I've been coming to church all my life. My mum and Dad play quite a big part in the church.
When I was in Sunday School, I just saw Jesus as this really good guy with sandals, a long dress, big beard and long hair, who went around doing good stuff and being really nice to everyone (sort of like Santa Claus). It wasn't until I was about 12½ that I realized that it was more than that.
A few years ago, our church changed in a big way when we started to get a glimpse of revival, looking at Toronto in Canada. We started experiencing God's love in a whole new way, which for me was a bit scary. People started to go for prayer a lot more than before, but when they were prayed for this time they would fall down, as though they had fainted, and start crying, or laughing really badly, or maybe start shaking. This really freaked me out until someone explained what was going on. It was nothing bad, it was God's Holy Spirit falling on people and just releasing them.
This was when I started to get a bit more curious and intreged as to what was going on.
A few years later, one of my brothers went on this sort of revival mission in Scotland, joined with people from all over the world. When he came home he had changed in a big way, a really good way. I would hear him on the phone to his friends, just talking about stuff (God and the mission), and the things he said really opened my eyes, that God really does love me and cares for me.
Not long after that, we had a guest preacher at church who was a part of this big revival in Argentina. The things that she was preaching about really softened my heart and next thing I knew I was crying. She invited everyone up for prayer, so I went up. I had just stopped crying in the que for prayer, but as soon as she laid her hands on my head I just started bawling again. I knew that the Holy Spirit was upon me because although I was crying, I just felt so peaceful and at ease.
God really came into my life that night and he's been there ever since, and as far as I'm concerned, he's going to remain there until I die, where then I'll join him in heaven.