Southwestern employee leads Coca-Cola vendor to Christ

When Omar, Southwestern Seminary’s new Coca-Cola vendor, arrived on campus to fill machines, Southwestern student and food services employee Barry Mathis could have let the following four hours be all about work. But instead, Mathis saw this as an opportunity to share the Gospel, and thanks to his evangelistic witness, Omar left the Southwestern campus a new believer.

On Tuesday, March 1, Mathis was tasked with showing Omar where all the vending machines were located on campus. Initially, their opportunity for conversation was limited to small talk, but it quickly turned into a spiritual discussion.

After Omar completed filling the first machine, Mathis took Omar on a golf cart around campus to other locations he would need to find. Mathis explained to Omar the purpose of Southwestern as well as its core beliefs.

With his curiosity sparked, Omar told Mathis that he believed God existed and that heaven and hell were real. However, due to his nominal Christian background, he was unsure of anything else—such as how to be saved.

As they drove to the library, one of their lengthiest conversations occurred after Mathis read John 14:6. Jesus’ statement “no one comes to the Father but through Me” was a new concept for Omar.

Omar had never heard the Gospel before, so his assumption was that good works were sufficient for salvation. When Mathis proceeded to share the Gospel, Omar hung on to every word.

When Mathis concluded, Omar took a moment to consider everything he just learned, and then he told Mathis to immediately pull over to a shaded area nearby. He said, “I’m ready right now to receive Christ.”

Amazed by his eagerness to respond to the Gospel, Mathis led Omar in a prayer of salvation. “I had no idea that he would receive Christ that day, but I was really pleased when he did,” Mathis says. “You have so many occasions when you talk with people and tell them about Jesus, but it doesn’t go anywhere. It was amazing to witness Omar’s excitement.”

Aside from his joy of being spiritually reborn, Omar also expressed his excitement to go home and share the Gospel with his family. Mathis provided him with tracts he had in his car as well as his contact information so that he could be a resource for any questions Omar had. 

“It was an amazing experience to witness his salvation,” Mathis says. “He was ripe, and he was ready to hear the Gospel. It was nothing I did. The Lord just orchestrated it all. Omar was ready to receive Christ, and I was just the mouthpiece.”