The 5 Thresholds in a real Life Story
The Five Thresholds in Ella's Story: "How the Gospel Became Good News"
We recently published a blog by the title above. It was one of our most read posts. If you haven’t read it yet, you may want to to help you understand the context of this conversation (read Ella’s story here). Ella's powerful testimony is a perfect real-life example of someone crossing all Five Thresholds on their journey to Jesus. We wanted to deep dive to see how the 5 thresholds learnings played out in her story.
1. From Distrust to Trust
Ella's starting point: Deep distrust of Christianity and the Gospel message. She writes: "the message I absorbed from the little I did know felt more like condemnation than invitation... Rather than freedom, it felt like judgement."
What broke the distrust:
Dorothy's radical hospitality: "She invited me to her home weekly for a cup of tea—this was a bizarre concept to me, to invite a stranger into your home."
Creating safe space: Dorothy "created a safe space for me to wrestle with questions, never telling me what I should or shouldn't do, what I should or shouldn't believe."
Christie and Jeff's generosity: "They opened their home, fed me, and Christie wrestled with some questions I had without judgement."
The breakthrough moment: "These people weren't expecting anything of me... Maybe that meant God didn't think I wasn't good enough after all."
2. From Complacent to Curious
Ella's complacency: After her healing from anorexia, she tried "to find fulfillment through the same things my friends did—drinking and partying—the short-lived 'highs' weren't leading me to the wholeness or belonging I desired."
What provoked curiosity:
Witnessing authentic worship: "I can remember seeing people raise their hands in worship, which looked and felt so alien to me. It made me think that surely these people truly believed in the 'good father' they sang about."
Dorothy's obvious relationship with God: "I could clearly see she cherished her relationship with God and I sensed she was close to him. I began wondering how I could experience that intimacy for myself."
Counter-cultural community: The "atmosphere of community around them felt so heavenly to me as a child from a broken home."
3. From Closed to Open to Change
Ella's resistance: She was "extremely put off by... the perceived rules and shame" and had "preconceived ideas that Christians might judge me for the life I had lived."
What opened her heart:
Crisis creating desperation: Her struggle with anorexia made her "look outside of myself, my family and the doctors' advice."
Patient friendship: Dorothy never pressured her but gave space to "wrestle with questions."
Experiencing God's power: Her miraculous recovery from anorexia showed her "God's transformational power."
The shift: "These encounters had also begun to unravel the negative narrative of the Gospel I believed in. Maybe the Gospel wasn't such condemning news after all."
4. From Meandering to Seeking
Ella's active seeking: She moved from passive resistance to active pursuit:
"In the search to find what my soul was longing for, I came back to wondering about the God I had left in my bedroom."
"So against my preconceived ideas... I reluctantly yet hopefully went to a young adult worship evening."
She was actively trying to understand: "Maybe I was just missing some of the story."
The urgency building: "I began wondering how I could experience that intimacy for myself" and "the idea of following God began to feel lighter, even exciting."
5. Entering the Kingdom
Ella's decision point: While not explicitly described as a moment of commitment in this story, we see the transformation complete:
"The Gospel was becoming good news because I was experiencing the love that's meant to come with it."
She moved from seeing the Gospel as condemnation to experiencing it as "an invitation to belong, to be loved and to never face life's hardships alone."
Ella was baptised by key people in her story - Jo, who brought her to meet other Christians, Dorothy, Jeff, Christie and the rest of her microchurch family. Ella is now a leader within her community and a growing disciple of Jesus.
Key Insights from Ella's Journey
Community as evangelism: "Sometimes the most powerful evangelism happens around a dinner table—one brave disciple, one open door, one shared meal at a time."
The organic nature: Ella's journey took time—from her desperate prayer as a teenager, through a year of trying to find fulfilment elsewhere, to gradually discovering authentic Christian community. Each threshold was crossed naturally as trust was built and curiosity grew.
Living faith and proximity became the message: As Ella concludes: "reaching people who come from outside the Christian faith has everything to do with allowing them to see faith lived out in authenticity, generosity and genuine love."
This story beautifully illustrates how the Five Thresholds aren't a formula to manipulate, but a framework to understand the natural, organic way God draws people to Himself through the love and authenticity of His people.
What's Next for You?
As you reflect on Ella's journey and the brave disciples who helped her cross each threshold, consider this: How might Jesus be calling you to create these kingdom spaces where you live, work, and play?
Maybe you're meant to be someone's Dorothy—opening your home for weekly tea and creating safe space for questions. Perhaps you're called to be like Christie and Jeff—hosting barbecues where broken people can experience heavenly community around your table. Or maybe God is asking you to be the person who simply shows up authentically in worship, demonstrating what it looks like to truly believe in the "good father."
Look around your neighbourhood, workplace, gym, or social circles. Who is the "Ella" in your life right now? Who is struggling, seeking, or secretly wondering if there's more to this God than what they've heard? They may not be dealing with anorexia, but they're dealing with something that's brought them to the end of their own strength.
The kingdom of God advances one brave disciple, one open door, one shared meal at a time. Ella's story shows us that the most powerful evangelism doesn't happen in programs or presentations—it happens when we courageously live out our faith with authenticity, generosity, and genuine love.
Your next step isn't complicated: Where is God calling you to be brave? How can you create kingdom space in your everyday life? Someone’s story is waiting for you to show up.
Link to Ella’s blog:
