A Brief Salvation Story of David Staggers

     Hello. My name is David Staggers and I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in late September of 1971. I accepted Christ as my Savior at the beginning of my freshman year at Virginia Tech. A fellow student, Wayne, whom I met at church, came to my dorm room and shared the gospel tract, The Four Spiritual Laws. I did not understand much of what he said, but I remember saying to myself, “I want this”, “I need this”. When Wayne asked me if I wanted to accept Christ as my Savior, without hesitation, I said, “Yes”.

Senior Picture of David in the Corps of Cadets

     There were a couple important events that led to this decision for Christ. First of all, I grew up going to church, but never heard or understood the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of this lack of understanding, I developed my own approach on how to be right with God and go to heaven when I died. I believed, like a whole lot of people, that good works would get me to heaven. My good works would outweigh my bad works on the scales of life and God would accept me. This is what motivated me to go to church and be a “moral” person. In spite of embracing this philosophy of life, there was a huge uncertainty and a terrible fear of what would happen to me when I died.

     The second important event was being a part of the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech. This was a military system within the university and one of the goals of the corps for the incoming freshman was, “To tear us down until we were a piece of dirt, and then build us up into men.” I can say with confidence that they were successful with the first goal. In tearing me down, the pride and haughtiness of being a good person was destroyed. Being at this low point in my life, God brought Wayne on the scene to share the good news of the gospel.

     I recognized that I was not a good person, but a sinner in rebellion against God.  Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment I deserved for my rebellion and then He rose on the third day, overcoming death. When I accepted Christ as my Savior, my sins were forgiven, God accepted me into His family, and I had the assurance of eternal life.

     To say the least, my life was changed and the changes took place mainly on the inside. I was experiencing a personal presence of God in my life and His Word to us, the Bible, opened to me with understanding. I was truly born again!

-David Staggers                                                                                       -April 22, 2025