When some missionaries took the gospel to Vanino, a town in the far eastern part of Russia, they didn't know what effect their work would have.

A few years later, Gary Anderson, president of Baptist Mid-Missions, visited Vanino. He was met by the vice-mayor, who told him, "We have noticed that when people are associated with your church for a while, it makes a difference. It's as though they are reborn."

Anderson was then asked by the vice-mayor if his church would work with troubled families and directionless young adults in Vanino.

Without knowing it, that city official had correctly described what had happened. People in Vanino had been "reborn"--born again by faith in Jesus, who died for their sins and rose from the grave. Each of them was "a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17).

The question we need to be asking ourselves is whether people notice that we have been reborn. Can anyone tell that there is a positive difference about our lives?

One of the greatest witnesses we can have as Christians is to leave a positive impression on others. The people of Vanino know that something has changed the churchgoers. Is it obvious to others that Someone has changed you?  — Dave Branon