Hello,
My name is Pastor Kent Burke. My wife Loretta and I have been married since 1978, and we have two daughters who are now in the process of building their own children for God's Kingdom. We are thrilled to have three young grandchildren who are a blessing every day. Loretta and I met when we were in our early 20's, and it was not long after meeting that we both knew that we wanted to spend our lives together.
Neither of us were saved when we met, and God was not a major concern in our lives. When we had our first daughter about 2 years after being married, and then our second daughter, we realized that we had a responsibility from God and that we needed to get serious about spiritual things.
What followed was about three-and-a-half years of religious experiences and searching for God in different churches and religions. At the end of all of this we were confused and still did not have Jesus Christ living in our hearts and lives. I had one guiding principle, however, that I never forgot. One day when I was about 9 years old my Father was sitting at the coffee table with the big family Bible open. As he was studying that Bible he looked up and said, "Kent, this is the Holy Bible and in it there are no lies at all."
That simple statement from my Father has stuck with me throughout my entire life. In February of 1986 Loretta and I began to visit yet another church where we met a lady by the name of Lois Gregory and her son Gary. One day this kind and godly lady gave us a 32-page booklet, written by Mrs. Oliver B. Green. The booklet is called What Does It Mean To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ?
This was the exact struggle of my life. At this point I had known many religious experiences, but I still knew that Jesus Christ was not living in my heart. I knew that Jesus Christ would save anybody, but I couldn't bring myself to believe that He would save ME. This booklet said the same thing my Father had told me many years before. In I John 5:11 the Bible says of itself, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this lifeis in his Son." Also, Titus 1:2 says God cannot lie. This is what my Father had said.
Well, Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Because of God's faithful witness, Mrs. Gregory, and because of God's word, on February 20, 1986 my wife and I both knelt down in front of our couch and asked Jesus Christ to come into our hearts and save our souls.
Now we want to spend the rest of our lives letting people know that Jesus loves them and wants them to be saved. And I know that no matter who you are, or what you have done, God loves YOU!
Pastor Kent Burke