Chris' Story
by Chris Oliveri
I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic Church. Though I appeared on the outside to be a religious person, my participation in parish functions was primarily out of empty habit. On Sundays I “did” church from 4:00PM to 5:00PM. After I put in my time, I lived the rest of the week however I pleased. My most important value was self gratification. It demonstrated its sway in my life though various means (pride, lust etc…). My attitude towards Jesus was lukewarm, indifferent and very casual.
There were several different instruments God used to begin to open my eyes. In the tenth grade I began dating a girl who said she was a Christian. She is the one who brought me to a Bible believing / preaching church for the first time. I remember sitting in the service on my first Sunday there thinking, “Wow, this is amazing. This Pastor guy is talking about stuff that really matters, and he’s using the Bible?!” This phenomenon was completely new to me. I walked away that Sunday with a lot to think about regarding the Bible and its authority over my life. Sadly, this particular visit to church didn’t bring me to my knees before Christ. I left understanding more, and knowing where I needed to turn, but I chose not to. I spent the next year and a half seeking the self-gratifying pleasures of sin.
Thankfully in His great mercy Jesus did not leave me there. On one evening in 1986 Christ really took a hold of my life. He gave me an increasing awareness of my sin. As I went to bed, I was intensely grieved over it, to the point where I felt like I just couldn’t take it anymore. Crying myself to sleep, I just said two words, “Jesus help”. I did not know precisely what I meant by that at the time, I just knew after what I had heard from the church and my friend that I needed help and Jesus was the only one who could do it.
The next day I woke up and something was different. Somehow I valued the joy of this “thing” I had with Christ more than any pleasure sin could ever provide. I was driven to the Scriptures out of a need for the truth. I understood that I couldn’t make it through the day without Him and the way to know Him better was through His Word. Through an interesting sequence of events I ended up back at the church I had first walked into two years earlier but this time I was a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through the preaching on Sunday mornings and a discipleship program, I grew a lot during my first couple of years there. From there I gradually became more and more involved in various ministries ranging from music to teaching an occasional Bible study.
Today I look back and cannot believe all the ways that Jesus has expressed His kindness towards me. By His grace He has given me the most valuable inheritance anyone could ever be given, Himself (Ephesians 1:18). My wife Janet and I met in the college group of our church and were married in 1994. Each year I am astounded at how wonderfully He worked in giving her to me, she is a gift from Him (Proverbs 18:22). Our three children have given us joy beyond words, they too are His gifts (Psalm 127:3).
Jesus has been so faithful to patiently love, instruct and nurture me and my family over the past many years. In June of 2008 he brought us here to serve along side this warm and caring church family at Clayton Valley Church. This story isn’t over. When you stop to think about it, God’s story is more significant than either CVC’s or mine. His dreams are better than ours, His purposes can never be sidetracked or derailed. He has brought our paths together, and we look forward to what He will accomplish in the future (Romans 11:36).
