As followers of Jesus, we are His ambassadors and have the honor of representing Him in our everyday lives to be the light of Christ.  This reality is what initiated our move to New Hampshire in 2022.  Over the years, we have had a few opportunities to share the light of Christ with others. 

One unique time was when Michael met Brad, who had a broken-down car on the highway off-ramp near our house...

At the time, Michael was heading to a meeting that he was “just on time” for.  Initially, Michael decided not to stop, but God prompted him to turn around.  Michael offered Brad our AAA, and then, while they waited, their conversation turned spiritual. Michael began to share the gospel. Brad was so engaged in the conversation that he wasn't even distracted by trucks and cars barely getting around his broken-down car!  That day, Brad entered into a relationship with Jesus and proclaimed that it was a divine appointment that caused his car to break down.  God allowed Michael to help with Brad’s immediate need and lead him to eternal hope in Christ.  It's for people like Brad that we uprooted our life from Lancaster, PA, and linked arms with Reliant. 

The northeast is considered to be in the least reached category in terms of having a gospel presence.  Out of 14.5 million people in New England, less than 4% attend an evangelical church.  New Hampshire is also considered the least religious among the 50 states.  Knowing NH is such a spiritually dark place fuels our vision to be the light of Jesus in this region. The one thing that can penetrate this darkness is Jesus, as it says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” There is hope in the good news of Jesus Christ!  Since we said yes to God, He has opened doors for our family to be light bearers in New Hampshire. 

Reliant helped us grow our support base and manage many of the tiny details that come with navigating the process of moving from “work within a church” to being “sent out” to plant a church.  Our needs became significant as we were planning on moving north into a spiritually dark place.  And yet, the Lord has repeatedly supplied our needs above and beyond what we could ask.  We are amazed at how the Lord impresses individual hearts to reach out and give towards what God has called our family to.  This has been a tremendous encouragement to our hearts.

Because of the many supporters surrounding us, we can do the Lord’s work and share the light of Christ. Brad is just one of the many lives touched by God’s love! We pray that more will experience new life through Christ since launching 316 Church in Mont Vernon, NH.