Peace Be Unto You... and Greetings in Jesus Name... I just wanted to share my Testimony with you, so sit back... relax... and listen to how God has moved in my life... and witness His miracles...

Testimony Of
Rev. Martin Ingram

God has always been a part of my life even as a child. I can recall how active we were within the local church and most all of the activities that we were taking part in on a regular basis. Some of these were: participating within the Church choir, participating within the Youth Choir, Royal Ambassadors for Christ and our weekly trips to the Youth For Christ facility in Kansas City, Missouri.

I can even recall the many hours of practice for the Youth Choir Programs, which my mother directed while my stepfather drove the Church Bus to the different locations, where we shared the Word of God to many through song. My stepfather drove the Church Bus for our local community every Sunday and Wednesday for Church Services and then on Saturday nights for Youth For Christ Rallies.

However, during my youth I was using the church as an escape from the instability which I faced almost daily in my young life. As a young child my brothers and I were sent back and forth from parent to parent. We found ourselves spending most of our time with our Grandparents, who provided guidance to us, as they played a major role in our lives. My Grandfather played a large role in my relationship with God due to the fact that He was a Baptist Minister. I will always be thankful to my Grandparents who shared the reality of God's love with me.

I can still recall to this very day the encounter between God and myself on a personal level, (it took place in an old country church during a revival). That day, I accepted Jesus Christ and He lifted my sorrow and filled me with joy unspeakable. This is truly a day that will always be dearest to my heart. The day I was made sinless in God’s eyes and gave myself to him freely. God has always been present in my life and has shown me His power and mercy as he has guided my footsteps. I have personally witnessed God’s awesome power in many situations of my life.

One that I recall as though it was yesterday occurred on a cold and wintry night when we (my brother’s and I) were headed to our church to be part of a musical that our youth group was involved with. As we were heading down the country road the vehicle suddenly hit some black ice and veered off a 15 foot embankment ending up in the ditch at the bottom. Glory to God, not a scratch, not even an injury, just a little tardiness for our youth groups presentation of Light Shine.

I must be honest with you and recall the time when my faith in God had become questionable. I remember as a young teen, my mother was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) a disease that affects the nervous system. She lost all use of her body, and became bed ridden. My first question to God was why? I just couldn’t understand how God could allow such a thing to happen, especially to my mother. It wasn’t until later that I discovered the reason God had allowed the sickness to come upon my mother.

It was to Glorify Him. You see God not only has cured my mother, but he has kept the disease away for 20 some years (in remission). Glory to God, he had provided my Grandparents with the wisdom and knowledge to step up and fight off this disease through natural methods. I had to learn that God either allows something to happen or creates something in order to teach us and test our faith! Oh, what I neglected to mention is that the Doctors had all but given up on my mother, but Praise the Lord... GOD did not!

I remember the day God called me into His ministry, to be His messenger as though it was yesterday. We were attending a revival, my mother, brothers and I at another country church. The speaker that evening was a missionary from across the world. It was during the alter call that I felt the Spirit of the Lord come upon me and I fell to my knees. I knew that I was in the presence of God almighty (and it felt great). It was at that moment in time God placed a heavy burden upon my heart for those who did not share a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God had called me to be His messenger and it was at that time that I decided to answer His call into the ministry. I knew that if God had chosen to use me, I was nobody to argue or refuse His calling. To this day, I can still remember as a teenager walking around our house carrying a tape recorder feeling the Spirit of God inside of me and preaching His word. I devoted myself to studying the word and receiving the education that the Holy Spirit would share with me as I read the scriptures and prayed.

God has sent many trials and tribulations into my life since that day I surrendered myself to Him. I know the Bible tells me that with each trial or tribulation I may encounter, God uses it as a tool to further our education (knowledge & wisdom) and increase our faith. Through each trial that I've had, my faith has continued to grow, for He is my strength (all things are possible through Christ Jesus)!! Isn’t it great to know that God’s the potter and we are the clay? All we have to do is willingly give ourselves to God!

During the years to follow, I served in the military, studied the martial arts, completed college and experienced my time in the valleys (low places). But to be honest with you, I must admit that there were times my faith quivered, feeling as though God had walked away from me. But looking back all I can see is one set of footprints in the sand, knowing that God carried me along my paths. It was during this time that I began to understand that if not for the low places within my life, I couldn’t appreciate the mountaintops. God has taught me through many life experiences and has enabled me to utilize these experiences in order to reach a lost and dying world.

God has granted me knowledge and wisdom, through my life’s experiences that can be applied in reaching those who need to hear the message of salvation. He has shown me that our education process continues on a daily basis, and we are to take this education and share it with others. We are to expand the kingdom of Heaven. While working with the youth from several churches within our community, God place another burden on my heart for young people. They were being pulled away from God by the sins that this earth had to offer.

God guided me and thus S.O.S. (Sharing Our Salvation) Ministries was born, offering Christian thoughts and guidelines to assist young people with the challenges and temptations of this world. As His ministry flourished and began to grow, I was compelled (led) by God to seek a church needing a minister. So the search began, trying to find a church needing a minister. How shocked I was to find out that man’s denominational issues had clouded the focus and detoured the mission established by God. To realize that Christians were telling messengers of God what to preach has brought great sadness upon my heart.

Messengers of God are warned in the scriptures not to compromise His word, and yet today so many have strayed from his word (the truth). It really became apparent to me while searching for a church, that men are judging men for past life experience in this world. It appears Christians have forgotten: “when a sinner comes to God and confesses his sins, he is forgiven and the slate wiped clean as snow (white or sinless)”. It burdens my heart to see man condemn his brother’s and sisters for sins, which God has already, forgiven. To deny the word of God from being spread by God’s chosen messengers is ludicrous when you base your decision on sins, which no longer exist in God's eyes.

God wasn’t through with my education; His Holy Spirit led me to many different States and used me in another type of ministry. This ministry (the labor movement) was assisting brothers and sisters in their daily life struggles. Working together we would search for answers that would lead to better lives for their families and themselves. This ministry added to my knowledge and experiences that would enable me to reach out more effectively and strengthen the fight against the injustices that face brothers and sisters on a daily basis.

God has now placed me in Kentucky, where I’ve been called to spread a message of comfort to believers, as I reach out to those needing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s time for the great Awakening of God’s chosen people. It’s time for us to unite brothers and sisters in Christ, and carry forth His message, that the body of Christ (the Church) is being destroyed by man’s interpretations and unwillingness to allow the Spirit of God to move freely.

It’s time to stand united in God’s power and defeat the demonic forces which comes to tear down the body of Christ. God has given us power over Satan and dominion over everything that lives on this planet. God is standing by His promises to us, isn’t it time to deliver His message, which is Salvation, and a relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ? God’s messengers are bringing forth His message of love and centered on Jesus Christ, God’s Only Begotten Son!

The scriptures tell us that there is only one way man can get to heaven! It’s time for that message to be heard once again! It’s time for the great Awakening ministry… Thus came the birth of Awakening Ministries!