Michael Love noticed the Bible laid out on the table next to the man’s computer. He and his teammate, Emmett Grant, had walked into his café hoping to meet Aaron, the shop owner. Love asked him, “Do you read the Bible?”
Aaron said he did. Love then asked if he was a Christian.
“No,” he replied. “But I think I’m going to be.”
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As International Mission Board missionaries, both Grant and Love moved at separate times to work among Central Asians in Europe after doors closed in their former countries of service. They now work in a diverse city where they meet people from many countries.
“In one given week, I hear anywhere between six to seven different languages,” Grant said.
Open to unexpected opportunities
As a team, they focus on reaching Central Asians with the gospel, but they won’t turn down an opportunity to share with anyone God puts in front of them.
Earlier this year, volunteers traveled from Texas to serve alongside Love’s team. Going about the city, looking for gospel opportunities, some of them came to Aaron’s café and were surprised to find a Bible sitting on a table. When they spoke with him, he was open about his spiritual journey.
He came from a Catholic background but did not practice the faith. He had struggled with drug addiction in the past, and about four years ago, should have died from an overdose. He said he felt like God had stopped him from dying.
“He didn’t really know what it looked like to know God,” Grant said. Aaron began exploring different religions, reading Islamic, Buddhist and Jewish texts. In some of these, he kept noticing references to Jesus. He said, “It seems like everybody wants a piece of this guy.”
So Aaron picked up a Bible and began reading, beginning in Genesis, but slowing down as he reached Exodus. He skipped ahead to the Gospels and began to read about the life of Jesus.
The more he read, the more convinced he became it was true. “What he read in the Bible just made sense to him,” Grant said.
That’s when the Texas volunteers met Aaron, and he saw it as a sign from God. The team tried to connect him with the local missionaries, but they struggled to find a time to meet.
Eventually the team went home, and Love and Grant visited Aaron’s café to meet him in person.
When they finally found Aaron with his Bible open on the table and heard his story, Love shared that he had been a Christian for 35 years, that he read the Bible every day, and if Aaron wanted to ask any questions, he and Grant would be happy to talk with him.
Aaron ran to a billboard in his café and grabbed a postcard, given to him by the team from Texas. They had written a Bible verse on the back and said they were praying for him.
“When they came into my café,” he told Love and Grant, “I was reading the Bible, and I had just put it down. I decided I wasn’t going to read it anymore.” He was getting ready to move on to something else. But the team started asking him questions, curious about his spiritual interest.
‘Double sign from God’
He said meeting other Christians who asked him about his faith was a sign that this was where he would find hope and joy. “This is what I’m looking for in the Bible,” he said. When Grant and Love walked in, it was like “a double sign from God.”
Love encouraged Aaron to continue reading the Bible, beginning in the gospels, and to message him, night or day, with any questions.
Eventually, Aaron shared that he wanted to read the Bible with someone who could offer guidance. So Love made plans to meet with him once a week to study Scripture together. Aaron was eager and asked if some of his friends could join them.
Love met with this group before he and his family had to return to the U.S. for stateside.
One day, Love received an unexpected message from Aaron saying, “I really need to talk to you tomorrow.” He had big questions about the Bible.
Love told him he was in America, but Grant could meet with him. Grant and Aaron met together the next day.
“I went really slowly and clearly through the gospel to make sure he understood it,” Grant said. “I talked about the importance of putting your faith in Jesus and not just knowing the right information about Him.”
Aaron prayed to receive Christ and wanted to take the steps to be baptized.
Grant explained the process of discipleship and sanctification are slow. Aaron had to close his café because it was struggling financially, and his job search has made it difficult to attend church regularly.
“It’s a process of discipleship that’ll be gritty and earthy and slow, but you can still see God working in him,” shared Grant, who said Aaron still professes to be a believer.
Ways to pray
Grant said these are just some of the normal challenges of ministry in a diverse context and a post-Christian culture. But they still pursue Aaron and want to invest in his spiritual growth.
— Pray for wisdom for Love and Grant as they continue talking with Aaron about what it means to follow Jesus.
— Pray that God would provide for Aaron’s needs, and that his financial challenges would not stand in the way of his baptism, discipleship and growth in the Lord.
— Pray for Aaron to find a healthy local church that can invest in his faith and model Christ-like community.
Names have been changed for security.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Elizabeth Ligon and originally published by the International Mission Board.
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