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Noah Bater, pastor at Prince of Peace, Thousand Oaks, Calif., recently shared on his congregation’s social media how a short conversation and an invitation to learn more led to Ryan’s baptism and further opportunities to share God’s amazing grace.
Last Friday evening on the security camera, I saw a man standing outside our church, so I ran across the parking lot to see if he needed anything. I found out his name was Ryan. He said, “I was driving by and hoping to go inside and pray.”
As we walked in together, I asked him a little bit about himself, and he asked me the same. We chatted for about ten minutes, and then I led him into the chapel so he could pray.
A couple of minutes later, he came out. I gave him a bottle of water and my card. “Call me if you ever need anything; I’d love to chat more and get to know you better,” I said. He thanked me and left.
The next morning, I woke up to a text from him: “Pastor, thank you for letting me in yesterday. I was wondering if you could teach me the Bible.”
“Yes!” I texted him back. “We have a class on Thursday nights where I do exactly that.”
It just so happened that our next class was on Baptism. Ryan came, and the next day he texted me again, sounding a lot like the Ethiopian man in Acts chapter 8: “Pastor, when can I be baptized?!”
A day later, immediately before worship, Ryan was baptized. God be praised! Welcome to the family, brother!
I am not worthy of the joys of being a pastor.
Volume 113, Number 05
Issue: May 2026
Issue: May 2026
