On my way home from an evangelism planning meeting, I noticed a van alongside the road. A lady was outside and obviously wasn't sure what to do. It was late, but I knew I must stop to help.

I proceeded about two miles down the road to the next vehicle turnaround, and was soon headed back where the car was parked. When I finally arrived, it soon became obvious that my encounter was not an accident. A mother in her early sixties, Jeane,* and her twenty-year-old daughter, Jenny,* had been to a funeral and were trying to make it back home when a tire went flat.

As I began changing the tire, I said, "I'm a pastor." I explained that we just had a planning session for evangelistic outreach in Mattoon.

"Oh," said Jeane, "Which church do you pastor?"

I responded, "Four to be exact—Mattoon, Stewardson, Noble, and Fairfield.

"I'm a Seventh-day Adventist pastor," I said, as I loosened the lug nuts on the wheel.

Jeane was quiet for a moment, and then she said, "I used to be a Seventh-day Adventist." Hearing her response, I knew for sure God had brought us together.

As Jeane continued her story, Jenny listened intently. "That was 25 years ago," she added. I asked her what had happened.

Jeane said, "I was baptized after coming to some meetings. I went to church for many years, faithfully. I went door to door and told people about Jesus and the Sabbath. I was the Adult Sabbath school teacher, among other things."

"What happened?" I asked again.

Jeane told me how a "new" pastor had come to the church and decided he was going to "clean house." She said people were removed from the church books rather than allowed to grow in grace and experience the redemptive power that comes through Jesus Christ. My heart broke as I listened to her broken heart.

The spare tire was on, and the flat tire had been placed in the trunk with the jack. "It's not by accident that we are here together on the side of this highway," I said. "That's just the way my God is," I told her. "God loves you and your family, and somehow He wants you to know that again," I continued.

As I put my arm around her, Jeane began to tremble from the brokenness inside. I asked her to come back to the church and trust God for the rest. We had already swapped contact information, so I asked if we could have prayer. She agreed.

Later that evening, I thought about Illinois Conference's plan to "Touch Every 1 for Jesus,"** and it occurred to me that there may have been just such a plan years ago that led Jeane into the Seventh-day Adventist family of God. What happened after that, I really don't know. But I know this: Once you have touched someone for Jesus, it's not over. You must love them! (See 1 John 4:11, 12)

Joe Arner is pastor of the Noble District in Illinois.

*Names in this story have been changed.

**Visit www.touchevery1forJesus.org for more information about this initiative.