About four years ago I had the privilege of baptizing Joe and Sonya (and their son). They were new Christians and to say they were excited about their new life in Christ would be an understatement. Their only regret seemed to stem from the fact that they suddenly felt a strong disconnect with their old circle of friends. It was nobody's fault, it was just that the center of Joe and Sonya’s life had moved and no one really knew what to do about it.
According to Joe and Sonya, the easiest solution to this problem would be for their friends to move their lives to Jesus as well. After talking about the problem, we decided to start a sort of discovery class for their friends. We would meet at a local restaurant, get to know each other and over the course of four to six weeks I would present the gospel. Let me tell you, anytime I can eat unlimited chips and salsa and call it ministry I am so there!
The turnout wasn’t as great as we had hoped, but three friends came each week. We had some really meaningful discussions about the most important things in life. While several times I thought we were a moment away from someone giving their life to Christ the class finished with no commitments. On occasion, one of them might come to church with Joe and Sonya, but not much seemed to have really taken root.
One of the friends moved out of state. Some time later Sonya excitedly reported that her friend was getting baptized. A few more years have passed. I have now moved out of state. Sonya emailed again, another friend had given her life to Christ and was getting baptized today.
What a good word! What a good reminder that the kingdom of God is not always instant. I do not know if our little discussions made a difference in these lives or not. I do know that Joe and Sonya’s consistent witness and prayer certainly did. I also know that no matter how much we cared about these souls …God cared immeasurably more!
So far two of the three have confidently said “yes” to Jesus….and I have confidence the Spirit is not finished yet!
According to Joe and Sonya, the easiest solution to this problem would be for their friends to move their lives to Jesus as well. After talking about the problem, we decided to start a sort of discovery class for their friends. We would meet at a local restaurant, get to know each other and over the course of four to six weeks I would present the gospel. Let me tell you, anytime I can eat unlimited chips and salsa and call it ministry I am so there!
The turnout wasn’t as great as we had hoped, but three friends came each week. We had some really meaningful discussions about the most important things in life. While several times I thought we were a moment away from someone giving their life to Christ the class finished with no commitments. On occasion, one of them might come to church with Joe and Sonya, but not much seemed to have really taken root.
One of the friends moved out of state. Some time later Sonya excitedly reported that her friend was getting baptized. A few more years have passed. I have now moved out of state. Sonya emailed again, another friend had given her life to Christ and was getting baptized today.
What a good word! What a good reminder that the kingdom of God is not always instant. I do not know if our little discussions made a difference in these lives or not. I do know that Joe and Sonya’s consistent witness and prayer certainly did. I also know that no matter how much we cared about these souls …God cared immeasurably more!
So far two of the three have confidently said “yes” to Jesus….and I have confidence the Spirit is not finished yet!
Tim
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