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TESTIMONY LIST
John & Jean Kurtz
Chris & April Herbst
Brian & Cydel Maxwell
Rod &Laura Rozeveld
Bob & Cherie Beene
Casey & Paula Chrisman
Chris & Angie Smith
Kevin & Jan Ruble
John & Julie Radebaugh
Remnant Fellowship Marriages
Click HERE to watch a short video of Remnant Fellowship Marriages
John & Jean Kurtz
Healed Marriage and Healed from Cigarettes
When I heard the Weigh Down Exodus out of Egypt the first time (pregnant with Maddie in 1996/1997) I knew that I desperately wanted to be different. I wanted a “new heart” like the testimonies I was hearing. I wanted to be “in love” with God the way Gwen was, and to talk with him, and sing to him and be in LOVE with him the way she is. I saw someone who had a relationship with God like I wanted and HOPED was possible. I wanted THAT kind of head-over-heals love. I want to be healed, and to LEAVE MY LIFE OF SIN, and I HAVE because she showed me in the bible HOW. Because I looked at the fruit of Gwen's life, and not what her critics wrote, or said to slander her MY LIFE IS COMPLETELY CHANGED! I felt like I’d made so many mistakes in my life and my heart weighed a ton I hated the torture of smoking. Addicted to a chemical that made me stink, cough, lie to my husband & family, and stand in the rain on breaks while everyone else was inside warm and cozy.. I couldn’t imagine drinking a glass of wine without chasing it with 3 more. Restraint wasn’t an option I thought possible. I hated the despair of not being able to shed even 5 lbs. and daily wondering what in my closet would possibly fit. I resented my husband, and yet loathed the selfishness and ugliness I knew was in my heart. I despised the hamster-on-a-wheel-uselessness of my obsessive guilt/depression thoughts. I had no idea that I could be free from the baseness of lustful thoughts. I knew with absolute certainty that if I continued to control everyone and everything in my house-of-cards life the only possible outcome was a giant train wreck. The Remnant Fellowship Church is the Real-Deal. It’s Black & White: The Remnant Fellowship church is different. Why? God reigns alone. Prayers are answered. Lives are changed. Love and unity abound. The leaders in this place are loving, and blameless, selfless, open books and their children are obedient, and very sweet. I would defend them to the ends of the earth because I know they’re the real deal. Their council is sound, biblically, practically and every time I've put into practice the principles this leadership has recommended my family and I have been blessed! There really is VICTORY over sin here. “Set Free” isn’t just a catchy CD title. It the title over my new heart! It has NEVER been about money! (I laugh when I read what some people think about this church because it’s the opposite!!! There is TRUE community—and it’s not centered around MY NEEDS! It’s about God--loving him first, and then loving each other genuinely and from the heart. You will not find gossip, and cliques here. Our children worship with us, and we love knowing what true godly parenting looks like so we can practice it ourselves. Our marriages are beautiful. My life is 100% changed for the better since I joined Remnant and learned how to fall in love with God and out of love with myself and the world. God is EVERYTHING here! See for yourself. - Jean Kurtz
Chris & April Herbst
Healed Marriage and Healed from Anger
I am very excited to get to share what my God has done for me while being under the beautiful teachings found here in Remnant Fellowship! My whole life has changed because of it, so it's hard to know where to even begin so I will hit the highlight of it.
I grew up in the church from day one. My dad and grandfather were both leaders in the church and I followed in their footsteps and became a youth leader for a mega-church of 10,000 members. While helping lead, I kept noticing something was not right. The youth were not changing year after year. There was no zeal for God and they would look bored during worship. Us leaders didn't know what to do about it so we thought bringing in a musical band would help liven things up. When that didn't work we'd try puppet shows. That still didn't work so we'd try doing drama shows. Nothing seemed to light a fire under these kids and I knew something was very wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it. One day somebody gave me a list of about 25 different scripture verses they had written down from a Desert Oasis conference, led by Gwen Shamblin, they had attended. They told me to look them up as they had set them free. The scriptures sat around for about three months in my Bible. One day I decided to check them out. For the first time in my life I saw four words that I had never seen in my life... " If, only, do and obey"! My jaw hit the floor. How could it be that I was raised in the church but never saw these conditions to coming to Christ! I had been taught, and had been teaching, all my life it doesn't matter what you do, you can never lose your salvation. There are no conditions to being a Christian as long as you "believe". For the first time in my life, God was opening my eyes to his word. I was seeing clearly that there are conditions to being saved.
I was seeing that the teachings I was under were false and they were not producing any fruit in my life or in the kid's lives. The teachings I was under allowed me to continue in sin and still be saved. I was full of so much anger and hatred it is frightening! My life was miserable and pointless. It had no meaning and I was so focused on trying to get everyone else to change that I couldn't see that I myself needed to change!
Remnant Fellowship is the first place in my life that I have been that taught me to look inward! I needed to change, yes me! I took one good look inward and compared my life to the scripture I was seeing and it was frightening how far away from God I was because of my actions. Yes, it does matter what we do. We cannot continue in sin. Christ came to set us free from sin, no longer free to sin! It's now been 6 years since my wife and I pulled out of the false teachings that allowed us to remain in sin and still go to heaven and joined a true army of God. We are now with a group of people that have all gone through the fire, dying to our sinful ways and living only for the will of God. We now walk in the footsteps of the true Jesus Christ who said "Not my will, but yours be done" all the way to his death! My wife and I now have a beautiful, peaceful marriage, that was at one time a hair away from a divorce. We are expecting our first child come January 2007 and we both praise God we have 6 years of this truth under our belts so we can raise up Bradyn in a way that he will never have to go through the pain and suffering that the false teachings we were under brought us. We cannot wait to raise up a child to love God with all his mind and heart. He will know from day one, the only way to do this is to have an idol-free life and to deny himself, by saying No to sin, and to live daily to DO the will of God!
I thank you God for allowing me and my wife April to see this truth and put it into practice! Who are we that you have allowed us to obey your beautiful laws and commands that bring about LIFE! This family is forever committed to DOING your will! - Chris Herbst
Brian & Cydel Maxwell
Healed Marriage, Healed from Overweight, Healed Financially
I was born and raised in a church that taught that, as long as you were going to church and participating in church functions, and making an attempt to live a good life, that would be pleasing to God. It wasn't ever taught that a person could identify the sin in their life and then remove it. At the age of 59, God revealed to me that my life was full of greed, which God's Word says is idolatry. I never could get enough money, and the more I tried, the less I had. I couldn't get enough recognition or praise of man. I felt I wasn't getting out of my marriage what I deserved, so I started looking at other women which by today's church standards was okay, as long as I didn't touch anyone. I soon found out that was a lie and that my heart was turning to stone towards my wife. I was planning to leave her without any discussion because I knew she wasn't going to change. I had been an elder in a church for almost 30 years so I was being looked at as being an upright person in the community and divorce was just a way of life. I had aches and pains, but thought it was because of my age and I was still playing basketball. Praise God for Weigh Down and Remnant Fellowship. Through a Weigh Down CD and the Remnant Fellowship leading me to seek out God through His Word, I have found peace. I have discovered complete physical comfort from losing 40 lbs. that God never created me to carry (no aching knees). A renewed love for my wife that He gave me 43 years ago. He has given a retirement that I thought was completely impossible 3 years ago. Health Insurance that I thought we would never get because my wife had cancer in 1999. Now we have health, dental, and prescription coverage for the rest of our lives. We also have a home that we can retire in that offers everything that we need and far more. We have grandchildren that we thought we would never have. What an incredible God we have that He would show mercy on me and allow me to see the truth that has always been in His Word, but I was not seeking Him or listening to His Son, Jesus. Thanks be to God for His Mercy and grace that He loved me enough to send His Son Jesus to teach us, to show us, and to die for us that we would even have an opportunity to obey His Will! - Brian Maxwell
Rod &Laura Rozeveld
Healed Marriage, Healed from Overweight, Cigarettes, Healed Financially
Life before:
Members of the Christian Reformed Church for over 30 years.
Baptized as an infant and raised in a saved by grace message. 1967-2001
1. When we were teenagers we both picked up smoking and by the time we were in our thirties we were each smoking 1-2 packs per day.
2. We both picked up sexual sins in our teenage years while we were considered upstanding youth in our church.
3. At 19, Laura picked up the idol of food and by the time she was 31 gained 90 pounds.
4. In our first 11 years of marriage we were in financial ruin and every month we were fearful of the utilities being shut off. Trucks were being reposed and our home was going to foreclosure.
5. Our marriage was a wreck. We no longer loved each other and we could not even hate each other. We just stuck it out for the kids.
6. Our 3 older children were over weight and disobedient, even though they looked and acted like great kids. Our oldest son was “mouthing off” by age 9.
7. The rage was incredible. It was always brewing inside when things did not go a certain way.
Life after: Members of Remnant Fellowship Church for 4 ½ years. Baptized into the truth and taught through the messages and through the Weigh Down Workshops how to truly repent and live only a life of obedience to the Father, by following in the footsteps of Jesus all the time and completely understanding the true grace message.
2002-forward:
1. Quit smoking cold turkey. 2002
2. No more sexual sins of any kind, done. 2002
3. Weight loss for family 140 pounds. Laura lost 90 pounds and has kept it off 2002-2003
4. Finance restored, paid off debt and there is no worry. 2002
5. Our marriage healed to a relationship that glorifies God. We deeply love each other and there is no hate, no bitterness, no grudges and no manipulation. We wake up every day looking to please God and one another. 2002 restored, 2002 – today, getting better each and every day!
6. All 5 children, three are teenagers, are obedient, healthy and loving God. No fighting, no arguing, no complaining. A home where the children truly honor there father and mother. A home full of laughter and love! A life full of peace!
7. PEACE!!!!!! In our hearts and in our heads. Unbelievable! All GOD!
Summary:
We are completely changed for the better! When we were in other churches, we were getting worse as the years went by. We kept on hearing that we were fine, that we were just going through some tough times, and that God understood our struggles. We never got the help we needed. We never were told the truth. As long as we gave our 10% and helped out when needed and showed up 2 times per week, we were just fine. We cringe when we think back to the direction we were headed. We were leading our children astray and we were not going to make it if we stayed. Now since we have heard the truth and hear it often, and we are being taught how to live the truth out in our actions every day, to only please God and do what his word says, we are so much better!!! The proof is undeniable. We do not know of anyone that would say we were better off back then. This church never has a service on tithing, or on “doing good works”, we have ever heard them having to “beg” for volunteers—everyone just loves one another deeply and they are always giving of time, resources, money, etc. It is amazing—we have never found another church like this. We praise God and thank him for calling us home. We thank God for our church leaders who love God deeply and truly love us. We are done searching! Our children are home! We have the awesome opportunity to raise them in this message. They have the chance to not go through the things we did. We have hope! We have joy! We have peace! We have LOVE! THE ROZEVELDS ARE HOME! AND We are staying!
Bob & Cherie Beene
Healed Marriage
WOW!! What changes in my life and in my family! We are very grateful and thankful for being allowed by God to hear His truth and then to get to be a part of it! We were a wreck, totally upside down, and would be divorced now if it weren't for God's Truth being poured out by Gwen Shamblin through The Weigh Down Workshop first, and now through Remnant Fellowship. She teaches straight from God from His Word she tells the truth and she lives it! I am so grateful to really know how to love God now, verses the counterfeit way that is fake and there is no healing in that so it made me keep running to things instead of God. I was taught in Remnant to love my husband and in order to be a daughter of Sarah I had to act like one. Sarah called Abraham her Master—this was a big key!!! What a change! Another key was learning that obeying my husband was showing God that I would obey Him! What Great Testing! God is a Genius! I Praise God for sending this light to show us how to pick up our cross and imitate Jesus Christ, to turn from idols to God and to love Him with a Whole Heart. “Not my will but Thine be done.”
There is peace and love, joy, patients, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control in our home now verses none of these before. I can remember going to worldly counselors and also in my old church. Our Preacher sent us to a Christian counselor and the cost was $100.00 per hour BUT IT DIDN'T WORK! With a couple of phone calls to our Leaders in Remnant Fellowship and the right teaching, we are flying!!!!! All Praises to God for taking us out of the dark and putting us into the light!
Our whole lives have changed—Marriage, children, finances, greed, and hate—there are many, many things that have changed. We have found the right Path!!!! - Cherie Beene
Casey & Paula Chrisman
Healed Marriage
I came into this message like most men, watching their wives change and turn to God and away from previous idols. The more my wife turned to God the more angry I became. As time went on and the fires of life got hotter and the testing grew stronger due to a sick child and financial burdens, I often contemplated ending it all. Why was I given this life? Why did I have to have a sick child? After reluctantly entering a Weigh Down class, changes in my life began to happen. I learned obedience to God and I lost 40 pounds. The weight of life began to lift as I was able to give it all to God. Our marriage became better than it had ever been. God had given me a true love for my wife and my children and an understanding of why my daughter had cancer. It was testing and a refinement of my faith. God will see me through any situation if I give all control to Him.
I did not want to have more children, but God kept bringing it to my mind that we should have another one. I gave control to God and my wife became pregnant in 2 weeks. Only 5 months later my daughter was diagnosed with a relapse of the cancer and she passed away two months before my wife gave birth to our second daughter. It was at that point that God had shown His perfect, all knowing plan to me. As undeserving as I am, God had given my daughter as a gift, which was mine for eight and a half years, and then He took her back to be with Him. And for trusting in Him that He is my Master, He gave me another child blessed through his son Jesus Christ. I still die to my will daily, to do His will and everyday I succeed, it is a blessed day. - Casey Chrisman
Chris & Angie Smith
Healed Marriage
God has done so much in our lives—things that He set in motion years and years ago. We married in 1997 and pursued the American dream - nice house, cars, money, materialism, approval from people, and all sorts of things the world has to offer. The world has very much to offer and we were right in the middle of it. Little did we both know that there was so much more! A life where God comes first and a teaching that backed that up. As a couple, God was on our list just not at the top of our list. We both put things above God but it seems that God has used these very things to get our attention - and we praise Him for that! I, Angie, learned through this teaching, that I was very controlling of things, the household, and my husband. God revealed to me that I was very manipulative and always wanted my way. He soon showed me that I needed to line up under His authority, which would require me to line up under my husband’s authority. This was a real struggle for me because I did not want to submit to someone other than myself. I knew that God was showing me that I must learn how to understand and live as He had ordained things thousands of years ago. When I came to this understanding and realized that submission to my husband was submission to God and that this was very pleasing to Him, I relented and began to have a love for my husband like I had never known. I found that I enjoyed, for the first time in our marriage, serving my husband. This also started a love for God like never before. I soon started seeking out things that would please God. I noticed at this point, that all He wants from us it to pursue Him, seek Him out, and put into practice all of His laws, not just the ones that I choose to obey. Once applied to my life, God began to shower us with blessings and instilled in us a Godly marriage, among many other things. I, Chris, learned so much as well! Even with the pride I had, I couldn't deny all the changes in Angie's life. It was amazing – the joy, the smiles, the real love she showed to everyone. Fascinated in the difference in her life, I found myself earnestly seeking what Angie seemed to have in her life. I thought to myself, why not? All I could see was joy, patience, kindness, peace - what I would later learn was these were all the fruits of God's Spirit. In this seeking, I watched what she was doing, how she was acting, things she was saying that allowed this happiness that she expressed. I eventually picked up the Bible and just started to read. Well, God starting showing me through His Word how my life should be lived - His way, not mine and His Glory, not mine. Along with a new found fascination with God's Word, I also found myself sharing with Angie, questioning things, getting excited about Scriptures together, learning together and fellowshipping with each other. I felt love in my life, true love. In this seeking and an inward look into my life and relationship with God, I noticed things I had been doing were shameful and these things convicted me. I later realized that God in His mercy was leading me down a patch of true repentance. I now make my focus daily on Jesus Christ and His life, the Author of our faith -in this is great peace! I learned how to have love for my wife – love like Christ loved the church. I feel I'm learning how to be a true disciple and please God by love and obedience. We both have learned, and continue to learn, by God's Word and this teaching that life God's way is the only way. We have much to be thankful for and we praise God for our marriage and life that his has allowed us to have. We can truly say that building each other up by serving God Almighty has been awesome for both of us - and this is all from God and for His Glory!
Kevin & Jan Ruble
Healed Marriage
Almost 10 years ago, my wife and children moved out of our house. I was doing everything wrong: looking at all the wrong things, playing for hours on computer games, basically anything that I wanted to do. I had a lustful, greedy heart, not wanting to do anything for my wife or the children.
On my birthday that year, I received divorce papers in the mail. I don’t think it’s really what either one of us wanted, but it seemed the only option for us. (My wife had even been counseled, at her former church, that she should get a divorce. Reconciliation was never mentioned. ) I couldn’t bring myself to sign the papers, so they sat on the counter.
In the meantime, my wife, Jan, met someone who introduced her to the Weigh Down Workshop. She began taking classes and I began seeing major changes in Jan. We decided to give our marriage one last try, so Jan and the kids moved back home. The more Weigh Down classes she took, the more changes I saw.
Jan began working at Weigh Down Workshop; all the while our marriage was getting better and better. One day Jan asked if she could go to a Bible class at the Weigh Down building on a Thursday night. She continued going to those Bible studies, and not too long after Remnant Fellowship was started, she and the kids began attending. One Sunday, she asked me if I would like to go with her and the children to a worship service. (I had been raised in the Catholic Church, but quit attending right after High School. I saw people saying one thing, then leaving mass and doing something completely different. It didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t want to waste my time on a bunch of rituals.) I can’t quite tell you how much that day meant to me. Let’s just say- my entire life changed.
Listening to Gwen read from the Bible, I mean really read, and talk about what was being said in each verse was revolutionary to me. I had never seen the Bible presented as a real guide book for my life. It had just been a good history book, and I didn’t enjoy history- so why bother with it? That worship service opened my eyes to the sin in my heart. I realized what I had been putting Jan and the kids through, and how I had been treating them. I was learning to look inward to see, really see, what was in MY heart and how much I needed to change. As I continued worshipping at Remnant Fellowship, I continued changing. Jan and the children continued changing. Our marriage continued getting stronger and better.
I don’t want to think about where our lives would be right now if it weren’t for Jan being introduced to Weigh Down Workshop and then Remnant Fellowship. I praise God for all He has done in our lives, and for allowing our eyes to be opened to His will. Until my dying day, I will thank Gwen Shamblin for listening to God and following His wishes. Without the work God has done through Gwen, I might not be alive today. Because of one person, Gwen Shamblin, wanting only the will of God to be done, and teaching us how to do that at Remnant Fellowship; our marriage is better than we could have dreamed of -on our wedding day! - Kevin Ruble
John & Julie Radebaugh
Healed Marriage
God has healed our marriage. Our marriage continues to get better and sweeter with each passing year. The “magic” formula that did it is the same one that has set us free from greed, pride, bitterness, rage, immorality, envy and every other work of the flesh that we were trapped in. It is LOVE, FEAR, and OBEDIENCE to the One True God of the universe that changed our lives and our marriage forever. This is how it happened: We heard the message from God’s Word about who He really is (Lord, Ruler, King!) and who we really are not, (NOT a god, NOT a ruler, NOT a king!). We learned that we are to bow down to HIM, and not the other way around, and how to DO it. We used to believe that it was God who was supposed to be totally committed and unconditionally devoted to US and “the desires of our hearts”. It was all backwards. Once we humbled ourselves and made the decision to put God first in everything, and lay down all of our own will and desires, then a true love and fear of God began to grow strong in each of us. Then that love and desire to serve and please only God translated itself into a love for serving each other and our family. So now our marriage is getting better all the time by caring more about the other person’s happiness and well being more than our own! We are learning to trust that God will take care of all of our needs as we put HIM first. (We have found He even takes care of all of our “wants” too, if we are in His will!) We will praise God forever for the mighty and wonderful work He has done to save our marriage!
