Getting Acquainted   Osterhoudts City and State you and your spouse were reared: Sam (alias Ric) was born in Tuxedo, NY and grew up in Montclair and East Orange, NJ.  Joy was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Deer Park, NY and Somerset, NJ. How long have you been members of Straightway Baptist Church? We have been blessed to be members of Straightway Baptist Church since it began. Who invited you to join our church, or what interested you in joining our church? Honestly, Ric and I were very active and happy in the church we had been members of for 28 years, both our children grew up in Somerset Bible Baptist Church. The Lord spoke clearly to both of us and directed us to Straightway and we never looked back. Sure we miss the people, but WOW! to know you are truly in God's will is an unbelievable feeling.       Comments about Pastor Guarneri: Pastor Guarneri, what can we say...we have been blessed to count Pastor and his family as friends for 25+years. Our kids have grown up together. We have always known Pastor to be a man of God. Every ministry that he ever worked in (and he worked them all) he gave 150%. Pastor does not know how to serve God anyway but completely. He is exactly what he appears to be genuine, loving, generous, a true example of what a disciple should be. I know for a fact that through the years he has been more generous and caring for others and that God has always taken care of and blessed his family because of this.  Interesting story, incident, or answer to prayer: We have seen more answered prayer in the two years that we have been at Straightway then in the rest of our lives combined!! Our family is serving God together, he saved an aunt that we have been praying for over 30 years. We lived in Somerset and were commuting 26 miles each way to church three times a week. So last fall we started praying about moving closer to church so that we could be with our church family. We had some financial difficulties to overcome, so this was no easy task. But it was no problem for God! He blessed us with a beautiful 2 family home in a wondeful location in Hamilton only 7 minutes from church and our whole family is together! Don't tell me that God doesn't answer prayer!! That is just the tip of the iceberg, the list of answered prayers goes on and on. Our prayer times with the church family are great! Week after week, we have seen prayers answered, lives changed, Christians growing, more soul-winners etc., etc. Anyone who does not come out on Wednesday nights for Bible Study and Prayer Time is missing out on something very special. This is how God meant the church to be, lifting one another up in prayer. You can tell that GOd is pleased because the answers just keep coming!! I challenge everyone to try it for one month, I guarantee that God will change your life!

Give us your salvation testimony:

Ric was saved at the age of 20 at a showing of the Burning Hell at Brookdale Baptist Church in Belleville, NJ. God miraculously changed his life that night!  Ok, I admit it...I cried like a baby.  I had been praying for his salvation for almost 3 years and BAM God did it!

I was saved at the age of 7 at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Deer Park, NY at a revival meeting.  I remember sitting there with my grandfather when I realized that the preacher meant me, yes me, that I was going to die and go to hell if I didn't get saved.  They took me into the back room with others that night and I will never forget it.  At such a young age I knew that God had forgiven all my sins and that I was on my way to heaven.  Like many others, I began to doubt my salvation (especially every time I did something wrong - there's a long list).  One day in the summer of 1968 I was alone with God in my tree fort ( I was a tomboy) and God clearly spoke to me and gave me such peace that has never left me since.  He just had to reminder me that my salvation had nothing to do with me and everything to do with him and what he did on the cross.    Of what ministries are you a part of? Ric has faithfully served Straightway as a Prayer Warrior, drives the van, assists with the offering and ushering duties and assists the Pastor however is needed.   Joy is the High School girls Sunday School class teacher, soul-winner, choir member, special music singer and part of the famous food ministry.    click here for more families