Personal Testimony and Call to Ministry
Brian Montgomery
I would like to take a few minutes to explain my testimony and the reasons I feel called to be a Pastor/Elder at Vine and Branches Fellowship. My explanation will be in three parts. First is my personal salvation testimony, and second is answering the question “What does it mean to be saved and become a disciple of Christ?” and finally “When did I feel the call by the Lord to the position of Pastor/Elder?”
First, I would like to explain how I came to faith and became a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I grew up going to church and was baptized as an infant in the Presbyterian Church. My family attended a Lutheran church in my early childhood, then Methodist throughout my teen years. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior in 1982 when I was 10 years old. At that time, I was staying with my aunt and uncle in Pittsburgh. They were having Bible Studies with neighbors and friends based on materials from The Navigators. I remember overhearing them talk about how to accept Christ during one of those Bible studies. That night, unprompted, while staying in their guest room, I accepted Him as my Savior. Forty years later, I still remember the feeling of that experience. I clearly and distinctly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in that dimly lit room, even at 10 years old. The next day, again unprompted, they asked me if I had ever accepted Christ as Savior. To their shock and surprise, I said “Yes, I just did last night.” They gave me a booklet from The Navigators called “Beginning with Christ”. It had five Scripture verse cards for memorization. They covered Salvation, Answered prayer, Victory over sin, Assurance of forgiveness and Assurance of guidance. I memorized these verses, but the clearest and easily repeated for me was the verse for Salvation:
“And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life. This life is in His Son. He who has the Son, has the life, but he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
1 John 5:11-12. (paraphrased)
Since that time, my sanctification has had many highs and lows. I have shamed Christ with my behaviors in my late teen and college years. I have experienced several rededications and milestones in my Christian life. The first was after severe testing during my time in college.
A second milestone was between our second and third child while visiting Calvary Chapel church on vacation. This was a time where the Lord spoke through a pastor who was teaching on being lukewarm as demonstrated in the Laodicean church in Revelation 3. I realized that I was living a lukewarm faith, and needed to give all for Christ. This changed many things, including my accepting of children as gifts from the Lord (Psalm 127).
The third milestone was ten years ago. After leaving the Presbyterian Church, our family came to a local Baptist Church. This departure was not a quick or easy decision but needed based on our growth in Faith and obedience to the clear instructions in Scripture. One of those primary instructions was immersion baptism as a believer. I responded in obedience a few months later and was baptized along with my two oldest children.
Finally, after serving at the Baptist church for eight years, four of which as a Deacon, we entered a challenging time in church leadership. We went through a time of addressing the issues of moral failings with one pastor, and accountability issues with the second pastor. This required me to step up and help the Deacons lead the congregation through disciplinary procedures as well as examining the qualification of Biblical Leadership (1 Tim 3, Titus 1).
Unfortunately, the challenge to qualification by the congregation to the most recent pastor led to a rejection of Scripture and a church split. We then migrated to a home fellowship, which taught the Word and actively engaged in mission and discipleship in our local area.
Second – “What does it mean to be saved and become a disciple of Christ?”
We are saved by God “from” something, and “to” something. The Bible makes clear that it is imperative that people know and accept both of those things. We are rescued FROM God’s judgment and eternity in Hell, and TO salvation through the free, perfect gift of Jesus Christ. That information is “good news” or what we call The Gospel. That transformation (being Born Again) translates into loving God and therefore doing good works in service to Him on earth and eternal life in the presence of God after we die.
With that understanding as a backdrop, there is a short and a long answer to that question. To be transparent, I prefer the long answer. My short answer would be “Repent and turn completely from your sin and rebellion against God and believe in Jesus Christ.”
This answer based on Romans 10:5-13
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
and Acts 16:30-32 and the Philippian Jailer:
Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
A key to this basic answer is based on people who already understand who God is, a friend or family member who has heard the Gospel before or seen it lived out through a solid Christian example.
Now, if I am unsure of their understanding of God or they come from a context of another religion and a false view of God, there needs to be a basis for them to make the decision to repent and believe.
Complete Answer - Genesis 1-3 (Creation and Fall), Acts 17:16-34 (Paul at Athens), John 3:1-18 (Jesus speaking with Nicodemus)
Our universe was created perfectly in the beginning by a perfect God – The God of the Bible. In that creation, man was the crown or pinnacle of the creation.
The Bible says man and woman were not like the animals, they were created in God’s image.
A critical piece of that image was having choice - the ability to have a real relationship with God and other human beings.
Man was able to choose whether to obey or disobey God’s instruction.
The first man and woman, Adam and the Woman (Eve) were deceived and chose to rebel and disobey God.
The consequence of this original sin, outlined by God ahead of time, was death and eternal separation from God.
But God perfectly loved us and had a rescue plan already created to send His Son to pay the punishment for our sin for all who have faith and believe.
No other god or religion has true Love, Grace and Mercy, shown by God sacrificing for us first! (Romans 5:8)
This plan happened about 2000 years ago, when Scripture’s predictions were fulfilled.
Christ was born of a virgin, lived and had a short ministry on earth before being put to death for our sins.
But he did not stay in the grave but showed victory over death by being raised again in a new body.
So, when we repent and believe in Jesus Christ and all He has done for us, we are assured, just like His resurrection, that we will be resurrected to new life with Him in Heaven.
Our salvation is NOT the end; it is the beginning of our relationship and walk with the Lord.
Until that time when we die or Jesus returns for His Church, we are to live for Him. We are new creations in Christ, created for good works (Ephesians 2:10).
Our lives, just like Jesus, will be filled with both trials and victories. We will constantly struggle with Sin, but we have assurance that Christ had the victory, and we will spend forever in worship and adoration of Him.
Finally, when did I feel the call to be a Pastor/Elder?
I first felt the potential of this calling in 2005 when we were between pastors at a local Presbyterian Church. I began to investigate the Certified Lay Pastor Program, but through various circumstances, the timing was not right to pursue the CLP training.
Next was after we joined a local Baptist Church in 2014. I began meeting with the Pastor to see if an Assistant Pastor was my calling. We agreed that I would be a Deacon first, then see if Pastor/Elder was a good fit. I was also able to teach occasionally in the Sunday Evening Service and consistently in Adult Sunday School. I also taught from the pulpit several times while the Pastor was away. There were some church struggles that occurred, along with some personality differences that led to the slowing of this process. The Pastor then pursued another calling and left the church.
After the arrival of the next pastor, I began to complete classes in Christian Chaplaincy in 2018. I was also involved in prison ministry that included meeting and teaching men. This time was very instructive and helped me further understand the requirements of pastoral care.
The next stop was addressing a pastoral moral failing at the Baptist Church, which resulted in the resignation and calling of another pastor. I also began attending a local Calvary Chapel based teaching ministry in Greenville. I made a connection with this ministry, including the opportunity to council/mentor in a new local discipleship ministry in Greenville.
Unfortunately, the next pastor at the Church also had issues with leadership and accountability. We attempted to address these issues with Biblical references in statements that were communicated with a private and public meeting with the pastor and congregation. These issues were wholesale rejected by the pastor, which resulted in half of the congregation leaving the Church.
At this time, a smaller group from the half that left the Church began meeting in homes to teach and study the Scriptures. We met for approximately 16 months, covering the book of Acts, and moved through the beginning of James and Ephesians. It was after 12 months of meeting that I felt the specific call to pastoral ministry. This occurred during an intense struggle with ministry and purpose, but the Lord moved in my heart on January 6, 2024, reminding me it was His church and therefore His job to call the leadership. As a part of this calling, He impressed on my heart that I will experience the attitude that myself and others have towards the Church (apathy and rejection).
After this event, I began pursuing closer relationships with Calvary Chapel pastors, which continues to the present time. I have attended two men’s retreats and recently the East Coast Pastor’s Conference. My goal is to continue to establish these relationships for encouragement and accountability, eventually establishing a Calvary Chapel based church that is focused on “Line-by-Line” Bible teaching of the Full Council of God. I believe this is the foundation for Christ to work in His Church to create Disciples (Matt 28) and “Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry” (Ephesians 4).