Pursuing good works and religious activities, Nicola felt empty. 

He couldn’t understand why his efforts weren’t giving him the peace he longed for. Deep down, Nicola felt like a failure.

Nicola had been raised in a Catholic home. He went to church regularly, and he tried so hard to deserve an eternity in heaven. He would strive all day to do as little wrong as possible, but by the evening, would grow discouraged when he’d made mistakes and knew he wasn’t doing enough. Nicola said, “The anxiety I felt, that crushed me on a daily basis, was this sensation of incompleteness, of not being able to reach the goal.”

Everything changed when Nicola started attending LifeHope, an Acts 29 church in Italy, and heard the true gospel of grace for the first time. He studied the book of Ephesians and learned about salvation by grace. Nicola was awakened–not just to his need for a Savior, but to the overwhelming mercy of God and the life-transforming love of Jesus. 

“The Lord saw me in my difficulty with the desire to know him and stretched out his hand to me and revealed this truth in my heart. I truly surrendered and stopped trying to make it on my own strength with my own works and I accepted this sacrifice Jesus made for all of us. It is as if he had put inside of me this true joy of salvation, and from this moment, my life changed.”

Now, with his burdens lifted, Nicola radiates joy. He was baptized in May and loves being a part of LifeHope because it’s a place of discipleship where he can learn from others and they “help me notice things on a verse where I only see something superficial.” He’s actively involved in his church, sharing his newfound faith with those around him and praying fervently for his unbelieving family. His heart’s deepest desire is to see them come to know Christ as he has.

JD Gilmore, a church planter at LifeHope, says, “If it can happen in a small town in Sicily, it can happen anywhere. God is there.”

God is transforming lives around the world through local churches like LifeHope, and you are a vital part of this mission. Through your generosity, Acts 29 provides essential support for these churches by offering the training, resources, relationships, and encouragement they need to thrive in their communities.