The Summer ’26 Witness magazine has dropped!
Recently, I visited a friend’s church and I can tell you that I wasn’t expecting the one-two spiritual gut punch from the service and Sunday school. The message was on counting the cost of being a Christian, and the pastor effectively drove home the point that our faith in Christ will cost us something, and it should be a cost we feel. I left asking, “Lord, am I sacrificing for you?”
Next was Sunday school, where a young Chinese teacher was on furlough sharing her testimony. With tears in her eyes and trembling hands, she recounted her bleak teen years, where suicidal ideation among her classmates ran rampant. Life was hollow for Chinese adolescents who saw work and death as the main features of their future.
Then one day, she met an American missionary who needed a Chinese language teacher for his kids. She described how she came into their home week after week and saw a picture of family that was new, different and altogether wonderful. This was her first glimpse of the gospel. Through hospitality, she eventually met Jesus.
As I listened, tears streamed down my cheeks. What young people did I know who were hurting? Who could we invite into our home to see the gospel on display? I knew that the high school five miles down the road was full of teens who were lost. Feeling deep conviction, I knew the Lord was up to something.
Just hours later, I received a text from my husband, who was en route to nationals with my daughter’s high school track relay team: “What would you think about hosting a weekly Bible study after track practice? The girls are asking if we can start one.” I sent a reply: “Are you serious? You won’t believe what the Lord showed me this morning. Yes, let’s do it!”
For the past six weeks, we have opened our front door to a dozen smiling, laughing, loud, sweaty track athletes for a simple meal and Bible study. Many of them are hearing the gospel for the first time. Attendance has varied, and some weeks have gone better than others. Still, it is such a joy to see them pile around our dining room table, wrap up in a blanket on our couch or linger around the kitchen island long after the study is over.
This is what this issue is about: evangelism. Is there a cost? Yes. Time, energy, money and a little wear and tear. But Christians, we have the hope that this world desperately needs, and even the smallest act of faithfulness in sharing it is well worth the effort.
