Its a WHO-YOU know World: MY STORY

Its a WHO-YOU know World: MY STORY -

When I was 18 years old I reached out to a man named Don Gray who was the Father of a guy I played high school football with and a Pastor. I just graduated High school and around K-town there were no jobs for college kids after Cannon Mill shut down, being that 5,000 people who were laid off and taking all the jobs up. Don worked in the HR department at UPS in Charlotte and I heard that he was getting people jobs working in the Hub left and right. So I gave him a call...After a few conversations with Don he set me up with an interview with a top dog UPS manager and next thing I knew, I went from being a struggling white boy from K-town with no job, giving plasma twice a week to being the youngest part time Supervisor at UPS in Charlotte. NOTE: This was CRAZY you can ask anyone who knew me then. I couldn't thank Donald enough for helping me and I will never forget what he told me at the end of one of our talks, he told me "Its a who you know World" I could go on with the story because as I befriended my boss for the next two years who had befriended his boss many promises of promotion and big pay were stirring. I was so excited about my journey of climbing the corporate ladder. As the climb really began becoming more of a reality God clearly spoke to me about quitting my job at UPS because he was about to open the door to my future in ministry (Which at the time I was hoping would be a record deal) My Family FLIPPED OUT, because this was the best thing that had ever happened to me and was crazy that I would get a position like this and be successful. December 31st 2004 was my last day at UPS.

NOTE: I went on to get 5 of my friends jobs at UPS after I quit just by making a phone call to a friend of mine in the HR office. I told them the same thing Don told me and they thanked me "Its a who you know World"

One month later January 2005, I walked into The Refuge for the first time and God met me there holding the door wide open. We were invited by our friend Scott who had been working with Providence House. He gave us a tour of The Refuge shortly after renovations has been made in 04, and had been all over us for the next couple of months about visiting. We finally showed up and knew The Refuge was not only where we were suppose to be but where God was leading us. I started volunteering at PH at The Refuge that Wednesday night. 11 months later I quit my job at my doctors office (Yes, I was a male nurse...if you google my name, my work pic comes up.lol) and was hired by PH as a Youth Pastor after taking on a PH in Kannapolis that was growing rapidly.COOL FACT: Brad Rooks, who is the Worship leader of The Refuge Salisbury now was also the Worship leader of PH-KTOWN then. We did PH-KTOWN every Monday night for over 2 years and it was awesome, we have some great stories! God has developed me over the years from a young Youth Pastor at PH to a young Campus Pastor at The Refuge. I'm very greatful and thankful for the people God put in my path to develop and teach me. Im blown away by the way God has blessed me in my life, his plans are so great and beyond our imagination. I tell you this story because I want to encourage you to trust God with your story, which is your life. And tell you that "Its a who you know World" Its not just for your benifit but for the expansion of the Kingdom.

Tomorrow I will write you about WHO-YOU know in your World and talk about John 1 and what Jesus did when he met his first disciples. Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody, who knows somebody. I would LOVE to hear from YOU your story! Check back in tomorrow for part 2, im going somewhere with this because YOU-KNOW some people who YOU need to bring to Jesus AND they know some people that they will bring to Jesus after they meet Him. And they ALL will have great stories and make a BIG impact on the Kingdom!

Send in your Story, thoughts, questions, or anything you got!