We are SAVED to SERVE
Remember, you have been saved in order to serve, and you are on the earth for the sole purpose of making God’s love known to others.
Andrew Murray
This concept challenges believers to move beyond self-centered spirituality and to actively engage in meeting the needs of others, both within the church and in the broader world. It’s a call to live out the implications of salvation in practical, tangible ways that benefit others and glorifies God.
DENYS’S STORY
Despite Denys still being a young man, he is very involved in the life of the church, and most importantly, he is a mentor for younger boys in the community. Thanks to his example many are coming to church and changing their lives.
Unfortunately, Denys’ life has not been easy. When he was a child, his father died of alcoholism. This did not deter his mother who continues to abuse alcohol to this day. Soon after her husband’s death, she found a new boyfriend with whom she lives a promiscuous lifestyle. She is clearly incapable of caring for and loving her son Denys as a mother should.
Denys grew up in a challenging environment filled with drunken parties and often lacked basic necessities, including food, which led to him becoming withdrawn, uninterested in school, and difficult to connect with. As a result, he became a target for ridicule among his peers both at school and in his neighborhood.
However, this story takes a remarkable turn, illustrating the transformative power of faith. Through trust in God, Denys experienced a profound change in his life. In a striking reversal, those who once mocked him have now become his followers, looking to him as an example to emulate.
It all started with Denys’ uncle, his father’s brother. Despite having four children of his own, he began to care for Denys as his own son. The uncle and aunt were believers and members of a local church. They often took Denys to their home, fed him, bought him the things he needed, but most importantly, they brought him to church.
His uncle and aunt saved money so that their oldest son and Denys could go to a Christian camp. All this yielded abundant fruit: Denys decided to follow Christ and was baptized. Now he actively serves the Lord and preaches at teenagers’ meetings.
He not only preaches, but also serves children who live in the same conditions as he once did. Not far from his home, is another family with two young sons, with one of them in HART’s Child Sponsor Program. The father of this family is also an alcoholic.
Denys’s dedication has borne fruit in the lives of these two young boys who are now active members of the local church community. Through persistent effort, Denys successfully encouraged their regular attendance at church services and Sunday school. He took a holistic approach to their development, not only sharing his faith and bringing them to church but also motivating them to be diligent in their school studies.
This narrative beautifully illustrates the ripple effect of compassion and service. Denys, once a recipient of care and support, now pays it forward by extending the same love and guidance to others. The most powerful aspect of this story lies in its demonstration of how those who have been served often go on to serve others, creating a cycle of positive impact that extends far beyond the initial act of kindness.
Denys has inspired the brothers to testify about Christ to their parents. Now they are the light in their families. After one of the church meetings, the older brother, shared the following short story: “I was teaching my dad to pray and telling him about God, because he said that he had been taught since childhood that God does not exist.
Therefore, I began to tell him everything I knew about God to assure him that He does exist. Then I offered to pray with him, but he said he didn’t know how. So I explained to him what to say and how to pray. My father prayed and asked God for forgiveness and said he believed in Him.”
The boy’s father, known for his strictness and physical aggression towards his wife and children, makes the young boy’s courage and desire for his parents to love God truly remarkable and admirable. Now, the parents attend worship services almost regularly, having first come to church at the invitation of their children rather than a pastor or local Christian adult. This demonstrates how God can work through the hearts of young people to bring about transformation in entire families.
Dear HART community, stories like this are made possible by YOUR support.
Thank you for everything you do for Ukrainian children.
HART Team in Ukraine
