Derek grew up in a Christian home and was raised attending an evangelical church. There is not a time that he can remember where he did not confess belief in God and faith in Christ. However, it became clear to him in his late teens that his faith was not genuine and that he had not been truly born again and converted to Christ. His high school years were characterized by various forms of sinfulness. He became aware of his guilty position before God and his need for rescue from divine punishment in a sermon series that his pastor was preaching through the book of Ephesians. In his late teens, he truly repented of his sin, trusted in Christ for salvation, and submitted to Jesus as Lord. God saved Derek as he heard Christ and the gospel faithfully preached in his local church. Of course, he also recognizes the pivotal role his parents played in exposing him to Christian truth from a young age. After Derek was saved, his life changed radically. He now hated sin and loved righteousness. His life began to be characterized by a desire to please God and to love Christ and neighbor to the glory of God.