Stories from all over our city & beyond

When I went to set up for an event in one of our rooms at the NCC, I came across a young man who was taking a virtual business meeting. We introduced ourselves and he started telling me his story. He told me quite a bit of his life story, including how he recently had some health struggles and became homeless. I asked him if we could pray together and he was eager for prayer. After we prayed, I asked him what was giving him hope these days. He shared with me, and then I asked if I could share with him what gives me hope. He agreed and I was able to use the 3 Circles to share the gospel with him. Please pray that this seed of the gospel that was planted would grow!

A friend and I got to visit with an Afghan family we recently became friends with. As we spent time together, the nine year old daughter started expressing questions about Jesus and how she could believe in Him. We got to read Isaiah 53 together in their language, and they could identify that this chapter was speaking about Jesus, and talked about how this prophecy was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born and He fulfilled it!

I was at a work event at a Rough Riders game and struck up a conversation with a coworker about our summer travel including the missions trip to London. That turned into a 30 min conversation about faith and joy and the brokenness in this world and finally he shared that he is agnostic and how he came to that conclusion. It was a good seed sowing conversation and I offered to be there to talk in the future if he had questions about faith or to pray for him or his students. Excited to pray for my coworker this year and see God work in his life!

A homeless man […] frequents the DTS library and I have been seeking an opportunity to converse with him for a few weeks. Today I saw the opportunity and took it. I shared my story with [him] and presented the Gospel within my story. We talked for a good thirty minutes. When I finished and asked him if he wanted to receive Christ as his Savior, he said he had a lot to think about, but the door of opportunity is still open. Please keep [this man] in your prayers.

Had a wonderful conversation with my haircut lady at Supercuts.

Dane and I had a really cool experience at the least expected location – the car dealership.

As we were driving to the dealership we asked God to lead us in a conversation with the car dealer who we had previously met. While we didn’t get to have a conversation about Jesus, we did get to encourage him, explain how we worked with Northwest Bible and our heart to adopt from the lens of Christianity. 

But later that day, as we were in financing with a woman …, we got to have a surprisingly easy to start conversation with her. She was a woman of peace who began asking questions about us, our marriage, our faith. We got to explain our love for Jesus and the Rock He is to our marriage and our purpose in life.

She told us that she was in a relationship where her boyfriend was a Christian and she was Catholic and she has been checking out some Bible churches with him. She also said that she’s interacted with lots of pastors and church ministers recently who have been encouraging her. At the end, we asked if there was anything we could pray for her about. She immediately teared up and asked for prayer for her father who is battling cancer. We got to pray for her right there in her office and it was such a blessing to us all! 

We walked away reminded of how good God is.

I had asked a co-worker if she would like to come to church with me, she said yes even through she hasn’t been to church since she was 14. We met for breakfast and I listened to her story for an hour and then she attended church with me. I know the Lord was already working on her life through other people because she talked about other co-workers and how they talked about their faith with each other but she realized she did not have that kind of relationship with them. On another date at work I prayed for her, her chronic medical problem and anxiety. I’ve invited her to a a summer Bible study I am hosting in my house but she has not attended yet. My next step is to take her out to lunch again and see where she is in her faith. Please pray for [her].

I had a conversation alongside Neil with someone from out of town who had visited Northwest for the first time a little over a month ago, and had recently started attending church again. We got to find out from them more about why they had been out of church, their faith background, and why they recently started attending church again. We also got to learn this person’s current views about Jesus and how that translates into mental health, relating to others, and making sense out of life. Neil was able to encourage them to dig into the stories of Jesus from the gospels, and I was able to encourage them that pieces of their story seemed to point to God pursuing them and not leaving them where they were mentally and spiritually. It was a really encouraging, enlightening conversation with a younger person who is coming back to their faith and exploring more about who Jesus is to them.

[On the Cuba mission trip, a local woman] made a commitment to follow Christ. She thought her sins were too much, struggled with mental illness and loneliness – received her first Bible and reading glasses because she wanted to able to read the book of John. Since then the local pastor shared a WhatsApp message that [they threw away] idols and [the woman] has come to church. Please pray for her to continue to learn about Jesus and how much God loves her.

[My wife and I attended] a friend’s daughter’s wedding. At the wedding reception a young gregarious guy sat down next to me. We had a lively conversation about the wedding, then it turned to his marriage. He shared some painful things. I asked about his spiritual journey and he said he grew up Catholic but has left the church. We talked about Jesus and he had lots of questions and doubts. It was a great conversation and good seed was planted for sure! I am planning to follow up. Please pray with me that [this young man] would come to know our Savior.  Also pray for wisdom for my next steps. Thanks!