30 Years of Triumph - Harlean Howard

I started going to Triumph Church in 2003.  I felt welcomed, and I had never received that before.  No one stared me up and down for what I had on or judged and criticized me.  They received me with an open arm of love and comfort.  I knew God had led me to the right place.  Being a single mother that was a big deal for me knowing that I was accepted somewhere and that someone would take the time teach me and my son more about who Jesus was and that He loved the both of us unconditionally.  I learned to have a personal relationship with God.  That became very important to my family and me.  The Pastoral staff at Triumph Church affected my life more than words could express.  I learned the principles of walking in God's authority, love, peace, joy, favor and being a steward in tithing.  The list could on and on.  There are so many things that I have learned from Triumph.

Back in the summer of 2008 that was a very rough time for me.  I went through family issues, health issues, and financial issues.  I was stressed to the max.  My car broke down, and I was going through foreclosure.  I accumulated over $26,000 worth of debt to maintain a house I knew I couldn't afford.  I almost ended my life going through all of this.  But a still small voice helped me to see I can make it.  With the relationships I had built with Triumph I was able to stand and walk in God’s authority.  God was always there with me.  I just didn't see it. Well I got on a debt management plan and paid off that $26,000 sooner than expected.  By learning the principles of tithing through that whole ordeal I never stopped paying my tithe.  I did lose my home to foreclosure, but I never gave up my dream of becoming a homeowner.

In 2010, Bishop Clark had declared a season of an open heaven.  I received that word for myself.  I went to start the process of purchasing another home.  When I found out I was pre-approved I wept and thanked God.  February 2012, I signed papers and purchased another home.  God has been good to my family and me.  Within that time frame I have paid off a vehicle and blessed my son with it then I purchased another one.  I have become a business owner, and I have increased my tithing off my business.  There is so much I have learned over the past years at Triumph Church.  Thank you because I am able to share what I have learned to my son and the rest of my family, and it will pass on from generation to generation.  A legacy has been made because of that one decision to build a church not knowing the impact it would have and the lives it would change.  I love you all very much.

Harlean Howard

Beaumont Campus

30 Years of Triumph-Danielle Bienvenu

In 2004 I was searching for a church home and finally the Holy Spirit let me know Triumph Beaumont was it.  A few months later, I was in a car accident that injured my back.  Doctors told me I would never be the same again.  They said I wouldn't be able to dance, something I was born doing and traveled to do for the Lord, travel for missions, or even have children one day.  I refused to accept what they told me.  I clung to the hope that God would reach out and touch me.  Three and a half years later, He did.  I went to a special service with Prophetess Judy Laird at Triumph Nederland, and God laid His healing touch on me.  My back has been pain free since!  What doctors said could not be done, God did!  God is so good!

Fast forward years later to coming out of an abusive relationship.  I'd been told I was nothing and treated like the scum of the earth.  I returned to Triumph Beaumont where God spoke life into me again.  I was comforted and became reacquainted with who Jesus says I am.  Pastors Adrian and Pam Stovall were God sent angels speaking life and love into my soul again.  Now I have a passion to help others in similar situations.

I recently struggled with an odd condition called Occipital Neuralgia.  The pain was excruciating so much so that anytime I touched one strand of hair I wanted to scream.  The medicine the doctors gave me didn't do any good.  The surgeries didn't do much good either.  I kept praying, my family prayed, and Triumph Beaumont prayed.  My last Sunday at Triumph Beaumont before moving to Oxford, England for my Master's degree, Pastor Randon and Sister Helen laid hands on me and prayed for me.  Again, God chose to touch me and heal me through Triumph.

Bless God, I am a new creature filled with hope, joy, and health!  God still does miracles for His children today. Thank you, Triumph Church for listening to God and following Him. You've changed so many lives. God bless you!

Danielle Bienvenu

Beaumont Campus

30 Years of Triumph-Kenneth & Kellie Miller

For all of my child, teenage, and young adult years I was in the Baptist Denomination.  You might say that I was born on the Baptist pew.  During this time my commitment to Jesus was very shallow at best.  As I went into my young adult years, Jesus was at the bottom of my priority list, and I kept Him there for many years.

By age 19 I moved to Texas.  Shortly afterwards I met my wife, Kellie, in the Baptist Church that we both attended and eventually were married.  I played the part of being a good Baptist man, teaching Sunday School and Church Training but was really only going through the motions of what was expected of me.

Fast-forward a few years.  I am now a father, but there is still no relationship with Jesus.  I found myself giving up teaching Sunday School and eventually justifying to myself that I didn't have to go to church every time the doors were open because I was just too busy for God.

But the Holy Spirit had something different in store for me that I would have told you then, "not for this country boy!!" And in the words of Paul Harvey, "now the rest of the story."

I was living in Bridge City, working in Lake Charles, and made this commute for 10 years.  I was the Service Manager of a new computer franchise, and I hired three service technicians all of which were part of the United Pentecostal Denomination.

During lunch they would break out their bibles and workbooks and have a bible study. I was invited to join but always abruptly declined because after all I was Baptist, and I didn't believe in all of ‘that stuff.’  Again the Holy Spirit obviously had me hire these men because six weeks later the bible study was in my office, my eyes were being opened, and I began to question my denominational beliefs.

Simultaneously, unknown to me, Kellie was having a similar experience with someone from the Assemblies of God Denomination.  In fact, Kellie volunteered to work evenings just so that they could talk about the Holy Spirit. I was a very unhappy camper with her new work schedule because I worked days.  But when you’re hungry for God you will make adjustments in your life.

During a date night our conversation turned from the normal discussion about our kids to what was occurring to both of us at work.  As we began to share our stories we could feel a stirring within us and knew that there was more to the Holy Spirit than we had ever known.  We decided right there in the restaurant that we would begin visiting churches, and see what we could find.

Fast forward to February 12, 1991. We had several friends that were attending Triumph Church, but none had ever invited us.  However, with my old mindset I wouldn't have stepped foot into Triumph, but now everything had changed.  We accepted an invitation from JD and Tina Nezat to hear Kim Clement.

Needless to say we were blown away by what we saw and heard and had lots of questions.  After a three and a half hour long service we went home exhausted, and I was thinking that these people were crazy.  After all, does a church service really need to be more than one hour?

We didn't attend the next night because we were still trying to process everything.  And being a very analytical person, one plus one was not adding up to two.  However, during that service Kim Clement began to prophesy about a young boy that was having to take injections for his blood and that he was severely sick.  He went on to say that the enemy was going to end his life that very night, but the Holy Spirit was going to intervene and heal him so that his father, Kenneth, would believe.  He went further to say that the parents of this child were here last night but were not here tonight.

Several of our friends recognized that this word was for us and called us later that night to let us know.  Our son, Chad, was born with severe allergies.  We were constantly in and out of doctors’ offices and specialty hospitals, and we were at the end of the rope physically and emotionally.

It was around midnight that our son awoke crying, which was a usual nightly occurrence.  However, this time we decided to put God to the test, and trust His word.  We prayed and simply believed.  Shortly afterwards our son went back to asleep and slept the remainder of the night. This started a progression of healing in our son’s life, and his father believed!!

On March 17, 1991 I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and as a family we joined Triumph on March 18, 1991.  Our lives have been forever changed by what we have seen and tasted through our 22 years. Now that our children are grown, we are now preparing ourselves for our next assignment.  That is to go out, and teach about His healing power with a demonstration of His signs and wonders.

Mathew 10:8 - Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. ESV

Kenneth Miller

Nederland Campus

30 Years of Triumph-Justin & Hope Shackelford

I've been going to Triumph my whole life, and my husband, Justin, started coming with me when we started dating.  Justin has been diagnosed with a condition called ARVD.  It's a condition where his heart goes into an arrhythmia making his heart beat really fast.  Long story short, he has a defibrillator that will shock him if his heart rate gets too high.

On June 27^th, I got the call that I have always dreaded to receive from Justin's dad.  He informed me that an ambulance was taking him to Baptist Orange because his defibrillator had been shocking him.  When I got there his cardiologist wanted him at Baptist Beaumont because he was too critical to be there.  They checked his defibrillator when we got to Beaumont and found out that he had been shocked 20 times in less than two hours!  The Doctors were all astonished and couldn't believe that he was still with us, but I could; because I know of the great God we serve.  My mother, Wendy Pierce, was immediately on the phone talking with Pastors Randon and Lindsay, and we were all in agreement that God would protect him and keep him here with us.  Justin was life flighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston within an hour of us being at Baptist.

Now, two heart procedures (14 hours of surgeries within a week) later I'm so thankful to say that Justin is still here with us, and we give God all the glory.  Our Triumph family has been such a blessing to us through all of us.  We even found out several days later that God sent a long time family friend from Nederland Campus, Brian Beard, to pray with and help take care of Justin.  Brian was on the incident crew at the plant that was with Justin and sent him to the closest hospital.  Even before we knew anything was wrong with Justin, Brian was with him and praying for Justin and our family.  At the time Brian didn't even know Justin was a part of our family!  God is so good!

There wasn't a day that went by that someone from Triumph didn't call, text, or send someone to pray with us.  For that, we are forever grateful!  When we went for our follow-up appointment the Doctor was telling us what a miracle Justin was to be standing here today with us and that God must have some big plans for him.  We are standing and believing that, and we thank God every day for answered prayers, His miracle healing power, our Triumph Church family, Christian Doctors, nurses and medical team!

Thank you again Triumph (especially Pastors Randon and Lindsay) for all of your love, prayers, and genuine thoughtfulness you have showed my family and me.  We love y'all and can't wait to spend another 30 years at Triumph!

Hope & Justin Shackelford

Beaumont campus

30 Years of Triumph - Sabrina Torres

Triumph was introduced to me in 2000 at the age of 16 by my best friend, Lauri Williams. As a teenager, I struggled severely with depression and suicidal thoughts and was at a turning point in my life. Lauri had invited me to church on multiple occasions, however depression had such a grip on me that I had declined her every time. One night alone in my room, Satan had such a hold on me that I knew I could no longer handle the pain that I lived in silently every day. I had grown up learning about God, even being a member of Triumph as a child in the early 90’s, so I knew that He existed but had not yet discovered Him in a personal way. That night I cried out to God with everything in my heart for Him to please save me from the pain I was in. Though it has now been almost a decade and a half since that night, I still remember vividly waking up the next morning with an overwhelming sense of peace I had never known!  I knew immediately that it was God and knew that the change in me was real and permanent. That very week, I felt the freedom and desire to step out and accept the invitation to church, something I had never been able to do because of the chains that Satan had wrapped tightly around me.

I attended Wednesday night youth group and was introduced to then youth pastors, Deamon and Kristine Scapin. They immediately treated me as if they had known me forever! They brought me inside the youth building and Lauri introduced me to all of her friends. I remember for the first time in my life feeling welcomed and a part of something. I started regularly attending Triumph on Wednesdays and Sundays and began to build relationships and a life there. Pastors Deamon and Kristine were a huge part in building my foundation with the Lord. As a ‘baby Christian’, I made many mistakes in the beginning of my walk with the Lord, and the enemy took every chance he could to threaten my new found freedom.

But God did not give up on me!  At the Triumph Youth and Young Adults Conference 2002, Cara Clark Lewis took a hold of me at the altar, held me close and whispered into my ear that God had already forgiven me for my mistakes, and it was time to forgive myself. Every wall inside of me crumbled at that moment, and I embraced the forgiveness that God was offering me. My relationship with God at that point solidified and became very personal to me. I threw myself into ministry, auditioning for DFD (something that had been a true dream of mine since joining Triumph!) and also signing up to go on a mission trip with the youth group. That summer was a whirlwind, and at the age of 19, I knew I had been called into ministry. Shortly thereafter, Pastor Renee’ Clark gave me an incredible opportunity by asking me to become an intern at Triumph Church. I was exposed to the backside of ministry and allowed to see how a church functions outside of church services. I loved every moment of it! My skills as an administrative assistant, which would serve me well later in my adult life, were shaped and molded during this time. Over the next couple of years, I served Triumph Church in every capacity that I could. Pastors Deamon and Kristine had become like family to me, allowing me into their personal lives as well as professional ones. We had a great youth leadership team that I had become a part of, and eventually God gave me an opportunity to minister to the Jr High students along with Jared Miller.

At 21 years old, I felt that seasons were shifting, and I made the choice to leave Nederland, and move to Dallas. That season of my life still remains dear to my heart, and is the foundation for everything that I am today. I am now married to a wonderful man of God, with four stepchildren and one child of my own. God continues to minister to me as I move from season to season in my life, but I know that at the root of it all is Triumph. Triumph Church will always be family to me and I am so proud of where they are and how many lives they have completely changed, mine being one of them. Happy Birthday Triumph!!!

Sabrina Torres

Nederland Campus