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A pastor from Georgia, here to participate in the More Than Gold ministry, hit the streets one night in Park City, the venue for snowboarding and giant slalom, for some pin trading and “as you go” ministry.
One man captured his attention–he was wearing an old More Than Gold pin from the 1996 summer games in Atlanta. Approaching the man, he said, “I see you have a More than Gold pin.”
“Yes,” replied the man, “this pin changed my life. I got it at the summer games, along with a booklet explaining it. I didn’t bother reading it, but I took it and the pin home and stuck them in a drawer.
“Two years ago I cleaned that drawer. I found the pin and read the booklet. Something happened inside me…I got down on my knees and accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. My life was changed.”
The More Than Gold ministry pin was chosen to offer people an item of interest with perceived value in a secular sense. People will save their pins, look at them and think about them–who made them and why. Those on our mission teams don’t have to accept the burden of closing the deal; God, the Holy Spirit, will accomplish that in his time.
Our burden is to go out among the people, to join God in what he’s doing by being faithful stewards and ministers of hope in a hurting world. By engaging people in conversation and offering the right resources we become one cog in the wheel of an individual’s spiritual journey.
