While doing street ministry in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco last week, two of our students met a woman named Tasha. She stood out right away—there was a kindness in her eyes and a softness in her voice. They approached her with a flower, introduced themselves, and shared that they were in the city to spread the love of Jesus.
As they got to know her, they asked if she had ever had any experiences with Jesus or faith. She said no. So, they offered to tell her a Bible story, and she was immediately interested. One of the girls shared the story from Luke 5, where Jesus meets fishermen who had been out all night and caught nothing. Jesus tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat—and when they do, their nets overflow with fish. They explained how this miracle showed Jesus’ power—that He can bring abundance out of emptiness, and how He’s still doing miracles today in people’s lives. “No one else could do something like that,” they told her. “Jesus really is the Son of God.”
From there, the conversation grew deeper. They shared how Jesus not only performed miracles, but how He lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and rose again to offer us eternal life. When they told her that Jesus died for her sins, Tasha looked up toward the sky and said, “Thank you, Jesus.” It was a quiet but powerful moment.
She began asking how to pray, what sin is, and how she could know Jesus for herself. They explained the story of creation, how sin entered the world, and how God’s love made a way through Jesus. They shared Romans 10:9—“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Tasha said she believed. She said she wanted to be saved.
So right there on the sidewalk, they prayed with her and for her. They showed her how to talk to God, what it means to follow Jesus, and where she could find a Bible—199 Eddy Street. She said she wanted to keep learning and growing. They hugged her, prayed over her, and walked away knowing that God had just changed her life forever.
What made this encounter even more powerful was that the two students sharing the gospel were just 12 and 13 years old. With boldness and love, they shared the story of Jesus—and it changed someone’s eternity.