Steps toward Christ

Although I visited the Catholic church with my dad a handful of times as a child, my two siblings and I belonged to a small Lutheran (ELCA) church. It was there that I was baptized as an infant, attended weekly services, went to Sunday school and was confirmed. It was there that I was a member of the visible church for the first 24 years of my life.

I always had a form of godliness and measure of respect for the Lord and His Word. Yet I ultimately lived for myself, according to my own whims and desires. As a teen I often stayed up late on Saturday nights and opted to skip church on Sunday mornings. When I went away to college, church wasn’t even on the radar!

Prior to college, I knew hardly anything about Scripture. As a sophomore in college, I decided to begin reading the Bible every day for two reasons: I realized I had no idea what it said, and I wanted to impress a girl that I perceived to be a “good girl.” As a linear-minded math major, it is no surprise that I began in Genesis and read forward. By the time I made it through the Pentateuch, my focus, comprehension, and retention had drastically diminished. To keep myself on task, I began reading one chapter each night and writing a short summary and topic sentence. A little shy of three years later, I finished reading the entire Old Testament and had amassed an inch and a half of chapter outlines from Joshua to Malachi. And yet I was still unconverted.

During these formative years, the Lord worked on my heart and was slowly drawing me to Himself. According to His sovereign will, He providentially arranged my circumstances and gradually removed my trust in self. My first year of graduate school was the most difficult time of my life. As I walked through this dark period, the Lord graciously placed a few solid believers along my path. Little did I know that two men in particular would be used to impact me mightily for the Lord. Although my best friend Jason moved back home to Pittsburgh after graduation and I returned to Penn State for grad school, he steadily influenced me for Christ. I was also befriended by Jeff, a fellow grad student and teaching assistant in the industrial engineering department. He immediately invited me to his weekly men’s Bible study. We also began meeting for lunch and spending time together.

Although I cannot pinpoint the exact time, I am certain the Lord converted me to Christ during the next three months. There was no singular defining moment of responding to an altar call, or praying a prayer of surrender to Christ. Repentance and faith came about more organically; saving faith emerged in the context of ongoing evangelism/discipleship through relationship. I had many questions about Christ, salvation, and the Bible. As I read Scripture, attended church and Bible study, and interacted with Jason and Jeff, the Lord progressively cemented the great truths of His Word into my mind and heart.

Steps toward Maturity

As a babe in Christ, I began reading the New Testament with intense interest. Every night I spent 45 minutes meditating on God’s Word while working slowly through one chapter at a time with the help of a commentary and a study Bible. I recorded questions for further consideration and clarification. The Lord used this approach, combined with church attendance, midweek Bible study, and personal one-on-one discipleship to help me grow by leaps and bounds over the course of the next year.

Although God had always given me an inner desire to teach, I was quite nervous the first time I was asked to do so for our Wednesday evening Bible study. Nevertheless, the Lord used it to stir up an even greater passion to study and teach. After a short time, I began to think about the possibility of applying for seminary. Given that I didn’t have a clear sense of calling and that graduation was near, I decided to continue on my current path.

My move back to Pittsburgh, Pa., in summer 2000 proved to be an adjustment for everyone. I was a different person than I used to be. On top of that, I contracted a condition known as “new convert syndrome.” This condition is often caused by being drastically transformed by the grace and power of Jesus Christ and is known to cause people to shout from the rooftops to anyone who will listen (and even to some who won’t!). Needless to say, family and friends thought I was a little fanatical, and perhaps they were right. Over time, the Lord gave me the wisdom to tone it down a bit as I matured in Christ.

Five weeks after moving home, a new chapter of life was opened as I began full-time work in the operations research group at FedEx Ground. At the same time, I decided to depart from the Lutheran church to attend the Evangelical Free Church with Jason. It was difficult for my mom, dad, and me to attend three different churches; it was especially challenging for my mom to see me leave Peace Lutheran after 24 years. Yet, as a zealous and truth-loving young Christian, I had no reservations about setting my sights on a more Scripture-centered, gospel-oriented church.

A year later, I began to question my vocation: “God, You have set my heart and fixed my gaze upon the gospel. What is the purpose and eternal value of engineering?” Soon thereafter, the Lord placed two believing co-workers in my path, and the three of us began a weekly lunchtime Bible study at FedEx. That was 12 years ago. Since then, we have had over 120 people attend our meetings. The group is currently an eclectic mix, made up of ethnically diverse people at various levels of spiritual maturity. On any given Thursday, I am blessed with the opportunity to open the Bible, proclaim the gospel, disciple, counsel, and pray for a Russian Orthodox Ukrainian lady, a Pentecostal Nigerian man, an Indian Catholic man, and a half dozen other professing men and women.

Steps toward the RP Church

Not long after beginning the Bible study, one of my pastors encouraged me to begin taking courses at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS). As one who desired to learn and grow in the knowledge of the Word and wondered if the Lord might call me into full-time ministry, I was quite attracted to RPTS. So I enrolled and took my first course in spring 2002.

A few years into seminary, a beautiful young woman named Jennifer entered my life (the chronicle of how we met is quite a story, but one for another time). Marrying her in October 2005 was one of the best gifts God has given me. From her vantage point, seminary was part of the picture from day one. She inherited it, yet faithfully encouraged me through it as I took one course at a time.

Almost eight years and two children later, I finally graduated from RPTS in May 2013. Some call it the “Master of Infinity” degree. I prefer call it the “Mount Rushmore Approach”—keep chiseling away at it, slowly, steadily, faithfully, and you will get there, one step at a time. The Evangelical Free Church I attended before meeting Jen was very similar to a typical Southern Baptist Church. During my five-year tenure there, I began to be quite impacted by the radio ministries of John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul, and my understanding of theology shifted toward that of MacArthur. I began to appreciate expository preaching and elder-led church government, but I would cringe and shut off the radio every time he preached on the doctrine of election. Little did I know that the Lord was providentially working. After a few classes, several conversations with classmates, and a study of Romans 9, the Lord opened my eyes to His sovereignty.

After getting married, Jen and I became members of an independent Bible church that was very similar to MacArthur’s. We had come a long way, but the Lord continued to work in us and open our eyes to even more of the wonderful truths of His Word. Over the course of time, and as a result of more study, Jen and I became convinced of the truthfulness of covenant theology. Simultaneously, I began to sense the call of the Lord to the eldership. After meeting with the elders and being informed that it is necessary for all elders of that church to be dispensational and pretribulational in doctrine, it became clear that Lord was leading our family elsewhere.

Seeing the need to leave is one thing, but knowing where to go is quite another. The weightiness of such a decision drove Jen and me into deeper study on a variety of topics—church government, psalmody, instrumental worship, session-controlled communion, baptism, the confessions and catechisms, and more. Our understanding of most of these began to lead us to the RP Church relatively quickly and easily—except with regard to infant baptism. That one took a little more time and effort, but the Lord won us over.

In 2011, we joined Grace RP Church in Gibsonia, Pa. Since then, the Lord has brought about many developments, such as my being taken under care of the Alleghenies Presbytery and completing 8 exams, preaching at various RP churches, and being elected as an elder at Grace, where Jen and I are currently enjoying the privilege of working with the youth.

As I look back, it is evident that the Lord has been abundantly gracious and faithful throughout my life. My family and I are thankful to serve Him as He continues conforming us into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, every step of the way.

—Chris Villi