Lou Ginnetti was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, and says he thought he’d grown up in a normal home. “We were raised Catholics,” he begins, “but we weren’t very good ones. And as I look back on my childhood, I can’t say my childhood was very normal, either. You see, my dad was a professional gambler until he started losing, and then he began working at the racetrack. Growing up I wanted to be just like him. Until the day he died he was my best friend.
“I remember attending a Catholic retreat in high school once and organizing a poker game. My friends told me that I was hopelessly addicted to gambling, and that I’d never let it go. At the age of fifteen, I was working at a racetrack in Chicago as a groom and stable boy, and living on the backstretch. I think it’s fair to say I grew up very fast.”
A Spiritual Journey
Wherever his early years might have led him, Lou is quick to say that he was blessed when he met the woman who would become his wife. “Melu was born and raised in Nicaragua,” he explains, “and we were introduced by her brother-in-law, who was a customer of mine (and later became an evangelical preacher).
A few weeks after she arrived in the States, he called and said, ‘Lou, how would you like to meet my sister-in-law from Nicaragua?’ and then handed her the phone! It was a bit awkward for a minute, but when we met it was love at first sight! One year later we were both saved and came to the Lord through his ministry. ”
Although Melu was raised as a devout Catholic, Lou says they joined a non-denominational church and became very active. “We were on fire for the Lord, and our first two children were raised in church,” he says. “But then we became lukewarm, and although we took our third child to church with us, she never showed much of an interest.
“Twenty-five years ago we moved to Michigan and stayed in the same church for sixteen years, but just warming the pews. Then we joined another church that led us to study the Bible, but four years later there were problems there, and we actively began looking for a church again.
“That was a tough time for us,” Lou admits, “because no matter where we went we just felt disappointed. Worship was more like a rock concert, and the sermons contained as much Scripture as a motivational speech.
“Finally, my wife said, ‘Why don’t we just have church at home? There’s nothing here, so maybe you can read a parable, and then we can pray and have church that way.’ ”
Searching
His desire to learn more truth led Lou to start scanning the cable television channels. “We had nine Christian channels, and the first three were Mormon, Catholic, and this other station where people seemed to read the Bible. But I had no idea what it was. It had a funny name with numbers and letters—you know, 3ABN!
“It’s interesting that about a month before I found 3ABN, I finally met face-to-face with Donna, a customer service representative from my Georgia-based employer. My wife and I were visiting the carpet mill I represented, and somehow I had found out she was a Seventh-day Adventist. So I asked Donna what that meant, and she said, ‘It means that I’m a Sabbath-keeping Christian,’ but I didn’t pursue that conversation.
“We also had six evangelical channels—each preaching the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ that God wants all of us to be wealthy. But that didn’t seem to make much sense, so I found myself turning to that 3ABN channel more often. Each sermon was totally Bible-based, and that just blew my mind. Then I realized that these were Seventh-day Adventists, but I still didn’t know who they were or what they believed.”
Next, Lou decided to do some research about Seventh-day Adventist beliefs online, but what he found was a lot of misinformation. “I kept thinking, This doesn’t match up with what I’m hearing on 3ABN, and after a while I got so confused that I decided to just stick with the evangelical stations.
“But something kept bringing me back to ‘that channel,’ so I decided to catch the 3ABN preachers in their deceptions! I watched for hours, and the topics were amazing. I kept waiting for them to drop the ball and reveal their true colors, but the truth they were preaching was too good. Then I remembered my co-worker, Donna, so I called her at work. She was well prepared, and patiently and thoroughly answered my questions.
“About that time, Melu met another Adventist at her job at a health store. Kim just happened to have every DVD of David Asscherick’s Discover Prophecy series in her car, and we watched them all over a ten-day period.
“Finally, one Friday night, I called the South Lyon New Beginnings Seventh-day Adventist Church and told them I had some questions. The pastor invited me to come visit, so the next day Melu and I attended our first Sabbath service. It was a real eye-opener! We kept looking at each other, whispering, ‘This is not what we’ve read on the Internet!’
“The next day we visited a Sunday worship service. The drums and music started up, the lights started flickering, and it didn’t seem very worshipful at all. Then, when a girl in jeans walked down the aisle drinking her coffee, I turned to Melu and said, “I don’t know about you, but it looks like I’m a Seventh-day Adventist!”
A Decision
“Our decision to be baptized was easy. The solid biblical truths, based upon the full counsel of Scripture, cleared up all misconceptions of God’s character, His will for our lives, and the manner of His soon return. We studied the fundamental doctrines with Pastor Jim Howard, and five months later, on August 21, 2011, Melu and I were baptized and joined the church! I’d been baptized before as an evangelical, knowing Jesus as my Savior,” Lou says. “Back then I only knew Him as Someone who understands and forgives me, but now I know Him as my Lord!”
Lou says that his children at first might have thought that he had become Jewish because he now worshiped on Sabbath. “My two older children had strong Christian foundations. However, since we didn’t teach her properly, our youngest had never expressed interest in religion. When I told her we were joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church, she asked me about it, then out of the blue she brought up some ugly things that had been in the news that day and asked, ‘Dad, what’s going on in this world?’
“That gave me the chance to share about the battle raging between good and evil, and as we spoke, I saw the Holy Spirit in action! Night after night she kept asking me questions until midnight, and in November 2013, she was baptized, too!”
Today, Melu serves as a deaconess and Lou was recently ordained as an elder!
Pastor Jim Howard is delighted. “Lou and Melu are really special people,” he says. “They’re genuine, dedicated, and much more doctrinally grounded than most members who have only been in the church for a couple of years. I believe this is because of watching 3ABN, and I’m happy to say that they’ve been actively involved in every aspect of church outreach, and are a real blessing to our church family!”
Brothers and Sisters
When we spoke to Lou he had just returned from his first ASI Laymen’s Convention. “I met so many people I’d seen on 3ABN!” he exclaims. “They’re real people, and the arrogance of the typical TV evangelist just wasn’t there. They are truly my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I am closer to my Adventist family than I am to most of my relatives! I’m so grateful 3ABN was there when I was searching for more truth. Joining the Adventist family has been one of my greatest joys!”
Visit the South Lyon Seventh-day Adventist Church
If you’re in the area, why not join Lou and Melu for worship on Sabbath? They’d love to meet you at the South Lyon Seventh-day Adventist Church (meeting in the Family Life Community Church), 62345 West Eight Mile Road, in South Lyon, Michigan.