By Gabe Noll, Global Ministry Leader
Over the course of the last semester, Gabby had been attending Salt Company every Thursday night. She even decided to try getting involved with a Connection Group, something that was completely foreign to her. As she heard the gospel clearly taught, she began to recognize that her life needed to change.
For months she tried to do just that, earnestly crying out to God to do something. However, she found herself in a pattern. She would party on the weekends, feel the weight of guilt, go to Salt later in the week, ask God to change her, and…start right back at square one. One night at Salt Company, that pattern came to an end.
As Gabby sat in the audience after a powerful message, a video popped up on screen. The face that met her gaze was a familiar one – it was her friend, Laura; the person who had invited Gabby to Salt Company in the first place, and was also the reason Gabby kept coming. Gabby had watched Laura’s life completely transform, from an intense partier and alcoholic, to sober and free. It was unlike anything Gabby had seen before.
The video continued to play, and Laura shared how God had radically changed her life. However, after the video was seemingly over, the words “Two months later” scrolled across the screen and the video continued. Laura began to tell the story of her 21st birthday. After months of sobriety and being far removed from the party scene, Laura had been pulled back into it and gotten drunk. She talked about how ashamed she felt, as though all of the progress she had made was totally worthless.
Gabby sat in her seat and began to sob. It was her who had invited Laura out to party on her 21st birthday. The reality of that decision and how it had affected Laura began to set in.
The story on screen continued, and Laura talked about how her identity and ultimate hope is in Jesus; she is a work in process and there is no condemnation in Christ. As the screen went black and worship began, Gabby continued to cry, overwhelmed by emotion.
As Salt ended, Gabby found Laura. She told her she wanted her life to change; she wanted things to be different. So Laura walked out of the auditorium with Gabby, sitting down with her and sharing the gospel with her once again. In tears, Laura described the hope, joy, and freedom that are in Christ. She shared with Gabby that she had been praying for her for months, yearning to see Gabby trust God with her life.
Gabby listened. And she responded. Holding Laura’s hand, she prayed out loud to God for the first time, confessing her sin, asking for forgiveness, and requesting that God would be Lord over her life.
In that moment, the two girls who had once been lost in the party scene together now sat praying, celebrating with pure joy their new lives found in Christ. What a beautiful picture of a loving God who pursues!
