The story he didn't know he'd started

Fourteen years ago, Paul walked into church as a guest. A decision he made that morning would begin a journey towards faith in Jesus.

Rev Mark Greenwood was taking part in a Back to Church Sunday at the church now known as Life Central. Paul had come along for the first time, and something Mark said that morning stayed with him. He signed up for Alpha.

Alpha helped Paul on his journey towards faith in Jesus and, in the years that followed, he grew and became more involved in church life. Eventually he began helping to run Alpha himself, supporting other people as they explored faith and discovered Jesus.

Mark knew none of this.

Then, one Sunday, their paths crossed.

Mark had just finished speaking at Regis Christian Fellowship, where he has begun working alongside Pastor George Whittome to help develop a healthy culture of evangelism. At the end of the meeting, Paul came over to speak to him.

"The first time I heard you speak was fourteen years ago," he told him.

Only then did Mark discover what had happened after that long-ago Sunday. He had never met Paul at the time and had no idea that his words had prompted him to sign up for Alpha, or where that first step would lead.

Today, Paul is a committed disciple of Jesus with a passion for helping other people come to faith.

The encounter was not the first of its kind. Over the years, several people have told Mark that they came to faith at an event where he was speaking, and others that something he said helped them on the way. Most of them he had never met.

Sometimes the fruit of sharing the gospel only becomes visible years later. Sometimes we may never see it at all. A conversation, an invitation, a sermon or a simple act of encouragement can become part of somebody else's journey with God without us ever knowing.

As Mark puts it: "As much as we have the joy of knowing people who come to Christ, it seems to me that God is doing a lot more than we ever find out."

This article was first featured in the Your Elim newsletter. You can read the Your Elim newsletter here, and sign up to the newsletter here.