Springing into Ministry - on the Go

As most of you know Spring brings — yep — Spring Training — it also brings Soccer for the boys. Sometimes after practice or a game we stop at McDonald’s for a quick bite. That sometimes brings ministry opportunities. We would like to share how the Lord is working through us to make a difference as we meet former students. Here’s an example of one of those times:

Not much time goes by when a former student from one of our Campus Link Bible Clubs (which use to reach out to 3,200 students a month) comes up to us at Walmart, various local events, or somewhere and says:

• “Hey, aren’t you that preacher guy?”
• "Hey, aren’t you the one that comes and teaches the Bible at our school?”
• “Hey, you’re the Bible Man.”
• And so on…

No matter what they ask or say, it’s a wonderful feeling to be known as someone who shares the Word of God and has touched their lives in some way.

I would like to share about a contact with one such student at our local McDonald’s. Becky and I were sitting at a table outdoors eating our dinner while our three children were playing on the playground. There was a young man who began mopping the tiles around the nearby tables. As he did he noticed us and asked, “Aren’t you the preacher that came to my school?” “Which school did you go to?” we replied. As the conversation continued we found out that he was a student we had in elementary school and is now a freshman at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Well, if that didn’t make us feel older. When we asked him why Chattanooga and not Knoxville (which is much closer), he said that honestly he wasn’t a UT fan (a Tennessean that’s not a UT fan? They exist?).

As we continued to talk with him and finish our meal, another student came up and began talking him. After a couple of minutes the second student realized who we were and said, “You come to my church.” I agreed and realized he was also a former camper at Galilee Bible Camp.

This is just one example of many, and as those contacts and opportunities continue to show up, we not only realize that those students have grown but so have we, because of them.

Touching lives—that is part of what being a missionary of AMF, and more importantly a servant for the Lord, is all about.