Brother Ryan Bonnette

I was born and raised in the Baptist church. I gave my heart to the Lord at the age of 12 and began my journey through justification. Over the next few years, I struggled with pornography and profanity. I cried out in my heart to the Lord and actually prayed the sinner’s prayer over again several times, thinking that these struggles ought to go away if I prayed sincerely enough. Finally, at the age of 15, I made one of the best decisions in my life. I started reading the Bible every day. Little did I realize that by doing this the process of sanctification would begin to take place. The proof of that is that six months later I completely overcame pornography. By the grace of God I have had no relapse on either of these for the last 23 years.

I continued on my journey, falling in love with the Lord every day, reading His Word, and growing in grace and knowledge. At the age of 17 I learned from Sister Gwen Salas about the ministry of Brother William Branham. She gave me a Church Age book, and I started attending Spoken  Word Church in2002. This greatly accelerated my spiritual growth. As a Baptist I did not  know about all these great mystery truths that lay in the Word of  God. I was oblivious to the scriptural teaching of Sanctification and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, even though the work of Sanctification had already begun. Now it has accelerated more.

Brother Dale’s ministry has played a tremendous role in my life since 2002. Through his ministry I have learned the importance of strict adherence to the truth of the Word of God, not mixing It with creeds and men’s ideas. I have learned that spiritual growth occurs when one surrenders fully to Christ, even as my pastor, Brother Dale has done. When he commented about his early experiences in the Message, reading six books a day and listening to two tapes, I read between the lines and realized that he was telling me how to get where he is on the spiritual ladder. In other words, to get where he is in revelation I need to do what he does. So I increased my daily Bible reading and now meditate on it constantly.

I have not shared this very much with people over the years, but long ago I realized there have been three major “Dales” in my life: Pinedale, Fieldale, and Brother Dale. Each of them had a significant influence on my spiritual journey. The first of these, Pinedale, is the estate of my great grandparents in Clarkesville, Georgia. Through their lives, and my grandmother’s, I learned to read the Bible every day and pray, among other things. The second one, Fieldale, is where I have been employed for the past 22 years. Every job I had there allowed me to meditate, pray, and read my Bible while still keeping up with my duties. The third is Brother Dale. Through his ministry, and others at Spoken Word Church, I’ve been able to feast on the unadulterated Word and grow.

One meaning of the name Dale is “a river valley.” It is a valley that has been shaped over a long period of time by a flowing river. That is what happened to me over my life-time because of these three Dales, especially Brother Dale. Through the constant flowing river of the preached Word I am privileged to be shaped into the image that God wants for me. The Lord continues to shape me every day by His grace. I am so thankful for the ministry of Brother Dale, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to bring me to such abundant truth!