If there's one thing Ron McCrary has learned about listening to God and getting involved in His work, it's that he should always be prepared for plan B. And sometimes even plan C.

    For example, when Ron and his family invited their neighbors to their home for a weekly Bible study, they expected to teach couples how to raise godly families. But, according to Ron, God had other plans for the study.

    "People would tell us, 'So and so doesn't live here anymore,' and we would learn it was because of a broken relationship or divorce. So our planned Bible study went from one aimed at couples to one aimed at anyone who wanted to learn what God says in His Word."

    The result: a small but fledgling congregation in Austell, Georgia, known as Christian Family Fellowship Baptist Church.

While most Christians may not be ready to start a church, McCrary models how each of us needs to be willing to adjust as we find ways to share Christ.

"I was hungry to share Christ," McCrary explains. "One thing I've always had to keep in mind is that I have to remain focused, but I also have to be flexible. And knowing that made the adjustment easier."

Ultimately, making the adjustment meant seeing results that McCrary wouldn't have initially imagined. When the Bible study group grew to 25, space in the McCrary home ran out, and it was time for plan C.

"It was becoming evident that God wanted to start a church," recalls Ron, who had been trained by the North American Mission Board's Jerome King to plant churches.

Ron taught others to knock on doors, to be sensitive to the folks who answer but bold with the invitation to attend.

Besides opening their invitation to people of all backgrounds, they learned the value of "going where the unchurched spend their time, not always expecting them to come to us." For example, he began playing basketball with neighborhood kids who also were being targeted by Black Muslim leaders. With his moves on the court, he earned their respect and the right to tell his message.

As his congregation cast a wider and wider net, they began systematically collecting "success stories."

"Two Jehovah's Witnesses accepted Christ. Several Muslims have attended and begun questioning what they've always believed. I'll never forget my first conversation with a young white woman right down the street from me. She had been brought up in the south and knew that many people here go to church, but she never knew why. She had no idea about the significance of Jesus, only His name." He shakes his head in wonder.

"She's not the only one. I've met people within blocks of my house who live in a vacuum without any inkling of the saving grace of the Lord, who have never heard the words of John 3:16. I tell Inell: 'This is our Jerusalem.'"

Plans to purchase the building of a disbanding church fell through. Ron still reels from the disappointment.

"That was really, really hard. I go to the Lord and ask, 'Why?' And just when I'm about as far down as I can get, He sends someone with an encouraging word, and I'm back on my feet again."

--Lisa M. Smith