God is One Step Away
Lana and her husband were part of a Home Owners Association that met at Pathway when they decided to attend a weekend service four years ago. They attended Starting Point immediately, got baptized, and then began volunteering in Guest Ministries. They made Pathway their church home because of the acceptance they felt coming from different backgrounds. However until recently, they hadn’t made any significant effort to invite others to join them.During the Make Way for the One message series, Pastor Carter told the story of some friends who lowered a paralytic through a hole they dug in a roof for their friend to see Jesus.
This challenged Lana to examine her heart for those who don’t yet know Jesus and decide she was going to do whatever it took to invite others to share that relationship. She knew she had to do something about it because nobody is too far away from God or unable to take one step toward Him.
At the end of that same series last Fall, Lana was given a piece of a rope as a reminder to pray for the “one” that God wanted her to invite. This ended up being a coworker who had blatantly rejected Jesus and was vocal to Lana about all of her “church stuff.” This coworker often asked her when Lana was going to join her for drink after their shift ended and Lana would reply, “When you go to church with me.” Her coworker noticed the piece of rope that was tied to Lana’s purse and asked if it was one of her “church things.”
Seeing another opening for an intentional conversation, Lana replied that yes, it was a “church thing!” Lana went on to say, “This piece of rope is a tool I’m using to get YOU to come to church with me because you are my ‘One’!”
This past Christmas, Lana’s persistence of inviting finally paid off. Lana attended services with that coworker as well as another coworker and their families. After service, her coworker told her that she had prayed the prayer to accept Christ. Also, the husband of her other coworker took a Next Steps Journal.
Lana prayed for, prepared for, and engaged with her ‘one.’ While her coworker is still on a journey of developing a more personal relationship with Christ, she wants to come back to Pathway with Lana. Lana and her coworker talk or text each other now every day to encourage and build each other up.
Taking that one step of inviting her coworker has not only changed her coworker’s life, but also Lana’s.