John and Polly Burkholder

August 12, 2002

John and Polly Burkholder

I grew up in an Old Order Amish community in Pa., believing that if I remained steadfast in the keeping of the ordinances I would surely go to Heaven when I die. As long as I did not commit any of the "big sins", I should be all right. I went to church every two weeks as was required. I didn't drink or smoke. I was a pretty good boy in public.

However, I was a genuine hypocrite. I was a liar, a burglar, and a fornicator. I was just a filthy, rotten, no good "good-for-nothing".

My father owned a small engine shop and one of the largest apple cider presses in the state of Pennsylvania. That, of course, gave us plenty of opportunities to visit with non-Amish people. Several of our customers were members of Grace Baptist Church. I remember very well when the pastor of that church witnessed to me one on one. However, it did no good at the time. I saw no need for a change. (After all, I was a church member and went to church every two weeks) I read my Bible occasionally, too.

In the spring of 1987, when I was 18, my parents moved to another Amish community in Wisconsin. I was self-conscious. The move to a more conservative community provided a new environment. I was no longer with my very filthy "buddy". (There were girls in Wisconsin, too.) That thought helped me to clean up my act a lot. I soon met Polly Stutzman, who, two years later, became my wife. After we got married, we raised calves and I had a small woodshop. We made some bad decisions that eventually led to financial problems.

My paternal grandparents lived in Missouri. By 1991, Grandma's health was failing. My parents decided to move to Mo. to help take care of her (and Grandpa). Polly and I decided to move down there, too. My uncle is a carpenter. I went to work for him. He is a very religious man that seems to think he understands the Bible better than the average Amish-man does. We often discussed religious matters, which I enjoyed.

On October 26, 1997, I was ordained a lay minister. At first, it was hard for me to preach, but as I studied the Bible and memorized scriptures, it became easier. Before long, I really enjoyed preaching. I had a little different style of preaching which made me well liked. As a preacher, I studied the scriptures more than I had before. I started having questions about certain inconsistencies. (The shunning cannot be backed up by scripture; and according to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 11, there is just as much emphasis on men as there is on women; therefore men should never wear a hat if women always have to wear a head covering, etc.) Those questions got me to digging deeper in the scriptures.

In Feb. 1991, my great aunt passed away in another community. My two uncles and one aunt that got saved left the Amish about 15 years earlier were at the funeral too. I listened as two or three Amish preachers confronted my aunt's husband, Ervin. I was ashamed of some of the things they came up with. I also noticed that Ervin stood firmly on the scriptures. The things he said made sense and were indisputable in my opinion. However, in spite of all that, I still did not agree with his "lifestyle" (English clothes, driving cars, etc.)

One evening that spring, I had to use the public phone. Suddenly, I had the urge to call my uncle Joe. When he answered the phone, I told him I really did not know what I wanted, but that I just had an urge to call him. That was just the beginning of many phone calls to my uncles and other ex-Amish. We would discuss scriptures, etc. I would make at least one or two trips to the phone every week.

In the meantime, my parents were also beginning to see the light. They started hosting Bible studies with Pastor Glen Yoder and other ex-Amish. On one such occasion, I asked my aunt's husband, Ervin, about the doctrine of eternal security. He replied that he did not care to discuss that until one understood the doctrine of salvation. He then presented the plan of salvation in a way that was easy to understand.

The following Sunday I preached the plan of salvation in the Amish church. I was so excited! It was so simple. I thought everybody should be able to understand it. However, that Sunday's sermon turned out to be a controversial subject. From that point on the Bible became alive. It was as though the secrets of God were opened up for me. What a wonderful experience!

My wife, Polly, accepted Christ a few weeks after I did. Then everything in our lives changed. I quit praying out of a prayer book. Then I started praying in English. (That was a big step; I was not sure that God understood English.) Eventually we decided that we could no longer live the Amish lifestyle and help police the Amish ordinances; knowing that they had no benefit towards salvation.

While all these things were happening, Polly's parents lived with us. Of course, when they found out what was going on they quickly arranged to move in with one of their other daughters.

There are so many other details that I could have written about, but space does not allow it. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

My email address is: burkholder@centurytel.net. Or, you can also mail me your questions at: John Burkholder, 424 E. Moore St, La Plata, Mo. 63549.

^{This letter has been published with permission from the owner.}