Joshua Barrett

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Ms. Hamby
Writing & Inquiry Academic Context 1
03 September 2014

Hickory Grove Lifestyle

There are many people around the world who are very religious but there are also
people who are atheist. Religious people often have a hard time finding other people who
believe in the same things that they do. Some of them hang out with friends who arent
religious and choose to get into a lot of trouble which ruins their lives. The way that religious
people are able to grow in their faith and find other believers is by going to church. There are
many churches around the whole world. Church is where people go to praise God and study
Christianity.
Although there are many people that go to church, that doesnt mean that they
worship the same way. There are many different religions where God is worshiped in a
different approach. Christianity, Islam, catholic, atheist, agnostic, and Satanism are the different
kinds of religions. The religion that stands out from the other is atheist because its where
people dont believe in God and dont worship anything. Hickory Grove Baptist Church is a
church thats in the charlotte area. Lots of UNCC students go to Hickory Grove and its a very
diverse church. Young kids and adults come to the services and theres also a college ministry
thats for people who are 18 or older. They all come to Hickory Grove to sing songs of worship
and to study the Bible. The college ministry goes on mission trips to places like South Carolina
and Virginia. We go to places so that we can share the gospel with other people who havent
heard about Christ or dont go to church. We also have many events and activities where we
come together and talk about how we are applying Gods Word in our daily lives. Its a great

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opportunity to meet new people and learn more about how to grow in your faith with God and
how to grow as a Christian.
Methodology
Our church has a great event where people can start a relationship with God and its
through Baptism. Baptism is where you share your testimony with everyone at Church about
why you are choosing to become a Christian and let God lead you in your life. The whole
process takes place in a pool. You talk about what your life was like before you chose to
become a follower of God and you explain all of the difficulties and challenges that you faced
while you were growing up. After you give your testimony the Pastor will walk with you in to
the pool. The Pastor will then baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit and cover your face with a wash cloth and dip your head into the water. The whole
church crowd gives you an applause after youre done because you have accepted Jesus as your
savior. Although youve accepted Jesus as your savior and became a Christian, that doesnt
mean that you are officially saved. You have to take full responsibility of being a Believer. Being
a Christian means that you will live out your life according to God. Studying His word and going
to church will help you grow in your faith. It will also help you realize that your life is in Gods
hands and you have nothing to worry about. The Lord will guide you throughout your life and
help you overcome difficult situations. The Pastor at Hickory Grove told me that God doesnt let
bad things happen to us on purpose. Everything happens for a reason and God has a plan for
each and every one of us. He will make sure that we fulfill our plans no matter what we have to
go through whether good or bad.

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I interviewed Brian Davis who also goes to Hickory Grove Baptist Church on a
regular basis. Hes the College Ministry Pastor and hes known me ever since I was five years old
because we went to the same church before. I did the interview on October 1 st at 3:30 at the
Atkins Library on campus. He explained to me how Hickory Grove is a great place for people to
establish a relationship with God and to accept Jesus as his or her savior. He also told me how
going to Hickory Grove influenced him to become a College Minister. He wants to tell people
about the Bible and that accepting Jesus as your savior means that you will have eternal life
with God in Heaven. I did a lot of my observations when I went to service on Sunday mornings. I
took notes at church by memorizing what the college ministry does on a regular basis. The main
objective that I focused on was seeing how the college ministry people talk about the Bible and
the lessons that they learn from it that can help them in their daily lives. I was an active
participant during the service; I sang songs with them and I prayed with them. I also
participated in the Bible study where Brian talks about a certain passage in the Word and points
out important lessons that can help us become better Christians. He gives us a few minutes to
answer some questions that he came up with that are about the passages that he read.
I also interviewed a friend of mine named Phil Hathaway who is a former cross
country and track runner at UNCC. Phil explained to me how he had a tough time with his
teammates. The reason was because he couldnt find anyone else on the team that was a
Christian. Nobody else on the team went to Church on Sundays and none of them study the
Bible. Even though Phil had a hard time meeting Christian friends that were on the team, he
later figured out that the womans cross country coach was a Christian and went to Church. He

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talked to her a lot about wanting to grow as a Christian. The Coach told him that he should
attend a church thats near the campus. He ended up Brian Davis who told him about Hickory
Grove Baptist Church. Phil told me that hes grown a lot in his relationship with God by going to
the church. Hes making lots of new friends who are Christians and learning about how to live
the Christian lifestyle. Hes been on many mission trips where hes been able to talk about the
Bible with other people.