Randy Chestnut, a church planter from a large city in Ohio, went to the city’s mayor and asked what a group of volunteers could do to “serve the city.” At first, the mayor was hesitant but then asked if they could paint houses. The mayor explained that they had received funds to paint the homes of the elderly and disabled, but the amount was barely enough to cover the paint.

Randy shared that he and his team painted 29 houses and had the opportunity to pray with 25 people who accepted Jesus in just a few months.Randy noted that they expected Jesus to show up when they invested in this initiative.

There were also people who conducted prayer walks in the areas where they served, and sometimes they were able to pray together with people they spoke with.Over a two-year period, the team mobilized nearly 9,000 volunteers in the city, helped to start 15 new churches, and witnessed over 2,500 people decide to become Christians.

This is recounted in the book “To Transform a City: Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole City.” by Eric Swanson och Sam Williams.