RYan Lynn's Story
My mom was a 23 year old nursing student who got pregnant with me from a one night stand. When she found out she was pregnant she was left in the doctors office and she heard an audible voice that spoke to her that said, “ I want you to keep this baby.” When the nurse Judy walked in the room she asked, “Have you decided what you want to do?” My mom told her that she wanted to keep me. Judy responded, “I could get in trouble for this…” and continued to lay out the Gospel (the Good News about Jesus) to my Mom. At the moment my mom gave her life to the Lord. My mom went back to a church she had been occasionally attending and got baptized while she was pregnant with me. Later that night she cried because she feared how she was going to provided for her new son. The next morning she went to the mail box and there was a card that had $3,000 in with a note that read, “this money is for you and your new baby.” God had made it clear that He had a plan for our lives.
A year down the road, after my mom had moved back to California she met Robert Lynn at church who she married a couple months later. My mom and dad are the picture of what it means to be broken and made whole by Jesus. I was raised in a Christian home with a mixed family. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister who never cease to amaze me. My family was a huge influence on my decision to follow Jesus but it was Jesus death for me at young age that convinced me.
When I was 4 years old, I went to a Wild Bills Vacation Bible School at a local church. I remember I had a little blonde haired friend named Samantha that was sitting next to me. We were watching Wild Bill on the screen and he said in his Texan accent, “Now if you want to give your heart to Jesus, just raise your hand.” I looked at Samantha and she was raising her hand, so I raised my hand. Then the adults all grabbed us by the hand and lead us to a poorly lit room next to door. A lady then started explaining the choice I was making. She said, “Jesus died on the cross for you because He loves you.” I remember that hit me so hard that someone would die for the bad things I had done. After asking questions, I knew the choice that I was making and have followed Jesus ever since.
But I later found that Jesus didn’t just die to save me from something but to something. He had a plan for my life to be used to bring other people to Jesus. I was an extremely shy and fearful kid. I was the kid you would find lying on the floor of Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I was the kid who would hysterically cry when thunderstorms happened. I also was the kid that would hide behind my mom’s skirt when people would try to talk to me. But that all changed when I got to Jr. High. I was part of a Youth Group that was very active about sharing what you believe with strangers. I was so scared the first time we went on the streets of El Cajon to tell other people about Jesus. I remember the feeling of caring more about people souls overcame the feelings of fear. The love of God had conquered my fear. I was even more terrified when we went to Central America to continue sharing about Jesus. But during the time, it changed the way that I see the world. I got to jump off bridges, set off fireworks, hack through a jungle with a machete, swim in rivers and so much more. But what I will never forget is meeting Christians who lived thousands of miles away from me but were instantly family. I realized that God is so much bigger than the plan I have for my life.
By the time I had reached High School I realized that there was one thing that I wanted to do, that was to love better. I want to get to the end of my life and be able to say that I loved well. I wanted to be completely poured out for God, family, friends and community. I wanted to know that I was an example of God’s love to the world. This has been my desire since I was young and it still is today. But I was almost majorly derailed multiple times through Jr. High and High School. In the 8th and 9th grade I dated a girl that my parents didn't approve of and one night I decided to run away from home….the night before Mother’s Day. I was so self-focused. We packed a tent, pillow, guitar, bacon, all the essentials and set out in the middle of the night. Later the next day, my friend who ran away with me ditched on the whole idea. We only lasted the night. I called my mom who was crying and said, “Ryan, listen you don't have to come home but if you do, you have to abide by our rules.” It was a struggle for me to do that. Eventually the girl that I had fought so hard to keep in my life, dumped me and went out with my best friend who I had run away with. I had other various girlfriends throughout High School that became more important than my relationship with God. The desire to “find love” almost completely ruined my ability to do what I wanted to do most, serve Jesus. It was until my senior year that I came to realize that there was nothing more important that my relationship with God. I decided I wanted to become a missionary and go to Africa. I never planed on getting married and I was good with that.
At age 17, I graduated, I got a job at a Cold Stone in Alpine, Ca. The assistant manager that I worked with every day was a Christian girl who dressed like she was straight out of a Pop-punk music video. She was super cool and she never stopped reading her Bible. We instantly became extremely good friends and she started going to church with me. We started dating 4 months after we met, dated for 8 months and got engaged. During this time, I was in Bible College and got to finally go to Africa! That is a whole other story in itself. I married my beautiful bride, Megan in 2006 at the age of 19. A month or two before we got married, we were still planning on moving to Africa, I got a call from the Pastor at the Christian Center about being a Youth Pastor in Borrego Springs. I would have never thought of doing Youth Ministry since I was so young. But I decided to see what God might have planned. I got the job 2 weeks before the wedding and moved to Borrego two weeks after I became a husband.
Since that time, we have had 2 children and seen several dozen students graduate. We have grieved and rejoiced with the community of Borrego Springs. This year, I can say that my prayer is being answered. I am being poured out. I have never felt a deeper love and burden for my family, friends and the youth of this community. I look forward to see how my story continues but all that matters to me is that God is getting the credit!
A year down the road, after my mom had moved back to California she met Robert Lynn at church who she married a couple months later. My mom and dad are the picture of what it means to be broken and made whole by Jesus. I was raised in a Christian home with a mixed family. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister who never cease to amaze me. My family was a huge influence on my decision to follow Jesus but it was Jesus death for me at young age that convinced me.
When I was 4 years old, I went to a Wild Bills Vacation Bible School at a local church. I remember I had a little blonde haired friend named Samantha that was sitting next to me. We were watching Wild Bill on the screen and he said in his Texan accent, “Now if you want to give your heart to Jesus, just raise your hand.” I looked at Samantha and she was raising her hand, so I raised my hand. Then the adults all grabbed us by the hand and lead us to a poorly lit room next to door. A lady then started explaining the choice I was making. She said, “Jesus died on the cross for you because He loves you.” I remember that hit me so hard that someone would die for the bad things I had done. After asking questions, I knew the choice that I was making and have followed Jesus ever since.
But I later found that Jesus didn’t just die to save me from something but to something. He had a plan for my life to be used to bring other people to Jesus. I was an extremely shy and fearful kid. I was the kid you would find lying on the floor of Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I was the kid who would hysterically cry when thunderstorms happened. I also was the kid that would hide behind my mom’s skirt when people would try to talk to me. But that all changed when I got to Jr. High. I was part of a Youth Group that was very active about sharing what you believe with strangers. I was so scared the first time we went on the streets of El Cajon to tell other people about Jesus. I remember the feeling of caring more about people souls overcame the feelings of fear. The love of God had conquered my fear. I was even more terrified when we went to Central America to continue sharing about Jesus. But during the time, it changed the way that I see the world. I got to jump off bridges, set off fireworks, hack through a jungle with a machete, swim in rivers and so much more. But what I will never forget is meeting Christians who lived thousands of miles away from me but were instantly family. I realized that God is so much bigger than the plan I have for my life.
By the time I had reached High School I realized that there was one thing that I wanted to do, that was to love better. I want to get to the end of my life and be able to say that I loved well. I wanted to be completely poured out for God, family, friends and community. I wanted to know that I was an example of God’s love to the world. This has been my desire since I was young and it still is today. But I was almost majorly derailed multiple times through Jr. High and High School. In the 8th and 9th grade I dated a girl that my parents didn't approve of and one night I decided to run away from home….the night before Mother’s Day. I was so self-focused. We packed a tent, pillow, guitar, bacon, all the essentials and set out in the middle of the night. Later the next day, my friend who ran away with me ditched on the whole idea. We only lasted the night. I called my mom who was crying and said, “Ryan, listen you don't have to come home but if you do, you have to abide by our rules.” It was a struggle for me to do that. Eventually the girl that I had fought so hard to keep in my life, dumped me and went out with my best friend who I had run away with. I had other various girlfriends throughout High School that became more important than my relationship with God. The desire to “find love” almost completely ruined my ability to do what I wanted to do most, serve Jesus. It was until my senior year that I came to realize that there was nothing more important that my relationship with God. I decided I wanted to become a missionary and go to Africa. I never planed on getting married and I was good with that.
At age 17, I graduated, I got a job at a Cold Stone in Alpine, Ca. The assistant manager that I worked with every day was a Christian girl who dressed like she was straight out of a Pop-punk music video. She was super cool and she never stopped reading her Bible. We instantly became extremely good friends and she started going to church with me. We started dating 4 months after we met, dated for 8 months and got engaged. During this time, I was in Bible College and got to finally go to Africa! That is a whole other story in itself. I married my beautiful bride, Megan in 2006 at the age of 19. A month or two before we got married, we were still planning on moving to Africa, I got a call from the Pastor at the Christian Center about being a Youth Pastor in Borrego Springs. I would have never thought of doing Youth Ministry since I was so young. But I decided to see what God might have planned. I got the job 2 weeks before the wedding and moved to Borrego two weeks after I became a husband.
Since that time, we have had 2 children and seen several dozen students graduate. We have grieved and rejoiced with the community of Borrego Springs. This year, I can say that my prayer is being answered. I am being poured out. I have never felt a deeper love and burden for my family, friends and the youth of this community. I look forward to see how my story continues but all that matters to me is that God is getting the credit!