The "Changed by Jesus" series features stories about how Jesus is working through the ministry of Mars Hill Church to change lives. If God has used Mars Hill to transform your life, please consider emailing your account to testimony[at]marshillchurch.org.

Jesus brings to his church people who are broken and in need of his saving grace. This young woman tells her story of Jesus taking her hand in the darkest times and leading her into the light.

A New Path — Changed by Jesus #5

On October 7, 2007, I discovered I was pregnant. It was a normal day at work and everything was fine. I had noticed some things that were weird so I decided to go get a pregnancy test. It took about two seconds for the digital test to tell me I was pregnant. I was in shock. I started shaking uncontrollably and couldn’t even talk. The next few weeks were really hard for me. In my mind I had two choices: have the baby or abortion. Unfortunately at the time adoption just wasn’t an option because I knew that if I carried a baby for nine months I wouldn’t be able to give it up. I was still living with my parents and recently out of a very abusive relationship. I can’t have a baby right now, I thought, I’m not ready. I don’t want him to be the father. I don’t make enough money. No one will ever want to marry or date me if I’m a single mom. I went through all these things in my mind and decided on November 2 to have an abortion. It’s a day I will never forget. I tried reading different people's stories on the internet, learning as much as I could about what I was about to do. It didn’t matter. No matter how much I read or learned, nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to experience. The room was so cold and everyone seemed very insensitive to what was about to happen. Quite honestly, they didn’t even prepare me for what was about to happen. About three weeks after my abortion and weeks of immense depression and regret, my best friend and her husband offered to get me out of the house and take me to church. I had grown up in a family where there was no religion. I was free to believe what I wanted and make my own call. I went to church a few times with friends when I was in middle school, but the experience always made me feel weird and I didn’t really like it. My best friend and her husband knew my upbringing and feelings toward church. They told me to just give it a chance, and if I was really uncomfortable I could always go in the lobby and have coffee. That morning I went to Mars Hill in West Seattle. I walked in and heard some rock-type music and immediately thought, "Huh? This isn’t church..." Then the video screen came down and I’m thinking, "Oh man where did they take me to!" It was about fifteen minutes into Pastor Mark’s sermon that I started feeling comfortable and really listening. It made sense to me and I just wanted to hear more. Every Sunday after that I felt I was missing something if I didn’t go to church. In April I moved to Ballard and started calling the Ballard campus home. During the Doctrine series, Mark invited people up to the stage to have communion for the first time. When he made that announcement I got all hot and my heart started beating really fast and something told me it was time. I walked on stage and took communion as a Christian for the first time, and Mark offered to pray for me and my baby. I’ve been attending a community group for the last month and have met some amazing people. I’m very lucky to have found Mars Hill. I know that if my friends had not offered to take me that one day back in November, I’d still be on a destructive path in life. Now I lead a life full of hope and courage through Jesus.