Testimonies of Christian ProfessionalsSample

Charise Van Duin

Teacher of Mathematics

Rancho Cucamonga High School

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” Galatians 2:20. Thank You, Jesus, for the new life I have in You. Life with You is the greatest gift I’ve ever received.

It’s been nearly a year since I fully surrendered my life to the Lord. Before I encountered His love, I was broken, bound by addiction, trauma, and the empty promises of self-help and self-centeredness. I tried everything for fulfillment: drugs, alcohol, therapy, materialism, life coaching, and self-help books, but nothing could fill the void in my heart.

I began seeking the Lord in 2021, and in 2024, I was baptized and fully dedicated my life to Him. As I surrendered more, He revealed what needed to go so He could have my entire heart, mind, and body. I cut out alcohol, embraced a life of sobriety and consecration unto the Lord. I removed all secular media and influences and immersed myself in His Word and presence through prayer and fasting. He taught me how to commune in deep intimacy with Him, called me to build a prayer room in my house, and surrounded me with a community that burned purely for Him.

Since then, I’ve experienced true freedom and transformation. His Spirit has filled me with supernatural peace, joy, love, and healing. My past pain has been washed away and restored by His overwhelming presence. His presence is so pure and good and full of light that there’s no room for anything else. I went from a place of needing him to make me feel better to being completely enamored and in love with who He is. I need nothing but His presence.

As I grew in my communion with Him, He began to reveal the avenues in which He wanted to bring glory to His name through my life. One of those avenues is my workplace. He’s given me prophetic visions and dreams of revival at my school—some of which have begun to unfold and others that will take place soon. He has shown me that students will begin to catch revelation, become set free, and experience His overwhelming love. He has called me to provide a space (outside of academic minutes) where students can step into their identity and discover their God-given gifts, both known and yet to be uncovered. That they would experience the joy of glorifying Him through the creative gifts He’s placed within them, whether through writing music, creating art, evangelism, Bible studies, dance, or learning instruments.

He desires more environments where young people are actively cultivating His presence and encouraging one another to spread the gospel, pray, and intercede for their peers. There is great power when youth are free to express their faith creatively through the unique gifts and talents God has placed within them, especially on a public school campus.

God is moving powerfully and inviting us to help advance His Kingdom on earth. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve been or how long you’ve known Him—His mercies are new every morning: “YAHWEH's tender mercies have no end, and the kindness of his endless love is never exhausted.” Lamentations 3:22 (TPT). The more you surrender, the more He can use you—not for your glory, but for His. One person's yes can impact an entire generation. The more we take our eyes off ourselves and fix our eyes on Him, the more we will see His beauty and design. Dead to self, alive in Christ! Thank You, Lord.

Intimacy with Him is our greatest gift—it’s what Jesus died for. Not just so we could go to heaven, but so He could live in us and shine through us. So that we can have access to the Father to bring heaven down and show people who He is by His Spirit in us. I want to encourage all of us to go deeper. Get filled by His Spirit in private so that it overflows in your sphere of influence. Seek His face purely with your whole heart, far from selfish gain, and watch His glory unfold in your life. We’re not chasing platforms—we’re chasing Him. Greater intimacy in private than in public, in Jesus’ name!