Jonathan Sidlo’s Story

My name is Jonathan. I’m 44 years old, and I’m new to Christ. In May 2024, I forced myself to get over whatever mental hurdles or stumbling blocks I had and to start attending a local church. Northwest Bible Church was one of the first ones. They had great sermons online. Listening to messages while working at home, I was inspired that this was the place where I wanted to make my first church.

In May 2024, I visited Northwest by myself. I showed up… very nervous. It was kind of overwhelming since I’d never been to church in my entire life.

I felt welcome from the second I walked in the door—I really did! So many people said hello. I sat down and just kind of took it all in, and although it was an overwhelming experience, it was overwhelmingly positive.

“I finally made it. I’m glad I finally took the step to come here and start attending church.”

When the worship music came on, I felt some deep down. It made me feel emotional. It all kind of hit. I was like, “Oh, okay. I finally made it. I’m glad I finally took the step to come here and start attending church.”

About my third or fourth time coming to church, Carl Weise came up to me at the end of service, and he just kind of pointed at me and said, “Hey, have we met yet?” We started talking, and he invited me to breakfast. Our breakfast conversation turned into a friendship, and Carl is discipling me… helping me to become more grounded in scripture and more focused.

During one of our weekly meetings, I told Carl that I wanted to get baptized. I’d had that on my mind for a while as well, but I wanted to make sure I fully understood what baptism meant and was going about it the right way. It’s such a heavy, symbolic gesture, and I wanted to make sure that I fully understood the meaning and symbolism behind it.

Since becoming a believer, Jesus has already added so much dimension to my life. He has changed my entire worldview. From where I was three or four years ago, I’m a whole new person… dead to my old self!

I look forward to growing more in Christ! Although I’m still so early on in my journey, I know there are still many more obstacles to overcome. It’s a lifelong journey, and I’m looking forward to growing in that and becoming more of an active member at Northwest.

If I can even convince one person who is on the fence like I was, who is struggling like I was to come to this point. I know there’s a lot out there, so hopefully I can be inspiring and encourage someone to take their next right step.