Even from a coffee shop

scooped from lifehacker.com

I'm wanting to become one of those people who "work from a coffee shop."  It seems so cool (lol) and would give me a chance to get out of the office during the day.  The problem is that I'm often distracted when I go to coffee shops and other places by myself. I would want to become "a regular" somewhere so that I could use those relationships to share the Gospel and the love of Christ with people. In college, I would have dinner at one of the buffets once a week by myself just so I could strike up conversations with other people sitting at the bar alone and share my faith with them during our conversations.  God really worked in those times with a guy named Jim.
Jim was a loner.  I'm surprised he even spoke back to me.  That's how I KNEW it was God at work.  Ha-ha-ha. I first met him during one of my "evangelistic dinners."  He was sitting alone at the bar, so I walked over with my plate and sat down, leaving an empty seat between us.

I started with a little innocuous chit-chat and he barely spoke back.  He had an air of "I really don't care about what you're talking about and don't even want to tell you that."  Yet, I kept talking...ha-ha-ha.

I wasn't too annoying I hope.  Just making small talk every now and then between bites.  Occasionally he'd say a word or two.

The next time I saw him, I had on a t-shirt as a part of an evangelistic outreach...hundreds of people on campus had the same shirt...I walked up to Jim and said hello at the bar since he was alone again.  He asked me about the shirt since he'd seen others with him.  I explained and invited him to the event...and he came!!! I saw him walk in...alone...and he sat in the back.  I was really PTLin'!!! YES!!  He heard the Gospel that night and saw a great illustration of it by the speaker's illustrations and a video...Bless GOD!

And so our relationship continued, with me speaking to him in that dining hall, and he (with his usual blank stare) speaking back.

Another time, I invited him to a free food event that a campus ministry I was a part of was having...and wouldn't ya know...Jim came.  And the Lord gave me the blessing of sharing the Gospel with him and about 30 other people that night who'd come to the event.  I am in awe of how the Lord used me to share Him with Jim.

I don't know if Jim ever came to know the Lord...but seeds were planted.

I hope to see him in heaven one day...

"I planted, Apollos water, but God gave the growth." - 1 corinthians 3.6 esv

Check out this post from The Urban Missionary Blog to read the inspiration for this post.