God’s transforming power

By Carol Pipes

Kim Randolf was a successful young woman working in Spokane, Washington, when she first tried methamphetamine. One hit and she was hooked. What started as a simple energy boost became an addiction. She moved to Chicago hoping for a fresh start, but things just got worse. Kim went from being an overachiever to a homeless, IV drug user.

It was a cold Chicago night when she saw the red, neon sign sitting atop Uptown Baptist Church – “Christ died for our sins.” She’d heard about the free meal they served on Monday nights. Kim came for the food and stayed for the worship service where missionary Michael Allen spoke about God’s love and salvation through Jesus Christ. Kim thought she’d done so much wrong she’d never go to heaven. But that night she felt God speaking directly to her, and she gave her life to Jesus.

“I felt my first hug from the Lord in church that night,” Kim says. Day by day, God is transforming Kim’s life. She’s now drug free, employed and serving at Uptown Church where she and her new husband both attend.

Your gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® and Cooperative Program help support thousands of missionaries like Michael Allen who live with urgency to share God’s transforming power with everyone they meet – and to motivate Christians to live with the same passion and urgency.

God has called each of us to passionately embrace the task of communicating the Gospel and making disciples of those who don’t yet know Him – those who live next door, down the street and throughout the world.

During the Week of Prayer for North American Missions, consider how you can “Live with Urgency” and impact the lives of people like Kim who desperately need to hear that they are not too far from God and that He can radically change their lives.

Together, we can fulfill the Great Commission and make an eternal difference in the lives of millions in North America who need to hear the Good News!

 

Carol Pipes is editor of On Mission.