The persecutor who became the greatest missionary
Who was Saul of Tarsus before everything?
Before he was Paul, he was Saul. And Saul had an impressive résumé for his day. He introduced himself like this: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today" (Acts 22:3, NIV). Gamaliel was one of the most respected teachers in Jerusalem. Studying with him was like studying at the best school in the country.
Saul was a Pharisee — part of a group that took religious law very seriously. And he was a Roman citizen by birth, something rare and valuable that granted special rights within the empire. Put it all together: intelligent, well educated, extremely religious, and with social standing. He had plenty of reasons to feel superior.
Think of a Pathfinder who knows every verse by heart, earns every Honor, and knows the Manual better than the Director. Great, right? But Saul used all that preparation for the wrong side. He was convinced that the followers of Jesus were a threat — and he decided to fight them with all his strength. The talent was there. What was missing was a heart in the right place.
The persecutor: when zeal turns into violence
The Bible does not hide Saul's past. On the contrary, it shows it plainly. When the Christian Stephen was stoned to death, Saul was there approving. Right after the account of the stoning, the text is direct: "And Saul approved of their killing him" (Acts 8:1, NIV). That day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem began.
And Saul did not stop there. He went house by house arresting Christians, men and women. He even asked for official letters to carry the persecution as far as Damascus, a distant city. He thought he was serving God. He sincerely believed it. That is the most disturbing detail: you can be very religious and very wrong at the same time.
This is a warning for any Club. Zeal without love wounds. When someone defends the truth by humiliating others, something has already gone off track. If in your Club there is that person who corrects friends harshly, or excludes anyone who is different, it is worth talking it over — without violence, with caring firmness. Tools like positive discipline help correct without crushing. Saul is proof that the right energy pointed in the wrong direction does damage.
The road to Damascus: the encounter that changed everything
Saul was on his way to Damascus, "still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Acts 9:1, NIV), when it happened. Suddenly, a light from heaven surrounded him. He fell to the ground. And he heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4, NIV). Frightened, he asked who was speaking. The answer: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (Acts 9:5, NIV).
Notice something powerful. Jesus did not say "why do you persecute my followers?". He said "why do you persecute ME?". To Jesus, attacking Christians was attacking him. Saul got up blind, had to be led by the hand into the city, and spent three days without seeing, without eating or drinking. The man who had arrived with power now depended on others to walk.
Then God sent Ananias, a Christian, to pray for Saul. It was brave: Ananias knew the persecutor's reputation. But he obeyed. And the miracle happened — "something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again" (Acts 9:18, NIV). He was baptized. The full story is in Acts 9:1-19, and it is worth reading as a family. It was there that the persecutor began to become an apostle. If you want to better understand what such a decision means, see also what baptism is.
Read alsoNoah and the ark: faith that builds against the currentThe greatest missionary: three journeys that changed the world
After his conversion, Paul did not sit still. He turned all that energy into mission. The book of Acts records three great missionary journeys he made across the ancient world — crossing what would today be Turkey, Greece, and other regions around the Mediterranean Sea.
In every city, the routine repeated: Paul preached, founded small churches, trained new leaders, and moved on. He faced shipwrecks, imprisonments, floggings, hunger, and betrayals. It was no tourist trip. It was hard, risky work, driven by an enormous conviction that this message needed to reach everyone.
What can we learn from this in the Club? Mission is action, not just feeling. Paul could have stayed home studying. He chose to go. Your Club also has a call to go — whether through a community service project, or simply by inviting a friend. You do not need to cross the sea. Sometimes your "Damascus" is the neighbor's house or the school lunch table. What matters is taking the first step.
Paul's letters: a legacy that crossed the centuries
Paul could not reach every church at once, so he wrote. Around thirteen letters in the New Testament bear his name — from Romans to Philemon. They are texts that teach, correct, encourage, and explain the Christian faith with striking depth. Many were written from prison, which makes the words even stronger.
In these letters are some of the best-known lines in the Bible. It was Paul who wrote the famous chapter on love (1 Corinthians 13) and lines about hope, forgiveness, and courage that people still repeat today, almost two thousand years later. He wrote to ordinary people, with ordinary problems: quarrels in the church, doubts, fear, longing.
This teaches something about influence. Paul multiplied his reach with well-written words. In your Club, a message of encouragement, a note to a discouraged friend, or a shared prayer also plant seeds you may never see grow. Words have power. Paul knew that — and used it well.
Resilience: 'I have fought the good fight'
At the end of his life, imprisoned in Rome, knowing death was near, Paul wrote one of the most beautiful lines in the Bible: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7, NIV). It is not the outburst of a bitter man. It is the calm summing-up of someone who went to the end without giving up.
Paul learned to be steady in any situation. He explained the secret himself: "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances... whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11-13, NIV). Rich or poor, free or imprisoned, he kept his peace. That is not pretending everything is fine. It is having an anchor that does not depend on circumstances.
Every Pathfinder lives through highs and lows: the Honor that will not work out, the campout in the rain, the friend who lets you down, the hard test. Paul's resilience shows that you can get through the hard times without losing faith. The "good fight" is not against people — it is against the urge to give up. And that fight you wage one day at a time.
Martyrdom in Rome and what Paul leaves for you
Paul's life ended in Rome. According to the oldest historical accounts, he was executed during the persecution of Emperor Nero, probably between the years 64 and 67 after Christ. Because he was a Roman citizen, he would have been beheaded — a death considered "more dignified" at the time. He died for the very message he once tried to destroy.
Think of the turnaround his life took. He began by approving a Christian's death. He ended by dying as a Christian. From the other side of the cross to the side of Jesus. If Paul's story proves anything, it is this: no one is too far gone to be transformed. Not the most convinced persecutor. Not the most difficult friend in your Club. Not you, on your worst days.
Here is the invitation. Paul's transformation was not his own merit — it was an encounter. You do not need a light from heaven to begin; sometimes an honest conversation with God is enough. If you want to take that step, start by learning how to pray. Everyone's road to Damascus is different. But the God who waited for Saul is still waiting. And he is very good at transforming stories.