Errol’s Story
I was born in Denver, Colorado, but I grew up in Wyoming. My pathway to salvation all began in 1957 or thereabouts. I was 8 years old and getting ready to go to sleep one night. My mother reminded me to say my nightly prayers.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen!
The words I had just uttered shook me deep in my soul. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Is it possible that I could die in my sleep? I am only 8, I protested. But it could happen I suppose. If I did die, would the Lord God take my soul to Heaven? Was I good enough for God to take me to His heaven? I didn’t find an answer to that question until I was 21 years old. No! I would never be good enough! God revealed to me that I desperately needed a Savior just like every other human being! I needed Jesus the Christ to save me!
From the age of 13, I dreamed of being a famous recording artist. After I got my first electric guitar, my two brothers and I started our own rock n’ roll band called The Mannon Brothers. We went on to cut a record in 1968, which was played on a major Denver station. Success was just a step away, but I was sensing an incredible stirring in my soul.
In high school, my dad challenged me with the fact that he had read the Bible all the way through. So I began to read the Bible and came under the powerful conviction of the Holy Spirit. I knew I was incredibly self-centered and egotistical. I began to realize I was a sinner – lost, undone, and headed for hell.
God was calling me to repentance and surrender. I wrestled with surrendering to God’s will for two years. God was calling me to preach the Gospel, and I was fighting it with all my might. While I was in the National Guard, during a work weekend, there was a huge tug of war going on between God and the devil over my soul and my life. And I was the rope! Neither God nor the devil seemed to be winning. It dawned on me that I was the deciding factor. God wouldn’t force me to follow Him, and the devil couldn’t force me to continue following him. I had to decide who I was going to follow. I surrendered to God. God won!! I gave my life to Jesus on October 3, 1970. I also surrendered to preach the Gospel, and be a missionary for Jesus. The decision to follow Jesus was the best decision I ever made in my whole life. I really mean that. What God has called me to do is much bigger than I am, but I know that I am serving an even bigger God!!!!
