Faithful Obedience Meets God’s Perfect Timing

When Joel called his college friend Mike, he had no idea how perfectly timed that call would be.

Joel was traveling to Salt Lake City—Mike’s hometown—for work and thought it’d be a good time to reconnect. They hadn’t spoken in years. What Joel didn’t know was that Mike had just completed a 30-day rehab program after years of addiction to drugs and alcohol. “I was completely hopeless,” Mike recalls. “I didn’t know where to go or what to do.”

That simple act of obedience—a phone call to an old friend—became the spark for transformation.

Joel and his wife, Lauren, didn’t turn away from Mike’s pain; they pressed in. At their home church, Fellowship Denver North Metro, they experienced deep gospel community and grew passionate about creating spaces for others to encounter Jesus similarly. Joel and Mike began talking regularly about faith and life. When circumstances later brought Mike to Colorado, Joel invited him to stay with them. What started as a two-week visit became two and a half years of life-changing discipleship.

When Joel first invited Mike to church, Mike was anxious and skeptical. But the people of Fellowship Denver surrounded him with love and patience. They listened to his doubts, welcomed his questions, and walked with him as he wrestled with belief. “Eventually, I arrived at a place where I just believed that Jesus is who he says he is,” Mike says. “That he walked this earth, died, and rose again.”

Today, Mike isn’t just a follower of Jesus—he’s helping others find freedom. He leads a recovery ministry at Fellowship Denver, using his story to shine light into others’ darkness.

This is why Acts 29 exists: to plant churches that make disciples—disciples like Joel, who lived out his faith, and Mike, whose life was forever changed by the gospel. 

As church planter Rich Dugan of Fellowship Denver North Metro puts it, “This is why we plant churches. This is why we’re part of Acts 29. Because we want to see lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we get to be part of it. How good is God to invite us into his mission?”