Joyce swore that she would never set foot in the church again. But something drew her back, and on a bright spring morning she popped into our congregation for the worship service. Joyce met me in my office later that week and shared her story. Shortly after that we began meeting on a weekly basis for studies. Joyce became my friend.
As we studied, it became apparent that there were real obstacles in her life. While she had fond memories of the church, there were difficult times that had cast shadows over those memories. She had made poor choices during her youth, and the combination of guilt and the rough treatment by some church members was enough to create bitterness and distrust.
As we studied, there was a major sticking point that kept Joyce from fully surrendering to Christ. It was then that our church began to increase our prayer efforts for her more earnestly.
Immediately after one of those seasons of prayer I received a text from Joyce. While we were praying, she was having her personal devotional time with God, and she found a verse that stopped her cold. Her text to me read: “I found the evidence I needed—I want to be baptized.” At the very time we were kneeling in intercession, our God heard our prayer and led Joyce to a deeper understanding of His Word. I am so grateful that as a pastor, I have an incredible Helper in the great work of leading souls to Him!
—Jarod Thomas currently serves as communications manager for the General Conference Ministerial Association. At the time of writing he was a pastor in the Michigan Conference, Michigan, United States.
