I Had Never Experienced Such a Christ Before, April N. Mathis

As a young girl I grew up in a denomination in Greenville, Ohio, was saved there at age eight or nine, and remained there till my late teens. It wasn't until my fifth year, my last year in college, that I was introduced to the local church and the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. What drew me to the local church was the Christ in all the brothers and sisters. This Christ met my every need. Before finding the local church, I was impressed in my Bible reading with the person of Abigail (1 Samuel 15), a very wise woman, and I hoped that I would find such a one to take me on in the Lord. Then one day the Lord brought me Abigails in abundance, not only one, but many sisters.

Through these sisters I received the nourishment and the shepherding I needed to bring me into a deeper and stronger relationship with the Lord. Often times these sisters would call me to pray and to pray over the Word. They sought me out just to enjoy the Lord with them. I had never experienced such a Christ like this in my life. My heart became gladdened, filled, and I truly began to see my need for the brothers and sisters to go on in the Lord. I realized that their going on in the Lord was my going on, and that my going on in the Lord was their going on. This caused me to not only seek the Lord for personal fellowship with Him so that I might receive and be supplied by the same Christ, but also to seek fellowship with other believers, that we might supply and refresh one another.

Through this mutual fellowship and shepherding, I have seen that the Christian walk is not a solitary walk, but a walk with my brothers and sisters. I have seen that the believers in the local churches shepherd one another, love one another, and care for one another with Christ as their life and enjoyment.