From jumping over chairs to jumping through hoops to share the gospel

I was working as an inside sales rep at a mobile office and storage container company when Hurricane Sandy swept through the northeast in 2012.

My territory was Long Island, which Sandy seemed to treat like its personal punching bag. So when the company asked if two people would be willing to come in and man the phones on a Sunday for overtime pay, I eagerly obliged, as did my colleague at the time, Tom Rivera.

The phones did ring, but not as much as anybody thought. Bored, Tom and I started to look for ways to entertain ourselves. We eventually settled on seeing if we could jump over some chairs. I have a permanent image seared in my brain of Tom taking a running start and a giant leap over the seats at the table where they used to put out donuts.

The company ended up paying me my regular wage for the day instead of the overtime rate they promised me (which I don’t think will surprise any of my former coworkers). But considering how we spent most of the afternoon, I guess it all evened out.

One thing I earned that day, that went well beyond what any employer could have conceivably paid me, was a great illustration of the kind of goofballs Tom and I were when we first became friends 11 years ago.

I’m not saying I’m above jumping over a chair in 2023, because I am not (and I believe I can still do it (depending on the chair)). But once the Lord got ahold of us, it sure seems like we became different people. Tom is now the lead pastor at Royersford Church of the Nazarene, and I’m running my evangelism nonprofit, Iron Outreach.

On Saturday, Tom welcomed me into his church to teach a 3-hour class on everyday ways everyone can share the gospel. It went great, and I loved meeting and working with about 20 members of his church. This was a scene that could not have been imagined as we were leaping over chairs back in November of 2012.

The book of James asks us to consider what a small spark can do to a great forest. The context was a little different; James was asking us to think about the damage that a loose tongue can inflict. But I still saw the principle in play after this class.

As I was packing up, one of the women in attendance came up to me and said she had already ordered tracts on her phone as she listened to me talk. This was very encouraging, but that was only the beginning. The next day, I learned that one of the other attendees left the class, rounded up a team, and went out into the community *that very night* to hand out 50 bibles and 100 tracts.

Wow.

I look forward to seeing how this all develops from here. I know I’ll be working with this group again, so we’ll see what the Lord has in store for us. I can’t predict the future, but I do expect great things.

One thing I know for sure because they have already proven it: There isn’t a chair this group wouldn’t jump over to share the gospel now.

I am grateful to have been a small spark for this.

To become a monthly partner and help us help churches build evangelism teams, please visit our support page.

-JDM-