Experience the Happily Ever After

The Devil in Pew Number Seven isn’t your typical true crime story. It is a story about the power of forgiveness.

Rebecca never felt safe as a child. In 1969, her father, Robert Nichols, moved to Sellerstown, North Carolina, to serve as a pastor. There he found a small community eager to welcome him—with one exception. Glaring at him from pew number seven was a man obsessed with controlling the church. Determined to get rid of anyone who stood in his way, he unleashed a plan of terror that was more devastating and violent than the Nichols family could have ever imagined. Refusing to be driven away by acts of intimidation, Rebecca’s father stood his ground until one night when an armed man walked into the family’s kitchen . . . and Rebecca’s life was shattered. If anyone had a reason to harbor hatred and seek personal revenge, it would be Rebecca. Yet The Devil in Pew Number Seven tells a different story. It is the amazing true saga of relentless persecution, one family’s faith and courage in the face of it, and a daughter whose parents taught her the power of forgiveness.

WOW! What a phenomenal story of faith and forgiveness. From page one I was entranced by this very real, very true story. I rejoiced in the triumphs, I sat on the edge of my seat during the chilling terror, I cried through the heartache, and I sobbed through the ending.

Rebecca Nichols Alonzo takes us deep into the lives of her family. Growing up as a pastor’s daughter, Rebecca learned from the crib God’s love and faithfulness, even during times of shear terror.

In a world where an eye for eye holds precidence, Rebecca’s father lived out the Biblical adage, “turn the other cheek”.  The Nichols instilled their love for God and their neighbor into their children, bringing about one of the most powerful testimonies I’ve ever heard.

Rebecca is truly living out Esther 4:14, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Rebecca’s testimony, just as was her father’s ministry, is for such a time as this. No matter what sort of pain you’ve expereinced, whether from a cutting remark or from child abuse and everything in between, The Devil in Pew Number Seven is a must read!

Rebecca Nichols Alonzo is a speaker on betrayal and the power of forgiveness. She has been involved in ministry including a church plant, youth outreach, and missions, for over a decade. She and her husband live in Franklin, Tennessee, with their two children. Visit her at www.beckyalonzo.com.