Evangelist rejoices over answered prayers, God-orchestrated encounter

Unlike other Everyday Evangelism teams, which assemble in the afternoons, Associate Professor of Preaching Matthew McKellar’s team meets every Tuesday from 11:30-12:30. Given that this is the middle of the day in the middle of the week, evangelism professor Matt Queen affirms that this time slot “is a hard one to man,” as few students want to do door-to-door evangelism at that time, and relatively few people are home.

So, prior to the start of the semester, McKellar asked the Lord to provide a student partner for him on Tuesdays and “to make it possible to find some people at home with whom we could share the Gospel.” Given what happened on Tuesday, Jan. 30, McKellar says, “Well, the Lord answered those requests!”

Master of Divinity student Marko Juricek joined McKellar for an hour of intentional evangelism that day, and they visited a home near the railroad tracks by the Southwestern campus. There, they spoke to two young women, Rose and Samara, on their porch. After McKellar and Juricek identified themselves and explained the reason for their visit, the two women indicated their interest in hearing more about Jesus.

“The ladies became increasingly ‘locked in’ as we continued our presentation of the Gospel,” McKellar says. “All I can say is that the Holy Spirit’s presence was heavy on that front porch.”

When the Southwesterners asked the women if they would like to pray to receive Christ and have assurance of forgiveness and eternal life, Rose and Samara both responded with an eager “yes.” Then Rose said, “Before I pray, can I tell you something?” The Southwesterners answered “yes.”

“Two days ago,” Rose told them, “I asked God to send someone to my house to tell me about Jesus and how I could know Him. Now I know that He sent you.”

“After that,” McKellar says, “both ladies called on the name of Jesus, and we had the privilege of welcoming them into God’s forever family! The Lord is good!”

McKellar now reflects highly on the Lord’s unmistakable orchestration of this encounter. “I am so grateful for Marko and for the two young ladies who are now our sisters in Christ,” he says, noting that God clearly answered both of his prayers. “Everyday Evangelism works because the Lord is still scheduling divine appointments—even in the middle of the day near the railroad tracks by the seminary!”