In the spirit of Matthew 5:16, we're sharing examples of people who live their faith. May they inspire you to let your light shine even brighter.

I served in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as the pastor of St. Paul from 1984–1993. During that time my wife, Anne, and I became friends with Brian and Tracey Graftaas. Our two boys, Drew and John, were the same ages as their boys. I coached baseball and basketball with Brian over the years for our boy's teams. The Graftaas boys came to our Pioneer program, and occasionally the family came to church at Christmas and Easter. I was not able to convince them to take instructions and join the flock at St. Paul, but our friendship continued and we shared our faith with the family. Tracey never had any spiritual upbringing at all and was always hesitant to talk about spiritual matters.

When we moved to Litchfield, Minn., our friendship with the Graftaas family continued, and they would come to visit us. They would always attend worship with us when they visited, and both confessed Jesus as their Savior. Whenever they left, I would encourage them to connect with our church back in Calgary. But that didn't happen.

Then I received the call to start a church in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1998. Brian and Tracey came to visit us several times. Tracey developed breast cancer in 2005 and received treatment for three years. In 2008, Brian and Tracey wanted to visit us again and asked if they could come during Holy Week and Easter. We said, "Sure, but you will be attending many services with us." They knew it was the busy time for a pastor's family but were happy to come. During this visit Tracey told me that she had never been baptized and wanted to be. This was one of the first times that Tracey opened up and talked about spiritual matters. I was surprised to learn that she had never been baptized and told her that I would have been thrilled to do that over the 23 years that I had known her. I encouraged them to take instructions from the pastor at Mountain View in Calgary when they returned home.

This time they did it. Mountain View's pastor met with the Graftaas family at their home. Tracey was baptized on a Sunday in June [2008], and two days later the Lord took her home to heaven. I flew to Calgary to attend the funeral of our dear friend. Our friendship had lasted 23 years before the Holy Spirit opened the doors of Tracey's heart and brought her to faith in Jesus. Now our friendship is an eternal one through faith in Jesus Christ! Brian is a member of Mountain View, and his oldest son is now studying to be a pastor in Canada. Never give up on your unchurched friends!