A New Creation: The Kevin Mikulan Story

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When Kevin Mikulan started dipping his toes into the party scene, he thought everything would be fine. He enjoyed his new friends, and the alcohol made him feel good. He felt like he was finally finding the acceptance and respect he longed for. Most of all, he gained a reprieve from the growing depression that gnawed at his heart and mind. But those first steps soon transitioned into hard drugs and a sense of deepening inner emptiness that he couldn’t escape.

Stepping into a bar was a drastic shift from the conservative Christian environment in which he grew up. He was the son of two Christians who never touched alcohol or drugs. Throughout his childhood and middle school years, his family regularly attended a church that Kevin saw as very strict. Describing this time in his life, Kevin said, “I knew all the stories of the Bible. I knew of God, but I didn’t have a relationship with God. I could recite verses and I could tell you any story in the Bible back then, but it was never a relationship.”

When he was a freshman in high school, his family began attending Clear Creek Community Church, which felt like a whole new world. Now he saw people full of love and joy, and the atmosphere felt free of the judgment he’d felt at his previous church.

Throughout his high school years, his parents were actively involved in the church, and this naturally trickled down to Kevin and his siblings. Kevin even completed two summer internships at the church, seeing the details of how the church operated. To him, Clear Creek appeared to be a church fully committed to furthering the kingdom of God.

During this time, Kevin was sheltered from the outside world, temptations, and struggles. He didn’t experience much of what the world was really like. But that was about to change.

After completing high school, Kevin started going to the College of the Mainland Fire Academy, originally intending to be a firefighter, though he changed course after graduation. For the first time in his life, he was totally independent, able to go places without the knowledge of his parents or those they knew.

That’s when he started dipping his toes into clubs and alcohol use. Such things were strongly discouraged throughout his upbringing, and as he started to explore, he was surprised that those things felt okay. He tried more things, including marijuana. Everything felt new and strange to him, even crazy, but he enjoyed it. He was getting the acceptance from people that he craved, and he adopted a proud, “I’m the man” mentality. But he hid his activities from his parents, feeling that he should pretend to be a Christian to keep them happy.

Throughout Kevin’s second year of college, he delved deeper into the party scene including harder and harder drugs. He stepped away from the church, only going on rare occasions to keep his parents happy. Kevin still tried to hide what he was doing from them, but they could tell something was going on.

One day his parents sat before him, crying and saying, “What are you doing, Kevin? This is not who we raised you to be.”

He lied to them, trying to convince them that he was not doing drugs. He eventually stopped talking to them altogether, but his parents never stopped loving him or praying for him.

The next time he spoke to them was when his father had a major heart attack. Kevin went to the hospital and saw the medical staff working to keep his dad alive. He prayed, “God, if you’re really there, help him. If you help him, I’ll believe in you.” His dad improved, and as Kevin had bargained, he gave up alcohol and drugs. But two months later he backslid.

After graduating from the Fire Academy, an inner sense of loneliness grew within Kevin, despite having many friends and family around him. He didn’t know if he was happy or sad, and he started to question who he was. This transformed into deep, gnawing depression, which he tried to suppress by trying crazier and crazier things. He felt broken and lost.

At the same time, hatred grew in his heart towards God and Christians. He felt like God must be egotistical if he demanded praise, worship, and one’s entire life in exchange for salvation. And when Christians offered to pray for him, he felt indignant, thinking they were hypocrites no better than himself. Everything in church felt so fake.

Then, he ran into Amanda, his future wife, at a concert. He decided to quit hard drugs, figuring there was no reason to do them while he was in a relationship. But he continued going to bars and clubs, drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. He would get into fights, and when they were over, he looked for Amanda only to find that she had left the bar. She caused him to reevaluate what kind of man he was going to be. But there was still a part of him that felt like he needed to pretend to be a Christian, for her and for everyone else in his life.

Kevin had many conversations with his brother Kyle and his friend Carson on Kyle’s back patio. They talked to him about Jesus, and he finally told them that he was not a Christian. Carson said, “That’s the most honest I’ve ever heard you be.” The comment cut Kevin to the core.

He realized he didn’t have to pretend anymore, and he was honest with Kyle, Carson, and Amanda about struggling with the idea of Christianity. They lovingly came alongside him and helped him gather whatever answers they could.

Kevin and Amanda married in 2022, and his first son was born in 2023. Motivated to be a good husband and loving father, Kevin decided to completely leave his old lifestyle behind, a decision Amanda played a key role in. She helped him make practical decisions about things to cut out of his life so he would no longer participate in the same activities he had before, including drinking at bars and smoking marijuana.

Kevin knew that his parents and his in-laws would expect his child to be raised in church, but he did not want to put his son in a place that taught things he didn’t believe in. He started re-learning about Christianity and joined a small group. He asked many questions, and those around him listened patiently and without judgment. It was one of the first times in his life he experienced unconditional love.

Kyle was intentional with Kevin, often inviting him to things to spend time with him. One invitation was a pickleball event hosted by the church. Kevin went, and the first person he saw was the father of his ex-girlfriend — a girl he had dated in high school and broken up with early in college when he had started drifting away from Christ. Kevin tried to hide his face in shame, expecting the father to have an angry or even violent reaction after the poor way Kevin had treated his daughter. But instead of hitting him, his ex-girlfriend’s father gave him a big hug and told him he missed him. He asked about Kevin’s wife and child, and other details of his life. Kevin was blown away by the grace he was shown and felt he had truly experienced God’s love.

Kevin was placed on a randomized team for a pickleball tournament and ended up on a team with none other than his ex-girlfriend’s husband. As before, Kevin expected a fight or bad blood, but instead, the young man smiled at him and shook his hand. Kevin was again astounded by the display of God’s love and grace.

Then Kevin went on a drive to Dallas with a friend. During the four-hour trip, his friend shared about the deep brokenness going on in his life. Kevin was surprised to find himself encouraging his friend with things that others had been telling him about God and Jesus — things he didn’t believe himself. Kevin realized he had to decide whether he was truly on board with Jesus or not. God’s peace washed over him as he realized it was okay not to have all the answers. He went home, and as he sat crying in a closet, he prayed and gave his life to Christ.

After this, Kevin’s entire mindset changed. Before, he wanted to be a good husband, but now he wanted to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He wanted to be a good father, but now he wanted to find ways to point his son to Christ. He had been focused on himself and his family, but now he wanted to get more involved in his church and serve other people.

His relationships have also changed. Although he loved his wife before, their now shared love of Christ added a new dimension and depth to their marriage. His relationship with his parents was restored. He talked to people at work he hadn’t talked to before, encouraging them to come to church. He even reached out to friends from his old life, sharing the gospel.

Kevin’s anger towards God and Christians completely melted away. Before, Kevin thought God must be egotistical to demand praise, but now, looking at all the changes in his life, he couldn’t imagine not praising him and living for him.

Wanting to obey Christ and to set a good example for his son, Kevin was baptized in December 2024. Today, he serves in the Student Ministry at Clear Creek Community Church as a leader for middle school boys. He has a Top Five list of people he prays for and seeks to build relationships with so he can extend to them the hope of Christ. Free of alcohol and drug dependency, anger, and depression, he now loves to reach out to those around him to tell them about Jesus.

The Kim Halverson Story

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God used the ladies around Kimberly to put her on a new path of seeing not only her strengths, but also how he could use even her weaknesses to bring him glory and reflect his character.

Here is the full Kim Halverson story:

The Ryan Petty Story

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“I saw how easily I fell into temptation and how I needed a savior. I had heard the story of Jesus, but never really grasped who he was or what he did for me.” – Ryan

Here is the full Ryan Petty story:

The Michael Jeffrey Story

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“My small group is a safe place to ask my questions and I can honestly say it’s changed my life!”

Here is the full story of Michael Jeffrey’s small group experience.

Check out more information on small groups at clearcreek.org/smallgroups.

The Casey Baldwin Story

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Casey Baldwin was introduced to Christianity at a young age, but he was left with a lot of questions and not many answers.

For years, he lived content with the answers atheism provided.

But when Casey and his wife decided to start a family, they opened up to going back to church.

175: Steadfast – Preparing for CCCC Women’s Event 2023

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Over the next couple of weeks the women of CCCC will gather together at their campuses to worship, enjoy fellowship, and remember and celebrate the steadfast love of God.

On this episode, Rachel Chester, Tiffany Ravedutti, Jenna Kraft, and Mandy Turner discuss the plan for women’s ministry in 2023, their roles, and walk through the context of Exodus 34.

2 Mistakes to Avoid When Reaching Your Top 5

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Having a Top 5 is a simple way to identify, pray for, and be intentional with the people in our lives we hope come to know the grace of Jesus.

Thankfully, we aren’t the ones who save. Jesus is. The pressure isn’t on us to transform hearts or to have all the answers. Yet we have a responsibility to take seriously the mission Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:19-20:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Here are two simple mistakes to avoid when reaching your Top 5.

TREATING PEOPLE LIKE A PROJECT

We must be careful not to think of the people on our Top 5 as projects.

They aren’t just names on a list.

They are friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors.

These are people we love – because they are worth loving, regardless of what they believe.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”

You have been entrusted with a message, not assigned a project.

When our loved ones celebrate, we celebrate! When they grieve, we grieve. When they need support, we serve. We do this because we love the people in our lives and because that’s the kind of people we are.

We love because he first loved us. And we pray that through our relationships, God will speak grace into hearts.

Another mistake to avoid is…

NOT BEING READY TO SHARE YOUR STORY

The passage above from 2 Corinthians says that we’ve been entrusted with a message of reconciliation. At some point you will have an opportunity to talk about Jesus with someone.

What will you say?

You don’t have to know everything about the Bible or have a comprehensive understanding of systematic theology to share the message of Jesus. Although you should be growing in your knowledge of the Bible and understanding of God, you don’t have to have it all worked out before you share the hope that you have in Christ.

1 Peter 3:15 says, “…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…”

For starters, all you need to know is why you have hope in Christ.

What has he done in your life?

How have you experienced healing and freedom?

Why have you put your trust in Jesus?

Peter says we should always be prepared to share the hope in us. A little preparation goes a long way. Take a few minutes to write out your story. It could be as simple as looking back at the story from your baptism, or jotting down something God has done in your life recently. Knowing in advance what you want to say will serve you well when the opportunity presents itself.

When it comes to reaching our Top 5, we love the people in our lives like Jesus would, and we rest knowing that he is the one who will transform their heart.

171: A Pastor’s Heart

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“Lord, awaken me.” This has been our prayer as we’ve been in the Awakening series.

On this episode, campus pastors Ryan Lehtinen, Chris Alston, Karl Garcia, and Lance Lawson discuss the times that God has awakened them personally.

They also share how God has been working in their lives lately and how they hope God shapes Clear Creek this year.

 

 

 

5 Books We Recommend for 2023

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Reading a great book can be transformative, whether its fictional, theological, devotional, or anything else! Reading a great book can also just be a great way to find quiet away from the hustle and chaos of modern, screen-centered life.

We asked a few members of our church staff, “What was the best book you read in 2022, and why?” Here is what they told us!

So, choose one (or more) of these books to read in 2023. Consider inviting a friend to join you and pray that God would transform your hearts and your minds through reading and contemplating the wisdom you find.

Trusting God by Jerry Bridges

“Sometimes it’s easier to obey God than it is to trust him. Even when we don’t want to obey them, we generally see God’s laws as reasonable and wise … but sometimes our circumstances defy explanation, leaving us confused, frustrated, and struggling with the very honest question ‘can I trust God?’”

Trusting God is a robust study on the topic of Gods sovereignty; you’ll find yourself trusting him more completely — even when life hurts.

— Denise Ward (IT Director, Group Guide)

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortland

The best book I read this year was Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortland. I just appreciated the emphasis on God’s love for sinful, struggling people. It helps a sinner want to draw near to Jesus instead of hiding or feeling unworthy. I needed it and the guys in my small group needed it, too.

— Greg Poore (Associate Pastor)

The Son of David by Nancy Guthrie

Nancy Guthrie is a gifted Bible teacher. In this book, she puts you in the place of the original New Testament reader, showing you specifically how the Old Testament leads to Jesus. She shows you how all the “great characters” of the Old Testament ultimately point to Jesus. I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated the Old Testament like this. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it along the way.

— Rachel Fisher (Small Groups Associate)

Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton

This book has changed my prayer life, and I think it will change yours as well. It is both insightful and practical. Not only are there helpful revelations in each chapter, but each concludes with a practice that makes it easy to immediately apply what the Spirit reveals to you. You have to read this invitation to the wonder and mystery of prayer!

— Tanner Smith (Director of Prayer Ministry, Worship Leader)

Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright

Wright’s book answers questions about the biblical perspective on last things: Where do we go when we die? Where is Heaven? How does the resurrection impact our resurrection? What is the new heavens and earth about? How do these truths impact the church’s mission?

Wright, a world-class New Testament scholar, clears up misunderstandings that pervade today’s church on end times issues with incredible discernment and clarity. There won’t be many better books on the subject than the one N.T. Wright has penned. This book’s teaching on the future will make a difference in your present.

— Yancey Arrington (Teaching Pastor)

166: Local Ways to Serve During the Holidays

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How can our generosity make a real impact in our communities?

How do we step into the mess, right where we are, with the light of the gospel?

In this episode, Rachel Chester sits down with Ryan Thomas, CCCC Go Director, and Shari McCormack, CCCC Go Associate, to discuss how to serve our local community as the hands and feet of Jesus.