Heilman Testimonies

Personal Testimony of Doug Heilman
I was not raised in a Christian home. My father was a career sailor in the US Navy and as such I moved all over the country growing up. My folks sent us to Sunday school at local Churches from time to time, where I learned of God and many of the Bible stories…Noah’s Ark, Daniel and the lion’s den, Jesus and the talents, the lost sheep etc. I can remember believing in Jesus Christ, as a result. I thought to myself I was destined for heaven even though I don’t ever remember hearing of how to be sure that I was saved at that time in my life.  

When my Dad retired from the Navy, we moved back to southern Illinois. It was there, as a result of my love for horses that I found myself consistently in church. My folks fulfilled a childhood promise to buy a horse for my brothers and me upon Dad’s retirement. We eventually boarded our horse at the home of Mrs. Grace White, a saint who became affectionately known as my Grandma White. It was Grandma White who made it clear that there would be no horseback riding on Sundays until I had went with her to church. This was the first time I had ever sat under the preaching of God’s word. It wasn’t long before the word was convicting me of my sin and it was in May of 1972 during a fired up Gospel message that I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.

In July of 2007, as I was retiring from the Navy, that the Lord revealed what the He had in store for, my wife, Linda and I during our retirement years. It was through a building project headed up by the Cornerstone Baptist Builders, at our home church, and a series of sermons from visiting pastors that my wife and I surrendered to this ministry of constructing church buildings for the Lord across the United States. It is our great privilege and honor to serve the Lord in this capacity. My Commissioning Service took place March 29, 2009 by Pastor Craig Houston and Westside Baptist Church.

Personal Testimony of Linda Heilman
I was born and raised in Granite City Illinois. My Grandpa, who lived with us, attended church regularly; it was he who invited me to go to church with him as a child. But it wasn’t until I left home and was living in Lagrange Georgia, during an Easter Sunday service in 1973 that the resurrection story gripped my heart. The fact that the Lord, who never knew me, sacrificed himself for me personally, so that I might have eternal life, is amazing. It was then that I gave my heart to the Lord. 

I have been so blessed to able to travel around the United States and Europe with my husband while he was in the Navy. During those years, I was fortunate to belong to many different churches, where I have grown as a Christian and learned a great deal under the teaching of each pastor. It was upon our retirement from the Navy, in July 2007, while at Westside Baptist Church in Bremerton Washington that through the Lord’s leading my husband, Doug and I surrender to the church building ministry of Cornerstone Baptist Builders. I am so blessed to be a part of this ministry and am truly humbled to able to serve the Lord full time.

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