Recently, I met with a young sailor named Frank who said, “I want to see God use my life and get out of my ‘rut.’” He also shared about another friend on the ship who felt the same way. So the next week, Frank invited his friend Peter to join us at Navs Night. The next week my wife and I had them over for dinner and they brought their friend Will.
At Navs Night, I asked Will about his religious background. He shared, “I grew up attending church on Christmas and Easter but I don’t know much about the Bible.”
I asked him, “Is this why you hang around Frank and Peter?”
He responded, “I knew that they were religious and I hoped some of that would rub off on me, since I haven’t been making the best decisions in life.”
It was clear that God was preparing Will’s heart, and I used the opportunity to share my testimony and the Bridge Illustration. Will was eager to surrender his life to Christ.
Both Peter and Frank later told me, “We wish we could share the Gospel with others like that.” I smiled and said, “You can share God’s love with others and I will teach you how.” They have since prepared and shared their testimonies and are working on memorizing a few verses related to the Gospel.
Later that week, Frank was standing watch with two other guys and the topic of religion came up. Frank sent me a text at 12:30 a.m. and asked me to pray. He took a leap of faith and shared The Bridge to Life illustration with the guys as best as he could remember. One hour later at 1:30 a.m., I received another text saying that Nick and Mark had both decided to place their trust in Christ! Praise God!
Frank is following up with these men to help them grow spiritually, just as I did with him. And I am still coaching Peter and Frank about how to share their faith and disciple others to grow in their relationship with God. God is moving in these men, as one sailor shares with another sailor.
*Names changed in this story.
By commenting, you agree to our Code of Conduct.