Hubert Mercer

I was never a drinker or caught up in drugs or that sort of thing. For in my early days we knew no such thing as drugs. God didn’t lift me out of the gutter on skid row, but never the less, I was just as lost as any of those, and God saved me from eternal damnation in Hell.

I guess you could say that I grew up in a Christian home. For I do remember at any early age, maybe 5 or 6 years of age, when at our house on Sunday Nights my mother and father would have a get together for a hymn sing and testimony time. Well back then there were no churches other than downtown in St. John’s that would be about 5 or 6 miles to walk each way. So my parents started a kind of church of their own. Neighbours were so hungry for this that they would flock at our house, 20-30 people. They would bring their own chairs of course or sit on the floor. The singing and testifying would go on long after I would fall asleep. By the way this was the start of the First Salvation Army Church in Mundy Pond. I still remember my father leading the singing and mother beating out the rhythm on the tambourine. These are the memories of my childhood in a Christian home.

Then father went overseas in the early days of World War II. He’s buried over there. Well, that was the end of our house church. Later on the Salvation Army started a church in Mundy Pond in August 1948.

Movies opened for the first time on Sundays in St. John’s. A friend talked me into going with him. You see, movies were looked at as a great sin, and I knew it. I guess it may have been 10 or 15 minutes before the Holy Spirit dealt with me, and I had no desire then to stay, so I got up and left. I then started walking, seeking a church to attend, as I wanted to get saved. Not knowing at the time, I could have gotten saved right where I was and then gone home. As I walked up and down Duckworth Street, not knowing where to go, I tried several different churches, only to find that they were filled to the door. If I started to walk home to church it most likely would be closed by the time I got there, but there was one down near the end of Duckworth Street, just west of the Newfoundland Hotel. I headed for there, as I entered I started for the balcony, but it was full. When I was just about to give up in despair and go home, an usher caught me by the arm and said I have a seat for you. The seat was about two feet from the pulpit. I’ve often thought that if I hadn’t been there that night the message would have been wasted, but of course I know better.

I gave my heart and life to the Lord that night, and he has never failed me yet, and trusting in what His word says, He never will. Reading the Word of God, and looking at how the world is today, it’s just about time for Jesus to come for His Bride (the church). Every born again, blood bought, blood washed child of God will be gone in the rapture. How about you friend? Will you be among those? There is still time. Trust Him today. Right now. It’s a step of faith. I’m praying for those who are lost. God knows who you are.

Hubert Mercer