Written by Eldon Kibbey

The collapse of the tires made Toby’s heart sink as he realized the chuckhole had rendered his car undriveable! He parked it in the curb lane just south of the busy intersection on the northwestside of Indianapolis, and got out to survey the damage. As he pondered what he was going to do, on this cold February afternoon, young Matt walked up and said, “Can I help you?” For the next two hours, Matt changed tires, drove to a tire store, and did whatever he could to get Toby back on the road.

Toby came to Christ in 1953 though the ministry of CBMC, and it has been his passion ever since to “present Jesus Christ as Savior & Lord to business and professional men.” The next week, Toby drove to Burger King, where Matt was the manager, to thank him for his act of kindness. He asked him if he could share Christ with him.

Matt said, “I’m a Muslim!”

Toby was so flustered by that answer that he didn’t even ask Matt if he knew where he was going when he died! He did have the presence of mind, however, to invite him to the upcoming prayer breakfast. Matt came to the breakfast on March 18, 2005, saw a crowd of 250 people, and nearly left. He later shared how fearful he was that morning, because of all the cultural differences that confronted him. He heard the testimony of Chuck Lofton, a local television weathercaster, and checked his card that he wanted to hear more about what the speaker said.

A few weeks later, two CBMCers met Matt when he got off work. They spent two-and-a-half hours sharing testimonies and building relationships. Matt shared that when he was incarcerated, the most disciplined men around him were the Muslims, diligently praying five times a day. He knew that it was lack of discipline that had led him to that facility, so he joined them in order to straighten out that aspect in his life. The two CBMCers told Matt how their lives had been changed when they accepted the fact that Jesus had died for their sins. They shared “Steps to Peace with God” with him, but he was not prepared to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. They parted on good terms and promised to get together again.

Toby and one of the other men each visited Matt over the next few weeks, met his wife, Shiloh, and their new son, Spencer, and continued to pray for their salvation. The restaurant closed, and Matt was moved to a store west of Indianapolis. The men lost touch with him, but continued to pray for him.

Two years later, Toby tracked him down. Matt had another son, and Spencer, now two, had experienced severe health problems. Matt’s Muslim friends had not given him the encouragement he needed, but some Christians had come alongside, and he told Toby that he now believed in Jesus!

Toby and Matt then engaged in a weekly study of Operation Timothy, and Matt is now in the process of refining his testimony. When I met with him recently, he informed me that he had not really made a commitment to Christ until October 2007. Toby had given him some books, tapes, and CDs. When Ray Comfort’s message, “Hell’s Best Kept Secret,” along with OT and one of the books were all telling him that he needed to depend on God instead of doing things his own way, he finally surrendered.

I asked him, “When did you decide that it wasn’t Islam, but Jesus?”

He said, “Oh, I haven’t been active in Islam since 9/11!” He went on to say that he went out to the Mosque shortly after that, found that it was being picketed, feared for his life, and vowed not to return.

But that was in 2001! He didn’t meet up with the CBMC guys until 2005, and was telling them that he was a Muslim!

“Oh, I just used that to fend people off. It worked on the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses! But the CBMC guys were undeterred!”

Eldon Kibbey is the regional director for Indiana. He can be reached at ekibbey@cbmc.com.