Becca Howard

I was raised to know and believe in God, but we didn’t live our lives for Him. Born in Wisconsin, I was baptized as an infant into a Lutheran church. My mom was a believer and put us through the church’s preschool program. As a middle schooler, I went through catechism and became an acolyte for the Lutheran church. At the end of middle school, we moved across the country to Florida and frequented a non-denominational church. Some evenings we watched tele-ministers, such as Benny Hinn.

During my teen years, I attended a legalistic baptist church in Florida. Without my parents' influence, this was my primary experience of church as a more “grown” individual. After that, I began school at North Greenville University (NGU). My church experiences were mostly attending chapel on Mondays and Wednesdays. Being in the theatre department and a part of Act II, I was performing in front of churches most Sundays. This did not allow me to have a home church or a community outside of my college friends. It created a big gap for me in church membership. Upon graduating from NGU, I dabbled in back-seat attendance at Taylor's First Baptist Church but ultimately fell away from the church and Christianity altogether for 5 years of my life.

God’s salvation found me over time. I wouldn’t say there was just one definitive moment when I became 100% saved but I can look back over snippets of time when God grew me tremendously. I was raised to believe there was a God. I came to realize I was a sinner and needed a savior as a teenager. I observed what a true believer looked like at NGU as a young adult. I began truly living for God after becoming a mother, and even now I continue to deepen my relationship with my savior. I was 28 years old, attending The Church at Blue Ridge when I heard a familiar passage from Ted Richard. The passage was about the lukewarm life of a Christian - how being lukewarm with your walk is unacceptable, He’d rather spit you out of His mouth. I went home that day and immediately made major life changes, invited the Holy Spirit to help me walk my daily life, and have been on a journey to grow closer to the Lord ever since.

In 2016, I was invited to a ladies' night at Christ Fellowship Cherrydale by Lindsay Thomas, who I was suitemates with at NGU. At the time, I had strayed from the church and she, along with their Missional Community, had been praying for me. I enjoyed my night at CF Cherrydale but the drive was too far and I did not attend again. When The Church at Blue Ridge (TCBR) was planted, Lindsay invited me again! I began attending CFNW when it was still TCBR, around March 2017. I’ve attended TCBR at Three Rivers Baptist Association, The Release Time Building, Northwest Middle School Cafeteria & Gymnasium, and now at our current building. 5 years later, my son and I are now members of CFNW! I serve as Copywriter, Occasional Decorator, Prayer Leader for the Moss MC Group, and occasionally serve for CF Kids. The community within the church has made the greatest impact on me in my walk with the Lord. I love how our main aim is to glorify God while walking imperfectly, alongside one another through life’s struggles.

The mission of CFNW is to take the gospel from here, to there, to everywhere. I believe the Blue Ridge area is a place that has an abundance of churches that need to be reformed into a church that’s teaching biblical truth and aiming to glorify God instead of making members comfortable and stagnant. I would love to partner with CFNW in planting a church back in the Blue Ridge area!