About the Book

Book: I Never Knew You

Author: Patrick Higgins

Genre: Christian Fiction

Release date: September 9, 2020

Is the God you serve the true God of the Bible? If you profess faith in Christ, this book will challenge you mightily from beginning to end, GUARANTEED!

Charmaine DeShields thought she had it all. A promising career. Good health. A beautiful house. A promising relationship. Most importantly, she was a proud member of the largest and most popular megachurch in all of Seattle—the Blessed and Highly Favored Full Gospel Church.

Everything started changing in her seemingly perfect life after a pastor visiting from China created such an uproar at her church, with messages most members found both mean spirited and judgmentally offensive, that Mark Lau was asked to leave and told never to come back.

It took traveling all the way to Shanghai, China, with her best friend, Meredith Geiger, for Charmaine to discover the many differences between her church, which was opulent in every sense of the word, and Pastor Lau’s church, which was located beneath a dry cleaners, of all places.

Even more telling were the messages both pastors preached. Despite that they taught from the very same Book, their messages couldn’t have been anymore polarizing. While Charmaine was instantly intrigued by the whole “underground” experience, Meredith was so traumatized that she cut short what had been the best vacation of her life, to go back to the States.

But not before alarming Charmaine’s boyfriend of the grave danger they faced. Rodney Williams then told lead pastors, Julian and Imogen Martín, who flew 5,700 miles from Seattle to China, to rescue her from the so-called pastor who’d already caused some to leave their megachurch.

Upon arriving, they learned their suspicions were quickly confirmed. Mark Lau had used his subterranean gathering place to radically change Charmaine’s way of thinking. Despite her strongest protests, they flat-out refused to believe that God had used him to transform her life and deepen her faith, to the extent that she finally had eternal assurance.

Tragically for the Martíns, by the time they discovered the prosperity Gospel they’d been preaching was a false one, it would be too late…

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About the Author

Patrick Higgins is an Amazon bestseller and award-winning author of the end times prophetic series, Chaos In The Blink Of An Eye. The “CHAOS” in our present world is well documented in this series, which won the Radiqx Press Spirit-Filled Fiction Award of Excellence, soon after the first installment was published. Download now and see for yourself why JUST UNDER 3000 POSITIVE RATINGS – REVIEWS have been posted on Amazon and Goodreads, on the first 6 installments…and counting!

Once completed, there will be 12 installments…

Higgins also wrote “I Never Knew You”, “The Pelican Trees”, “Coffee In Manila”, and “The Unannounced Christmas Visitor”, which won the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Award in Christian fiction.

More from Patrick

Is the God you serve the true God of the Bible? Charmaine DeShields always thought so. How could she not after practically going from rags to riches in the seven years she spent as a full-fledged member of the most influential church in all of Seattle—the Blessed and Highly Favored Full Gospel Church? From a financial and materialistic standpoint, she felt incredibly blessed by her Maker.

It took traveling all the way to Shanghai, China, and spending a few days in an underground church—with persecuted believers who’d lost everything for their faith in Christ—for Charmaine to discover that the relationship she had with Jesus wasn’t nearly as secure as she had always thought it was.

In fact, the biblically-sound preaching she was exposed to in Pastor Mark Lau’s subterranean house of worship was so profound, it forced her to question whether or not she was even saved at all…

Based on Matthew 7:21-23, if you profess faith in Christ, this story will challenge you from start to finish—GUARANTEED! Since its release in September 2020, the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads have been nothing short of stellar. Many are calling it Patrick Higgins’ best book to date and predict it will become an award-winner like his other books.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

My Thoughts

I Never Knew You by: Patrick Higgins is a Christian Fiction book. This is the first book that I have read by this author. I feel that this is a very important book to read. While it is a fictional story, I enjoyed the way that the author broke down why a prosperity gospel church is not a church you want to attend. We know that the world is in desperate need of hearing the Gospel. The true message of salvation. This book from beginning to end has the full gospel message written into it and is written in a way that can be understood by all. I grew up Catholic. Where "good works" is taught. However when I found Jesus in my early 20's I learned there was so much more. The author used the ESV version of the Bible for his scripture references, which is fine - however I do challenge you to look the verses up in other versions also so that you grasp the full meaning.

Main Character, Charmaine DeShields is living a wonderful life. She faithfully attends her church. However when a visiting pastor from China guest preaches at the church, a message to ruffle feathers is preached. Messages that challenge and make people feel uncomfortable is always a way for God to get through when the fake messages that the church has been hearing. Charmaine travels to China where her way of thinking is DRAMATICALLY transformed. Her pastors at her home church fly to try and "rescue" her. I felt that this was an attempt to try and re-brain wash her to their way of thinking. Again, while this is a fictional book - it reminded me of what you hear sometimes with cults. When one leaves and sees the light - and they are tried to be brought back in.

The author wrote some amazing, real feeling characters. I loved the story-line. It was very powerful. The Gospel message is preached fully and correctly. I enjoyed this book.

I received a copy of this book through the Celebrate Lit Blogging Program, all thoughts are my own.