THE TESTIMONY OF

DEBBIE SPENCE

I was born in England in 1964 in a small village called Shelf. It had 1 school, 1 church, and all the small local stores. I was Christened (sprinkled) when I was 6 months old in the Church were my parents got married.

I went to a Church of England School and if anyone asked what religion I was, I told them that I was a Christian. I have 5 sisters and we had a good upbringing, with good moral values.  We did not attend the village church. The only time I went to church was at Easter and Christmas with school. At school, we had assembly each morning where we sang a couple of hymns and the Headmaster read a short Bible passage then we prayed and were dismissed to class.  This was my understanding of being a Christian!

As a teenager, I remember praying many times to God with requests and always felt that He was close by. I went off to college and then got a job and met a young man whom I married 2 years later in 1984 at the age of 20. Unfortunately, that marriage only lasted 6 years. I was left angry and bitter.

I moved back home with my parents and 2 years later (1992) God brought a wonderful man called Jim into my life. Jim had given his heart to the Lord in October of 1991 when he was on vacation in Texas. When we met he told me all about his life-changing experience and how God was calling him to move to Houston and work with kids, teaching them soccer and sharing the gospel.  One question that Jim asked me and that I will never forget was “what does that cross you are wearing around your neck mean to you.” I didn’t really have an answer, I just knew that there was a God. 6 weeks after our meeting Jim left England bound for Houston, TX.

I started attending a Bible teaching church close to where I lived in England and then in September of 1992 I came to Houston to visit Jim. While I was here I heard the Pastor of the Church give an invitation to accept Jesus into your heart. This was so new to me and for the few times I heard this I did not respond. I fought with this in the last few days of my visit here and cried out to God to help me. On September 21st, 1992, I got on my knees in the living room of the house where Jim was staying and prayed the sinner’s prayer, I asked forgiveness of my sins, invited Jesus into my heart and to asked Him to become my Lord and Savior. That moment was so wonderful and the weight I had been carrying on my shoulders was suddenly lifted. I was now a child of God. Amen.

A few hours later I was flying back to England, determined to let everyone know the decision I had made and to get baptized as soon as possible. Of course, family and friends thought I was going through a phase and that it would wear off soon. The Church I had been attending got me into a new believers Bible study straight away and I sat with the pastor to talk about getting baptized, only to learn that the Church of England does not baptize (sprinkle) a second time but that I could renew the vows that my parents had said for me as a baby. This was just not acceptable to me so I prayed and asked God what I should do. I revisited the pastor and asked him if we could get special permission for me to get baptized as I really wanted this to be a witness to family and friends. So he wrote to the Bishop and several weeks later a letter came back granting permission. On November 29th, 1992 I was baptized in a 6-foot paddling pool in the isle of St. John’s Church in front of all Jim and I’s family and many friends. 2 years later Jim and I were married in this same church by my pastor and friend.

In June of 1994, Jim and I were married and he brought me back to Houston to be with him.  In October of 1995, the Lord blessed us with our first child who we named Joshua. Then 6 months later the man Jim worked for felt God calling him to go to seminary and so we were left with the decision as to whether we should go back to England or stay in the US. The only problem was that Jim needed a new sponsor for his work visa. Jim had work through the summer of 1996 and then we would make our decision.

In April of 1996, Jim and I and our 6 month old moved in with a family from our Church as Jim had gone on to half salary and we could no longer afford to live in our 1 bedroom apartment. Jim worked that summer conducting soccer camps and sharing the Gospel with kids at camp. It was during this time that God brought a special family to Jim and me who felt led by the Lord to start a new corporation for us called Sports Quest. God was at work in our lives and everywhere we turned we felt like God was saying “if you stay, I will provide”. So through many many weeks of prayer and searching for Gods will in our lives we took a step of faith and decided to stay in Houston even though we had no home and no money and was about to start a new business. We made the decision that Sports Quest would be bold about its mission to reach children for Christ through the avenue of soccer. The corporation was made official in December of 1996.

Back in October of 1996, the family that we had been living with announced they were moving to Venezuela so Jim and I were on the hunt for a new place to live. We had no savings and very little income still, so on our knees once more we asked God what His will was for our family. We also asked our church to be praying for us and a man that was a member there was moving to Dallas but wanted to keep his house in Houston. He requested to meet with us and told us that the Lord had laid it on his heart to allow us to live in his home rent-free.  We were in awe of how God had once again provided for us and would continue to do so for the next 3 years as we lived in this beautiful 4 bedroom home with a pool.

During these 3 years, when Joshua was 2 years old, God allowed us to conceive our second child but He would also take this precious gift home to be with Him during my second trimester. This was also a time of great faith. We knew God had our best at heart and trusted in Him to see us through. But, God also knew that He would bless us once again with our third child, Megan. Megan was born 2 weeks after moving out of this wonderful house and into our second apartment. It was here where God would grow Sports Quest from seeing 300 kids per summer to over 1000 kids who got to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

Again, God continued to bless us as we were faithful to Him.  We lived in a 3 bedroom (1 been the office for Sports Quest) apartment for 3 years. My parents came to visit us and told us that they wanted to help us move into a house and that they were going to give us the down payment to be able to do this. What a huge blessing. So once again we went on our knees before the Lord and asked Him to show us the house that He would provide and we committed to the Lord that we would open our home to others who need a place to stay.

In May 2002, we moved into our very first house in Cypress. We have lived there for 16 years now and we are in our 22nd year of heading up God’s ministry “Sports Quest”.

There are so many other things I could share with you all if I had about a week to do so, but I want you to know that God is very much alive today and working in the lives of those who seek Him. My favorite verse, one given to me by a wonderful Christian lady is Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His Purpose.”

If you have never committed your life to Jesus, it is not too late; no sin is too great for God to forgive.  He is a God of Love, mercy, and grace and wants each one of us to have a loving relationship with Him.

Help us fulfill the Great Commission!