Stories from all over our city & beyond

I was buying a pair of shoes. Struck up a conversation with the worker. He asked what I did for a living, and I told him I was a minister. I also saw him wearing a cross necklace so I asked him what that meant to him. His response was that it was a gift from his girlfriend. He hoped to get engaged to her soon, but he has to do confirmation class first. So he asked me what that was all about. I told him I wasn’t sure what all they did, but that I was happy to meet with him and talk about what the Bible says Jesus did for him and how it could mean a lot from him. I was able to leave my name and phone number with him and he said he would reach out to talk more.

Work colleague and I were both in our NY office for the day, working in the same conference room. Gave me a chance to hear more of his story, and to share the Gospel. [He] and his wife have recently been through a painful 2 years with one of their children, and it was extreme. He shared the fear and anxiety that he lived with during that season. I shared how I have leaned on the Gospel in periods of stress and fear. [He] admitted that he’s not religious (which I took to mean that he’s an atheist). It was an open and transparent dialogue and I am hopeful of returning to the subject in the future. Please pray for [him]. Thanks!

Muslim coworker asked something about if Christians do sacrifices and I explained that before Jesus we needed them but Jesus’s sacrifice covers all my sins past, present, and future. He was flabbergasted that all my future sins are also covered! He explained that he is in constant fear of dying in between sinning and his next prayer. I am praying that this conversation touched his heart and that he desires the confidence in faith that I have in Jesus!

Today I got to visit with my friend, NA, who is Muslim. We have known each other for a few years now, but had not been in regular contact for a while. A couple months ago, God created a divine appointment for me to bump into her in Walmart, where she told me she had finally been reunited with her husband after a long immigration struggle and that she was pregnant! A friend of mine donated a box of baby clothes for her, so today I was able to visit her and drop off the clothes. She was really interested in having spiritual conversations about Jesus, the Qu’ran, and the Injeel. I was able to share with her about how my good deeds can’t save me, and why I need Jesus to rescue me from my sin. Praying she receives that message and that we can have more conversations.

I had a spiritual conversation with R, a girl who I see every Monday at a group vocal class. R was invited to the Well, the Young Adults meeting at our church. When I saw R at the Well, R shared with me that she was not a Christian, which allowed us to begin talking about her spiritual beliefs. 

R shared with me that she grew up in a Sikh family and does not feel connected to the Sikh faith. Due to the religious headcovering worn by Sikh men, her father and brother had experienced persecution and victimization since moving to Texas. She shared that Sikhs believe that there is a universal divine force in the universe, and that souls do not exist eternally. She also explained that Sikhism arose as a rejection of the Indian caste system. Sikhs would serve the poor and all Sikhs would sit on the floor to dine, regardless of social status or wealth. 

R said that she is unsure about whether God exists, but that she believes that faith will become a greater part of her life in the future, because she has seen her family members become more religious as they have aged. I shared with her my personal experience of becoming an atheist in my teens before exploring my faith in my twenties and coming to know the Lord. I suggested that it was good that R continue to explore her beliefs about God.

Through the conversation, I learned that R needs healing for the persecution of her family that she has witnessed. I also learned that she feels isolated from her peers and craves a sense of belonging and meaning. I was surprised to know that she fully expected to become more religious in the future, but did not see it as immediately relevant to her life today.

My experience of growing up in Singapore, around many Sikhs, was extremely helpful in this conversation. I had also visited Sikh temples in India and thus experienced firsthand their compassion for the poor. This allowed me to better understand the context in which R lives.

During the conversation, I was struck by how the conversation with R had been a team effort. She had been invited to the Well by a member of the church. During my conversation with her, my husband and another member of the vocal class were also present to share their own faith experiences and to encourage R.

Due to time constraints (I was singing vocals for the worship segment that night), I was not able to transition to a gospel presentation. However, I will continue to follow up with R at subsequent vocal lessons and young adult meetings.

In other future conversations, I will remember that the Holy Spirit is present to help lead many to faith. I am not alone in my evangelistic mission. I might ask more questions about views on the afterlife in order to get a better understanding of the non-Christian’s beliefs about the soul and divine consequences. I will also seek to better understand what drives agnosticism and how to make Christianity more relevant for young adults. When telling my story, I will focus more on explaining the struggles I experienced as a young adult, particularly the search for meaning and fulfillment.

I had a conversation with […], a neighbor whose wife had been recovering from a double knee surgery. I felt led to give him the messy cross ornament because I’d had some conversations with his wife about Jesus, but never [with him]. Lo, and behold! [He] turned up at my door to return the bowl from the salad I’d taken down a few days before! I was so excited — I asked him to wait while I ran and grabbed the ornament. I was able to tell him how even though our lives and our “day” is/seems very messy that our church has been pointing us to Jesus and the “messy cross.” I pointed out the website to hear more about the messy cross. He was very touched and admired the beauty of the ornament…I was so excited after the door closed, I did a little jig. I was like, “God — you are so good, you brought him to me! I didn’t even have to go over to his house and knock on the door!

My friend […] and her family were nominated and received a gift from Northwest Cares. After they received their check in the mail, I went to visit them. The whole family gathered together so we could talk about who the gift came from. I shared with them that the church gave them this gift because we want to share Jesus’ love with them. As we talked about the gift, I glanced at the card that came with the gift and saw a line about the grace of Jesus. God used this to encourage me to share the gospel. I was able to use the check as an example of God’s grace. We talked about how when you work at a job, you get a wage that you have earned. But this check, they did not work for or earn, so that is like a picture of God’s grace. I was able to share the whole gospel with them, about how Jesus came to rescue us from sin and death. God provided a translator so that the whole family could hear the message. I’m so grateful for this opportunity for my friends to hear the truth — this may have been the first time they ever heard the gospel.

I gave an ornament to my dog walker who is struggling right now in her life.

I gave the ornament to my step daughter telling her it was the greatest gift I could give her. Coincidentally she needed an ornament for her Christmas tree in her new home.

On the Sunday when the messy cross ornaments were given out, I immediately knew who I wanted to give mine to, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. It took me several weeks and prayer to decide to give it as part of a grouping of Christmas gifts and a thoughtful note.

In the note, I thanked my friend for being brave in the past year by being transparent and sharing their “messy” life with me and I explained what the messy cross means to me: hope that God will take my messiness and turn it into something beautiful.

On the day I was able to meet them, they were still at work and having a rough day. I left the gift along with a hug and later received a text that the gift touched them so much they cried.

Thank you for a practical and beautiful tool to get us thinking about creative ways to share the love of Christ.