Van Richmond
Former Pastor of New Life Church, Nashville
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15 ESV).
Proclaiming the gospel. Some find the prospect frightening. Others find it exhilarating. For Charles Hand, talking about Jesus was as natural as breathing. Cancer gave him just another reason to talk — not about death, but about eternal life.
The physicians at the Veterans Administration hospital in Oklahoma City rotate regularly. They typically spend about two weeks before moving on to other patients, and Charles’ oncologist was nearing the end of his tour of duty with this particular group. As he walked into the hospital room, Charles greeted him quickly and immediately began sharing the gospel with him. The physician listened briefly before replying, “Oh yeah. I was saved as a 6-year-old boy.” Charles inquired, “Really? Tell me about that.”
His doctor said, “Well, I lived in Indiana.” Charles interrupted, “Wow. I used to live in Indiana.” The doctor continued, “Somebody came by my home on Saturday and asked my mother if I could ride the bus to Sunday School. My mother agreed, so the next morning I got up and rode that bus to Sunday School. My Sunday School teacher brought a lesson that morning on how to be saved. At the close of the class, I told my teacher I wanted to do that. I prayed to receive Christ. I was just that little 6-year-old boy.”
He continued, “My Sunday School teacher came out to my house the next week, talked to my mother about what I had done, and talked to my mother about me being baptized. I was baptized at that church just two or three weeks after that.”
Charles asked him, “Where was that?” The doctor answered that it was at First Baptist Church in Hammond, Ind. Still probing, Charles queried, “What year was that?” The physician thoughtfully studied for a moment and said it would have been 1965.
Charles paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and answered, “Well, you would probably be really interested in knowing that in 1965, I started that bus ministry at First Baptist Church in Hammond.”
Mike Hand is Charles’ son, and today he serves as a partnership missions strategist with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. As he proudly shared this very personal story, he observed, “What are the chances of a guy meeting a guy and his salvation going back to a church where this guy was on staff 51 years ago? What are the odds or the chances of a guy that was saved because of a ministry this other guy started 51 years ago, and they both don’t even live in the same community any longer?”
A new life was born. Charles Hand’s investment of time yielded a return that will last forever. God’s perfect will was demonstrated yet again.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
