How I Learned About the Sabbath

By Jacquie Chippeaux

My husband, Bob, and I were happily attending a traditional Sunday congregation with a lot of my family members back in the early 1990’s.  One day Bob approached me with a pamphlet that he had found on our front door.  There was going to be a Bible Prophecy seminar in our area, and he wanted us to go and check it out.  I was not thrilled with the idea, thinking it could be some type of cult, but I went while practically digging my heels into the ground.

When we arrived at the big convention center the parking lot, it was packed full of vehicles and church buses.  We thought this must really be something.  As we were walking up to the doors, several people were walking back saying that it was sold out.  I was a bit relieved and we turned around to start leaving. Bob showed the pamphlet to a person and asked if that was what the people were being turned away from.  The man answered no, and that it was a Christian concert that was sold out.  So, my husband was excited and led me up to the front door where we found the room that we needed upstairs.

It ended up being a very interesting study that went on for at least a couple of days a week, for several weeks.  A few days into it, they revealed the Sabbath to us. We could see it right away, and we were convicted.  We couldn’t understand how it seemed like the whole world was not keeping the Sabbath and had no idea of any Sabbath-keeping congregations.  Dr. John Grosboll with Steps to Life, an offshoot of a Seventh Day Adventist congregation, was the Pastor teaching the seminar. Dr. Grosboll and some of the members in his congregation came over to our house a few times for more study after the seminar had concluded.  We really enjoyed each of them.

Soon afterwards, Bob was in the break room at his work and there was a man speaking about one co-worker being a Baptist, another person being a Methodist, and another being Catholic, etc.  Then he said, “And Max, I don’t even know what he is, he keeps the Sabbath or something.”  And let me tell you, Bob’s ears perked up!  Bob saw Max down the hall later and called down the hall, “Max, are you a Sabbath keeper?”  And Max, almost in slow motion, turned around and said, “Yes, I am.”  And we started attending church with him at Wichita Church of God Seventh Day, which came from a Church of God International background.

We attended there for about ten years and then met more of a Messianic congregation that we really enjoyed.  My husband was gifted at blowing the shofar, and our two young daughters loved the music, banners, dancing, and teachings. Now they are both involved in ministry, mostly ministering to the youth and elderly.