My name is Jayson, and I’m a bus kid who grew up without a dad in a drug-infested home filled with violence and immorality.
Had it not been for faithful bus workers knocking on my door as a twelve-year old boy, who knows what would have happened to my life. I may be dead today, in jail, or addicted to to drugs or alcohol. But the bus ministry changed the entire course of my life! They invited me to come on Whole Heart Sunday in 1986, and I didn’t miss a single Sunday on the bus for more than two years.
It was not uncommon to see drugs, needles, and a steady stream of different men coming in an out of my house. In fact, as a sophomore in high school, my mother moved away while I was at church. I had no idea she was moving and I had no idea where she had moved to. The only stable, good influences in my life were the people of the North Valley Baptist Church. They loved me, cared for me, trained me, supported me, prayed for me, and sponsored my way through the Christian school.
Because of their love, I made some wise decisions as a teenager. I gave my heart to God, and surrendered to serve Him full-time with my life. Following graduation from North Valley Baptist School and Golden State Baptist College, I moved with my wife, Amber to Tuscola, IL where I became the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in a town of 4,600 people.
The first special day I led our church to have was Whole Heart Sunday, the same day I was reached on. I joyfully drive our church bus ever Wednesday and Sunday, seeking to reach other boys and girls who are growing up without Christ just as I was reached nearly 25 years ago.
My name is Pastor Jayson Garcia, my wife and I are seeking to raise our four precious children for God’s glory, and I’m a bus kid.
