"Somebody's One"

 

“Somebody’s One”

 

During the COVID shutdown in 2020 our church began an outreach effort called “Who’s Your One?” White ping pong balls were provided on which the initials of a person a member of the congregation was praying would come to faith in Christ were written and put in a glass enclosure. If an opportunity to present the gospel message arose a red ball was initialed and placed in the same container and a gold ball was used if “Somebody’s One” accepted Christ. The receptacle still occupies a prominent place in the building’s common area and is filled with colored balls including a good number of gold ones showing that “Many People’s One” have joined God’s family of believers.

This past spring Pastor Tommy Warnock, who has faithfully served our church in various roles for more than 40 years, brought a message entitled “You’re Somebody’s One”. His point was that God used a fellow Christian (maybe several) to lead us into a relationship with Jesus and that He was calling us to continue this process with someone we know. We often pray for people to be (in Billy Graham’s rendering of John 3:3) “…born from above….” but God may want us to be the answer to our own prayers by being available to be His instrument for it to happen.

Here are three examples of “Somebody’s One”:

*A Sunday School teacher in Boston was burdened for the salvation of a young man in his class and went to speak with him at his workplace where he prayed to accept Christ. The teacher was Edward Kimball and the young man…Dwight L. Moody.

*Two faithful ladies, Mrs. Poppo and Mrs. Kenny, led a Sunday School class of five and six year olds in Brooklyn in which a six year old boy received Jesus as his Savior. The boy was…yours truly.

*A fisherman was following Jesus and in so doing became concerned for his brother and brought him to meet his Master. That’s how God used Andrew to bring…Peter to salvation (John 1:40-42).

If we know Christ as our Savior we at some point were “Somebody’s One”. Who out there may be my (or your) “One” today? Will I/you be Edward Kimball, Mrs. Poppo, Mrs. Kenny or Andrew to him or her?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan