In the fold.

Ethan was the second son of our beloved pastor, a boy who was obsessed with the Idea of making fast money. He was just 18. While his peers were thinking of school and service, Ethan was busy with the so-called Yahoo boys--young men notorious for online scams, fast cars, and an empty chase after status. He became increasingly distant, preferring flashy living over anything spiritual.

This was in sharp contrast to the family he came from. The Nobles' were widely seen as God's own family. Pastor Noble and his wife were pillars of the faith, and their other children followed closely in their footsteps. They were kind, devoted, and deeply rooted in Christian values. Ethan, however, was otherwise.

I still remember a story Pastor Noble once shared during morning devotion. He said that on the night of their wedding, he and his wife knelt down together, laid hands on her belly, and prayed in unity. “Every child that will come from this union,” they declared, “shall be a mighty instrument in God's hands. None will leave the fold.” It was a prayer of faith and dedication, one they carried into every pregnancy.

But when Ethan strayed, it was hard not to wonder if that prayer had failed. His love for money consumed him. He lied to get ahead. He manipulated people, skipped church, mocked spiritual things, and spent nights in clubs rather than in prayer. He was the prodigal among the faithful.

Yet, what we often forget is that prayers, especially prayers said in faith, do not die. Years later, when things began to crash, when his accounts were frozen, when betrayal set in among his gang, when he narrowly escaped arrest, Ethan found himself on the floor of a church, weeping. It wasn’t even our church, but God found him there. That night, he gave his life back to Christ.

The most beautiful part is that after Pastor Noble passed on, it was Ethan—yes, the same stray son, who took over the ministry. Humbled and refined by fire, he led with compassion and wisdom. The same boy who once scorned the fold became the shepherd of it.
Indeed, the seeds planted in prayer had not failed.