Emily’s Life Transformed by Jesus

“Can I come along to youth cafe?”

Wait, what? Did she really just ask me that?

I’d been going to the SU lunch club at this high school for over a year, building relationships with teenagers and inviting them along to our youth group after school. Still, nobody ever took me up on the offer, let alone invited themselves.

Sceptical, I responded that of course she was welcome and we’d look forward to seeing her later that day, but in my heart, I doubted if she’d really come. And even if she did, she wouldn’t want to join in with the Jesus stuff. She’d just be coming because we had dinner together.

With very little hope, I thanked Jesus for that interaction and walked home.

4 o’clock came around, and the doorbell rang. There she was. She came? She actually turned up?!

Okay, now what?

At our Thursday club, we cook, share a meal together, and play games; on Tuesdays, we have a Bible study. She had come to the ‘safe’ day. It was just dinner and games, I reminded myself. She doesn’t have to go to Bible study. We don’t want to scare her away with all the Jesus talk right away. But that evening, as we were saying goodbye and reminding the others of our time on Tuesday, Emily chimed in again: “What happens on Tuesday?”

My heart sank. Now I had to invite her to the Jesus stuff. Timidly I said, “On Tuesdays, we open up the Bible and read stories about the life of Jesus. You’re welcome to join us, or not, whichever is fine.”

Immediately she said, “Yeah, I wanna come!”

Again, WHAT?! This 14-year-old who has no faith background is interested in Jesus?

You’re probably reading this and thinking, Wow, this is the world’s worst missionary! Isn’t her job to tell people about Jesus? And you’d probably be right. I felt like it at that moment. Here was someone who was so spiritually open and I was scared. Scared of rejection. Scared that we’d lose the relationship we had with her. Scared we’d put her off with all the Jesus talk. But despite my fear and hesitation, Emily turned up on Tuesday. And so did Jesus.

We didn’t do anything fancy. We simply opened up the Gospels and explored who Jesus was then and still is for us today. That was enough. Jesus is enough. And Emily kept coming. I remember Emily telling us one week that she had been sharing the stories of Jesus with her family. She even got them to sing grace before meals because that’s what we did at the club.

When I had moved to Possilpark—a community in the North of Glasgow—and joined the InnerCHANGE team, I longed for those on the margins of society to be transformed by the good news of Jesus. But after a year of showing up and being present with young people in school, I was struggling to see what God was doing. Nothing seemed to be happening. I had often left the school lunch club disappointed and discouraged. I wasn’t having any groundbreaking conversations or proclaiming the gospel. Was I doing something wrong?

It was then that Jesus reminded me that simply showing up every week, being present with them, remembering their names and listening attentively to their stories, was valuable and significant. I was sharing the gospel through my loving presence. Jesus came proclaiming the gospel both through words and deeds. Both proclaiming and feet washing. Both announcing and feeding. Both telling stories and listening to stories.

I often overlook the deed part and think that the real stuff happens only in sharing the Word. But Jesus reminded me that words and deeds are equally important. Showing up, listening, and loving is slow work. It takes time and often feels insignificant. But God was at work, revealing his love through my simple act of being present.

Emily continued to come to the club, we continued to love her and walk alongside her. Jesus continued to reveal himself to her. And a year later, I had the privilege of baptising Emily.

Emily’s life is being transformed by Jesus and, in God’s kindness, he used me, even with my fear and doubt.

All I did was show up.

What would it look like for you to show up with your neighbours, friends, or colleagues, and share Jesus’ love through both words and deeds?