I was walking through the Galleria mall with my husband in Birmingham, Alabama, when I heard them. The words that made me truly feel Apostolic.

My husband had been raised in this Jesus’ Name Truth, but it had only been revealed to me during my junior year of high school. Our personal conversion experiences didn’t come until the early years of our marriage.

I had been in that “in between” stage for a while. The place where every new convert has a rite of passage through. That place where part of your wardrobe looks like you’re going to church, and the other part looks like you’re going to a barn dance. That place where your hair is too long to leave down, but too short to put up. That place where any photos taken of you draw looks of sympathy from saint and sinner alike, and for the same reason. I wanted desperately to look like I belonged in the Church. I wanted to look Apostolic.    

I know many young ladies today who are shedding layer after layer of anything that resembles separation from the world, but when I came into this Holiness way, I longed to look the part. I wasn’t embarrassed to look like the Church. I was embarrassed to look like the world.

So, as my husband and I were walking through the mall, two young men in their early twenties approached us and gave quick nods as they passed by. After they had only gone a few strides, I overheard one say to the other,

     “Now, there goes an Apostolic lady.”

There are moments in our lives when everything comes into focus for a fraction of an instant. This was one of those defining moments for me, the moment I first felt Apostolic.

Of course, someone noticing that I finally looked Apostolic did not make me so. I had been born again according to Acts 2:38 for several years. Knowing that I was visibly identifiable as an Apostolic Pentecostal, however, did wonders for my sense of belonging.

If you have been Apostolic Pentecostal all your life, like my husband, remember there are people who weren’t born into this Truth. People who are learning as they grow. Be kind. Be helpful. Be supportive.

If you weren’t born and raised Apostolic Pentecostal, like me, but you have set out on this biblical journey, remember that being born again according to Acts 2:38 is only the beginning. Be faithful. Be consistent. Be holy.

If you don’t have any real working knowledge of what it means to be Apostolic Pentecostal, like many, but you’re interested in finding answers, remember your first source should be the Bible and secondly, someone who actually is Apostolic Pentecostal. Be inquisitive. Be receptive. Be prayerful.

-Pat Vick