REACHING THE 98%

When the members of our youth group chose The Lost Sheep as the theme of our end-of-season picnic, none of us knew what a beautiful story God was about to unfold. It is worth paying attention to the tiny pieces of the puzzle that may seem insignificant at first, because every little detail reveals something about our Heavenly Father’s loving heart.

This story begins back in 2024.

Our daughter found a Christian sweatshirt online that she absolutely loved. It had three embroidered sheep on the front and the words “He left the 99 to find me” stitched on the sleeve. She wore it happily for a while, but eventually it found its way to the back of her closet.

Then, one day this June, she suddenly felt that the sweatshirt belonged somewhere else. She realised it would be a much greater blessing for H., a young woman who had joined our ministry. After one of our Buda Bible Running Club gatherings, she gave the sweatshirt to her as a gift.

What happened next surprised her. H. was deeply moved. Fighting back tears, she simply said:

“I’ll have to tell you the story behind this.”

So let’s go back once again — to 2024.

That season was one of silence for H. She struggled with doubts, questions, disappointment and rejection. She longed to find a Christian community but couldn’t seem to find one anywhere.

That lonely summer, she escaped into the world she wished existed by writing a beautiful young adult novel set at a Christian summer camp. As she wrote, she dreamed that one day a community like the one in her story would become part of her own life. Many of those pages were written through tears and prayer.

During that same season, a social media advertisement for Christian clothing appeared on her screen. One sweatshirt immediately caught her attention, so she saved a screenshot of it, thinking,

“One day, when I finally have a Christian community where I can wear something like this, I’ll buy it.”

That sweatshirt became a tangible reminder of the future she had longed and prayed for. But somehow, that “one day” never seemed to arrive.

Then, last year, H. took a courageous step. Although we had never met, she contacted us with the manuscript of her novel, asking if we could recommend a publisher. We immediately saw the gift God had placed in her and offered to publish the book ourselves. Along with that, we invited her to join our Time To Talk youth community.

She came on the very first Friday — and never stopped coming. She faithfully joins our Friday gatherings, Sunday Bible studies, worship services and even our Buda Bible Running Club.

That brings us back to June 2026, when she was handed the sweatshirt after one of our runs. Can you guess what happened?

It was the exact same sweatshirt H. had saved as a screenshot two years earlier.

In that moment, our Heavenly Father gently reminded her that He had seen every tear, heard every whispered prayer and never forgotten a single one.

Meanwhile, as our youth group was preparing for this year’s end-of-season picnic, they chose the title: “He left the 99 to find me.” None of us realised that by the day of the event, every piece of God’s beautiful puzzle would come together.

And who was it that shared her testimony at our end-of-season picnic? H.

The very young woman whose prayers God had been answering all along.

But of course, God gave her far more than a sweatshirt. He gave her a loving Christian community and the joyful assurance that the Good Shepherd truly knows His own. He goes after the wandering sheep, carries them home on His shoulders and welcomes them into His flock.

He truly is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the one.

A story from Tamás & Virág, ECMI workers in Budapest, Hungary