Phil Dudek
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Phil Dudek
(Elder)
I was raised in a Roman Catholic home with my two sisters. All my grandparents were strong practicing Catholics as were almost all my aunts and uncles. My family faithfully attended mass every Sunday and my sisters and I went to parochial schools for our entire grade school and high school years.
I remember being taught by the nuns at a very early age about God as creator, Jesus his son and the Holy Spirit. We were taught the importance of the sacraments, especially communion and confession. These made a great impression upon me as a youngster and I had the desire to be as good a boy as I could. I can never remember a time that I did not believe in God or have a fascination with Him. However, I don’t ever remember being taught that I could know God personally in this life. I saw Him more as the Supreme Being who watched us closely in this life and if we lived right, we could be with Him in the next.
By high school, my family members were still practicing Catholics but my mother experienced mental problems and my father responded to the stress too many times with alcohol. This caused a lot of insecurity in me, but I tried to stay strong for my younger sisters. I responded to the stress by pouring myself heavily into school work and searching for some escape of my own, especially researching ESP and out of body experiences. These things piqued my interest in spiritual matters but were a dead end.
At Ohio State, I kept going to mass, but found a lot of my fellow Catholics were lackadaisical about their attendance. Many others in the dormitory were not religious at all and I had a great desire to be accepted by the others. During the winter quarter (1977), I succumbed to some peer pressure and tried substances at some parties with a couple roommates and their friends that I would never have dreamed of even getting near as a good Catholic. When I did give in, I found I did not get acceptance, but contempt. I felt like I traded some of my good character for nothing and started crying out in my heart go God for something real.
God responded by leading me to a weekly Bible Study being held in the dormitory by an outreach of a Church of Christ. Going to the Bible study and being around some true believers was like a breadth of fresh air. However, some of the studies challenged my faith, especially a trust in good works and sacraments to have a right relationship with God. I began to see that although I knew a lot about God and did a lot of things to be right, I really didn’t know God.
During the summer, I studied out the history of the Christian church and felt a growing desire to be part of a simpler expression of faith like the church in the New Testament and to be around other believers who were serious about God. By the end of the summer I was ready in my heart to do anything for God, even if it meant changing churches and trusting in Jesus himself to be right with God. During an evangelism seminar in Florida, I had a powerful experience of God which lasted for months afterward. When I got home, I completely trusted in Christ and expressed it in water baptism. I immediately felt the Fatherhood of God and His total acceptance and forgiveness. I have walked with Him, ever since on a journey which gets more exciting and challenging each year. I found true spiritual reality. Looking back, I can see God was continually drawing me from childhood onward to trust in Him alone for my right to be with Him and for my security.
Soon after, He blessed me with a wonderful wife Mary who I have been married to for almost three decades. He further blessed us with six children all who are following the Lord. I am very grateful for the wonderful upbringing I had within the Catholic Church and all the churches which have been a powerful influence on me since. My family and I endeavor with God’s help to give back to the community so that as many can know Jesus personally themselves.