Play the Long Game

Beloved Kinney,

I know we believe that God is sovereign over the hearts of those with whom we share
the gospel. He could, upon their first hearing of Christ, save them at that moment. But
rarely does he. More often, when a person becomes a Christian, it’s a result of years
and years of seed-planting. So I want to encourage you to be patient with those whom
you share Christ. Play the long game.

Let me share a story to illustrate. A few months after I became the pastor at Kinney (so
this was about 6.5 years ago), an ADT salesman came to our church building to sell us
an alarm system. He and I struck up a friendship. We met often to talk about Christ. He,
at one time, made a profession of faith and wanted to be baptized, but it was evident
true heart change hadn’t taken place.

For years, I labored in prayer over him. “Lord, please save him! Draw him to yourself.” I
prayed that countless times. He ended up moving to Dallas. We tried to stay in touch,
but the distance made it difficult. So I prayed the Lord would bring someone his way to
carry on the evangelism work.

Yesterday, after 6.5 years of talking with him about the gospel and praying for him, he
sent me a text that said, “Do you know the pastor at First Baptist Irving? Blair
Robinson?” For those who don’t remember Blair, he was our Men’s Retreat speaker back in
November. Blair is a wonderful brother and amazing pastor.

Here’s how I responded to my friend,

• “Yes!!!!! Blair is a good friend. How do you know

him?”

• Friend: “Are you serious? I coach his son’s baseball team. And we actually know

a ton of the same people from back in the day playing baseball. He’s a great dude.
Thought you might know him.”

• Me: “Bro!!!!! That’s so awesome! You need to get to know him. Such a good

dude. Go to his church!!”

• Friend: "We’ve actually been talking quite a bit. I’ll probably hit up his church.”

I immediately reached out to Blair and told him I know this guy, and he said, “What?!?!
How on earth do you know him?” I told him the back story and Blair responded, “Bro-
this is overwhelming. He and I have literally just met 6 weeks ago and have been talking
and connecting and know some of the same people. We are even having lunch soon (to
talk gospel, though he doesn’t know that.) Lol.”

Isn’t that amazing? Please pray for my friend. And remember, the Lord really is in
control. His timing is always best. So be patient and play the long game in evangelism.

Love,
Pastor Josh