“Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9: 37-38)
This is a passage that is very familiar to most Christians who have been following Jesus, even for a short period of time. Jesus is encouraging all of us to spread the Gospel so that seeds which have been planted in fertile soil will produce grain; that good and productive fruit will be the result.
When we bring God’s Word into CCP we have the opportunity to sow and trust the Lord for the Word to enter the hearts of these men and change their lives from the inside out. What is challenging is that because we have time limits on Monday nights, it’s near impossible to spend one-to-one time with them to really listen and understand who they are and where they’re coming from. However, we do have the opportunity to schedule one-to-one meetings with some of them and really press in.
A few months ago, one of the men stood up during testimony time and, in tears, shared that his life was very challenging and that he didn’t know what he believed. He said he didn’t even know why he came out that evening. I immediately felt led by the Holy Spirit to reach out and ask him if he’d like to meet individually. He said yes and that was the beginning of this young man’s journey.
At our first meeting I asked him what his “spiritual” beliefs were and he said he wasn’t sure, but he was leaning towards reincarnation. I shared the Gospel and we talked about it for a while. At our next meeting I asked him several questions basically about the validity of reincarnation and I could see he wasn’t too sure of his convictions. Again, another conversation about the Gospel. I didn’t press; that’s the Holy Spirit’s job.
As we continued to meet, I began to see change in him. He told me he’s involved in regular Bible studies and that things were becoming clearer to him. When I felt that he was “tuning out” we would talk about other topics: family, relationships and sports. I didn’t want him to feel like this was a time of lecture. I’m trying to move at his pace.
After about 4 months, I can see great change in him – praise God! He shared recently that he believes he is a Christian. Wanting to be careful and nurture him, I gave him a copy of “How Can I be Sure I’m A Christian” by Donald Whitney, which is a great book for young believers. We continue to meet weekly and discuss the book. His answers to questions indicate that a heart change is taking place. He is experiencing a new beginning and a new way of seeing things.
Has he truly accepted Christ? Only the Lord knows, but he is not the same young man I met a few months ago. I see evidences of good fruit and trust the Holy Spirit will continue to change his heart. He told me his family has noticed a difference in him. He is still involved in regular Bible studies and answers questions with insight and wisdom. I know as volunteers we can get discouraged because we don’t often have opportunities to invest personally in the lives of those we minister to. Praise God for the open doors for these meeting and the chance to come along side and mentor hurting men! Praise God for new beginnings in others just like our new beginning that changed us forever! Amen!