I grew up not far from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Orillia. I heard pieces of the Bible as a kid — that was it. School was hard. I didn’t trust people or institutions, and the church was one of them. So after high school, I left. I travelled the world, chased history, walked through temples, pyramids, mosques, and ancient ruins — looking for meaning, looking for truth. I believed in something higher, but I didn't think the Bible was the real thing.
For a while, life looked good. And then it didn’t.
My marriage ended. I lost people. I got angry, bitter, numb. I couldn’t carry the weight anymore. So I started looking for Jesus myself — and stopped believing the lies of society. I fasted, prayed, and studied. And the more I looked into Jesus — really looked — the harder it became to deny Him.
About a year before I found a church, I realized I couldn’t do it alone. Jesus was undeniable. I prayed for a church, for community, for wiser men. God answered through a random episode of the Joe Rogan podcast — #2252 with Wes Huff. Wes is a biblical scholar from Canada and works with Apologetics Canada. I looked him up, went to his website, clicked “find a church,” and Cornerstone popped up — right in the town I grew up in. God brought me full circle.
I met a pastor. He prayed for me. He asked if I was ready to repent.
I said yes.
I walked out lighter that day. It was the start of real change.
I kept showing up — Thursday men’s nights, Sunday services — and eventually my mom came too. I started reading the Bible daily and praying daily. I still struggle. I still feel unworthy sometimes. But Jesus keeps working in me.
He’s giving me peace I never had.
He’s softening my heart.
He’s reconnecting me with people I thought I lost.
He’s changing me.
That’s why I got baptized.
Because Jesus saved me, led me here, and called me to say out loud that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Matthew 21:42
Jesus said to them,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”