Ever since Milagros started a relationship with Jesus, her greatest desire was to serve Him. She wanted others to find the hope and love she found.
It didn’t take long for her to share this message with her family and acquaintances in her local town of Mexico City—and soon she began to wonder how she could reach even more people.
While sharing the Gospel with strangers isn’t always easy, Milagros had an additional challenge—her blindness.
One day at her church, she heard about Search for Jesus, a ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that allows online conversations with people who have spiritual questions or want to learn more about a relationship with Jesus Christ.
“I had been praying that God would show me where He wanted me to serve,” Milagros said. “It was hard for me to approach people on the streets to tell them about the love of Jesus. When I heard about this ministry, I knew this was the answer.”
And although she was initially hesitant about whether she could carry on online conversations because of her visual impairment, she soon found a technological solution.
“We found reader programs for my computer and for my phone that convert any text to audio,” she shared. Thanks to this technology and a dictation system, she can establish chat and email conversations just like any other volunteer.
BGEA’s Internet Evangelism ministry operates in multiple languages, including Spanish, where Milagros serves.
She believes that Search for Jesus (or En Busca de Jesus in Spanish) provides a unique avenue for ministry. “Here you don’t need to go out looking for people to share the message of God’s love,” she said. “In this ministry, people who search the internet find the chance of having an online conversation with a volunteer.”
Many find the outreach’s evangelistic website when they search for answers to questions such as Does God really exist? Is it true that Jesus was resurrected? Or even How can I run away from all my problems?
“Sharing the Gospel here is different because people are already looking for answers,” she said. “You don’t have to convince the person of their need for God, because these are people who are coming on their own. They already have questions, or they already know they need God.”
And the Lord is using this ministry to expand His kingdom.
“God is so interested in the salvation of people. We need to remember that we have been called to present the Gospel to every creature,” said Dan Martin, director of ministry with Search for Jesus.
“When He opens a door to share the Gospel online, we have no idea where that might go. Often, we only see the impact in hindsight through testimonies of transformed lives,” he said.
And God draws people at the right time to interact with the right person.
“I will never forget my first conversation as a volunteer,” Milagros shared. “I was talking to a young man who had emotional problems and often fell into self-pity. After several weeks of talking about the Word of God with him and encouraging him to follow Christ, I shared with him that I am blind. I believe that helped him change his perception of himself. He told me, ‘I would have never imagined it.’
“Seeing him grow in his faith and move forward with his life made me see the purpose of this ministry.”
Like this young man, there are people all over the world who are searching for answers that only God can offer.
“There are people who are in real need and have chosen to seek answers online,” Martin said. “God is providentially using this ministry. It might be a modern parallel to the Biblical story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The Holy Spirit supernaturally connected Philip to a specific person with a spiritual need, at the right time. And all so they could have a conversation about how salvation can be found in Christ.”
