Yeah, my dad could have killed you with his sunglasses, his camera case, his belt buckle, his bare hands or his good looks. Your choice.
I grew up with very loving, supportive parents. I always knew how fortunate I was to have them (except for a couple years in my mid teens when I hated everyone in the world). My dad and I have always been close, and I have fond memories from my childhood of us playing Frisbee, boxing, watching a ton of movies together, and having long talks about love and life. And though I had many great friends when I married Jen, I asked my Dad to be my best man in our wedding. What I didn’t have in my childhood home was the gospel. In fact I didn’t even sit through a worship service until my teens when new friends began to tell me about Jesus.
Mid 1980's. This is one of those images burned into my memory. Dad driving us everywhere.
After my conversion I was the one telling my family about the gospel – and even when I lacked tact they patiently listened. For years my friends and I prayed for the conversion of my family. In 2000 (after seminary) Jen and I returned to Chicagoland to plant a church. My mom and dad came to every service. At first it was to see and be a part of something their son was doing. They soon found themselves wanting to be connected to this thing, this community. My sister was the first to trust Jesus around 2000. My mom was converted in 2002. My Dad was always more distant. He was always interested in talking about all things biblical, but when we moved to where he stood with God things shut down.
My Dad, a very private man, came to love and be loved by the church. In fact, many assumed he was a Christian because of his regular attendance and gracious spirit. But if anyone would ask, he’d explain that he is not a believer. Until earlier this year. As our conversations about the gospel continued he became more open, and I could see my father being drawn to Christ. Turns out what was holding him back was the gravity of his own sin. He knew he couldn’t measure up and saw his own unworthiness. This year my dad finally saw and embraced the good news that Christ’s death atones for and conquers all sin. He is repentant and believing and being transformed by the grace of God.
Since his conversion he has been reading incessantly. In the past month he has read Keller’s, The Prodigal God
So, my dad is a Christian. I’ve prayed for hs salvation for 19 years and am now focused on helping him to grow in grace. I just hope I can keep up with him!
I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship; husband to Jen; Dad to Katherine, Elias, Madeline, and Kilian. If you're in town you can probably find me in the local coffee house or running through the neighborhoods.
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Joe, what a gift of God’s grace. Soli Deo Gloria!
What a fantastic story, Joe. Thanks for sharing it.
Welcome to the family Mr. Thorn.
Glory to God! (And congratulations!) Very encouraging story, as I’m also praying for a lost family member – and while it feels like it’s been forever, it hasn’t been 19 years!
Wow Joe. That’s incredible and hope-giving; thank you for sharing. My stepdad has been attending my church since I began preaching the year before being installed as a pastor. He is very closed about where he stands before God, and I continue to pray for him.
Awesome comment with great pictures!
A wonderful story of our faithful God, using a faithful son and a praying family. Praise be to God.
Wow! Best thing I’ve heard all day. Thanks Joe.
Amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
I love conversion testimonies. Each one is gracious and unique. Good to see your father is growing as well.
What a wonderful story. Amen. Thanks for sharing.
That’s an awesome post! Thanks for this site and all your encouragement.
Joe,
That’s awesome, man.
Just awesome!
Mark
Joe! So cool and such a great encouragement to me, as I’ve been praying for my own dad for quite some time! Thanks for sharing!
Praise the Lord!
What an encouragement to pray!
the grace of our God is beyond comprehension.
i am doing a study with the church in Ephesians at the moment and i am struck by Paul’s greeting….
“grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”
In fact i repeat a lot of these verses in chapter one as I run! – I think you stuck up the post about learning Ephesians in a year!
What an encouragement they are…I really need God’s grace and peace!
Such a great story, Joe. It’s been a pleasure praying with you for him, seeing God at work in the last several months, and now to celebrate what God has done. A very exciting day, indeed.
Fabulous post, Joe. Brought a tear to my eye. & made my day. Your Dad looks like Steve McQueen in those first two shots.
God is good.
That’s awesome, Joe. Thanks for sharing this encouraging story!
Congratulations.. I got teary eyed reading that… I hope to get my dad there someday, but I just don’t know if it will happen.
Fantastic! A good lesson to us all to never give up.
Thanks for sharing this story of your dad’s conversion Joe. It is extremely encouraging to me personally since I find myself in a very similar situation (pre-conversion). My dad grew up in the church but rebelled in many forms. He made it back to the church several years ago when I first went to college but it didn’t last long. He was turned off by a money grubbing pastor who emphasized tithing as much as Jesus in the Scriptures. It left a bad impression on him and built up many walls against the church and even God. I don’t believe he has ever given his life to Jesus or professed him as Lord and Savior. So I try to take the opportunities when they are available and pray for him constantly. Stories like yours remind me to never give up on him…sometimes it’s a year and other times it is 19. Our call is to be faithful. Thanks for sharing.
Great news and I really like the way you told the story.
Joe,
I can’t imagine the joy you share with your father in the sovereign and triumphant work of grace in his life as well as the answered prayer that has sustained you for nearly two decades. I’m grateful that you have allowed us to share in that joy with your family and look forward to what God has in store for you and your father in the years ahead. May the next chapter written in your lives be sweetened by the Gospel and savoring to a lost world of broken relationships damaged by sin.
That is awesome! Thank you for sharing the story.
Praise God, Joe. Still praying for the day that Christ pulls my old man to him. Your story provides some reassurance – especially the 19 years part.
That is absolutely wonderful!
Great testimony on the grace of God.
What a wonderful story that I can relate to. I, like you, grew up in the same situation and came to Christ before anyone else in my family. Now both my parents and my brother are born again and my brother has gone into the ministry. Praise the Lord for his grace! Thanks for posting this and adding a smile to my day.
Thats wonderful Joe!
Hallelujah !
Praise the very real, objectively true Holy Spirit and His palpable work. I am thankful for stories of patiently abiding and forbearing in prayer for your family, and to know that the change on the outside came after 19 years.
…and what a power-packed reading list!
shoot.
This is a great story. Don’t give up on anyone – keep praying.
Joe, thank you for sharing this wonderful story! I have been praying for my own parents for 24 years, that God would open their eyes, and ears, and hearts to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Would you please say a prayer for them? George and Nancy? Thank you! May God give you grace and peace today!
Thank you for posting this! This gives me hope for the conversion of my family!
Wow this is definitely an encouragement for me! I’m the only Christian in my family and I’ve been praying for their salvation and I’ve been witnessing to them, as for my dad he’s completely hostile to the gospel, but I will continue to pray and witness
God bless and thank you for sharing this!
Praise God! This brought tears to my eyes Joe – thanks for sharing it and for being so persistent with your evangelism towards your Dad. I remember feeling just as Jim did prior to my conversion — that I had led such a wicked life that there was no way that God would want me into his Kingdom. I’m thankful for His mercy and grace and that there were people in my life who were just like you were to your Dad and that they kept demonstrating and talking about Christ despite my unbelief. I haven’t prayed for Jim for awhile now due to the circumstances, but will renew my prayers on his behalf — praying that his thirst for the spiritual will continue and that he will become a might warrior for the King!
Obviously a great post and a joy to my and Michelle’s heart to know of your and Michelle’s dad becoming a Christian.
It may have been frustrating at times, praying and waiting for 19 years. butt in many ways it now has to be greater joy to know of God’s faithfulness over 19 years rather then a simple 19 seconds after that first prayer. Knowing how much did God grow you over the 19 years tp put you in position to help him grow in grace shows God’s timing is the best.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I think my eyes got a little bit misty while reading it. My dad is not a believer. I have been praying for him for over 20 years. This past Thanksgiving we were there and we visited a church plant in my home town and he went with us. He moved into town and about the same time, the church relocated in town too! (How cool is God?!?) and we visited again with him and he’s been going pretty regularly since then. So I pray that some day I can write a similar post about my dad. Thanks for sharing. It’s very encouraging to me personally.
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