Grace at the Roller Derby

I’ve had the desire to become more of a proclaimer of the gospel as well as a person known to be in the presence of the gospel. Over the last five or six years, as a result of investing in my community, I’ve been around quite a few people that are very far away from Jesus.

One of the communities that I’ve become involved with is the Gainesville Roller Rebels, which is our local roller derby team. Within that time frame, I attended a seminar Robby Dawkins gave about proclaiming the gospel and being bold. I was living with this fear of proclaiming, feeling like I would lose the community that I had…even with people I didn’t necessarily know that well.

A Bold Prayer For Patty

But being a proclaimer is rather addictive. When I was at my second roller derby bout, I was with my friend “Jam Burglar” and another team member, “Patty Smithereens.” The team had done great, so I was visiting with Jam and hugged her. I went to give Patty a hug, and she said, “Don’t hug me, I think I might have broken or dislocated my rib.”

I said, “I’m a pastor, and one of my secret desires is to maybe be the chaplain for your team. Can I pray for you?”

Patty said, “Well, do something!”

So, I put my hand on her shoulder and prayed for healing for her rib. I asked her how it was. At first, she said it was the same, but then she took in a breath and realized that it did feel a bit better. I asked if I could pray again, and she said yes.

We prayed again, and almost before I could say, “Amen,” Patty said, “How are you doing that!?”

I was able to simply tell her that Jesus loved her and didn’t want her to have a broken rib. She hurried off to catch her bus…with no pain.

Jacob Larson – Associate Pastor, Vineyard of Gainesville, Gainesville, FL