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Darrin Wolf’s Story

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨: 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧

Darrin was raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home and viewed it more as a cultural than a relational experience. He viewed Christianity as a rules-oriented compliance instead of a transformational relationship with God. Focused on obedience while living at home, he followed his own path for several decades before realizing that God was the missing piece, not something the world offers. The path back was challenging, yet Darrin pressed on.

After a short time in college, Darrin decided to take a break from school. He then joined the U.S. Marines, exercising the option to be a reservist instead of full-time. He figured he would earn money for college, learn new skills, and have an adventure along the way.

Upon returning to MI as a Marine reservist, Darrin lived with his parents for a time and met a woman at church with whom he’d been friends in grade school. They began dating and married, and after a few years of marginal Christianity, they had several children. Desiring their kids to have good morals, they took their children to church, yet they didn’t exemplify following Jesus to their kids. The seventh-day Sabbath and church attendance were cultural events, not a part of who they were.

Negative influences encroached further and after some years, the family was living life as they wanted, not seeking God’s guidance for anything. Marriage over the years became a dry formality as Dad and Mom grew apart. When the last child graduated high school, divorce followed. Darrin found himself in a big, empty house yet didn’t want to be alone. His solution was to go find someone to fill the void, salvation by relationship with a “good” woman, still operating by the world’s standard of “good.” He began dating a woman who soon moved into his home and continued that relationship for the next few years.

Difficult circumstances with two of Darrin’s adult children brought him face to face with reality: all his strategic plans and wisdom had no answer for these problems. God was his only hope, and God impressed Darrin that he needed time with Him to go beyond just asking for problems to be solved. Darrin responded by listening to Christian hymn music, which he discovered wasn’t easy to find on the radio.

In searching the radio dial for Christian music that glorifies God, Darrin discovered STR! It wasn’t music that he initially found on STR, it was preaching in that moment, yet he was impressed to listen. The message addressed some of the very concerns that Darrin was wrestling with at that time! Darrin began to understand as he listened to more messages on STR that God communicates directly to us through His Word.

That following summer Darrin began to build a deck onto his home and was encouraged by the prospect of listening to STR as he worked to construct the deck: what could be better, work with power tools while listening to STR (another power tool!)!

Darrin usually built that deck on weekdays between 6-9 pm, and during that time, STR broadcasted a 61-message series by Ken Cox. Covering so many topics, each message convinced Darrin as if he were hearing it for the first time. Evening upon evening, the point was clear: God is love. He wants to transform you today; come as you are.

This smashed Darrin’s misconception that God would laugh at him until Darrin cleaned up his life to some extent before coming to Jesus for help, even in prayer!

Other contrasts intensified as he went from the audio baptism of Ken Cox to then entering his own home to eat dinner while Netflix blared from the screen with occult-laced content that Darrin wanted out of his life. He began to realize that salvation would not come through a horizontal relationship but only through his vertical relationship with God. It would be a tough road to travel, and his newfound confidence for praying to God would prove vital.

Darrin wanted his now-fiancée to be on the same page with his growing interest in following Jesus, but she tended the opposite direction and pushed back at Darrin’s requests for certain changes in the home. Darrin tried varied approaches to no avail and finally gave up and prayed, “Lord, you take care of this; I can’t and don’t even know how.” Not only was Darrin earnestly praying, but many of his family and friends were praying for him too. While this was happening, Darrin’s daughter was struggling to go full term with pregnancy, and this motivated Darrin to offer more prayer, seek the company of believers in church each Sabbath, and ask for prayer of others on her behalf.

God answered those prayers, healthy twin granddaughters were born, and life was looking much better! It was a lesson in gratitude and praise to God! What to do with this relationship at home!? Out of thin air, Darrin’s fiancée requested a vacation trip with him and a chance to talk. On the trip, they extensively reviewed their relationship and mutually agreed that it was ending and that it was better to go separate ways. God provided the way to move Darrin’s fiancée out of his life and home and for Darrin to keep moving toward God without relational perplexity!

God filled the relational void in Darrin’s life with service to others. Not only church services but also church outreach activities in the community occupied his time. There were also concerns for family and friends that called for his intercessory prayer. Such was God’s response to Darrin’s prayer: “Lord, I’m bored and lonely; you need to do something in my life because I’m miserable by myself.” Darrin continued listening to STR and was amazed at how God answered his questions through the messages he heard. Darrin studied the Bible with a local church elder and embraced the everlasting gospel in baptism on September 7, 2024, at the Grand Rapids Central SDA church. Hallelujah!

On a recent camping trip to AZ to visit his son, Darrin fully embraced trusting God with his desire to find a godly wife. Darrin still listens to STR in his home and in the car and enjoys the sermons and music. He likens Strong Tower Radio to a wall of fire that keeps Satan’s distractions away. Praise God for another changed and changing life!