Eugene showed up for the meeting armed with his new — and first-ever — Bible, a gift from one of the pastors at Great is Thy Faithfulness Church. As soon as he plopped down at the table with Minister Marshall Miller, he opened the book of Scriptures and whipped out a highlighter.
Eugene was ready to go.
"He was interested, he was taking notes," said Minister Miller, who leads the north Minneapolis church. "It's almost like when you're in college. When he pulled out the highlighter, it showed us how serious he was in his relationship, being with Christ."
That fledgling faith started a few months after Great is Thy Faithfulness teamed up with Cru® Inner City and Cru's campus ministry to distribute Boxes of Love®. Boxes of Love contain all the ingredients to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for six, plus the gospel booklet, "Knowing God Personally."
During the joint venture, the college students met Eugene, who just moved to the area from California to help his ailing brother. They sensed he was hungry for healthy relationships and was open to the gospel. The students met a practical need by giving him one of the Boxes of Love®.
From there, Inner City's Minneapolis then-team director, Derrick Grow, and Minister Miller decided to water the seed by initiating a home visit, complete with breakfast muffins. After being invited in, the pair noticed the "Knowing God Personally" booklet sitting on the corner of his TV table.
The three of them chatted a bit about Eugene's life, his struggles, and why he made the move from the West Coast to the Midwest.
"It was a surreal moment to see Eugene in his natural character of an injured individual looking for love, looking for attention." Minister Miller said. "God placed us in the right place at the right time to be there, to show him that brotherly love, to give him the family that he needs."
Initially, Eugene hesitated to welcome the visitors, fearing for their safety in the rough neighborhood where he lived with his brother. It was only compounded by the instability of the brother, who was facing advanced dementia. But Eugene's walls quickly tumbled.
"Tears were falling from Eugene that first time," Derrick said, adding, "It really grabbed his heart."
Eugene agreed to meet them again at a coffee shop. Once there, they had to maneuver their conversation around the frenetic fever of caffeinated patrons.
"It got a little bit obnoxious, but we were still able to achieve our goal with Eugene, and that goal was to inform him and introduce him to Jesus Christ," Minister Miller said.
Eugene began to pepper the two with questions about Jesus. That's when they pulled out a copy of the "Knowing God Personally" booklet and began sharing key points from the literature. Eugene was like a sponge, drawing every detail into his mind and heart.
Sitting there, in the bustling java joint, Eugene, a retiree, prayed aloud, turning his life over to Jesus Christ!
"He was open to it. He was longing for it," Minister Miller said.
The pair continued to meet regularly with Eugene as they guided him in studying the Scriptures. Several weeks into the study, Eugene, at age 65, was baptized. He now serves on the church's security team and has volunteered several times for evangelistic outreaches where neighbors are invited for prayer, a barbecue and food distribution.
"It is so awesome to see someone that did not know Jesus Christ interested in knowing who his Savior is, really getting to know who Jesus Christ is," the pastor said.
Interested in gauging Eugene's progress, Derrick texted him early in their discipleship process, asking, "What stuck with you from our follow-up time?" Eugene's response was short and sweet.
"Well, Forgive. Confess. Worldly. Brothers. Infants."
The simplicity of his answer moved Derrick, realizing Eugene was already grasping the basic concepts of the faith, especially the power of relationships in the body of Christ.
"I think it was just us reaching out to him and reflecting care and love for him," Derrick said.
Now, that is worthy of a highlighter.
Lori Arnold serves as the senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
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