Bill Trask

Elder

I was raised in the Catholic Church and attended parochial school for some grade school years, which gave me a firm appreciation for the existence of God and His interaction with humans. When I turned 12, that knowledge depreciated quickly because there was no relationship with God. I desperately needed some sense of identity and meaning. For the next five years, I searched the world of drugs and the lifestyle it came with.

My neighbor invited me to the local United Methodist Church youth group from time to time. I would go because, well, there were girls and events where I could continue my lifestyle. In the early 1970s, a lay gospel awakening was occuring in the United Methodist Church. The youth group asked for volunteers to host members of a Lay Witness Mission group that was to hold meetings at the church over a weekend. I said I would, but only if it was a girl – they agreed. So, for a weekend, I drove a young lady back and forth to the meetings and sat through them.

The moment of my conversion is vivid and remarkable in my memory. I was sitting cross-legged on the fellowship hall floor as a young man talked about what it was like to find his identity in Jesus and the freedom from sin and the joy that ensued. I was burdened and had no joy. At that moment, I remembered that God interacted with humans, and I simply prayed: “God, make me like that man.” The meeting ended; a few minutes later, I was standing in another room by myself. In an instant, I had the sensation of a great weight lifting off my shoulders as if I had someone grabbed from above a heavy backpack I had been carrying. At that moment, I understood that the Spirit of Christ had entered me, even though I had no recollection of ever hearing that term. I left the room; the first person I saw was my neighbor, to whom I exclaimed: “Praise God, Marty, Jesus lives in me.”

There is much to be said about life after that night. A few months later, the investment of a man in my life lasted several years and created a solid foundation for my continued sanctification: graduating college with a degree in Christian Education and calling myself to ministry (from which the Lord removed me), consistent, active church life, and substantial losses and trials in
life through which the Lord has revealed Himself to me and refined my soul.

Bill Trask

Sundays at 8:45am & 11:00am

The Village Church Denton
1106 W. Oak St., Denton, Texas 76201