From Rejection to Redemption: A Father’s Journey to Christ
Brother Jimmy and Tevce, baptizing Tevce’s father
Last Sunday in Veles, North Macedonia, 23 believers from several cities entered the waters of baptism and publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ. Among them was one man whose baptism represented the answer to nearly twenty years of prayer—and the remarkable transformation of a family through the gospel.
23 Baptized in North Macedonia
Our church planting partners in North Macedonia serve among Roma, Turkish, and Macedonian communities, proclaiming the gospel, making disciples, developing leaders, and planting churches.
Last Sunday, their ministry team gathered believers from several cities for a baptism service in Veles, where 23 people publicly confessed their faith in Christ through baptism.
We rejoice when we see God at work in individual lives, families, and communities. But among those 23 baptisms was one story that carries particular significance.
It is the story of Tevce and his father.
Tevce serves on our partner’s church planting team as an evangelist, church planter, and community leader, helping oversee ministry in his part of North Macedonia. He comes from a Muslim background, and his own decision to follow Jesus came with a significant personal cost.
A Decision That Cost Him His Home
In September 2006, Tevce and his wife, Zhenati, made the decision to be baptized as followers of Jesus.
When Tevce’s father learned what they were planning, he came into his son’s room and gave him an ultimatum.
“Son, if you and your wife get baptized, you will have to leave this house.”
Tevce remembers the words hitting him like a bomb.
His father left the room before Tevce could even respond. He and Zhenati sat together in tears, praying and asking God what they should do.
In that moment, they remembered the promise of Hebrews 13:5:
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
They made their decision.
They would remain faithful to Christ.
Tevce and Zhenati were baptized, and later that same day, they left his father’s house.
When the Impossible Takes Years
As Tevce continued reading Scripture, he was deeply affected by the stories of households coming to faith in the book of Acts.
He believed God was able to save his family. But looking at his father—the same man who had rejected him because he chose to follow Jesus—it was difficult to imagine how that could ever happen.
Tevce describes that struggle:
“I believed that God could do anything, but honestly, I wondered if He could change this particular situation.”
Years passed.
Tevce continued following Christ. He became an evangelist, church planter, and leader, sharing the same gospel that had once cost him his place in his father’s home.
And God continued working.
What Tevce could not see was what God was doing in his father’s heart.
From Rejection to Redemption
Nearly twenty years after Tevce was told to leave home because he chose baptism, he stood beside the same father as that father publicly confessed Jesus Christ as Lord.
Then his father entered the waters of baptism himself.
For Tevce, the moment was almost impossible to comprehend.
“The same father who once asked me to leave his house because I had chosen to be baptized publicly confessed Jesus Christ as his Lord. Today, he went into the waters of baptism.”
But the story did not end there.
That day, Tevce had the privilege of joining the pastor in baptizing not only his father, but also his daughter, his brother, and his brother’s wife.
The man who had once lost his home because he chose to follow Jesus was now standing in the baptismal waters watching the gospel move through another generation of his family.
God Is Still Working
There are people we pray for year after year who seem completely closed to the gospel.
There are family members whose resistance appears immovable. There are circumstances in which reconciliation seems impossible. And sometimes years pass without any visible indication that anything is changing.
Tevce’s story reminds us that we rarely know everything God is doing in a person’s heart.
What began in 2006 with rejection, tears, and the loss of a home became, almost twenty years later, a testimony of redemption.
Tevce said it this way:
“What I could not accomplish through my own strength, God accomplished in His perfect time. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for what the Lord has done in my family and in my life. Glory to Jesus for His faithfulness, His grace, and His work in our family.”
Last Sunday, 23 believers entered the waters of baptism in Veles.
Twenty-three lives.
Twenty-three public declarations that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And among them was a father who once rejected his son for following Christ, now standing beside that same son as his brother in Christ.
Pray With Us
Thank God for the 23 believers who were baptized in Veles and publicly declared their faith in Jesus.
Thank God for His work in Tevce’s father and throughout Tevce’s family.
Pray for each person who was baptized to grow deeply rooted in Christ, His Word, and the local church.
Pray for those from Muslim backgrounds who may face rejection, opposition, or significant personal cost because they have chosen to follow Jesus.
Pray for our church planting partners as they continue serving Roma, Turkish, and Macedonian communities throughout North Macedonia.
Pray that God would raise up more evangelists, church planters, pastors, and local leaders who will faithfully carry the gospel into new communities.