My name is Tom Christopherson. I was born in Dallas and moved to Irving at the ripe old age of 2. I grew up in Irving, where at 27, I married and started this large family with my beautiful bride, Pat.
My spiritual journey is an interesting one, to say the least. Born the son of Robert Christopherson, a Lutheran and Lucille Odom Norris, a Baptist, my early life was not spent in church. In sixth grade, upon the invitation of a friend, I attended Meadowbrook Baptist Church. At age 12, I went forward in that small Baptist church to make a decision. Unfortunately, at the time I didn’t understand the Gospel or its application to my life. At age 14, my Dad passed away and life was certainly turned upside down. At age 15, some friends talked me into going on the Youth Overnight Retreat at Mt. Lebanon right as my sophomore year was starting. I went on that retreat and heard a powerful message about lukewarm Christians by Jack Taylor. As the invitation was given, God began to convict me that I really did not know Him. I argued that I had made a decision 3 years before but deep down inside, I knew it wasn’t real. The conviction of the Holy Spirit was evident but as I contemplated the decision, He began to back away. I knew in my mind that it was the right thing to do, to be saved, and so with my will, I made a decision that night, yet still lacking true belief that I was worthy of hell.
Fast forward to June 7, 2009. Evangelist Bailey Smith comes to First Baptist Church of Euless, TX and preaches a message about the wheat and the tare. Halfway through the service, I think – if this guy’s not careful, he’s going to talk half the congregation out of their salvation. Just a few minutes later, I would be saying to my wife, “I’ve got to go down there.” I went back with the other counselees and shared with an long time friend Sharon Smith that I thought I was saved but I just wasn’t so sure and asked her to pray for me. I spent the next 32 hours doing a lot of soul searching wanting to truly know if I really knew Him.
That next day, June 8th, I was out at lunch and heard Dr. Ed Young say on his daily broadcast, “If you’re waiting to get good enough to come to God, you’ll never make it”. I asked at that point, “God are you trying to say something to me?”. I went through the rest of my work day and at the end, decided that I’d download a sermon from the Tom Harmon website and listen to it. The title of the sermon was “Viewing Yourself Correctly”. By the time I had listened to that sermon, God had shown me what I was really like. “God if You’re looking for me, You found me. I surrender” I acknowledged my sin, now really understanding that Jesus’ death was payment for the sin in my life. I received the grace to believe in Jesus, that He died for me, that He rose again on the third day and to now call Him Lord. When I finished praying, an overwhelming peace came over me; one that I had never known. When I got home, I shared with Pat that I believed for the very first time in my life, that I had gotten saved in my office just an hour or so before.
As I began to walk out this new life in Jesus, it became quite obvious that His Spirit now lives in me. His Word came along and fellowship and intimacy that had been missing before were now mine to enjoy! Praise Jesus!