D.J. sat alone as dozens of other children gathered together by age at nearby tables. It turned out that 8-year-old D.J. was the only one in his age group, and Miss Ruby couldn’t stand the picture of isolation he represented.
“He was waiting a little bit for the other kids to come in,” Miss Ruby said. “They didn’t show up.”
Her concern for D.J. quickly shifted with a sudden realization.
“I was kind of happy because that way I could really work with him one-on-one,” she said.
• • •
One-on-one evangelism wasn’t new to Ruby Harris, a member of New Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. Since joining the congregation in 1995, Miss Ruby has been involved in evangelism and discipleship training through a partnership between her church and the Inner City Ministry of Cru® in Bakersfield, California.
Inner City provides training and resources to help urban church and ministry partners across the country reach the most vulnerable and marginalized residents in their communities. Among the resources provided by Inner City are PowerPack® backpacks each fall, Boxes of Love® meals for the holidays, Homeless Care Kits during the winter, and Easter Bags every spring. The intentional inclusion of pre-event evangelism training helps church volunteers become more effective in meeting practical and spiritual needs.
In the 30 years since she began the evangelism training, Miss Ruby has loved going door-to-door, sharing the love of Jesus with her neighbors. In one instance, following the lead of the Holy Spirit, Miss Ruby suggested they visit several communities about eight miles from the church, so her pastor guided the team to those neighborhoods during the next evangelism outreach.
“We had 28 people — I get chills thinking about it — 28 people came to the Lord out of those apartments and several families of those people came in and joined the church over time,” Miss Ruby said.
• • •
The techniques Miss Ruby learned and employed over the years helped prepare her to welcome D.J., who, like all the other boys and girls, had come to New Pilgrim to attend the Easter Bag outreach.
The event was a joint venture with Inner City, which provided simple white bags filled with candy, toys, and a gospel bead bracelet. While the children met in small groups, volunteers also spent time with the parents.
Although Miss Ruby didn’t know D.J., his family had long ties to New Pilgrim. His late great-grandmother, Zona, was a long-time member. Her widower, Charles, knew Jesus, too, but had drifted away from the church over the years. Their daughter, Denise, recently joined New Pilgrim after watching online services. Her son, Dominique — D.J.’s dad — was also a believer.
Through their impromptu conversation, Miss Ruby learned that little D.J. knew the name of Jesus but had never made a personal profession of faith. That prompted Miss Ruby to pull the gospel bracelet out of his new Easter bag. The bracelet features a leather strap with colored beads, each symbolizing a different aspect of the salvation story. She discussed each color and its meaning. Though his family had not been involved in church for a long time, D.J. knew who Jesus was, but not much more.
“We talked about God, and we talked about the kind of problems that people have when they don’t know the Lord,” she said. “I could see that he was so enthusiastic, like he was craving and wanted to learn. He wanted to know more.”
‘I could see that he was so enthusiastic, like he was craving and wanted to learn. He wanted to know more.’
When Miss Ruby finished explaining the gospel bracelet, she led D.J. to receive Christ as his Savior, and together they prayed.
“He was all excited, and so I felt good,” Miss Ruby said. “I just kind of wanted to cry because I’m kind of a crybaby when the Spirit touches me, but I had to be strong for him, for his sake. I kind of rubbed him on the back and said, ‘You know, now you’re one of us, you belong to Jesus.’”
At the end of the session, when the families were reunited, Miss Ruby offered her young student an opportunity to evangelize.
“D.J., would you like to explain to your mom and dad about what these beads mean to you and what you learned?” she asked. “He said, ‘Oh, yes.’ He was all animated, moving his arms around.”
His influence with the gospel beads was notable. His great-grandfather, Charles, who had been contemplating his spiritual standing in recent weeks, decided to rededicate his life to Jesus after listening to D.J.’s presentation. The following day, Easter Sunday, Charles was baptized. D.J. was scheduled to be baptized, too, once he completed spiritual counseling with the pastor.
Miss Ruby said she was moved by how a simple bracelet provided by Inner City could transform lives.
“I just felt so elated,” she said. “I can’t even explain it. It kind of brings tears to my eyes now just thinking about how attentive he was and how he asked questions. If God blesses me to be here next year and we get to do this, I’m gonna have him do a group with me.”
‘It kind of brings tears to my eyes now just thinking about how attentive he was and how he asked questions.’
