Trusting God’s plan STUDENT FINDS FREEDOM IN CHRIST BY SARAH MANEY
Idonis King’s path to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis began with a wrong turn. It was 2014. It was a typical day for King, who had been out driving. Missing his turn, he saw the stone pillar greeting visitors at the edge of campus: “Concordia Seminary.” He remembered that he had been praying for God’s direction in his life. King got out of his car, found his way to the admissions office and asked, “What type of school is this?” The admissions staffer explained that he was on the campus of one of two seminaries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The staff member asked whether King was Lutheran or if he had a bachelor’s degree. While the answer was no to both questions, he wasn’t discouraged. He uttered a quick prayer. Was he supposed to come to Concordia Seminary one day?
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“I was just trusting God. He was guiding me,” King said. His favorite verse, Prov. 3:5-6, came to mind: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” With a desire to help, the admissions representative gave King the name of an LCMS church near his home and encouraged him to visit. The path was clear. King headed to Hope Lutheran Church in St. Ann, Mo., where he was welcomed by the now-retired Pastor Tim Ostermeyer, who listened to King’s story, and invited him to church and to catechumen class.
A GIFT OF GOD
Before visiting Hope Lutheran, King had never stepped into a Lutheran church. He grew up attending a church in a different denomination that focused on believers and their ability to not sin — or they would lose their salvation. Faithful followers needed to be saved, time and again. To King, it felt like a no-win, vicious cycle: He was too sinful to grace Heaven’s gates. But then he learned about Lutheran theology during his catechumen class. “The way Lutherans teach about
