We owe all to Christ.








By God's grace and mercy, He saved us and has changed emptiness into life. He has shown himself to be a gracious and loving father, and IS ALL that He claims to be.
Our story is a redemption story. A story of how God changes the hearts and lives of those who believe in Him and blesses those who obey His design.




Derrick knows deeply the power of God to make a man new. He spent much of his life longing for truth. His self-willed search for spiritual enlightenment only yielded anxiety and addiction. Life provided empty pleasures, and the nights were sleepless. For all their assertions of liberation, inner peace, and understanding, they had fallen short of their claims, and instead, he was left with hunger; a hunger for something they could never offer. He was driven to the end of himself. That's when God interviend and began drawing him to Christ. He heard the gospel and trusted in Him to be his savior and was changed. He has said, "Everything I have from now on is a gift from God. I cried out for death, and instead, He gave me life."




Growing up in church, Elizabeth took for granted the faith she was taught as a child. She allowed lies from others to creep in and fester doubts about God. She let the failures of other believers create doubts about God's goodness. When her faith was gone, so was her peace. Living in the world as if God didn't exist, nothing healed her from the emptiness and anxiety that took HIS place. She tried to fill the loneliness and mend her heart without God, but it was a never-ending quest. She cried out to God to find her in the wilderness. Reluctantly, she opened her Bible once more; an action that once felt so familiar now felt so foreign. It was then that God began to restore the trusting relationship she once had with Him, and she allowed TRUTH to turn her heart back towards Him. Little by little, the weight of lies was lifted until it was gone for good.




Through serving in the church together, Derrick and Elizabeth built a relationship. They heard each other's testimonies, witnessed each other's battles and wins in their walks with Christ, and something beautiful began to grow. Both had lost hope in finding love and felt that marriage was not possible for them because they had wasted so much of their time living for themselves. But God showed His amazing power to wipe away past failures and sins and to change what has been damaged into new life.




Derrick proposed on the church stage, where their relationship began, and they spent so much of their time playing in worship together. This has always been a very special place for the two of them. On a Monday evening, Derrick skipped men's Bible study and took Lizzy to the place they were both so familiar with. There, he knelt down and asked her to be his wife. And of course, she had no doubt in saying YES! Right after the proposal, they went into the men's Bible study to announce the good news and were met with an outburst of enthusiastic table hitting and hollers of congratulations.




Saying our vows in front of our community, and make this public declaration in front of those who have been such an important part of both of our lives is a very significant element of this day for us.
This day is not about the bride, as you so often hear. It's not about the two of us or the power of love. It's about the power of God to work in two people's hearts. It's about honoring the sanctity of His sacred institution.


It's not our story. It's God's story.