My life before I met Jesus
I am Imoh Ibok. A product designer and video editor. I first came to sycamore church in 2021. One of my friends invited me. I came once and thought “This church is a bit different from what I’m used to”.
Then I came back, more like joined Sycamore in late 2022, towards the end of that year. This was after I met Seun Sunmola. I was staying at the Kuti Hall of residence in the University of Ibadan at the time when I met him, and because of him, I started coming more frequently to church.
Before making the decision to follow Jesus, I was going through life in motions. I was just living and existing. In 2018, I stopped going to church for a very long time.
Thing is, my mom always had complications with her health and as a child, I had always prayed for her health challenges but nothing really changed. We also had pastors come around but nothing really changed about her health.
That was one of the things that made me lose faith. I felt like if God couldn’t help my Mom, why have a relationship with him?
Fast forward to University, I got into the wrong crowd, I got into bad habits and made bad decisions. Those decisions turned my life around: I became very distant from my family, and I wasn’t even close to my friends.
It was just me in my space doing my own thing. I struggled a lot. Even my grades were affected. I started school pretty well but my bad decisions changed that.
God wasn’t in the picture. My self-esteem wasn’t good and my relationship with people was bad.
Making the decision to follow Jesus
I wouldn’t say I made the decision to follow Jesus in one single moment. It’s best to say there was a sum of moments where the gospel struck a chord in me.
It was the accumulation of sermons and being around the church community that made me say yes, I want to follow Jesus.
Backstory: I used to struggle with anxiety a lot. There was one sermon Pastor Tolu Moody preached last year that had a very big impact on my journey. It made me see that the anxiety and fear aren’t real and that there’s a God who loves and cares for me beyond my fears and worries. This was one moment.
Another one of these moments was when my one friend who used to indulge in the same bad habits with me made a decision to follow Jesus. We had a conversation about it where she shared her convictions. It got me thinking, if Jesus can change her then maybe he can change me too.
Making a decision to start coming into the church community was a big moment too. It was a step-by-step process, where had to keep showing up. Even on the days I didn’t want to show up, my friends were there to make me come. Soon, I started coming around myself even on the days my friends were not around.
Eventually, I told myself, I’d give Jesus a chance, and I’m so grateful I did. I was able to fill the void that my past couldn’t fill. Being in Jesus has made me feel complete.
Choosing Sycamore as my home
Two things have made me choose Sycamore: the sermons and the community. I have honestly never been around so much love before.
The act of coming changed it all for me. I came to church and saw how people truly cared for me. There was so much intentionality and genuineness that shaped my experience of church.
Week in, week out, I am always excited to come around to listen to Pastor Tolu’s sermons. Then, discipleship masterclasses like the Purpose and Leadership Intensive (PALI) masterclass kept me established in church. I saw changes in my life and told myself that I had to stay.
There was no way I could decided to leave after seeing so much progress in my life. The transformation in my life was so evident that a church member told me how much bubbly I’ve become as against how withdrawn I used to be. I even started to help new members find their place in the church community.
Also read: I didn’t feel like an alien in church
A Word of Encouragement
I know it’s not easy to take the step to follow Jesus, and it takes a lot of commitment. First and foremost, remember that God loves you. Pour your heart and soul into your relationship with Him, and He’ll multiply your efforts.
Surround yourself with a supportive community of like-minded Jesus people. It was through the encouragement of my community that I was able to push myself to new heights.
Hey friend, we are inviting you to join us this Sunday as we gather together with a community of Jesus people for our baptism Sunday! The time is 9:00 AM WAT. You can join us onsite at Sycamore Community Church, behind Mobil Filling Station, Samonda, Ibadan or online via YouTube.
If you’re in Lagos, you can also get to be part of family this Sunday. Location is Eridan Space, Ikeja, Lagos. Time is 9:30 AM WAT. And this Sunday they taking the topic, “Fresh Air: Dealing with Offense”.
See you soon!
Interview by Lolade Folorunso
Lolade serves with the Content Team at Sycamore Church
(Blogposts are creative expressions generously provided for Sycamore Church. The ideas and thoughts do not necessarily represent the position of Sycamore Church
