Ridgell's Originals

Nathan is a fifth grader who loves God.  And soccer.  And he is why I know the church is going to be growing in the future.

Because Nathan asked Joseph, one of his teammates, to come to church with him.  Lee and Kelli are his parents and they were happy to pick him up.  They also invited Joseph's parents to come to church.  They did.

Lee and Kelli brought Stephen and Monica to church, to class, to their small group.  Because that's who they are.

I met them and asked them if they wanted to get together and tell Jesus stories.  Lee and Kelli hosted all of us at their house every Monday night.  We ate, drank coffee, prayed, and told Jesus stories.  Nathan and Joseph hung out together.  Gabrielle, Nathan's older sister, took care of Mia (Joseph's one year old sister).

We talked about why the world is a hard place and how Jesus came to make the bad things right.  Like he had done in our lives.  We talked about the most important thing to do is to love God.  Then to love others.  We talked about the most important thing to know is that Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead.

We talked about dying with Jesus in baptism to be born again into a new life.  A life that goes forever.  We talked about living in community, sharing and proclaiming the Lord's death in a common meal, and a common life, together.

We planned a baby blessing for little Mia.

And one day it clicked.  So one night we met at the building and Lee baptized Stephen.  Then Stephen baptized his wife Monica.

All because Nathan believed that he ought to tell his friends about Jesus.

And some people worry about the future of the church.  Not me.

Thanks Nathan. I look forward to what God is going to do with you.  And Joseph.  And your sisters.  And your parents.

It will be amazing.  Keep telling the story.