The Word of Life Experience: Fall 2024

Could a chance encounter on a cold December day in a small New Jersey town change a person’s eternal destiny and create ripple effects through generations?

If so, was it ever really by chance?

Raised Catholic, Pete Ogilvie was a young high school artist who dutifully checked off every box of religious obligations but lacked a genuine connection with God or any real fulfillment. While he faithfully followed spir- itual routines, he lived a life without God, seeking satisfaction in partying and the distractions of life. One day, while painting in his basement, he heard a song on the radio that moved him to cry out to God. He said, “God, if you’re real, prove it to me. I have no need for this religion thing anymore.” Soon after, while on a walk to decom- press from a busy day in his snowy, Christmas-lit hometown of Kearny, New Jersey, Pete walked by a local church handing out hot chocolate and coffee on a bitterly cold December day. There, he met Sam Frey and Bill Brown, who were both invited by the church to hold an Open-Air Evangelism event.

He said, “God, if you’re real, prove it to me. I have no need for this religion thing anymore.”

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The Word of Life Experience

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