Have you ever wondered what difference you might be making in the world? You’re busy with life, work, kids, chores, church. You want to do something to help others around the world, but you’re just not sure how to “fit it in.” It’s tough. Life is demanding. You say, “How in the world can I make a difference in the world?”
Children at the orphanage Mitch Ingleheart and his family minister regularly to these smiling children at an orphanage in South Asia.Well, cheer up. I may have good news for you. I speak from personal experience. You see, I’m a Southern Baptist representative who serves in South Asia. God is using my family like crazy. We’ve seen thousands of people come to Christ. We’ve seen many churches planted through our ministry. We’ve seen whole villages changed by the gospel. We’ve seen lives changed, people encouraged, the hungry fed, the illiterate educated, and more.
And you know what? Much of this is because people just like you were faithful to do what they could, right where they were. I’m amazed as I look back. God used some pretty normal people in everyday life to help make me who I am. I see his influence through the lives of people who probably never knew they were influencing someone whom God might use literally on the other side of the world.
I think about a few people at Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, who made a difference – Hewitt and Betty Harrell, Pastor Doyle and Mary Frances Jones, Dorothy Bird, Mrs. Atkinson, Ron Garrick, Buck Matthews, and others too many to name. Many of these folks just quietly did their work unto the Lord. I doubt they knew I was watching their lives and learning how to live for God.
I remember the men who led our Royal Ambassador and Pioneer groups, the leaders in our youth group, the adults who went to camp with us, and the ones who taught Vacation Bible School. Oh, those men and women must have had hearts of gold and nerves of steel to dive in with us rowdy kids. But they did it, and it has made all the difference in the world, literally. Today, the people in South Asia are grateful for their willingness to “suffer for Jesus.”
Sue Sandidge at Northside Baptist Church, Columbia, also comes to mind. I attended an “Experiencing God” workshop she facilitated. God used her in ways she never knew to teach me and touch my life. I recall a couple of businessmen I watched from a distance, men of integrity who really cared for people. They worked hard. They stood up for what was right, even in the workplace, and did it in a way that left people feeling good. I could tell they loved Jesus. These men made a difference in my life. They didn’t know it then, but today their return on investment is making a world of difference.
I especially reflect on my parents. I don’t think they ever thought they were grooming a future overseas representative, yet they taught me with their lives. My family never really had family devotions, but Mom and Dad were “living epistles.” They lived the life. You could just tell they walked with God – by their great attitudes, by their actions, by how they loved and helped people. Just by being godly parents, my parents have made a difference in the world.
So you never know. You may just be making a difference in the world right where you are. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Keep going. Hope. Have faith that God is using you right where you are. You just live the life and leave the rest to him. You never know when you might be making a world of difference.
*Names changed for security reasons. Mitch*, his wife Nellie* and their two children serve with the International Mission Board as strategy coordinators among the unreached people groups in South Asia.