Mr. and Mrs. Christian
It all began with a dog chewing the head off a neighbour’s chicken! The subsequent series of events gives further evidence to the truth of Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
The principals in this story desire to remain anonymous, in order that the Lord may have all the praise and the glory. We shall therefore refer to them under the pseudonym of “Mr. and Mrs. Christian.”
During their early Christian life. they had been happily associated with saints in a large city where the things of the Lord were so precious to their hearts. It was quite a jolt, therefore, when the husband was transferred to a smaller centre many miles away from this fellowship of saints.
They wondered what purpose the Lord had in such a move and what service they could do for Him in the new location. For three years they sought to witness for Christ, distributing tracts in the whole area, but with few contacts and little evidence of blessing.
Then they began to build a house in a new section of town, moving in before the building was completed. It was their intention to have a Bible Club for children and some cottage meetings for adults, when the construction work was finished and the place was furnished. God accelerated the program, however, and began His work before the carpenter’s work was finished.
One day several children came to the door, excitedly exclaiming that the dog had broken out of the yard, taken a violent dislike to a neighbour’s chicken and chewed off the bird’s head.
Mrs. Christian was quite upset, feeling that this unfortunate incident would put them in an unfavorable light in the vicinity, in spite of her sincere apologies and her offers to make full restitution.
She invited the children into her home, offered them cookies and a drink, and while they sat down to enjoy the refreshments, she told them a Bible story.
The youngsters had such a happy time that they eagerly accepted an invitation to come back again. Before long these youthful visitors were returning, and bringing little friends too, to listen to stories from the Word of God.
Mr. and Mrs. Christian saw possibilities for the development of the class, so they arranged for the children to come regularly, at a specified time.
One day a mischievous boy, while waiting for the class to start, prodded a bee’s nest in a tree and was badly stung about the face. This apparent reverse was also used of the Lord. It brought the Christians into touch with the parents of the boy and they had an opening to present the Gospel. Later that whole family was won for the Lord and gathered into assembly fellowship.
Mr. and Mrs. Christian diligently followed up all contacts that they had with children and visited every home which had an open door. In fact, they entered any door that was not tightly closed upon them. As a result, the children’s work grew and souls were led to the Saviour.
As the Lord seemed to lead, they eventually gathered together a handful of believers who had seen the truth of meeting in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. An extra room was added to the house and the little company came there to remember Him in the breaking of bread.
Today the assembly meets in a comfortable chapel, with about fifty saints sitting down to worship and to keep the feast of remembrance. Most of these are the fruit of the children’s work. Every week during the school term, Mrs. Christian and her sisters in the Lord conduct Bible Clubs in the homes, and there is a large Sunday School at the chapel.
The success of the work, to a large degree, can be traced to the excellent follow-up program that has been conducted. Whenever a child is contacted through Sunday School, Bible Club or special children’s meeting, his home is visited shortly afterward.
The parents may say that they have their own church and so the children will not be able to come to Sunday School. In such an event an invitation is given to the mid-week Bible Club. By this means many children hear the Gospel and a good percentage eventually become Sunday attenders as well.
When scholars absent themselves, a telephone call or personal visit is made promptly, to enquire as to the reason. In the case of sickness, friendly sympathy is offered. If the children are staying away because of carelessness, they are usually won back by the kindly interest shown in them.
Frequently contests are conducted to encourage the pupils to bring their friends and neighbours to the Sunday School or meetings. The prizes offered are Bibles or attractive Gospel texts as a further means of getting the Word of God into the homes.
During a recent children’s campaign in this chapel, over 150 children were contacted by home visitation or telephone calls. As a result, attendance was close to the 200 mark and some precious souls were won for the Lord.
Since we are workers together with God, it is imperative that we do our part diligently and whole-heartedly. God works when His people have a mind to work with Him. This fact is exemplified in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Christian.