Watermark Blogs

HOW DID YOU GET INTO A MORMON OUTREACH MINISTRY?

I grew up in Southern California. When I was a kid, some Mormon missionaries came to the door of our house, and my mom spoke with them briefly. I was fascinated by them and after they left, I asked my mom about the difference between our beliefs as Christians and the Mormons. She explained that Mormons believed you could get into heaven through your own good work. After hearing this, I raced out the door. I wanted to tell those guys that it wasn’t true—that it was our faith in Christ alone that saves us.

At 15 years old, I had the opportunity to do summer ministry in Utah. I studied more about the differences between Mormonism and Christianity and began going door to door to share Christ with Mormon people. I became fascinated with the Mormon faith, and fell in love with the people. I also loved the natural beauty in Utah, and eventually moved there in 1996, where I continued reaching out to Mormons with the truth about Christ.

HOW DID YOU COME TO WATERMARK?

I moved to Dallas after meeting Tara Nelsen, the woman who’d eventually become my wife. Tara grew up in the Mormon faith and came to Christ when she was a single mom living in Dallas. She became involved in several ministries at Watermark, and we shared the same desire to reach out to Mormons and boldly defend biblical Christianity.

I’d been married before and Tara had as well. Therefore, in addition to a pre-marital class, we also wanted to participate in Watermark’s DivorceCare ministry. We wanted to completely process the past pain we had both experienced from divorce. I went through in ’06 and eventually became a DivorceCare leader. As I went through the class I noticed that I was becoming more patient toward Tara and others when conflicts arose. I began to develop more grace toward others as I realized that often there are no quick fixes to many of life’s problems.

I could also see how a ministry like DivorceCare would be relevant to our outreach to Mormons. Although Mormons are often recognized for their strong families, the truth is that divorce in Utah, a predominately Mormon state, is at or above the national average. If a spouse isn’t living up to the standards set by the Mormon church or decides that they want to resign from the faith, the other spouse often files for divorce since one’s exaltation in the faith is tied to being married to a faithful Mormon member. For that same reason, Mormons also tend to remarry very quickly — often a recipe for disaster. The biblical principles of reconciliation that are talked about in DivorceCare, and the authenticity that is part of our culture at Watermark are the polar opposite of the Mormon culture. Mormonism is a place to put on a good front and show your good works so that everyone will think you are worthy before God. To most ex-Mormons I’ve talked to, the Mormon Church is the last place you’d go to talk about struggles.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT THE MORMON CHURCH?

Many Christians think wrongly that Mormons are just a different Christian denomination. But the differences are like night and day. They have different scripture and a very different view of Christ’s atonement for our sins. People see that Mormon families are often good neighbors and very patriotic, and they think, “What’s wrong with that?” But many Christians don’t understand that Mormons are embracing false doctrine and a radically different view of who Christ is.

Our ministry began a website called mormoninfo.org that educates people about the differences between Mormonism and Christianity. We also started a recovery ministry for ex-Mormons and those interested in ministering to Mormons. When people who grew up in the Mormon faith move out of it and into a relationship with Christ, they often lose their family and friends and become ostracized. We meet with former Mormons and help them with their questions and challenges. We often meet with couples where one is a Mormon and the other is not and discuss theological differences, which helps them to see the Truth.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MOVE BACK TO UTAH?

Utah is a mission field that’s been largely neglected by Evangelical Christians, who make up just 2% of the population. There are entire counties where there’s not a single
Christian church. God prepared us as a family to be on mission in Utah by giving us both a season of great community and growth at Watermark and a real passion to minister to Mormon people full-time.

I don’t mind being the odd man out in Utah, because seeing people who’ve grown up under the bondage of Mormonism, where there’s generally no tolerance for disagreement and questions, breaks my heart. Biblical Christianity allows us to question and explore God’s Word to discover what it has to say. What a privilege it is to tell people that they no longer need to perform to earn God’s love. We are already accepted in Christ, and our new desires motivate us to be more like our Savior and reflect Him to a death-filled world. Seeing people embrace that Truth is watching someone be set free in Christ

For more information on the differences between Christianity and Mormonism, see watermarkradio.com (keword search: Mormon) for a series of Training Day classes on the subject.