I came across Alpha and Omega ministries in 1999 while in college. At the time I would have considered myself a conservative Christian (Baptist tradition). I was about 26 years old, enjoyed studying the bible and defending the faith however… I was not reformed, had no clue about the doctrines of grace, had a surface level knowledge of theology (very basic), knew nothing of church history, knew nothing of textual criticism, knew nothing of Greek….. the list goes on. (My idea of deep biblical study was listening to Chuck Missler and his views on aliens and the Nephilim…. Yeah it was that bad).
One day while defending my faith against some Mormons at school, the issue of the atonement of Christ came up. At the time, my older sister had been a Mormon for about 15 years so I thought I knew all their arguments. While I was discussing what Christ did on the cross for sinners, I took the “Christ died for everybody” approach. At which time the Mormons asked a great question… if it’s true that Christ was our substitute in the biblical sense, and He died in the place of everyone for their sins, why was not everyone saved from hell? I had never thought of that before. So I began to search for answers which included an internet search… and I found Alpha and Omega ministries.
Alpha and Omega Ministries literally changed my life forever. The Lord used this ministry to open my eyes to many things I had never considered before. Every Christian I know would say they love God and I did too… but now I know how to express my love for God by loving His Word, His Truths, His Gospel. A heart that truly loves God will submit to what the scriptures teach. My goal was no longer to convince people of God’s gospel but rather to honor God in the proclamation of it… to present the purity of the Gospel of Christ with clarity.
Thanks to the ministry now some nine years later I can say that I have an un-quenching thirst and love for the Scriptures and the doctrines of Grace, I’m a student of theology, I’m a student of New Testament Greek (with Hebrew to come in the future), I’m a student of Church History, I’m a student of Textual Criticism. I have a brotherly love for James and Rich who have devoted their lives to the defense of the Christian Faith. They are my friends and brothers in the faith and I am blessed to know them both. My newborn son’s middle name “James” was named after Dr. White. Not because Dr. White is intelligent, funny, a dear friend, a scholar, a gifted debater…. Though he is all of these things… but rather because it is my desire that my son will one day have a love and passion for the truth of the Gospel of Christ that Dr. James White has and continues to have. May God continue to bless this ministry and James and Rich for all of their hard work as well as their families.
Alpha and Omega Ministries thank you for all that you do.
[Personal note: the title comes from the fact that I first met “Figgy” in person over chips and salsa up in Sacramento. I can’t wait till we can have chips and salsa with Mrs. Figgy, Figglet, and Lil’ DrO!]
