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You’ve probably heard of Louie Giglio, the founder of Passion, a ministry that impacts hundreds of thousands of college students each year. You’ve probably heard of his best friend, Pastor Andy Stanley, as well; he leads one of the largest and most influential churches in America. But you’ve probably never heard of Mary Gellerstedt.
But without her, Louie and Andy might not be the men we know today.
At Passion 2013, Louie Giglio and Andy Stanley took delight in introducing the crowd to the youth ministry leader of their childhood, Mary Gellerstedt. The frail, elderly woman stood between the pastors on stage and agreed with Andy’s earlier assessment that they were “always disruptive, always late, always making a party out of everything.”
Even though Passion had been conducting Christian conferences around the world for 16 years at that point, Mary had never been able to attend one of them. Andy and Louie wanted her to finally see – for herself – the fruit of her work. Their brief introduction honored Mary for her unrelenting effort to make an impact on the two of them, in spite of the trouble they sometimes caused. A few humorous anecdotes were shared, but Louie and Andy’s message was crystal clear: they were grateful for what she’d done in their lives.
And as the venerable woman with auburn hair carefully climbed down the steps leading off the stage, 60,000 college students roared with gratitude for a woman who had deeply impacted their lives by deeply impacting the lives of Louie and Andy.
Of course, NOTHING is to be taken away from the work of God’s Holy Spirit. Ultimately, He is the one who gets final credit for the work of these two mighty men of God. But it’s naïve to think that Louie and Andy would be the pastors and world-changers they are today without the love, encouragement, and support of people like Mary Gellerstedt.
You don’t know who you have sitting in your ministry, nor do you know what they will accomplish for the Kingdom of God, so lead faithfully, teach compellingly, and serve sacrificially. Who knows? You may be shaping the next Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, or John Wesley.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Calling
Faithful
Fruit
Gratitude
Holy Spirit
Influence
Leadership
Mentoring
Role Model
Student
Teacher
Teens
Work
Youth Ministry
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
