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A New Birth

New Birth[Editor’s note: Faith Library Publications has published more than 200 titles with about 70 million copies in print. In 1980 one of those books, the mini book The New Birth, found its way into the hands of college student Tad Gregurich. What follows is an account of how that book helped him know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Today Rev. Gregurich is dean of RHEMA Bible Training Center.]

My family started going to a denominational church when I was 4 years old. We went to that church all through my school years. I never gave my life to Christ. I didn’t know you were supposed to. No one ever talked about being born again. We thought that if you were a part of the church, you were a Christian.


During junior high and high school, I went to a basketball camp at the University of Kansas in Lawrence every year for seven years. Between my freshman and sophomore years in college, Ted Owens, the Kansas coach at the time, contacted me and asked me to coach for the two-week camp, so I did.


While I was in Kansas, I remember calling home and talking to my dad, and he sounded different. While I was gone, he got saved. He was watching The 700 Club with Pat Robertson one night by himself and gave his life to the Lord. As we talked he said, “When you get back, I have a book I want you to read.” When I got home from camp in late June, he handed me a copy of The New Birth by Kenneth E. Hagin.


I read it, and it was interesting because there was nothing in it that I had been taught against, but there was also nothing in it that I had been taught. At my church, we were taught about the Passion Week, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection, but that was about it. I read the book over the weekend, and on Monday night my parents and I went to a charismatic Bible study in someone’s home. It was June 30, 1980.


There were people at that Bible study from every kind of church in our town. They sang some songs, and when they stopped they asked, “Does anyone have anything to say?” I don’t know what possessed me to say this, but I said, “I just want  everyone to know that I read the book The New Birth by Kenneth E. Hagin. I just want to say that I believe God raised Jesus from the dead and that He is my Lord and Savior.” At that moment, I knew something took place. You don’t have to feel anything, but I felt something change inside me.


Well, those folks got excited and started singing a song. Then this little Catholic lady from the Philippines named Mely walked up to me and said, “I’ll hold your hand and you’ll speak in tongues.” And as Brother Hagin used to say, “She did, and I did.”


I didn’t act on Romans 10:9 when I read it, but I knew that if I confessed with my mouth the Lord Jesus, I would be saved. I had never heard that before, because my church didn’t teach us that. I have to credit the book The New Birth with teaching me the doctrine that I needed to act and receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

A Fresh Start

If you would like to be born again—to receive God’s gift of salvation by making Jesus your Savior and Lord—pray the following prayer:


Dear God,
I come to You in the Name of Jesus. I ask You to forgive me of all my sins. The Bible says if I confess with my mouth that “Jesus is Lord” and believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead, I will be saved (Rom. 10:9). I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead. Thank You for a new start in life!


If you prayed this for the first time, we’d like to hear from you! Click here to tell us! We’d like to send you three free minibooks to help you get started in your walk with God. We can also help you find a home church in your area.