"Can You Explain Who Jesus Is?" - Los Angeles Mission Trip Story 2025

Yesterday at Serve LA, I (Lauren) overheard a man talking with Kinsley and Layla, and what began as a simple conversation turned into something sacred. He asked, “Can you explain who Jesus is?” Without hesitation, Kinsley stepped into the moment. She started at the very beginning—with Adam and Eve, with sin, and with the weight of separation from God. She shared the truth that we deserve death, but that God sent His Son to take our place, offering us freedom instead of punishment. She walked him through the Romans Road, verse by verse, gently laying out the gospel.

He didn’t choose to follow Jesus that day, but after the conversation, he approached me. He said he grew up in an environment where asking questions or expressing doubt wasn’t safe. Eventually, he stopped asking. He left religion behind. Only recently has he begun to believe there might be a God, though Jesus still felt uncertain to him. I told him how thankful I was for his honesty and encouraged him to read the book of John to see Jesus for himself. Not just a name or idea, but a person worth knowing.

The girls then shared not only who Jesus is in the Bible, but who He is in their daily lives—the friend who brings peace in chaos, the one who gives purpose in confusion. As we left, the man thanked us again. He said people often try to talk about their faith, but it’s rare to find someone who can clearly express what they believe. What amazed him most was that a group of teenagers from South Georgia were the ones who did. He asked us to keep encouraging people like him—people who need a safe space to ask questions, wrestle with doubt, and still be loved.

Before we left, he let us pray for him-in the name of Jesus. My prayer is that Jesus continues to reveal truth to him—that he sees not just the idea of Jesus, but the person. That others will come along and nurture what began today, and that one day, faith will rise from the soil that was tilled by kindness, courage, and the bold voices of two teenage girls who dared to speak the gospel. - written by Lauren Strickland