.....witness

"Jesus said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.'" Mark 16:15

Many of you have read the story about a Sunday School teacher named Edward Kimball.  Mr. Kimball was a timid shoe salesman who gathered the nerve to share the gospel with a co-worker named Dwight Moody.  D.L. Moody made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and later went on to become one of the greatest evangelists in history.

 

Do you know the rest of the story?  D.L. Moody went to England and worked a profound change in the ministry of F.B. Meyer.  F.B. Meyer, with his new evangelistic fervor, influenced a college student named J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and employed a converted baseball player in his ministry named Billy Sunday.  Billy Sunday became the greatest evangelist of his generation.  

Billy Sunday preached the gospel in Charlotte, North Caroline and had such a tremendous impact that he was invited back.  However, when he was unable to return, he recommended a preacher named Mordecai Ham. Ham went to Charlotte and preached his heart out, but there was only a limited response to his preaching.  

On the last night of Mordecai Ham's revival, a tall, lanky boy who worked on a dairy farm walked forward and asked Jesus to come into his heart.  The local folks knew him as Billy Frank, but we all know him as Billy Graham.   

When we reflect on the tremendous life and ministry of Billy Graham, it is also a wonderful time to reflect on the fact that it all started with a laymen named Edward Kimball, who took seriously Christ's commission to be a witness in his world.

It is highly unlikely that you and I will ever become a Billy Sunday or a Billy Graham, but every single one of us can be an "Edward Kimball".  Every one of us can share the gospel with those we see every day of our lives.