“Even though you’re not yet fluent in Spanish,” said one of our church friends, “your presence here means a lot to us.” ‘A’ said this as a way of seeking to encourage me on my journey toward language fluency and ministry engagement as a missionary in Spain. He went on to explain his thoughts on how he shares his love for Jesus with those around them: “There are many young people in our church who do not have fathers. But, Brian, by your consistent presence you can be a father to them, and you can encourage them in their Christian walk. That is what I try to be for the young people I see at church—a father.”
Not even an hour later, ‘A’ and I were sitting at breakfast with some other men from church. At one point, someone asked the question: Who is your spiritual father? One of the young men, ‘D’—who has only been following Jesus for a year—replied without hesitation, “’A’ is my spiritual father.” When ‘D’ moved to our town, ‘A’ had noticed him and welcomed him into his home. It felt only too natural, then, that ‘A’ would be ‘D’’s spiritual father. It filled my heart with joy to see this kind of life-on-life discipleship happening in our local church.
Not only is discipleship happening in the local church, but it is also happening through the ministry of the team we work with. This same young man ‘D’, who found a spiritual father in ‘A’, was recently baptized. Some of our teammates have been pouring into his life by teaching him how to read the Gospel accounts, engage the spiritual battles he faces, and share his faith with those around him. On the day of ‘D’s baptism, I was brimming with joy and gratitude. ‘D’ did not have biological family nearby; but he had found a new family through ‘A’ at the local church. Neither did ‘D’ have guidance for the direction of his life; yet step by step, through the mentoring of our teammates, he is learning how to live a spiritually vibrant life.
Jesus, thank you for the ways you are moving in the Brian and Elizabeth’s community. We pray that they will be a spiritual family for the people that you bring to them. Amen
Brian and Elizabeth are TMS missionaries in Spain. Read more of their stories here. Subscribe to their newsletters here