Family Restored

Dave Toyne - Senior Pastor - Clear Lake, IA

When I was 7 years old, I discovered my father laying in a pool of blood, the gun he used to shoot himself laying beside him. The day of my dad’s funeral my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer and soon left the family to go to New York for treatment. I began to think maybe it was my fault that all those bad things had happened. Abandoned, angry, and alone I began to look for comfort in masturbation and pornography and became a sexual addict in my teens. When I was 16 years old, I came to Christ but the addictions, shame, fear, and rejection didn’t go away. I felt like an outsider looking in, trying to be good enough to receive Father God’s love but always missing the mark. I married, had a son and daughter, went to Bible school, and became a pastor but the abandonment was still there. I continued to struggle with rage, lustful temptations, and incredibly low self worth.

After my son tried to take his own life while he was at Bible school, I finally let some of my walls of self defense down and allowed God to touch the pain that had been bottled up within for so many years. My family and I attended a Shiloh Place retreat and the love and acceptance of Father God began to pour comfort, healing, and freedom into our broken hearts. Within the year that followed, we experienced an Agape reformation that brought restoration to our family and a new found rest, joy and expansion in ministry.

Father God wants you and your leaders to experience His love in the same way – thus increasing your influence in your city and in the nations. This is what the Shiloh Place Schools and Encounters are all about.New Paragraph
Share by: