Jed Ritchie and his Barnabas mentor, Adam Johnson, make it a point to eat together at a local diner at least once per month. Because Jed is in Joy El’s 4.12 Leadership Training Program, he and Adam are required to get together at least monthly for encouragement, accountability and mentoring. Over reubens and BLTs, Jed and Adam talk, pray and dig into God’s Word.
As a high school junior, Jed is prayerfully considering college and post-high school life. This is something he and Adam regularly pray about and discuss. During a recent meeting, Jed was not the only person who benefited from the conversation.
“There was a guy dining behind us,” Jed explains. “When he finished his meal, he walked up to our table and introduced himself.” Jed recounts that the friendly stranger shared something like this:
Gentlemen, I’m so inspired by the conversation you’re having. Please pardon my eavesdropping, but when you mentioned Grand Canyon University, that caught my ear, because I myself attended there. I’m so encouraged that people are still willing to have these Christ-focused conversations in public. Unfortunately, it seems like most people—especially young men—aren’t comfortable talking about things of faith in public places. I’m so thankful to hear you two having an in-depth conversation about God.
The man also asked about the book, The Gospel-Centered Life by Robert Thune and Will Walker, that Adam and Jed were discussing. The book is about how the Christian walk is a lifestyle, which Jed and Adam were demonstrating in the diner that day.
Jed shares the story with appreciation: appreciation for Adam, his mentor of three years; gratitude that their relationship blessed someone in their vicinity that day; and gratefulness that the kind stranger paid for their meal as a gesture of his own thankfulness.
We praise God for how He is working through Barnabas mentoring relationships like Jed and Adam’s.
