Meet Patty Hardaway

I was raised in a Baptist church in Fort Worth, and I answered the altar call around age 8. I believe I did that more because it was expected of me than understanding that I needed a relationship with Jesus. In fact, I don’t remember ever hearing about having a relationship with Jesus.  All I understood from the sermons is that I would go to hell if I was bad.

After a few years, I discovered that the people in the church were not living the lives they proclaimed they were at any time except Sunday mornings. I started asking questions – first of my mother and then, at her suggestion, of the pastor. No one was able to answer my questions in any real way.  I finally decided in my early teens that if this was what being a Christian was, I wanted no part of it.

Fast forward about 40 years (after my move to The Woodlands), and after my husband and I divorced after 18 years of marriage, I found myself in hitting bottom. I started hearing that still, small voice I had been ignoring getting louder and louder.  A friend of mine was always speaking about his church, and I became convinced that the voice that was now shouting at me was telling me to get back to church.  After finding out that my friend’s church was Faith Bible, I attended the very next Sunday. From the moment I walked in, I felt this peace come over me. The teaching was excellent and touched my heart. I discovered what a real relationship with Jesus could be. This was in early 2013.  Within a few months, I started volunteering in the Welcome ministry.  What a joy it is to get to welcome people to our church and help new people get connected. In 2014, I started working for Faith Bible as the Finance director, but you’ll still find me in the foyer on Sundays because I truly love serving in that way.