Killian

My name is Killian Washington. I’m from New Orleans. I’ve always believed in Jesus Christ, but I haven’t always followed Him.

I was raised Catholic, an altar boy for seven years. All that time I committed so many sins it wasn’t funny. Alcohol, drugs, and sexual promiscuity were an everyday part of my life.

After about fifteen years of it, these things became my only priority. I worked just to have money to party. Finally, it became too much and I went to a Christian rehab for six months. I got baptized. It changed my outlook toward other people but not the way I acted myself. I went back to drinking, drugs, and sex. Then, God intervened with Hurricane Katrina. I was being shipped to Texas when the plane turned and I landed in Tennessee. I cleaned up for a little while, then I went back to my old ways. This time it was worse; partying was my only goal. An extended birthday party got me arrested.

When I got out of jail, I realized something had to change. My father told me, “You are known by the people you associate with.” So I severed ties with my old “friends”and started trying to get my life together.

It was then that I realized that just believing is not enough. For years I would party on Saturday night, then go to church on Sunday. I knew I needed to apply what I’d heard in church to my life. I needed to read the Bible. I needed to surround myself with Christian people.

My road to real recovery started when I connected with Greenhouse Ministries and the Timothy Network in Murfreesboro. I began attending the Wellspring discipleship group with Mike and others once each week for Bible study, prayer, and some very honest sharing. Nothing was held back. We all unloaded our past.

After getting to know Mike, I began attending the North Boulevard church and their young marrieds class. I’m not married but Mike was teaching the class at the time, so that’s where I went. After the class ended, I decided to stay on with the group because what I saw encouraged me. I’d never been around young couples with good marriages. I liked what I saw.

I met Ben Bohannon and his wife Katie-Lynn in this class. Both have been involved with Timothy Network for some time, so Ben invited me into an discipling relationship. We’ve been meeting with a guy who was released from the Rutherford County Correctional Work Center about a year ago. We meet for fellowship and study.

It’s hard to stay focused on being a disciple when so many problems get in the way – job, money, relationship issues, and other problems. The thing about staying in a discipling relationship is that we help each other.

God has taken me a long way and I still have a way to go, but He gave me what I needed when needed it – not what I wanted when I wanted it. If you keep looking for Him, He’ll always have His eyes on you.