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The Impossible Dream?
Reach your entire campus with the gospel? Sound impossible? That's just what Chris Folley thought, then God went to work.

By Andy Stanley

CHRIS FOLLEY HAD A DREAM. He wanted to share the gospel with every student at Dunwoody High before he graduated that next spring. Since I was his youth pastor, he came to me for advice. He wanted to know how he could make his dream a reality. • Chris wasn't what you'd call a popular guy. He wasn't the president of anything. He wasn't on any teams. He didn't date a cheerleader. He wasn't an honor student. He didn't even dress like everybody else. • Chris was a skater. • Now in certain schools around our home town of Atlanta, being a skater would be considered very cool. But not at Dunwoody. At Dunwoody High, skaters got no respect. Bottom line, Chris wasn't going to be asked to speak to the student body in this lifetime. He had no real influence in his school. All he had was a dream.

But Chris wasn't discouraged. He felt this was something God wanted him to do. He felt it was his responsibility to make sure everybody in his school had at least one opportunity to hear a clear gospel presentation before he graduated.

So together we explored every option imaginable. We thought about writing everybody a letter. We discussed doing a phone blitz. I suggested dropping notes in everybody's locker. But none of these ideas seemed right. Chris was starting to feel like there was no way he could make his dream come true. Even so, that didn't keep Chris from sharing his faith with as many students as possible.

One of those students was Mark Hannah.

Unlikely Friendship
When his parents split up, Mark remained in Miami with his mom. Sometime after the divorce Mark's dad moved to Atlanta. When Mark hit his teen years, he got into alcohol and drugs. He was flunking out of school. By the end of his tenth-grade year, his mom had had enough. She packed him up and sent him to Atlanta to live with his dad.

Mark didn't want to leave his friends in Miami. He didn't really want to live with his dad. As far as he was concerned, life couldn't get worse. Just imagine his first day at Dunwoody High School! He came with an attitude. This was not a kid you walked up to and greeted in the halls. Nobody attempted to be Mark's friend. Nobody except Chris.

You see, Chris wasn't put off by Mark. He saw Mark for what he was: an angry, hurt guy in need of a friend and a Savior. So during those first few days of school, Chris went right up to Mark, introduced himself, and showed him around. As it turned out, they both liked some of the same music. In fact, Mark was a drummer and Chris played bass. That weekend, Chris invited Mark to spend the night with him at his parents' house.

As the year went on, Chris figured his dream wouldn't happen. There was no way he was going to be able to share the gospel with the entire student body. The best he could do was talk one-on-one with as many students as possible before the year ended.

That was it. End of dream.

But God had not given up on Chris' dream. He was still quietly at work behind the scenes.

Late one evening, Mark opened up with Chris. He told him about his life in Miami. He shared honestly about how much he'd hated coming to Atlanta. He admitted he was pretty much mad at the world.

When Mark finished talking, Chris told Mark about a heavenly Father who loved him in spite of all he had done. He told him about Christ dying for his sins so he could be forgiven. That night, Mark put his trust in Christ and became a Christian.

Then Chris told him about his church. That next Sunday Mark showed up. He soon became involved in the youth group. It became clear that Mark's life had changed dramatically.

What about the Dream?
The school year came and went. Chris graduated and went to college. Mean while, Mark had one more year at DHS. I asked Mark to be in my discipleship class. We soon became good friends.

Then one Wednesday night, right before our Bible study, Mark ran up to me with a look of panic on his face. "Andy, you won't believe it!" Mark started every sentence that way. "You won't believe it. I have been asked to speak to the whole student body during our Arrive Alive assembly!"

Every year, on the Friday afternoon just before spring break, DHS would put on a campus-wide assembly program dedicated to warning students about the dangers of drinking and driving. Typically, they would invite someone who had a gory tale to tell. The story usually involved a head-on collision, multiple broken bones, and a long hospital stay. Occasionally, the speaker would show a scar or two. The idea was to motivate (or scare) students into being careful while they were on spring break.

Well, Mrs. Dolworth, the principal at DHS, knew Mark had been heavily involved in alcohol and drugs before coming to her school. Furthermore, she was aware that a remarkable change had taken place in his life. She thought it would be a good idea if Mark could tell his story after the assembly's featured speaker.

"Do you think I should tell them the whole story?" he asked me. I smiled. "Mark, when I speak in a public school, they won't even announce where I work. They introduce me as an adolescent counselor. God has given you a unique opportunity. You are a student. You can say anything you want. Yes, I think you ought to tell them your whole story."

I will never forget walking into the DHS gym that Friday afternoon. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it. I couldn't believe how nervous I was for Mark!

The gym was packed. Students, faculty, teachers—they were all there. Mrs. Dolworth introduced the main speaker. He had graduated from DHS several years ago. His story came with lots of blood and guts. The students loved it. But his conclusion was flat. After 30 minutes of car wrecks and life-threatening injuries he said, "So students, hang together. You have each other. Thank you." And he sat down.

Everyone clapped politely. Then Mrs. Dolworth walked to the center of the gymnasium and announced, "This afternoon we have one of our own DHS students who is going to share for just a few minutes about some changes that have taken place in his life. Please welcome Mark Hannah."

The Dream Fulfilled
Mark walked slowly out to center court, took the microphone off the stand and began. "When I first came to Dunwoody High School, I hated everything and everybody."

He talked about his life in Miami. He shared honestly about his intense anger. He delved into his experience with alcohol and drugs. You could have heard a pin drop.

Then Mark got to the point.

"One day a guy named Chris Folley invited me over to his house. That night I told him all about my life. I told him how much I hated everybody. He listened. And then he told me Jesus loved me. He explained how Jesus died on the cross for my sins. He said I could be forgiven. That night I prayed with Chris and my life changed.

"Everything hasn't been easy since then. I still have my struggles. But now I don't have to face them alone. If you have any questions about anything I've said, I would be happy to talk with you afterward. Thank you."

With that, he placed the microphone in its stand and walked back to the bleachers. Meanwhile, the entire student body stood to their feet in wild applause.

As I left the assembly that afternoon, my eyes filled with tears. Chris' dream had come true. God had used him to reach his campus for Christ. Sure, God had done it in his own way and according to his own timing. But he'd done it. He'd done it through a faithful friend named Mark Hannah.

Chris' dream had definitely become a reality.

During Chris and Mark's high school years, Andy Stanley served as youth pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta. He is now the pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta.

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine. Click here for reprint information on Campus Life.
July/August 2000, Vol. 59, No. 1, Page 36

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