For Career Development for the English Major class (ENG-2020) in spring 2022, Dr. Kevin Heath asked students to form groups and choose an entrepreneurial project to aid the community, the campus, or the major. Four students collected testimonies from faculty and staff at Cedarville University to be included in a booklet intended to encourage faith conversations on campus and affirm Cedarville’s faith ideals to its broader audience (including alumni, parents, and incoming students).
I could not tell you much about Dr. Geoff Holloway. He is an Associate Professor of Chemistry here on campus, and being an English major, I have never taken one of his classes, nor will I be able to take one in the future. But, because of a group project in my Career Development class, my life has been positively impacted by Dr. Holloway.
Our project — run by Rachel Rathbun, Emily Vest, Alayna Drollinger, and me — was to collect and distribute the testimonies of as many Cedarville professors as possible. Our goal was to show that, here at Cedarville, when we say we are faith-focused, we aren’t just spouting out an empty sentiment. We actually mean it. Several professors graciously told us their stories. But, for me, Dr. Holloway’s stood out. He and I have very similar salvation stories. We were both raised in Christian households and got saved at a very young age, 4 for him and 7 for me. We also both struggled with not being able to remember much about the exact moment we got saved. Like Dr. Holloway, I also struggled with doubting my salvation, asking myself, “If I can’t remember exactly what happened, was I ever really saved at all?” I wrestled with this question for many years, keeping from getting baptized until I was 17. While I am mostly over that doubt, it still occasionally creeps up. Reading Dr. Holloway’s testimony, it was so encouraging to see the journey of someone who went through a similar experience and is currently ahead of me. It gives me hope that, maybe one day, I can extinguish my doubt to the extent that Dr. Holloway has.
So, I really could not tell you much about Dr. Holloway. I’ve never taken one of his classes, but after reading his testimony, I wish I could. I can tell he really cares about his faith and the way he speaks of God makes it evident that He is present and upfront in Dr. Holloway’s classroom.
- Alexis Chandler
Personal Testimony of Geoff Holloway
The story of how I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior is one that is probably fairly common for many people here at Cedarville University. My older brother and I were blessed to be born into a Christian household. My parents were faithful, active believers who regularly took us to a local Baptist church where the Gospel was preached on just about any given Sunday. Growing up hearing the Word of God preached led me to want to know how to become a Christian for myself. When I was 4 years old, I asked my parents what I needed to do to be saved. Even at that young age, I knew that I was a sinner, and I was concerned that I would not be able to be with my family if Jesus were to return while I was not saved. My dad helped explain to me how to pray to ask Jesus to be my Savior, which I then did. I remember distinctly how it felt like a great burden had been lifted from my heart, and I wanted to share this new joy with all my classmates at school. I was baptized into our local church after that.
As I got older, I found that one area where I had a significant struggle was in the assurance of my salvation. I was aware from what we learned at church that once someone becomes a Christian, there is no possible way to lose one’s salvation. However, having gotten saved at such a young age, I could not remember all the specific details of the moment I prayed to be saved. Even though I could remember the general moment and the basic details, as I described above, I could not recall the exact words I had prayed, nor was I aware of the exact date. This area of doubt was made worse by well-meaning evangelists who would often preach that one could not have been saved without knowing such specific details. I was at a loss. I went through several nights in my childhood in which I decided to pray to God to save me on that particular night in case I had not actually gotten saved earlier when I was 4 years old. The result of these prayers was always the same — my doubts would be relieved for a short period of time but would return again. When I asked my parents to help me, they explained to me again what I already knew about not being able to lose my salvation; but it could not make up for my inability to remember the exact details of what I experienced as a 4-year-old boy. At the age of about 10, I came to a conclusion that helped me resolve this particular difficulty for myself, so I really have not had any serious doubts since then. Because I cannot base the assurance of my salvation on the memory of what happened to me when I was 4, I choose now to base my personal assurance of salvation in the present — that is, at the very moment whenever a doubt about my salvation might arise. Since then, whenever Satan might come to accuse me with doubts about my salvation, I decide that my response is to consider if I am, right at that moment, putting my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. When I realize that I am actively trusting the Lord Jesus at that very moment for my salvation, I find that the doubts no longer have any power. I do realize that there was one moment when I was born again into the kingdom of God (and I do believe it was when I was 4 years old), but my faith is not in any one moment of time. My faith is in the One Who holds and keeps all moments.
Tags: #experiences, #glorifying, #God, #personal, #testimony
Posted in: Testimony