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John Steward was born a free man in Virginia in 1786. Hoping to find his parents, he traveled west. In Ohio, robbers stripped him of all he had. He began to drink and even considered suicide. But after a while, he regained his senses, and began to pray and read the Bible. God led him to find Native Americans, where he spent time with them preaching, teaching, and establish a church. He was not afraid to cross cultures to serve the Lord. He was like Philip in the Bible. Philip gladly served food to poor widows in the Jerusalem church. He left there to preach to Samaritans in a different culture; later, he led the Ethiopian eunuch to the Lord. His ministry in Samaria was quite successful. We read in Acts chapter 8 that Philip “went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.” Now of course, not every person has the gift of cross-cultural ministry, but every believer can have a caring heart. Some can serve and others can pray and support those who go.
