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 Tim’s
Testimony
Early Years
I was born in South
Baltimore and was raised in Manchester, Maryland until the
age of two. At that time my family moved to southern
Pennsylvania. We stayed there until I was 11 years old. At
this time my sister Dee was attending a bible college in
Neosho, MO and my Mom felt very strongly that I needed to be
in a Christian school that was affiliated with that college.
So we packed up and moved to Missouri.
Christian
Training
There, I attended a very
strict school called Ozark Bible Institute where I studied
the bible in great depth. I was also influenced by many
Godly people that made a great impact on my life. One person
who was a great influence on my life was a man by the name
of Randy Snow. He has a great passion for the youth. He
could have been a professional baseball player and was going
to sign with the Royals, but he gave it all up to follow God’s
leading him into the ministry. WOW, what an affect on my
life that made.
Love of
Music
In Missouri I grew to love
country music. I knew that listening to secular country
music was wrong but there just wasn’t anything in gospel
music that was country like I wanted to listen to. I did
very little singing because I was extremely shy but I knew
that if there was one thing I would love to do it was to
make gospel music that sounded like country music. Music
that sounded so good that it would even appeal to sinners
and they would listen to it and be blessed by God and maybe
even be SAVED!
Along the way my father
taught me how to play the guitar and I also took violin
lessons when I was little but never really stayed with it.
When I was 12 I recorded one song on a tape that my parents
were having recorded.
Committed
to Christ
I was 14 when I made my
commitment to the Lord at a youth camp and felt a strong
call on my life to the ministry. Even though I had grown up
in a Christian home, it was there that I realized that if I
were to die, that I would go to hell.
I remember those moments sitting in the pew, knowing that I
had to get right with the Lord and at the same time worrying
about what my friends at camp would think. I couldn’t take
it any longer… I had to get up and go down that aisle.
I gave God my heart in appreciation for what Christ had done
for me on the cross. I was filled with joy and sense of
completeness.
High School
Seven years passed in
Missouri and my parents decided to move back to
Pennsylvania. My dad is a truck driver for Wal-Mart and
there was a new warehouse opening up in Clearfield. Thinking
it would be similar to southern Pennsylvania, they packed us
all up (me not wanting to go because it was my senior year
in high school). We arrived in the MOUNTAINS and I started
in the Clearfield Alliance Christian School. That is where I
met my wife Jennifer, who was my high school sweetheart. She
was the best looking girl I had ever seen. It was the usual
perfect high school romance. I played sports and she was a
cheerleader. My passion for Jen began to take over my
passion for God.
Downfall
I had taken my eyes off of
God and what He wanted for my life. Over the year and a half
that Jen and I dated, we justified going further and further
into sin. Our premarital sex resulted in Jen getting
pregnant. I’ll never forget how I felt when she told me the
news. I was confused, scared, and ashamed. Abortion wasn’t
an option. Neither was adoption. We got married in spite of
the negative opinions of others. Although not planned, our
son Austin is a gift from God and great big brother to his
sisters.
Redemption
We both had realized we
had done wrong and repented, but I had felt as though I had
really blew it with God and any ministry plans He had
designed for me were gone. I had lost the song in my heart.
I was asked several times after Austin’s birth to sing in
church and I would turn them down partly because I was shy
and partly because I did not feel worthy. Over the course of
the next 6 years I just laid under the radar so to speak.
Our family continued to grow with the addition of our
daughters Kathleen and Megan.
At the age of 26, I
chaperoned a trip to Acquire The Fire, a Christian rally for
teens. Ron Luce was preaching to the youth on not sitting
back in church, but getting up and doing something for God.
I was ashamed, for he was preaching to me. When he made a
deal with the youth in that auditorium to stand up and do
something for God, I stood up with the young people that
night and silently made a vow to God that whatever door He
would open that I would fill it.
When I returned from
Acquire The Fire, God started opening those doors…
First, to teach the Sunday school youth class. He also
opened doors for me to sing and the singing invitations
became more frequent. Before I knew it, God was calling me
into something bigger. I was feeling called to make a CD.
That call came to be when my family and I released our first
CD in November 2003.
As for the making of the CD… well I could write a book
about how God worked out every little detail! I’ve never
seen God move and direct my life like he has in the past
nine months. He is to be given all the glory, honor and
praise for he has restored my soul!
The scripture I strive to
honor and trust God for in my life is Psalms 37:23…
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He
delights in his way.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Tim Goss
8855 107 Cutoff
Greeneville, TN 37743-4784
Phone: (423) 638-6203
CLICK
HERE To E-Mail Tim Goss Ministries Directly
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