ABHMS staff member receives ‘gift’ that was 15 years in the making

This past Christmas, American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) Dr. Jeffrey A. Johnson received a surprise “gift” that was 15 years in the making. The national coordinator of  Evangelism & Church Planting received a thank-you email from Everardo Mendoza, for whom he had prayed and counseled in 2005.

Mendoza tracked down Johnson to tell him that he was touched by Johnson’s message at the summer 2005 Biennial Mission Summit in Denver.

“Our Lord used you to speak to me in a very special way as part of my discipleship process,” Mendoza writes in the email to Johnson. “It has been a very long time, but wanted to let you know I remember you in my prayers and thank God for your life. Your message at the Biennial deeply touched my heart. It changed my perspective of what missions is all about and the purpose of the local church.”

If that weren’t enough, Mendoza goes on to thank Johnson for his helpfulness during a Latino Ministries event held in Valley Forge, Pa., in November of that same year. Mendoza, now aged 38, was only 23 at the time of his encounters with Johnson.

“I was going through trials and carrying many unnecessary weights in my heart,” Mendoza writes. “You took the time to listen and prayed with me during one of the breaks. Your counseling is still very fresh in my mind.”

Says Johnson: “It truly is the living Word of God when it speaks to not just that moment in time, but literally a lifetime—or in this instance, at least the better half of such!”