Do you ever wonder if the effort you invest is even worth it? The time you devote to your work, the decision to improve your property, another expense to keep that car running, and maybe the efforts you put into your spiritual life and kingdom building.
I am deeply grateful that the board members of High Impact Ministries and our amazing team of supporters are on board with the idea that we aren’t about flashy, numbers driven, celebrity status ministry.
This week in our High Impact Teen Bible Study in the juvenile center in Normal, IL, I met a completely new group of teens. Our study this week focused on wisdom from Proverbs 1. As I broke down the process of following God’s path of wisdom verses following the path of the foolish person from scripture, God really began to move in the hearts of these high school guys and girls. They wanted to talk. One by one they expressed how hard life is growing up fatherless, not having a stable mom to give guidance, and the incredible pressures of gang life in the community. When we reached Proverbs 1:10-19 where it speaks of sinners “enticing” us to do evil, one guy literally jumped in his chair as if he was jolted. He said, “This is unbelievable! I didn’t know there was a passage in the Bibnle that literally descibes my life. I feel like this was written about me.” The spirit of the Lord was moving deeply.
Last night I drove to Champaign, IL. The drive from my house is one hour and fifteen minutes. I had two Bible studies with two different groups. The response in the first group was much the same as the session in Normal, IL the day before. It’s amazing to see teenage guys respond to God’s word in this way when they have little to no background in the church. But it was the second group session that affected me the most…
I walked into a classroom for my second Bible study. In the back of the classroom, seated in the very back row, in the far right corner, was a high school boy. All by himself. I asked the security staff, “Is it just the two of us, or will others be joining us?” He told me it was just this one boy in this group. When I walked in, I imagined I’d be standing up front, leading a Bible study with a group of teenagers, but here I am, looking in the back corner of basically an empty room, and only one person. I walked to the back, pulled a chair up to his desk, introduced myself and asked if he needed a Bible. In a shy, quiet tone, he said, “I have my Bible right here.” The Bible he showed me was one of the Bibles we provided last month as part of the gift bags we shipped to hundreds of youth in juvenile centers. He also showed me his High Impact Teen devotional journal and said he knew when I walked in that I was the guy whose ministry provided these for him. He said, “Ken, I’ve been wanting to write you a letter to tell you about the ways God is working in my life.” His Bible was frayed, the cover was curled around the edges, the pages were frayed, dirty, and curled in all directions. The devotional journal was filled with writings of his time with God. He told me he read the book of Epesians last week and is excited about the next book of the Bible he will finish. We spent thirty minutes in Proverbs together. He was like a sponge, eager to digest all of it.
One person, one gospel, one Saviour, one conversatiuon, one small effort… you and I have no idea on this side of heaven how our life may have touched the life of another for all eternity. Someone, somewhere, may be sitting in their chair, in a room alone, pondering you, your testimony, your care for them, and your example of Jesus.
So, yes, it is worth it!
Ken Turner
*Learn more about how to impact high-risk and fatherless youth or donate at www.kenturnerministries.org/give
