Jim Helman

Jim Helman

Often, when I'm telling my faith story, I'll start off with an observation made by Ruth Graham, wife of Billy Graham, who has said she is not exactly sure when she became a Christian. Because I grew up with many Christian influences around me, I'm not sure if I became a Christian around 8 years old or 18 years old.

My parents went through a nasty divorce when I was still in preschool. Because of that, I spent a lot of time on my grandparents' farm. My grandfather was a strong influence on me and was both a farmer and bivocational Methodist pastor. His Methodist roots taught me a lot about who God was and the relationship of Jesus Christ to my life. I would spend nights on that Southern Mississippi farm away from the city and light pollution to see thousands of stars in the sky that would mesmerize me about an eternal creator.

But it was in the Vietnam war and conflicts of the late sixties that I began to doubt any existence of God that cared anything about this world.    I remember taking an aptitude test during the spring of 1973 where I tested highest for being a Minister. I remember laughing out loud thinking how stupid it was that this test would prompt me towards something when I wasn't even sure if I was a Christian or not.

In the summer of 1973, my mother and stepfather moved to another city leaving me in the Arkansas town that I had grown up in. I lived in an apartment above my brother and his wife during my senior year of high school and then moved out to begin college at Arkansas State University.

As a part of the band, each freshman was assigned to an upperclassman who would help freshmen make the transition to college. Freshman would wear a beanie much like pledges of a fraternity.  That meant we received both encouragement and all sorts of light pestering.

My upperclassmen had a volunteer position at the local Baptist Church working with children in their children's music during the week. He wrangled me to help him set up his classroom on a regular basis which in turn introduced me to a whole new set of friends at that Baptist Church.

I also started going to ASU's Campus Crusade for Christ and becoming reacquainted with the God that I had walked away from. It was my freshman year of college that I got down on my knees in the darkness of my dorm room by myself and prayed a simple prayer, "God, if you truly are there and interested in me, I want to give my life to you".  There were no angels and no bright lights appearing in my room.

All I remember was the sense that I had done the right thing and slept peacefully that night.

That decision began a whole new journey for me. I became active in this new church, was later baptized, became active with ASU's Campus Crusade for Christ, teaching and reading my Bible and growing spiritually.  This new path has led me beautiful directions for my entire life!

James 1:22 is a Bible verse that has come to have significance for my life.  It says, "Put the Word - that is The Bible-  into ACTION. If you think hearing (merely learning) is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived."