2026 Olney Gospel Push — Part Two: God Had Gone Before Us

Late Saturday afternoon of the Gospel Push began with equipping.

We spent time talking about the gifts of the Spirit, why they matter, and what it looks like to actually expect God to move ahead of us as we go into the harvest. There were a lot of questions and conversations. Then it was time to go.

We split up into teams and headed out into Olney. I had the awesome opportunity to take my two boys with me.

We started doing what we normally do. We drove around looking for places where people might be, but everywhere we went, another missions team was already there.

Praise the Lord!

We headed toward the City Park, but one of the Michigan teams was already there. So we went over toward the walking path.

Nobody was there.

Then something happened...

In my mind, I had a vision of an individual standing against the south wall of Mach 1 gas station.

It was not some overwhelming experience. It was actually just a picture in my mind and a small nudge in my spirit. But after everything we had just talked about that late afternoon, I did not want to ignore it if it truly was from the Lord.

So I told the boys we were going to Mach 1.

When we pulled in, there was a man near that exact wall emptying the trash. We waited for a few minutes until he made his way toward the gas pumps, then we walked over to him.

As we approached him, I noticed he was wearing several pieces of jewelry connected to Norse mythology. It became pretty clear where the conversation might go.

We shared the 15 Second Testimony and Three Circles with him.

He began telling us about his beliefs in many gods and speaking highly of them. During the conversation, he also told us that he had been medically discharged from the military after breaking his leg and that the injury had continued to affect him.

I was led to ask a different question.

I asked him if I could lay my hands on him and pray for his leg because my God wanted to heal him.

That changed the conversation.

He opened up and admitted that, truthfully, he was searching. He was trying to figure out what was actually true and what he should believe.

So I prayed for him.

In the end, he was what we would call a red light. He heard the gospel, but he was not ready to receive it.

But the story was not over.

As we were wrapping up that conversation, a middle-aged woman on a bicycle pulled up.

And she stopped at the exact south wall I had seen before we ever arrived.

I looked at my boys and told them, “We need to go.”

We walked over and shared the 15 Second Testimony and Three Circles with her.

Then she started crying.

There was a long pause before she began telling us what had happened the night before.

We will call her Ashley.

She told us that her life had been spiraling downward and that the previous night she had written a suicide letter to her family, trying to explain everything that was about to unfold.

And now, the very next day, she was standing at that wall.

The very wall I had seen before we ever arrived.

In that moment, the conversation changed completely.

This was no longer about simply moving through a gospel tool. This was about seeing the person standing in front of us.

The Lord gave me compassion for her, and I began speaking life into her. We talked about Jesus. We talked about hope. We talked about coming back to the One she had walked away from long ago.

And Ashley decided to turn back to Jesus.

She will also be starting discipleship.

I was blown away.

Not because of anything I had done.

Not because I had some incredible God moment.

But because just a few moments earlier, we had been talking about the gifts of the Spirit, listening to God, and expecting Him to move before us.

Then a small picture came into my mind.

A wall.

A person.

A simple nudge that could have easily been ignored.

I still have a lot to learn in this area, and I do not want to pretend that every thought or impression we have is automatically from God.

But I also do not want fear of getting it wrong to keep me from obeying when the Spirit may be leading.

That Saturday reminded me that sometimes obedience does not begin with certainty.

Sometimes it begins with a nudge.

And on this particular day, that nudge led us to a woman named Ashley who desperately needed to know that her story was not over.

God had gone before us.

We simply had to follow.