I personally was led to Christ through a friend, who constantly asked me to attend a Christian men’s group at 12P which is held every Wednesday.  This went on for a little over a year, and so help me God it was the best thing I could have done.

 

I had suffered the loss of a relative that I was close to and it devastated me back in 2011.  The whole time I had an emptiness inside me that I just couldn’t figure out.  I wasn’t struggling financially, I have a good job, I have two beautiful kids who think the world of me, I had what I thought at the time was everything, I couldn’t have been more wrong.  You see, looking back I now realize it wasn’t an emptiness inside me, but an absence of God.  Without COPEFC, I can tell you beyond reproach that I would not have found Christ.

 

COPEFC is a group of Men who meet to learn more about the word of God, answer questions, provide guidance, share wisdom and do it all so lovingly.  The meetings that are held provide an atmosphere to promote transparency.  It’s also to be held accountable for your decisions and actions by the brothers that attend this fellowship of Christ.  These brothers will tell you what you need to hear, rather than what you want to hear.  It is there that I learned about Christianity being more than a religion, but a relationship with God through the Son Jesus Christ.  There I have met some spiritually amazing individuals who I refer to as beacons of Christ.  You see, they have this light that shines from within that just draws you to them.  Like a lighthouse off the coast providing guidance to ships in the vast oceans, shrouded in darkness.  It just takes the littlest bit of light to pierce the darkest of veils, and it has done so in my heart. I’ve formed bonds with these individuals which has helped to keep me away from habits that my alter ego developed, such as bars, alcohol, drugs, women..…the list goes on.  Ephesians 4:18 NLT - Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.  COPEFC has provided the resources I need to survive in this dying world, but not just survive, live the way God intended.  I can self-check my walk with Christ and where I’m currently at with these men.  Am I veering from the path of righteousness?  Don’t know, ask a brother and he’ll tell you in a loving, yet chastising way of where you’re making mistakes.  Trying to live as a child of the light isn’t an easy thing to do, and is lifelong process that will be much better traveled with my brothers rather than alone.  It has taken my heart and started to soften it so that it may beat again for Him, so His will may be done with me.  His mercy has made me a much better person on the inside.  Don’t get me wrong, I slip and fall, only difference being that I have a group of men picking me up and washing my feet, spiritually not literally.

 

My fiancé has noticed I’m a lot easier to talk to, my kids have definitely noticed that dad is no longer Mr. Cranky pants all the time, but someone they can come to for help.  My parents have noticed that my anger has been checked, I’m more humble, and always willing to do anything for anyone at the drop of a dime.  My co-workers have noticed a change in me, some have even told me they don’t like it, must mean I’m starting to do something right in my life.  Romans 12:2 NLT - Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Amen