A Ride Through the Time Machine.
Ever feel like you’ve gone for a ride on a time machine? Like you’ve been sucked through the laws of spacetime and are now seeing things thirty years later all anew? That was me last weekend at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Teen Quest at the Teen Quest Ranch.
I recently wrote a book titled “I Was Afraid to Die,” telling the story of how Mark Witt had impacted me as a teen, but I had not seen him, nor any member of the Witt family for thirty years.
When I walked in the door and saw him across the room, I wasn’t even sure what to do.
Thirty years is a long time. I’ve changed greatly since seeing him last, as my life has taken dramatic turns in many ways since that day.
He looked the same. And while the dinner was commencing and the crowd was celebrating, I awed in Mark and Debbi’s accomplishment—that by God’s power they had been doing youth ministry for so long. I ate, then listened. The testimonies were moving and inspiring. The big picture began settling in my soul as my mind wandered: Because of them, so many teenagers have been brought to Jesus through the years. They had a vision and didn’t waiver from it. They pursued something with their life. They made an eternal difference.
As I pondered, I was emboldened to chase God’s purpose for my own life.
Although I came to celebrate with Mark and Debbi, their family, and their fifty years of making differences in teenagers’ lives, now I was the one being blessed.
Again.
When the program was over, I hugged Debbi and shook Mark’s hand. I thanked him, saying, “Because of what you did, my life was changed.” With Mark’s help, when I was a fifteen-year-old teenager, I decided to make the greatest choice I’ve ever made.
My faith became my own.
Thank you, Mark and Debbi—and the rest of the Witt family—for your service to God’s kingdom, for answering His calling, and for helping people like me have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
