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 Special Needs

    THE INFLUENCE OF A GRANDPARENT

    When you see something as a young child, it can have an amazing influence on the rest of your life. Growing up, I watched my grandparents as they cared for their special needs son---my uncle. They took care of him well into his adult years. My grandparents gave him a wonderful life, and I learned a lot from their example of Christ's love to my uncle. When it  was time for me to enter college, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. A frustrating semester as a social studies education major was all it took for me to realize I needed something different. I looked through a catalog of other majors and came across "special education." I remembered the example of my grandparents with my uncle, and knew I had found God's calling for my life. I changed my major to special education and never looked back. Now, I work at a Christian university as an advisor and academic coach for students with special needs and learning disabilities. This is my ministry. I have been able to share the love of Christ and the Gospel with my students. I have seen God work in lives as my students persevere for their degrees, despite disabilities and adversity. I have Bible verses posted around my office, and God has given me the opportunity to be there for countless students through both academic and personal struggles. Bible verses, such as Philippians 4:13; Proverbs 3:5-6; and Isaiah 26:3, keep me focused on my life's purpose. They remind me it is only in the… Read More

    January 12, 2018
  • Church Activities Food Homeless

    RUNNING A MOBILE FOOD KITCHEN

    I didn’t become a believer until I was an adult. I always believed there was a God, but the idea of Jesus dying for me was foreign. A couple of friends from work pestered me incessantly to go to church with them, and one night, I finally did. I heard about Jesus and what He did on the cross, and remember repeating, “Jesus died for ME” hundreds of times. As it sunk in, I became more and more in awe of what He did and decided to give my life to Him. I’ve made wonderful friends through my church, and been given the opportunity to give back to my community as an outpouring of God’s love. I run our church’s homeless ministry which acts as a mobile food kitchen---preparing, packaging, and serving food once a month. We travel to multiple locations near our church and serve meals to those needing some help. One of my favorite experiences with the ministry involved a man and a woman I had never seen before. They came up to a friend and me and asked for prayer, and then the woman said all she needed was a pair of black sneakers so she could get back to work. The car they were living in also had been towed, so they were on the streets until they could get the money needed to get their car back. My friend and I drove them to a nearby shoe store and while we helped them pick out sneakers, we were able to tell them about Jesus and how He loves… Read More

    January 9, 2018
  • Hospital Overcoming Obstacles Prayer Special Needs

    NEVER LOSING FAITH

    Mothers remember anniversaries of the important events in our children’s lives. While I have experienced many good and bad moments with my sons, Matthew and Jacob, two days will forever be etched in my memory. On August 10, 2014, I received that call that mothers dread. I was at home working when my husband, Barry, called to tell me Jacob was in an ATV wreck two hours away from our home in Cartersville, Georgia. I remember rushing out of work, telling my co-workers he had been hurt. Once we drove there, we found Jacob talking and yelling. But 15 minutes after our arrival, he started vomiting and aspirated vomit into his lung. The nurses sedated Jacob and put him on a ventilator. It was the last time he spoke for 10 months. Jacob spent two months in a coma and six months in a minimally conscious state. But even that night, I had a peace about me. I didn’t leave his side for eight weeks. The second date I will never forget is August 17, 2014. That’s the night the doctors told me Jacob was dying. I told the doctor, “No, I am sorry but you are wrong, God told me He was not done with Jacob yet, so you need to do what you need to do, because it’s not Jacob’s time yet. Call the neurosurgeon and see what can be done.”  The doctor told the nurse I was in  denial. They contacted the neurosurgeon who said the only thing to do was a craniotomy which would remove a portion… Read More

    January 5, 2018
  • Overcoming Obstacles Recovery Unique Ministries

    HELPING PEOPLE ADDICTED TO PORN

    It is devastating to find out your husband is addicted to pornography, especially when he's in the ministry and you think you have a good marriage. We had been married 17 years, had three children and he was the worship pastor of our church when I found out that he had been secretly viewing pornography our entire marriage. And that sexual addiction had led to a string of sexual encounters. In the devastation of his exposure, I wondered what I should do. So much of my identity was in trying to be the perfect Christian, the good example, and working for people's approval. Now my life seemed to be falling apart. Was this the end of our marriage? We immediately began meeting with a counselor and seeking recovery and restoration. I knew I still loved this man, that we had a history together, a family, a relationship, and I didn't want to give up on that. I decided to stay and see what God had in store for us. In addition to healing us and our marriage, we found He also wanted to use our story in other ways. One night a friend called in tears, telling me that her husband had an affair, and that she just needed to talk. I felt like God's hand was in this. He wanted us to use our experience to help others. If I can help someone by being there for them and listening, that is valuable. I don't have to have all the answers. Hurting people need to vent; they need a… Read More

    January 2, 2018
  • Children Church Activities Verbalizing the Gospel

    KEEPING TEENS ON THE RIGHT PATH

    My search for the truth began in earnest when I became a father. My son’s birth made me wonder more than ever: Why are we here? What is the meaning of this life? I'm from Russia and I was born Jewish. I thought Christ was not for me. But I started reading the Bible, and the story of Jesus touched me. A woman from a Russian-speaking church was sharing the Gospel in a park, and I happened to walk by. I had so many questions! She wasn’t used to someone coming up to her voluntarily. She usually was the one to come up to people, so when she saw my interest, she invested time in talking with me. She opened up her home to me and demonstrated what a truly passionate believer in Jesus looks like. And that changed my life. Now, that I’ve been a Christian for several years, I’m one of the leaders of the Youth Discussions for teenagers at my church. Living in New York City is tough for teenagers; there are a lot of temptations. Some kids start doing drugs at that age and get hooked for life. Some kids drop out of school and get caught up with the wrong crowd. Parents don’t always have time to talk about the tough issues with their kids. I think that developing a relationship with the Lord can keep teenagers on the straight path. We want them to feel the beauty of life with God, to think about how they can apply the Bible’s values to their everyday life. We want… Read More

    December 26, 2017
  • Adoption/Foster Care Children Special Needs

    A VERY SPECIAL FAMILY

    You could say our house is a little busy. We adopted five children from China, all with special needs, after having four biological children. Scripture says to take care of the widows and the orphans, and this is a passion the Lord has given us. My husband and I felt we needed to do something beyond just living a comfortable lifestyle in the suburbs. He has a good job and we wanted to extend that blessing and share the love of Christ. Two of our kids require blood transfusions every three weeks to keep alive, but you'd never know it by the way they run around all over the place. Two other children have spina bifida and one just had his leg amputated to prepare him for a life with a prosthetic. But we tackle these problems one day at a time and as a loving family. Adopting these beautiful children has helped our biological kids learn how to care for others, to sacrifice. When one child is going through something serious, it affects the eight other kids. It's teaching all of us that we are not called to a life of "me". Some people wonder why we adopt children with special needs. I don't think a large family is as scared raising a child with special needs because they have dealt with kids being sick and having issues. We realize no one is perfect. Adoption comes out of brokenness and loss, so every child who is adopted has had to deal with some type of trauma, even if they are perfectly healthy. Having… Read More

    December 22, 2017

Browse all categories

Adoption/Foster Care 38
Children 157
Church Activities 60
Financial Help 18
Food 41
Homeless 34
Hospital 44
Labor 167
Loss Of Loved One 38
Loving Your Neighbor 66
Mentoring 48
Mission Work 52
Other 12
Overcoming Obstacles 115
Prayer 57
Prison Ministry 11
Recovery 46
Senior Citizens 22
Special Needs 47
Unique Ministries 165
Verbalizing the Gospel 74
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