“Don’t waste your time on Khalid!*” Mark’s* co-workers warned him. Khalid was known in his workplace as a proud atheist, while Mark, the new hire, was quickly gaining a reputation as someone who liked to talk about his relationship with God.
Mark had recently participated in Cru’s Multiplying Churches and Communities training in the Middle East. The ultimate goal of this training is to plant new churches of multiplying disciples in areas where there are currently few believers.
Mark knew that sharing the gospel is never a waste of time, so he took every opportunity to tell others, even Khalid, about his relationship with Jesus. It turned out that Mark found it easy to speak to Khalid, and Khalid was interested in discussing the Bible. Mark explained how our relationship with God was broken because of sin, that we need to be cleansed, and how Christ’s sacrifice can restore our relationship with God.
Khalid listened eagerly. “You are the only person that was able make me understand God, that I was not able to know Him [without Jesus],” Khalid told Mark. As Mark led Khalid in a prayer to invite Jesus into his life, he wondered in what other unexpected ways God would work to build His church in the Middle East.
*names changed for security