Through the years I have met many interesting people on airplanes.  Everyone has a story and a simple conversation with a stranger can be memorable.  I have tried to pray as I board a flight that God would put me next to the person He wants me to get acquainted with.  Often it has allowed me to minister in some way.

This week God put someone next to me to minister to me.  Across the aisle sat a man, a university professor, headed to a wedding.  He was friendly enough but not really interested in talking about spiritual things.  To my right was an Asian woman, headed to a funeral, and intensely interested in discussing Christ.

They could not have been more different.  Very different backgrounds.  Very different destinations.  Very different people.

Most of my conversation this day would be with the woman seated next to me.  And she would do most of the talking.  You see, God put her on that plane to minister to me.  She was God’s preacher that day and I was her congregation.  No, she was not a preacher in the sense that we imagine.  But she was a Mark 16:15 preacher.  She was consumed with Christ and the gospel.

Rarely do I ever meet someone who asks me about how I came to Christ.  She did.  And she told me the most interesting story of how she came to the Lord Jesus.  My new friend was raised in a strict Buddhist home in Korea.  She knew nothing of Christ and cared nothing about knowing…until she met a true Christian.

One woman full of the love of God made a difference in her life.  One woman who refused to stop inviting her to a Bible study.  One woman who exhibited such peace in the midst of difficulty.  That was God’s way of bringing her to salvation.  The love of Christ broke her heart and led her to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

She explained how she took every idol from her home and how Christ had changed her heart.  As she told the story I sat in awe again of the providence of God and His dealings with an individual.  The longer she spoke the more excited she became.  Her face shone with the beauty of the Lord.  She was the first person saved from both sides of her family.  Now, her husband, her children, her parents, her entire family had come to faith in Christ.

She was on her way to the funeral of her mother in law.  The simple words, “She is with the Lord,” said it all.  God had showed up in this family.  Indeed, this simple woman on her way to a funeral had more joy than the man across the aisle on his way to a wedding.  Only Jesus can do that.

Suddenly she began explaining her burden for the world.  Not just her family.  The whole world!  She spoke of 7 billion people and cultures that must be introduced to Christ.  Finally she said, “I have concluded that the greatest impact I can make in the world is to reach people one at a time.  I can do that.”

Perhaps you see now why I refer to her as a preacher.  She delivered God’s message to me and I will not soon forget it.  Her passion was contagious, her faith alive.

As we neared the end of our conversation she said, “I always pray when I get on a plane that I will have someone to talk to about Jesus.”  Yes, I do that too.  But am I this excited about it?  Is this my passion?

“One at a time.”  That is what I will remember.  One soul at a time.  One witness at a time.  I can do that.  We all can.