A Sunday School teacher, a Mr. Kimball, led a Boston shoe clerk to give his life to Christ in 1885. The clerk, Dwight L. Moody, became an evangelist. In England in 1879, Dwight L. Moody awakened evangelistic zeal in the heart of Fredrick B. Meyer, pastor of a small church.
F.B. Meyer, preaching to an American college campus, brought to Christ a student named J. Wilbur Chapman.
J. Wilbur Chapman, engaged to YMCA work, employed a former baseball player, Billy Sunday, to do evangelistic work.
Bill Sunday held a revival in Charlotte, N.C. A group of local men were so enthusiastic afterward that they planned another evangelistic campaign, bringing Mordecai Hamm to town to preach.
During Mordecai Hamm’s revival, a young man named Billy Graham heard the Gospel and yielded his life to Christ.
Only Eternity will reveal the tremendous impact of that one Sunday School teacher, Mr. Kimball, who invested his life in the lives of others.
**Pikes Peak Park Baptist Church (Colorado Springs, CO) www.pppbc.org/, Pastor Greg Cole shared the “Ripple Effect” during his sermon on May 28, 2000.
Never, never, ever underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit!
Coffee Break with God (pgs. 164-165)
(Excerpted with permission from Honor Books)
Which [the mustard seed] indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Matthew 13:32 KJV
Not everyone who commits his life to Jesus Christ will be called to be world famous. The majority of us are called to fulfill less noticeable roles in our churches, communities, and families. Yet only God may know how significant our roles are to the future of thousands – even millions.
A century and a half ago, a humble minister lived and died in a small village in Leicestershire, England. He lived there his entire life and never traveled far from home. He never attended college, had no formal degrees, but was a faithful village minister.
In his congregation was a young cobbler to whom he gave special attention, teaching him the Word of God. This young man was William Carey, later hailed as one of the greatest missionaries of modern times.
The village minister also had a son – a boy whom he taught faithfully and constantly encouraged. The boy’s character and talents were profoundly impacted by his father’s life. That son grew up to be a man many considered the mightiest public orator of his day, Robert Hall. Widely admired for his saintly character, his preaching was powerful and his
sermons influenced the decisions of statesmen.
It seems the village pastor accomplished little in his life as a preacher. There were no spectacular revivals, great miracles, or major church growth. But his faithful witness and godly life had much to do with giving India its Carey, and England its Robert Hall.
When you think you are having no impact in the world by teaching a Sunday school class or visiting those who are homebound, remember the little country preacher who influenced two nations for the Lord.
-Coffee Break with God (pgs. 164-165)
(Excerpted with permission from Honor Books)
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