Let my introduce you to Clayton. He goes to my church. I used to watch him in the nursery when he was a toddler. He is the son of our dear friends, Jason and Jennifer Martin. His mom has served in the Women’s Ministry with me for the past seven years. His dad has been a deacon and is part of the Adult Ministry. Last weekend, Clayton was baptized. His testimony, which he bravely read into a mic in front of about 150 people, stole our hearts. His honesty and sincerity deserves to be shared. Here is what he said as he declared his faith in Jesus.

My name is Clayton Martin. I am 8 years old. I am going into 3rd grade at Denver Elementary School. My favorite color is green. I asked Jesus into my heart on January 11, 2011. Before I asked Jesus into my heart, I was bad. I acted crazy. I did not listen to my mom and dad. My mom and dad read Bible stories to me. After Jesus came into my life I began to change. I try to remember my manners at the table. I am also trying to work on staying out of other peoples’ space. One of my favorite Bible verses is “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22).” I just came home from camp yesterday, and I learned that “Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. And if we fall off, we are not close to God.” (John 15:5)

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. Matthew18:2–5