Will Reed – Greeley, Colorado … Ryan Hough received a free copy of Ellen G. White’s book The Great Controversy in his mailbox three years ago through a mass mailing initiative. He donated it to a thrift store. This would begin a unique chain of events that would end up in him finding Jesus, and on June 29, around three years later, he was baptized into membership at the Greeley Seventh-day Adventist Church in Greeley, Colorado.
Coming from a non-church-going background, Hough began his faith journey as a result of his interest in history. In the midst of perusing the internet and looking into various aspects of history, he came across an Adventist speaker’s YouTube series which contained elements of history that interested him, so he began to watch.
Around the same time, Hough randomly received another copy of the book The Great Controversy in the mail at his home in Idaho, where he lived at the time. After first taking a picture of the book and sending it to his parents, asking them if they had sent it to him, Hough decided to donate it as well to a local thrift store, uninterested in reading it.
However, while continuing to watch the Adventist YouTube series, Ryan was surprised to hear the speaker talk about a book called The Great Controversy, a book which Hough had seen before. After realizing that this was the book that was sent to him through the mail that he had sent to the thrift store, Hough visited this thrift store, bought the book back for $1, and began to read it.
Through reading The Great Controversy, continuing to watch the series, and getting connected with a local Adventist church in Idaho, Hough began to fall in love with Jesus. He and his family moved to Colorado in the last two years, and Hough began attending Greeley Church. It was during this time that Hough decided he wanted to officially give his life to Jesus and be baptized. This occurred in the presence of his family, friends, and new church family.
Hough says that it is the community aspect of church that has been most impactful for him. “A big part of my experience and journey has been the church family. Everyone I’ve interacted with has solidified the path that I’m following, and the choices I’m making are inspired and fulfilling,” he commented.
Michael Shannon, lead pastor of the Greeley Church, spoke of Hough’s journey to the Adventist faith as orchestrated by God. “It’s interesting how the Holy Spirit works … nobody brought [Ryan] to church. The Lord brought him to church,” he remarked.
—Will Reed is principal and sixth through eighth grades teacher at Adventist Christian School. Photo by Jim Johnson.
