Substitute guitarrist hears gospel, acccepts Jesus at Date Night event at Northstar Family Church

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Filling a need turned into eternal change for one man at Flowery Branch's Northstar Family Church on Feb. 9. At an annual Valentine's Date Night, the evening plans changed last minute due to unforeseen circumstances.

The events of the day created an increased urgency for evangelism, an invitation, and a salvation that only God could orchestrate, said Lead Pastor Russ Harbin. "Our mission with any event we do is to get people there who don't go to church. They may come to a Date Night but may not walk in on Sunday. But even at a Date Night, they are going to get the gospel."

It all began a few hours before the event. Harbin said there was a gentleman in the church who was going to play his guitar, but a few hours earlier, as they were getting ready to come to the church, tragically, his wife passed away suddenly. "He was supposed to play (the guitar), but obviously he wasn't there. And we had a gentleman who came as a guest and had not been to our church before, and he asked me if he could play the guitar. He said, 'I have a guitar in my car.'"

Harbin told him to speak to his wife, because, "She does all the music." They agreed the man would play some instrumental songs after dinner. Then, after a video series was presented about marriage, Harbin gave an intentional message centered around James 4:14. "None of us are guaranteed tomorrow," said Harbin.

Afterwards, with the news of the unexpected death of a beloved church member fresh on their minds and hearts, Harbin offered an invitation, and the gentleman who had played the guitar accepted Christ. "I don't ever assume everyone is saved. Because of the tragic event of the day, I wanted to make sure that everyone in the room had the chance to meet Jesus because life is brief."

Harbin said a key thing for any event is showing grace and breaking down barriers. "Allowing him to play the guitar and use his gifts showed him that this is a place where everybody is listened to and heard. That's the most important thing and that is what Jesus did. He listened to people. He let them be human, and we let this guy be human."

Harbin believes that sharing the gospel and giving an invitation is a crucial part of every church event, no matter what type of event it is. "I give an invitation every chance I get. I gave a pledge to the Lord years ago when I got saved that I would always give an invitation whenever I could, because someone gave me an invitation."