Brought Into Life and Truth, Into Christ and the Church, Mark Lupo

I grew up in the pleasant little town of Northport, New York on the Long Island Sound. I had caring parents and a sister just one year younger than I was, so my home life was the best one could hope for. I attended an excellent public school system, got high grades and participated in numerous extracurricular activities, especially in the area of music. One reason for my academic success was that I was always interested in learning about the world around me, including nature, the universe, and the history and culture of other countries. My mother was a godly woman who led me to believe in God, to revere the name of Jesus Christ, and to diligently practice the religion that our family had been in for generations.

It seemed like I had everything. However, something was missing and I could not place my finger on it. I rarely would dwell on that lack. I was too busy anyway, with all of the activity in school and in the family. The bus ride to Boston to attend MIT in 1975 was a time in which I gave much consideration as to where I had been and where I was going. My first full day on campus I met an upperclassman who impressed me. He said he was a Christian, and he carried a copy of the New Testament in his pocket. He spoke about the Lord Jesus in an experiential way and I realized that he had what I was missing. He shared the gospel with me, but I could not understand his message. It was too different from my religious background, and I was veiled to his words.

A few days later I saw him again and he shared with me from John 4 concerning the woman at the well and how Jesus is thirsty. I was amazed to see that something I could do (receive the Lord) could satisfy His thirst. Later that day, the upperclassman helped me to open to the Lord and pray. I really touched the Lord with that simple prayer and I felt a real liberation within. My whole life changed on that Labor Day in 1975. Later I realized that I had received the Lord Jesus and that He now dwelled in me as the Life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). In the ensuing weeks, the upperclassman and some other believers visited me in my dorm room. We would get into the gospel of John, sing some hymns and fellowship concerning this wonderful Christ who was no longer like a historical figure, but was now so real to me. The brothers bought me a paperback Bible, the first I had ever owned, and I began to read it.

The following January, I came to my first meeting of the church in Boston. That meeting contained a message from Genesis concerning Noah and how what he built was God's building, God's testimony at that time. I saw that the local churches are God's testimony and His building today. After struggling with the matter of my background and the religion I had grown up in, I followed the Lord as He led me into the church life. Week after week, I went to the old meeting hall in Brookline and heard one rich Life Study message after another on Genesis. I had the peace deep within that the local churches were God's desire and that I was home there. I began to tell my friends, and by the time I graduated four years later, there were six others in my dorm meeting with the church in Boston.

Eventually, I found out that the messages on Genesis I was hearing were from the ministry of Witness Lee. I also discovered that Witness Lee had given a training on John in the summer of 1975 and that the upperclassman that led me to the Lord had attended. The word that finally helped me to understand the message of the gospel was actually from Witness Lee. I began to save my spending money in order to buy the books by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee. I also began to attend the semiannual trainings on the Life Study of the Old and New Testaments. Over the years, I have been enjoying the church life. I also enjoy knowing my human spirit and being able to contact Christ all day long. The ministry of Witness Lee has been a big blessing to me, bringing me in touch with the all-inclusive Christ as the life-giving Spirit, bringing me into the proper church life on the ground of oneness, and bringing me into life and truth.