Howard Katz is the founding pastor of Open Door Christian Fellowship. The eldest son of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, Howard came to faith in Christ at the age of twenty. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree and in addition to his pastoral role, he is currently the President of his family’s real estate business. Howard and his wife Lena have three sons and live in London, ON. Howard Katz wrote and produced the audio-visual presentation entitled Noah’s Ark and the Flood—Is it Scientifically Possible? and is also the author of Seven Essential Relationships – How to Pass God’s Crucial Tests. He is affiliated with ministries in Mexico, the United States, Russia, and Switzerland where he frequently visits, ministers, and teaches.

From Howard’s Personal Testimony:

When I first made a commitment to put my faith in Jesus as my Savior, I was filled with tremendous joy. This joy, however, was mixed with uncertainty and anxiety, as I dreaded having to tell my family—especially my father—about my new faith in Christ. To understand the depth of my reluctance, let me share my family background.
First, we are Jewish, and although not strictly observant Jews, being Jewish has always been very important to our family. Second, my father was a Holocaust survivor. Most of my father’s family were killed in the Holocaust. My father spent nearly five years in forced labor camps in Hungary and Austria, as well as in the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria, where he was finally liberated—barely surviving with his life. All his suffering occurred for one reason alone—he was Jewish. In my father’s mind, receiving Christ would be the same as renouncing my identity as a Jew and turning my back on all the suffering of the Jewish people over the millennia. When I received Christ I felt the exact opposite. I felt a greater identity with being Jewish because at last the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was real to me, and I had now come to know the promised Messiah—Jesus of the tribe of Judah, born in Bethlehem.
We are a close family and my father dearly loved me. But I knew the shame and shock he would experience when I told him of my faith in Jesus Christ—not to mention the shame and shock I would experience. Despite our close relationship, I understood my revelation would cause a change that would be painful for us both.
My faith in Christ would make no sense to him and would cause him a profound sense of betrayal and disgrace. So for a number of months I kept my newfound faith secret. One Sunday evening, I was at a friend’s house where we were praying and sharing about the things of God. I began to share about how I felt I was faltering in my new walk of faith. As I spoke, it occurred to me that the fear and shame that prevented me from telling my father about my faith in Jesus was also sapping my spiritual strength. My lack of resolve to follow Jesus no matter what had produced double mindedness in me.
Once I had been excited about the Lord, but now I was beginning to stagnate. I knew that unless I stepped out in obedience and shared honestly with my father, at the same time accepting in my own heart the transformation that had occurred, my spiritual lukewarmness would continue. I shared my situation with my friends and we prayed together. I decided to tell my father that very evening. I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
As I drove home I prayed and was hoping that the Lord would help by placing an angel with a flaming sword in the middle of the living room or some other dramatic manifestation. When I arrived home there was no angel or flaming sword—just my dad sitting in front of the TV in his boxer shorts watching the eleven o’clock news. I sat down and began to watch the news but my thoughts were filled with how I was going to tell him. I thought, I’ll tell him after the news. When the news was finished I thought, I’ll tell him after the weather report before the sports. After the weather report my father got up to shut the TV off since he was not a sports fan. As he began to walk out of the living room I knew I had to say something or I would put it off for the rest of my life . . . As I stood before my father that evening in the midst of the intense internal struggle I was experiencing, little did I realize that I was facing one of God’s crucial tests, the outcome of which would have a profound impact on the direction of my life. It was only many years later that I would understand the vital importance of passing that test if I were ever to progress in my walk of faith.
My book, Seven Essential Relationships, shares with readers some of what I have learned over the years about the essence of our relationship with God and the crucial tests that He places across our path. The circumstances of each person’s life will be different, but the seven essential relationships in which God tests us are the same.
I pray this book will be a blessing to each and every reader.
(To read the full story, see Seven Essential Relationships, published by Believe Books.)