“Can I talk to you?” asked Lindsey with tears in her eyes. She was a teenager who approached me following one of the worship services at Summersalt, a student camp sponsored by the Cooperative Program of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. I have had the pleasure of being a camp pastor there for the past five years. I soon learned that her tears were tears of joy.
Clamp“Last year, you challenged us to think of one person who was not a Jesus follower. The first person I thought of was my best friend, Leigh. I couldn’t bear the thought of her not being with Jesus when she died. So I started praying for her, and talked to her about Jesus throughout the year. At the last minute, we had an opening for Summersalt. I asked her if she wanted to come, and she did. Tonight, she stood up during the invitation and confessed Jesus as Lord! I am so excited!”
Wow! Here is a teenager who gets it. Here is a teenager who cares enough about the lost to be intentional about starting a conversation. Here is a teenager who just might challenge us to do the same.
When you are intentional about telling someone about Jesus, praying for them, and serving them, you become a part of their spiritual story. What a privilege! Lindsey will forever be a part of Leigh’s spiritual story. Every time Leigh tells her story to someone else of how she came to know Jesus, Lindsey will most likely be mentioned. What if every Baptist was a part of at least one person’s story of how they came to know Jesus this next year? Whose story were you a part of?
We saw more than 141 new believers out of Summersalt and 673 who responded to the gospel to repent of sin. Ninety-three felt God was calling them to full-time Christian vocational ministry and 2,665 committed to pray that God would use them to reach one this next year. Every number has a face, every face has a name, and every name has a story. Keep investing in the next generation. They are ready to change the world. Be a part of their spiritual story.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’?” (Romans 10:14?15 NIV).
– Clamp is evangelism group director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Follow Lee on twitter @leeclamp or on his blog at www.leeclamp.com.