Today, Jas Gilbreath, wife of Louis Gilbreath, was baptized into Jesus Christ. Praise God! Jas grew up in India, and there she was often mistreated. Women in general are not treated well by many. She met her husband Louis online. They married, and she moved to the US. 

Louis, her husband, grew up with Christian parents but had a rough childhood in many ways. He grew up in a rough part of town, and he saw several of his friends get killed. His father went to prison for a number of years. But his father took him to church and he was baptized when he was 10. Louis played football in high school and college. He is a very patient and gentle person.

I met Louis and Jas at one of our "High Pointe in the Park" gatherings. These are Wednesday night gatherings in the park for the church. Rather than meeting in the building on these nights, the church goes out to the community. This is part of the missional concept of going out to the world, rather than waiting for them to come to us. We have a band play some music, fellowship, barbeque, sometimes sing some songs. It is a great way to be visible in the community and meet people out there. It also gives us an opportunity to invite our unchurched friends to a non-threatening, fun church gathering.

When I met Louis and Jas, I figured that Jas, growing up in India, was not a Christian. So I sought to talk with them and mentioned maybe getting together for lunch or a Bible study. I actually met Louis' mother Cebrina, who goes to High Pointe, out at High Pointe in the Park as well. She helped me get their follow-up contact information. From this I was able to set up a study. 

While you have seen me write about doing Story of Redemption studies in seeker small groups, I did not feel that this was the place to start on this study. Jas is obviously shy and from another country. So I just did this study with them around their kitchen table. 

Over the course of the study (which included nearly a two month hiatus during the end of the summer) I learned more of her story. She grew up in a household that had some type of generic God faith. Not Hinduism. Not Christianity. But no idols either. In 4th grade she received a Christian flyer at her school. She said that most people just threw it away, but she kept it and read it. In it, she first read a little bit about Jesus. 

After coming the US, some Jehovah's Witnesses actually came to visit Louis and Jas. Shc did not know the difference between them and Christianity, but her mother-in-law did! The conflict over her mother-in-law's concerns was very difficult for her to understand. Why were they fighting? Still, Jas counted this as one of her "God encounters."

Because of her past, Jas would sometimes experience some "out of control" moments in which she apparently re-lived some of her past. But she said during the course of the study that she was starting to feel more peace. The study was also drawing them closer together. Jas' interest also began to re-energize Louis' faith.

Louis and Jas started worshiping with us a couple of months ago. Also, they came to a cookout at one of our small group parties. We intentionally invite people to these parties that are seeking. She said that everyone there was so nice. She really enjoyed it.

At our last study, part 8 of the Story of Redemption, Jas made the decision to follow Jesus. It was a conscious decision, as previously she had just believed in a generic God. Now she wanted to follow Jesus, who is God. Praise God! Please keep Jas in your prayers.

Here are some steps that were taken in reaching Jas that fit into "missional outreach."

1. Seeking the lost - By going out to the park, we were actively seeking and going to the lost.

2. Serving the community - By inviting Louis and Jas to our small group party, we were helping them fill a need for community in their lives. This was largely missing for them, especially since Jas is from India.

3. Sharing the good news - This was done very intentionally through the Story of Redemption study, through the sermon messages at worship, and hopefully by the "sermon" that they saw from Christians.

 What do you think of Jas' story? Have you seen someone in her type of situation converted before?