One of the greatest joys of gospel ministry is to hear stories of lives transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ.
However, the Bible warns us that for every seed planted in good soil, there will be others that land on stony ground or among thorns. For LCM missionaries working among the Muslims of Newham or the council estates of New Addington it is necessary to be patient. It can take several years to see a contact come to church, so we cannot give up on a ministry for lack of fruit after 18 months. Instead, we teach evangelists the biblical value of courageous perseverance; courage to reach the difficult, unreached people groups, and perseverance to keep going through the disappointments and daily sacrifices of gospel ministry.
Salvatore’s story
At our week of prayer in January we rejoiced to hear the testimony of Salvatore, a member of the Bridge Church, Battersea where we have a team of missionaries reaching the local estates. Salvatore was first visited by LCM in 1985 when our missionary Bill Deane called to invite him to church. In 1995 Phil Moore started visiting Salvatore to get him along to a men’s Bible study, but after a few months he decided to stop coming. In 2012 Martin Street invited Salvatore to a men’s group at church and he accepted, but was still sceptical at the idea of an awesome creator God in an age of science and reason. Finally, in 2014, almost 30 years after first being told the good news, Salvatore made a profession of faith and has now dedicated his remaining years to proclaiming the good news of Jesus to friends and neighbours.
