LCMS World Mission Blog

Winchell MacNeill, of St. Louis, Mo., turned a wrong number situation into a faith-sharing opportunity as he shared Jesus with an atheist woman on the other end of the line. He writes, “I called a New York telephone number that was supposed to be for an LCMS pastor I was trying to reach. The lady who answered it said it was a wrong number and laughed. ‘We’re pretty much atheists,’ she said. ‘There are no pastors here.’ I laughed too and apologized for bothering her and hung up.

“As I thought about it more throughout the rest of the morning, it really bothered me that I hadn’t responded to her comment. I was ashamed that I had been so quick to pass up a wide open door to speak with her about my faith. The Holy Spirit kept tugging on my heart to call the lady again and to follow up on her comment, and to share with her the faith and hope I have in Jesus Christ. My heart was pounding as I dialed the number again. She answered, and I identified myself as the person who called before, only this time it wasn’t a wrong number, that I was calling her on purpose. I told her that I remembered her comment about being an atheist, and that I just wanted to tell her briefly about the hope and joy I feel at knowing my eternity is secure.

“I can’t claim that any wonderful rush of faith flew into that lady from my comments. She was certainly civil to me and said that she appreciated my call, but talked of the rejection she had felt from the church at some point earlier in her life when her brother died suddenly. I told her that I could relate to her feelings, but that I hoped she would not close her heart to Christ. I could hear kids in the background and knew it was time for her to go, but I closed by telling her that I would pray for her, for her family, and that she would find peace and hope in her life.”

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