October 22, 2008

Happy Anniversary to You, James White

In light of the 25th anniversary of the founding of Alpha and Omega Ministries, those impacted by James White over the years were invited to write about how the Lord has used him in their lives. Below is my testimonial. While he may still post this on his blog, I also wanted my readers to know how much respect I have for Dr. White and his ministry.

John Divito and James White
Dr. White,

You can count me as another follower of Christ deeply impacted by your ministry. While I was raised as a Mormon, I came to a crisis of faith in college. I was trying to convince my girlfriend (now my wife) of the "fullness of the gospel" when I began to see overwhelming evidence against Mormonism which simply could not be refuted. By God's grace, I found real freedom in the true Jesus Christ.

At the same time, He used you to help me navigate through the many challenges that I was struggling with. Many of your books made Christ's revealed truth understandable. Is the Mormon My Brother?, The Forgotten Trinity, and The Potter's Freedom are just a few of your books that were foundational in my budding faith. As a tech-geek, I read through much of your web site (even though you struggled to keep it up-to-date!) and started listening to the Dividing Line online (back when it was still a Phoenix radio show). Once I began seminary, my fellow schoolmates and friends would get tired of me mentioning you so they poked fun in return by always asking "what does James White say?"

Even to this day, God continues to use you in my spiritual growth. Your blog is in my feed reader. I continue listening to the Dividing Line and reading your books. My wife and I were even able to finally meet you in person through being a part of last fall's AOMin cruise. I have included a picture of us together from the cruise.

You have been a gift from God in my life as well as a gift of God to His church. Without you, I can honestly say that I would not be preparing to defend our Lord against cults and error in East Africa. I pray that Christ will continue to bless your ministry as you "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints"!

Because of His grace,
John Divito
Director, Africa Center for Apologetics Research
Web Site: http://www.acfar.org/
Blog: africacfar.blogspot.com