Stories - Page 83 of 90 - The Christian Heart

How Everyday People Live Out Their Christian Faith

Illustrating how men and women display their love for Jesus in their day-to-day lives.
Little things that may have an eternal impact. Might these stories motivate you to use your talents?

Mentoring Unique Ministries
BEING A PART OF THEIR LIVES

I fought off becoming a Young Life leader most of college, but after graduating and returning home, my heart changed; I began to appreciate that Young Life truly goes where the teens are. Young Life teaches its leaders to listen, invest time, and hopefully earn the right to speak about Jesus' love and the truth of God's Word. I'll never forget my very first meeting as a volunteer---this young girl marched right up to me and introduced herself. I could see right away that though she was young, she had an old soul, and in that moment, I knew our relationship was going to be special. I learned of her compassionate nature and how she truly cared for others. She started coming to Young Life faithfully as a freshman, and she would even campaign to her other classmates about it! She told me about one friend she'd known since middle school, and she was worried about her because she was headed down a dark path. She told me how special this girl was. After hearing this, I knew we had to get involved. I met this girl not long after our talk, and all three of us started hanging out regularly. We would grab coffee, dinner, ice cream and talk authentically about anything and everything. Over the years, we walked through life's intense stuff together: high school stratospheres, boys, heartbreak, family issues, parents with cancer, fear, hurt and many other things. Our relationships grew exponentially over time. I was their leader at first, and then we all became best friends. Sometimes we may think… Read More

April 24, 2017
Homeless Unique Ministries Verbalizing the Gospel
HANDING OUT BIBLES

It has always been my desire to find inexpensive, meaningful ways to get Bibles into the hands of people willing to take one. I became a Christian a little later in life, and reading scripture has had a deeply profound impact on my life. I went from not knowing about true unconditional love, grace, and acceptance, to experiencing all of these things and more through God's word. My desire now is for others to experience this as well. Since there are a lot of homeless people living near me, I thought it might be a cool place to start sharing God's love letter. The only barrier for me was cost. But one day while shopping at the 99-cents store, I came across a bunch of small Bibles. I knew I had to buy them. So for the past few years, I've kept a large stack of Bibles in my car, with a dollar stuffed inside each one to hand out. Now, if anyone asks for money, I offer up money and a Bible. The Lord wants us to step out of our comfort zone and share the "good news". I guess this is my way of taking those initial steps! My hope is that each person receiving this feels God's love and acceptance, just like I did.

April 20, 2017
Adoption/Foster Care Children
ADOPTION CHANGED OUR HEARTS

I did not grow up a Christian or in a Christian household. But my spiritual life dramatically changed when I met my future wife, since she was very grounded in her Christian faith. She is a teacher and has always worked with young children, so loving kids was always in her heart. Even before we had our four biological children, we always talked about adopting a child at some point. We thought a good first step would be to become a foster family to kids looking for a forever family. Our family ended up fostering two brothers, and I could tell during this time that the Lord was working on my heart. Most of the families who thought about adopting the boys wanted to separate them. That just wasn't acceptable to us. The longer the process took, the more apparent it became that God had His hand all over this. After a lot of prayer, we both became very open to adopting both boys. Since adopting them, it is easy to see that they helped our family more than we helped them. We all banded together. Everyone chipped in. It brought our family closer. That is how the Lord works. We learned it's not about blood, but it's about love and compassion.

April 18, 2017
Recovery Unique Ministries
FIGHTING SEX TRAFFICKING

I have been fighting sex trafficking in Boston for the past eight years. My exposure to this horror began in college. I heard a presentation from the founder of "Not for Sale" about modern day slavery and human trafficking. I couldn't believe how much was happening right here in the United States. I was shocked and horrified. I heard a clear calling from the Lord to get involved somehow. I began an internship and naively thought all I needed to do is tell everyone, and then it would stop. I soon realized human trafficking is overwhelmingly complicated. I encountered my first "survivor" of commercial sexual exploitation while interning. She shared with me the first time someone tried to buy her, it was a police officer. Wow! My world shook a bit. If a police officer is buying girls, then who is helping them? Who can they trust? I began to see a devastating truth: many people know about it, are participating in it, and benefiting from it. After college, I got involved full time. I saw clear gaps in this fight against trafficking. There was and is a desperate need for survivors to have safe housing, and a need for a place to teach those who want to get involved. Most of the experts in the field are too busy to teach. I discovered the ugliness of the politics behind funding, because if a grant runs out, the work stops. This was all so frustrating. I felt I needed to help connect people: those who wanted to get involved needed… Read More

April 13, 2017
Labor Verbalizing the Gospel
FINDING A NEW FREEDOM WITH JESUS

Indonesia 2014. I was on a tiny island on a mind-blowing surfing trip, and there I felt God awaken my heart to something new. No cell service or wi-fi was accessible for miles. All safety nets were gone, but I felt free, completely free. This trip was like nothing I had ever experienced. A few months later, I injured my back, and couldn't do anything physical. I was in chronic nerve pain for three months, which felt like a prison. This was one of the most difficult seasons of my life, yet I experienced a new sense of freedom in this unlikely place. I drew into Jesus. His presence was palpable, and it was there that he birthed a new dream in my heart. I discovered a connection between Adventure and Freedom. I realized that adventure can unlock something in a man. It seemed to me that if a man feels fear, but steps through it knowing the risk, he will find freedom! With this new idea, I set out to provide opportunities for risk and adventure, inviting men to question their fears. My first Adventure Freedom journey began January 2017, the stormiest day of the year. Ten guys crammed into a 41' sailboat, and set sail in the rain, sailing 13 hours through the night. Our destination was a deserted island off the coast of California. At the beginning of our trip, I quoted Yvon Chouinard, the Founder of Patagonia, who said, "The adventure doesn't begin until something goes wrong." Well, it turned out I unknowingly led these guys… Read More

April 10, 2017
Children Financial Help
ORGANIZING A TOY DRIVE

When you are a young social worker who calls on families in a poor neighborhood, you see a number of things that break your heart. Some of these families have so little in life. One of my families has five children and just one toy between them to share. Kids learn how to deal with other people through play and toys, since it engages so many of our senses and builds confidence. But this family had just a single toy. My heart was heavy for these kids who had so little. I prayed about what to do, and felt like Jesus was leading me to a creative solution. I decided to get all my friends together and do a toy drive. Everyone was thrilled to take part, especially when they heard about the families that would receive the gifts. Once the drive ended, we gave each social worker in my office a couple toys for every child they dealt with and had them personally present them on their next house call. It brought so much joy and happiness to these kids and their parents, as well as every social worker. It turned out to be such a simple act, but heartwarming for everyone involved.

April 6, 2017

Browse all categories

Adoption/Foster Care 39

Church Activities 61

Financial Help 18

Loss Of Loved One 48

Loving Your Neighbor 72

Mission Work 52

Overcoming Obstacles 139

Prison Ministry 13

Senior Citizens 23

Special Needs 50

Unique Ministries 179

Verbalizing the Gospel 81

Submit a Story

Listen To Our Podcast

Support The Christian Heart

Sign Up For Our Inspiring Newsletter