Recent surveys of Christian leaders reveal that a startling percentage of them are not convinced they are having any real impact on anyone. This is particularly regrettable because making a difference is the very reason most Christian leaders go into the ministry.
A Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimball wasn’t always sure his life had much consequence. In 1858, he at least was able to lead a shoe clerk to Christ. The clerk, Dwight L. Moody, became an evangelist, and in 1879 Moody awakened an evangelistic zeal in the heart of F.B. Meyer, the pastor of a small church in New England. Meyer, preaching on a college campus, won a student named J. Wilbur Chapman to Christ.
While Chapman was engaged in YMCA work, he employed a former baseball player named Billy Sunday to help with evangelistic meetings. Sunday held a series of services in the Charlotte, N.C. area, and a group of local men were so enthused by the meetings, that they planned another campaign, this time they brought preacher Mordecai F. Ham to town.
During one of his meetings, a young man named Billy Graham yielded his life to Christ. Since then, millions have heard the gospel though Graham’s ministry. Kimball had started quite a ripple effect! So can you.
In fact, you’re probably already making a greater impact than you think! - Article by Jim Buchan
... And when Billy Graham came to a small island in the Caribbean, he preached the Gospel where a small boy named Tommy Carrington heard and responded. That small boy went to work with Youth for Christ (where Billy Graham was the first full-time staff person). Twenty six years later, that "small boy" continues to preach the Gospel to thousands of teenagers, and now equips and trains hundreds of young emerging leaders all across the United States and the Caribbean. You are right: Never underestimate the power of the impact one person can have!
Posted by: Tommy Carrington | April 15, 2011 at 10:55 PM