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“Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia” (Romans 16:5).

Yesterday I heard from Jim, who had responded to our message about being in a low place.

I called Jim and we had prayer together. He told me how he and his wife had done ministry together for 57 years. He served as correctional chaplain and later started a ministry called Bridge House, a halfway house program where newly sober men practice sobriety and work toward a successful return to society while being discipled for Christ. It is still going. And Jim is still active in ministry as God enables.

When considering the advancement of the church through the ages we often think of a great apostle like Paul or a well-known leader in church history such as John Wesley or D.L. Moody. Perhaps even some famous preachers of our own time such as Billy Graham or David Jeremiah, who is still preaching.

But the vast majority of spiritual impact is being made by people virtually unknown apart from their own church or community such as Jim and his late wife Beverly. These are the people passing along the faith through personal relationships and one on one involvement in people's live.

Today’s verse is easy to glance over as you read the final chapter of Romans. Paul has moved from great theological truths to practical applications and now a very personal final chapter. This chapter is loaded with references to the people in Paul’s life. He specifically greeted twenty-seven individuals by their proper names. Most all of them are obscure to us and not mentioned anywhere else in the Scriptures.

One, Epenetus, had the incredible distinction of being the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. This is a reference to present day Turkey (Asia Minor) and thus his was the very first conversion during Paul’s first missionary journey. These first converts are mentioned in Acts 13 at Pisidian Antioch.

Paul calls Epenetus a “dear friend”. His name means “praiseworthy.” What a special relationship they must have had. It’s remarkable that they stayed in touch all through the years with no postal service, email or phone capabilities back then! Now Paul is writing to him as one of the believers in the Roman church where he had apparently relocated from Asia.

Epenetus was steadfast in his faith and heeded the early encouragement of Paul and Barnabas who had “urged them to continue in the grace of God” (Acts 13:43). Can you imagine the big smile that creased his face as Epenetus’ heart was touched by the personal greeting Paul wrote to him in the letter read aloud to the other believers gathered on that day!

The text doesn't say what way Epenetus was used by God or the type of ministry he had. But being steadfast is a ministry.

I hope that each of you have long-term, loyal friends as Paul did. I’m certainly glad for those kinds of friends. It’s also heartening when you’ve had a lasting impact on their lives as Paul had with Epenetus, or vice versa.

Today, is there a longtime friend like Epenetus that you’re unlikely to run into on the street, but deserves a personal greeting from you? Take the time and make the effort to do so since, for some, it might be the only bright spot in their day. It will surely bring a big smile to their face, warm their hearts and make a memorable day for them!

Be encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

We appreciate many who are using the internet to provide Bible teaching. Richard Dresselhaus is a retired pastor we met years ago in San Diego, California, though we had read his articles for many years in the Evangel, a weekly magazine we distributed in several churches we served. Each day he posts and sends out an inspirational message we have been blessed by for many years. This one seems especially appropriate as we considered being at a low point in life:

Pastor Dresselhaus posts messages each day to his blog "One For The Road" and you can also sign up to receive them by email here.