Chris Winford started last year with a prayer that the Lord would make him a man of deeper faith.
“Little did I know I was about to become a living example,” the pastor at First Baptist Church in Brunswick said.
A grim cancer diagnosis caused Winford to trust in the Lord more than ever before.
His is an encouraging story of faith and courage amid uncertainty and of a gracious God who provided a happy ending. It all began just over a year ago, in January 2022, when Winford asked the Lord to give him a word for the year.
“The word He gave me was faith,” Winford said. “And so, in January 2022, I preached a sermon on faith. I told our church, ‘God can turn our impossibles into Him-possibles.’ That became our church’s slogan for the year.”
Growth
Three months later, Winford was diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer. That was followed by months of radiation and chemotherapy that wreaked havoc on his body.
“People were praying for me not only in our church but all over the state of Georgia, all over the nation, all over the world,” he said. “It turned into an international prayer time. I literally felt as if I was being carried by the prayers of the people.”
It was a time of exponential spiritual growth. Winford, his wife, Angela, and his children, Abigail, 16, and Avery, 14, could do nothing other than trust God.
Angela said she saw incredible strength and endurance in her husband.
“That strength came from his faith, from his relationship with the Lord,” she said. “And that strength filtered out to everyone who was following our journey. It strengthened their faith watching him lean into the Lord. It was a hard journey. This was not a cake walk. In those deep dark days, he would look to the Lord to get him through the next moment, the next hour, the next day.”
Geoff Cannon, a deacon at the church and a local football coach, was among those who watched and prayed.
“I certainly saw a fighter, someone who received the bad news and came out swinging,” Cannon said. “He was certainly courageous, certainly faithful, and certainly resilient.”
Support
The people of First Baptist pulled even closer to Winford and his family amidst the uncertainty of the diagnosis. They showed their love and support in so many ways, including in the printing of T-shirts for a fundraiser to help with his medical bills. That T-shirt said “TEAM CHRIS” on the front. On the back it said, “In this church family, no one fights alone.”
Cannon said Winford, a leader among Georgia Baptists who serves on the state mission board’s administration committee, was also a great example to his church of how a Christian should face adversity, praying and trusting God while realizing that the outcome could go a number of different ways.
“Your mortality becomes a reality,” Winford said. “In a moment, your life changes. You realize your mortality, but you also realize there’s something after this mortal world. Obviously, as believers, we have the hope of Heaven, but my perspective on Heaven drastically changed.”
What Winford came away with was a much deeper appreciation for the place that God has prepared for those who love Him.
“The idea of having a perfect body that is not affected by disease is appealing,” he said. “The thought of a place where there is no more pain and no more tears brings me an appreciation for Heaven that I’ve never had. The year 2022 was filled with pain, was filled with tears, was filled with the realization that my body was broken. But hope in Jesus tells us these things are temporary, and that I can look forward to a whole body, a glorious body.”
Some nine months later, on Dec. 22, 2022, Winford received a glowing report from his doctor: “Your blood levels are normal. Your CT scan is clear. Your MRI is clear. Other tests are clear. The tumor is gone.”
Those words touched off a celebration in the Winford home, in First Baptist Brunswick, across Georgia and around the world.
Empathy
The ordeal, Winford said, has made him a more empathetic pastor.
“Now, when someone is dealing with cancer, I can say to them, ‘I know what it’s like,’” he said. “I know the thoughts that are going through their minds. Your mind is just spinning. You’re numb. And you need someone to come alongside you.”
Words, Winford said, aren’t necessary, but presence is crucial.
“You don’t have to talk,” he said. “Just to know someone is near, that’s a great comfort.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Roger Alford and originally published by the Christian Index.
