 1984. I was 10 years old and the oldest of five children. Our family was going through some major changes! I had been born into an Old Order Amish family like my father before me and as far back as we know. We did not have electricity in our home, and we did not drive cars. Our bathroom consisted of an outhouse at the edge of the yard. (It was too close in the summer and was too far away in the winter!) Horse and buggies were all I had ever known. We lived on a small farm secluded from the world and surrounded only by other Amish. When a faithful Christian began to share the gospel with my dad, he came to realize, from the Bible, that the teachings of religion never replace a relationship with Jesus Christ. He started studying the Bible and accepted Christ as his personal Savior.

Soon after that, our family and several others were forced to make a choice: Renounce this newfound belief or be “banned” from our friends and family. I saw the gut-wrenching scenes between my other Amish relatives as they pleaded and threatened my parents to come back to “their heritage.” This was accompanied by the demand that renounce the beliefs that we now had from the Bible. We parted and sadly, I would never again have a relationship with my maternal grandparents and my 13 aunts and uncles. It was a sad day, yet the greatest thing that ever happened to me, and I will tell you why.

On February 24, 1984, I accepted Christ as my Savior. Before that day I had religion but not a relationship. You see, here is the thing about religion: It is based on rules! It is based on trying to earn your way to heaven by doing good works. Actually when it comes down to it, religion is based on you! However, Romans 3:10 tells us: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” There is not a person alive today that is good enough to make it to heaven. We are all sinners, and the Bible tells us in Romans 6:23, the penalty for that sin: “For the wages of sin in death…” But, you already know that. We all know that if we have enough birthdays, we will die. That is the bad news, but the good news comes in the next verse! “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” What you cannot earn because you are not good enough, God gives because He is gracious! Religion can give you a false hope, but Christ can give you assurance! I John 5:13 tells us, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

Let me ask you a question. If the unthinkable happened and this day was your last on earth, do you know where you would be after that? Do you know for sure that you would be in heaven? If the answer to that question is anything but a definite “Yes,” I plead with you to accept God’s gift of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. He died and rose again for you. The hour is late. You could step into eternity tonight. Please turn from the empty lie of your own way and believe on Jesus Christ as your only Savior right now. Simply call upon the Lord. Tell Him you admit your sinfulness and deserve his judgment. Ask him to forgive you. Express that you believe Jesus Christ died, was buried, and bodily rose from the dead for you. Tell Him you are trusting in Him alone, plus nothing. Did you sincerely ask the Lord Jesus to save you? Then He did! He did save you forever! Thank Him!

Write us and let us know about your decision. We would love to hear from you!

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Make checks payable to:
Evangelist Dwight Smith
532 Forest Ridge Drive
Shelby, NC 28152