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Published: 01 March 2021

God is at work in our churches. In these uncertain days we can be encouraged because we know who holds tomorrow. Because I know who holds tomorrow, I am assured that God will continue to build His Church. His desire is for us to continue to fulfill His Great Commission. We are to be a Great Commission Movement.

Matthew 28:19-20 says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Pastor John King of our Amanda church shared the following story about a young man called Adam. He shares that this is one way the church can fulfill the Great Commission. With Pastor King and Adam’s permission I wanted to encourage you with Adam’s story.

In the summer of 2017, my daughter had a new friend. She told me a little about the young man. One day she asked if we could pick the young man up for youth group. So as any good pastor would do I agreed. We began picking up a young man named Adam at the age of 14.

Adam did not come from the typical family. In fact the home was broken both in structure and in relationship. The setting of the home was overgrown with weeds and brush. Much of the home was in obvious disrepair. When we would stop by Adams home, he would walk out of the weed overgrowth. I honestly pondered do people really live here? Despite the obvious poor living situation where many basic needs were missing Adam, smiled through the chaos.

My daughter has always been the type that can’t keep a secret. So, as her and Adam grew closer and he shared his experiences with her she came home and told me. Now I have always been an over protective father and she was my baby—the youngest of six. So, let me be honest, I could picture my baby girl with a different young man and was eager for the relationship to go south.

Raising six children in which four are daughters it was obvious my daughter had no intent for the relationship to dissipate. As an over protective father I put myself in the center of the friendship where I could be more observant. By this time the weather began to change, Adam began to trust, and the Lord began to soften my calloused heart. How did Adam end up in this situation?

Adam began to share his family dynamics. Turned out Adam lived with his two older sisters and aging grandmother. At 14 he was the man of the house, if something broke it was up to Adam to repair. I began to see Adam was very resourceful; he was an avid internet learner. If he had a problem with an item, he would look up repair scenarios and try and repair. One thing Adam could not repair was the pain of the past.

Adams parents had struggled with drug use. His Grandfather had committed suicide. He did not know where his Dad was and when Mom was released from jail, then later on his aunt passed away. As life went on, his mother then overdosed and died. Despite all the chaos Adam fought on. A point came when the repairs of the home needed more resources than just the internet.

My daughter learned of the problems in the home where there was no heat, no water, no stove and no resources to repair. She shared the problems with me. I would love to tell you I quickly jumped into action and made the home livable, but that would be a lie. To be honest the problems seemed overwhelming to me; I mean surely there was an agency out there that could help this young man.

God reminded me of the agency he established to help Adam. It is known as the CHURCH! After a day or two of wrestling with God I threw in the towel. Okay God, if you’re calling us to help I can’t do it on my own so line up the help for this repair team. I made three phone calls and in twenty minutes I had $2,000.00 dollars, equipment and helpers. Within a few days we had the water on, the furnace working and a stove in the kitchen. The CHURCH team also took care of other items to make the home more livable.

Adam continued to come to church and the Lord continued to restore Adam. In 2018 the CHURCH sponsored Adam to attend Nipgen and at Nipgen Adam asked Jesus into his heart. A family that was friends with Adam’s mom had also encountered Jesus and had been praying for Adam all along. Adam was invited and visited their home in Oregon where he continued to grow in his faith.

Upon Adams return he had come to the understanding that staying in his home would only lead to continued generational failings. Though Adam had met Jesus the family was less than receptive. Adam realized his situation needed to change. As we discussed the needed change a family of the CHURCH stepped up and offered Adam a place to live. Adam spoke with county agencies and the CHURCH family became his legal guardian.

This past year, Adam turned 18; he is a senior with a 3.9 gpa. He is employed at a local Ford dealer and headed to Columbus State. God has redeemed Adam unto himself and guided Adam in the plans he has for him.

As a body of Christians, we make up the CHURCH and we have been called to make disciples. Numerous times God has shown me that he uses servant evangelism to reach the lost. God has also reminded me that true religion is this - to take care of orphans and widows in their distress. Who is the “Adam” that God is calling you to reach?

I trust this encourages you to know that God is at work in our churches. You may have an “Adam” in your life or church or a story you would like to share. When you get this article, we should have our new website up and running. We are designating a place for people and churches to share their stories. Just get your story to us and we will make sure it is posed on our webpage. Thank you for all you do to fulfill the Great Commission and help us to be a Great Commission Movement.

Dr. Mike Holbrook
General Superintendent