How Everyday People Live Out Their Christian Faith

Illustrating how men and women display their love for Jesus in their day-to-day lives.
Little things that may have an eternal impact. Might these stories motivate you to use your talents?
  • Labor Unique Ministries Verbalizing the Gospel

    EXTREME ADVENTURES WITH GOD

    “Why live on the edge when you can jump off?” is my motto. I’ve always been up for a challenge. I love the Lord and enjoy using my athletic abilities as an opportunity to share His love. I grew up in  church and planned to be in the ministry in a physically active area working with young people. I wanted to be a youth pastor or start a youth camp. After college I received a Master of Religious Education. Then I met and married my Godly husband. We adopted an amazing son so I became a stay-at-home mom, teaching Karate from my garage. As my son was growing up, I competed in three Primal Quest extreme adventure races--the world’s most grueling 10-day, non-stop athletic expedition--and other athletic events that pushed me to my limits and allowed me to reach out to people who might not have otherwise been receptive to the Gospel. I shared my testimony at churches and for organizations and also wrote a book. I figured that was how God had chosen to use me. But that wasn’t all He had in mind. Much to my surprise, when I turned 50, God laid out the rest of His plan. My son was in high school by then and I was led to go back to school to get my doctorate in Psychology. Although I had a heart to help people, it is still hard to believe I am in a job where I have to sit still. I love being active. The Bible says God has our hairs numbered. He cares about… Read More

  • Adoption/Foster Care Children

    ISAIAH 117 HOUSE

    I am in a wheelchair living with a disability called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, which is a rare genetic disorder that results in body framing abnormalities and dwarfism. I have had it since birth. Over my lifetime, I have slowly lost my mobility. But God gave me a heart for children who are hurting. About five years ago, my four great nieces and nephews entered the foster care system as a result of parental substance abuse. I was not able to physically take care of the small ones but Riley, a nine-year-old, is one I could try to help. So he and I started our adoption journey through kinship care where a child is place with a family member or a relational close friend. I wanted to do whatever I could to try to get him in my home. The Department of Social Services recommended I first become a foster parent. I also tried to advocate for the other children. My adoption of Riley was finalized two years ago! My friends, the Guenthers, adopted Riley’s sister. The two youngest children were placed with other people. Through my experience with foster care, I felt God calling for me to step into helping this very broken system but I didn’t know how. One day I came across the Returning The Favor show. The show was spotlighting non-profits. I saw the video about an Isaiah 117 House, which helps children transition to foster care by providing physical and emotional support in a safe and loving home for children awaiting placement. Typically, children sit in a Department of Social Services office awaiting… Read More

  • Church Activities Food Loving Your Neighbor

    THE LOVE IN ACTION FOOD BANK

    My wife and I have run a local food bank for over 20 years. We are both 80 years old and I’m on oxygen, but the Lord hasn’t told us to stop, so we just keep going. The Love In Action food bank is not just about the food; it’s really about showing and spreading the love of Jesus. It’s become a pretty big operation that is all a labor of love since no one takes a dime. Our food bank helps people going through a difficult stretch in their lives—someone that lost a job or came down with an illness. It takes anywhere from 40-50 volunteers to run this food bank. We distribute food one Saturday every month to about 75 families. We give them each about $500 in food. But the main reason we do this is to make sure those families are exposed to the Gospel. We give them a daily devotion magazine and a special Gospel message every month that my wife types up. We are made up of volunteers from four different local churches. These churches supply the financial help needed to purchase some of the food. The people receiving our food have to be “qualified” by one of these churches. If the church knows they’ve experienced a temporary financial setback, they receive a card that makes them eligible to receive our groceries for several months. They simply drive up with that card, and a couple of our volunteers load bags of food into their car. We have 10 freezers, 3 coolers and a number of huge shelves,… Read More

  • Church Activities Unique Ministries

    ENCOURAGING MINISTRY STUDENTS

    To me, it didn’t seem like I was doing very much, but even the littlest things can make a big difference if we rely on God’s timing. The idea came to me when I saw their photos in the back of church. Our pastor had laid out vocation prayer cards with pictures of people studying for the ministry. I thought to myself: these are people giving their lives over to God as ministers. That couldn’t be an easy choice and required real sacrifice on their part, so I pondered how I could support them on their journey. My house was full of greeting cards from my service as Chariman for the welcoming committee, so I thought why not extend the welcome to those future ministers. As part of the welcoming committee, I would send cards and welcome baskets to families new to the church. This ministry extended to newly married and newly baptized Christians as well. Naturally, this volunteer work meant my house was filled to the brim with greeting cards. After I returned home from church, I searched through my cards for ones to send to the students. When I found one that fit, I set to work writing a friendly message and then sent the card on its way. Some of the students wrote back and some didn’t, but I wasn’t expecting any response. I just wanted to give the students a friendly note and a taste of home. It became part of my routine. If there was a holiday or a birthday coming up, I’d look for… Read More

  • Adoption/Foster Care Overcoming Obstacles Special Needs

    MY INJURY WILL NOT DEFINE ME

    I was a college football player. As a freshman, I was on the kickoff team. I sprinted downfield and saw the opening for a tackle, but I mistimed my jump by a split second. My head collided with the ball carrier’s legs. In an instant, I lost all feeling and movement from my neck down. At first, I thought it was stinger, but it turned out to be a spinal cord injury that left me a quadriplegic. I was told I would never be able to walk again and given just a 3% chance of ever regaining any movement in my arms or legs. In the hospital, I was scared. What will my life look like? Will I ever be happy again? As a kid raised in church, I kept thinking back to Jeremiah 29:11, that God has plans for me to prosper. And I thought “God, that’s quite a stretch. How can that possibly be with the condition I’m in. I’m paralyzed.” I found myself at a crossroads. I could reject God since I didn’t see how this could possibly come true, or I could rely on Him 100%. I remembered learning that faith is believing in something you cannot see or totally understand. So, I chose to go all in on God. I dove into that hope and fought that fear which was so present. I was in the hospital for several months. When I got home, I battled through the dark times and started to learn how to live as a quadriplegic. My close friends visited often and helped… Read More

  • Children Church Activities Labor

    TEACHING THE PARABLES OF JESUS

    I never dreamed I’d go from delivering the U.S. mail to delivering boxes of miniature, wooden parables of Jesus to the doorstep of families at my church. I retired from the post office and began serving at my church. I work with children who learn about Jesus using a Montessori-style of learning. Everything is hands-on, and experiential. For example, through the use of a hand-painted, wooden Jesus figurine, a dozen sheep, and a green pasture with a fence, the Bible story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is discovered by children through play manipulation of the materials. Many other parable stories, such as the mustard seed and the leaven, are in this same format. When Covid-19 hit, our church classrooms were shut down. Parents were calling me asking how to continue their child’s faith learning at home. I took it to prayer. The Holy Spirit inspired me to design a home-delivery program which included all the materials a child would work with in a classroom setting, but now I packaged them up in a box and delivered them on a rotational style basis to the families to use at home. I sanitized all of the pieces once they were returned and delivered the pre-packaged parables to the next family eagerly waiting for their box to arrive. Whole families were engaged in the lesson. Children who were familiar with the parable from earlier experience were teaching it to their parents. God brought significant faith transformations in parents and children through these efforts. Belief in God was deepened in many homes and… Read More

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