We rearranged our lives to make sharing the gospel possible

GoodSeed staff Jeremy* hung up the phone and stared at the hastily scribbled notes in his small notebook. Joy gripped his heart as he considered all that the Lord had been doing through the faithful witness of one couple, Ron and Laura. Jeremy had conducted a training session some years ago that the two of them had attended. It had made such an impact that they went home and began rearranging their lives so they could be more active in sharing the gospel.

Laura had told Jeremy over the phone, “Ron used to work construction on job sites long distances from home, which made it difficult for him to be involved in these studies. But God has helped us rearrange our lives so that he now has a job only two minutes away.”

Was this drastic change worth it? Laura said, “This is the easiest thing we have done with our lives… but not the quickest.” Sharing a clear gospel with others takes time, but the results are worth it. Both Ron and Laura felt that the tools provided by GoodSeed gave their outreach a greater impact.

Laura said, “When you learn to share the gospel this way [with these tools] it simplifies your life… you know what to do!”

Jeremy marvelled at what the couple had done. He smiled as he reviewed the stories they had shared with him.

Jayne and Will
First there was Jayne, Ron and Laura’s neighbour. Jayne had a young son, Will, who was struggling through cancer treatment. As she bared her heart to Laura regarding her son’s rare childhood cancer and the special treatment centre they hoped to get him into, the mother also shared how young Will had been asking difficult questions. Questions about life, God, death… Jayne didn’t know the answers herself, but she desperately wanted to know how to comfort her son. Laura stepped through that open door of opportunity and offered to read The Lamb to Will. Jayne appreciated her willingness and so Laura and Will read through the book together, resulting in the young cancer patient trusting Jesus as his perfect lamb.

Soon, Laura was able to invite Jayne to attend a study of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. At the end of the study, Jayne became a believer too. As they reviewed the chapters that wrapped up the gospel story, they noticed Will hovering in the background, listening to their discussion. Later, Will’s grandmother arrived for a visit and sat down to chat with Will. Laura shared, “The things he was saying were echoing the review!” Little Will was teaching his grandma the gospel.

Now, Ron and Laura are teaching Jayne’s husband and mother through the content of The Stranger. Jayne herself hopes to hold a Bible club in her home, taking her son’s friends through the story of The Lamb.

Jeremy had been amazed at the open doors they were seeing. But there was more.

Shan, Greg and Tim
Laura teaches English at a nearby university. Through one of her Chinese students, she had an opportunity to lead a By This Name study with a Chinese family: Shan, Greg and their son, Tim.

Shan shared that she had attended church simply because she enjoyed the music. She’d convinced her husband to join her, but neither of them had gained any real understanding of the gospel. But upon studying By This Name with Laura, both chose to trust Jesus for their eternal salvation.

Now Greg has now taken his copy of the book and is teaching his next-door neighbour through it, just as he himself had been taught. When someone suggested to Greg that he should consider being a pastor upon his return to China, he responded, “I think I’d like that!”

Keong
As Jeremy continued reviewing his notes, he was taken by another story that Ron and Laura had shared. Keong was a middle-aged Chinese man. Laura, along with the help of new believer Greg, had taken Keong through By This Name. Keong had asked numerous questions, often because his limited English made it hard for him to follow. One day he showed up at their study with a new Bible he’d purchased. “Do other Chinese people know about this ancient book? Here I am, 42 years old and I’m just now hearing about it!” He asked to go through By This Name a second time, this time looking up verses in his new Bible.

“What do you think?” Laura asked during one study session.

“I believe,” came Keong’s quiet reply.

“Do you want to want to pray and tell this to God?” Laura asked him. Leong’s prayer was simple: “Xie xie, YAHWEH.” Thank you, YAHWEH, he had said.

Jeremy was thankful to the Lord for these testimonies. God had promised that his Word would not return void, and these accounts were abundant evidence of God’s faithfulness. Laura’s parting words on the phone were: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation…” Romans 1:16 (NASB).

Indeed, Ron and Laura are good examples of believers taking their faith and their roles as ambassadors seriously. They had reordered their lives for the sake of the gospel and the Lord had blessed their efforts with fruit.

(* All names changed as per GoodSeed policy.)