God bless my evangelism partner Ron. He is moving out with the LORD. He and I went street evangelizing tonight at the Comcast Arena, where they were having motorcycle racing on the ice rink. There were lots of people going in... maybe not as many as I expected, but it was a pretty good sized crowd. We handed out about four hundred tracts total, between the two of us. The Round TUIT and the Billion Dollar bills went well. We had several opportunities to speak with people. One teenager who was smoking was especially open, and believed. He said he still had questions though, so I told him go ahead and ask. He said, what about evolution. The simple answer I gave that seemed to satisfy was that evolution in no way discredits the Bible, evolution is just about variation. Then he said, what about UFOs and Aliens. I said, I believe there is a whole supernatural realm out there, with angels and demons, that pose as UFOs and Aliens. Again, he seemed satisfied.
Ron got a couple of great opportunities to share the whole gospel. He was stoked.
Praise the LORD! It was an honor to share and hand out tracts tonight. All Glory Goes To God.
God bless...
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Flying Under The Radar - Black Friday Evangelizing
This day started really, really early; I got up at 1:15am to be precise. I dressed warmly and grabbed my tract-pack and went pickup Ron, my evangelism partner.
We went to the Kohls in Snohomish, but by the time we pulled into the parking lot, it was pouring down rain and there were less than thirty people in line. We waited for a few minutes, but we became discouraged and left. I was ready to give up and took Ron home, but by the time we got to his house, the rain had stopped and we had second thoughts about giving up. So we drove to the Target and Best Buy stores in Arlington.
Since Target opened at 4am and Best Buy opened at 5am, we started with Target, at the end of the line (which was all the way across the front of the building).
We handed out tracts and had several good conversations with both Christians and nominal Christians. When we got to the front of the line, the security guard asked us what we were doing, and we told him we were handing out Gospel tracts. He said they didn't allow solicitation and we'd have to leave. I told him that we weren't soliciting, but that we had already handed everyone in the line a tract, and we left.
We went over to Best Buy and handed out another couple hundred tracts and several nice conversations; as well as seeing several people from each of our churches. All the while, Best Buy employees were buzzing around us, never did the tell us to leave.
All in all, this was a very encouraging morning.
God bless...
We went to the Kohls in Snohomish, but by the time we pulled into the parking lot, it was pouring down rain and there were less than thirty people in line. We waited for a few minutes, but we became discouraged and left. I was ready to give up and took Ron home, but by the time we got to his house, the rain had stopped and we had second thoughts about giving up. So we drove to the Target and Best Buy stores in Arlington.
Since Target opened at 4am and Best Buy opened at 5am, we started with Target, at the end of the line (which was all the way across the front of the building).
We handed out tracts and had several good conversations with both Christians and nominal Christians. When we got to the front of the line, the security guard asked us what we were doing, and we told him we were handing out Gospel tracts. He said they didn't allow solicitation and we'd have to leave. I told him that we weren't soliciting, but that we had already handed everyone in the line a tract, and we left.
We went over to Best Buy and handed out another couple hundred tracts and several nice conversations; as well as seeing several people from each of our churches. All the while, Best Buy employees were buzzing around us, never did the tell us to leave.
All in all, this was a very encouraging morning.
God bless...
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Seattle Harvest At The Key Arena
Cold, dreary and wet outside, with the light of the glorious Gospel shining inside the Key Arena; Last night, the Seattle Harvest was a blast.
We checked in, and they assigned me a position to occupy on the floor, when the 'altar call' was given. And they gave me a Bible.
The Music was outstanding with the Katinas, Crystal Lewis and Jeremy Camp.
Coach Lorenzo Romar gave a great testimony that fit right in with Greg Laurie's testimony.
Finally, when the call was given for people to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ, the floor of the arena was full, to the edges.
When it was time for me (as a decision follow-up worker) to speak with someone and encourage them in their new walk with Jesus, I couldn't find anyone to talk to. Either they were already a Christian or they were already paired up with another follow-up worker. So I started to wander around the floor, looking for someone to talk to and a follow-up supervisor came up and asked for my Bible to give to someone else. So here I am, without a Bible, still looking for someone to talk to. I began to become discouraged, and thought, 'well, I guess I'll just head for the exit... I'm done'.
Right as I got to the edge of the floor, I saw a follow-up supervisor with three Asian young people and he motioned for me to come over. So I got to welcome these young people into the God's family. We started with introductions, so I met Jessica, Ivan and Ida. I found out that they do attend church, so this was not their first time to make a commitment to Christ, but I was glad for them all the same. I told them that the Bible says that the angels in heaven were having a party tonight, rejoicing at their profession of faith in Jesus. I encouraged them to read their Bibles and pray every day, and they would "grow, grow, grow" and the children's song says. Then I encouraged them to get really connected at the church they attend.
Then, as I went to pray with them, I felt led to get down on one knee, because Jessica was kind of short of stature, and I didn't want them to feel like I was hovering over them. As I began to kneel, they did too. I was probably wrong, but I told them "oh no, you don't have to get down like this." It was a real privilege to to pray with them and for them.
Looking forward to tonight and tomorrow night, being down at the Key arena and witnessing God's incredible work at the Seattle Harvest.
God bless...
We checked in, and they assigned me a position to occupy on the floor, when the 'altar call' was given. And they gave me a Bible.
The Music was outstanding with the Katinas, Crystal Lewis and Jeremy Camp.
Coach Lorenzo Romar gave a great testimony that fit right in with Greg Laurie's testimony.
Finally, when the call was given for people to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ, the floor of the arena was full, to the edges.
When it was time for me (as a decision follow-up worker) to speak with someone and encourage them in their new walk with Jesus, I couldn't find anyone to talk to. Either they were already a Christian or they were already paired up with another follow-up worker. So I started to wander around the floor, looking for someone to talk to and a follow-up supervisor came up and asked for my Bible to give to someone else. So here I am, without a Bible, still looking for someone to talk to. I began to become discouraged, and thought, 'well, I guess I'll just head for the exit... I'm done'.
Right as I got to the edge of the floor, I saw a follow-up supervisor with three Asian young people and he motioned for me to come over. So I got to welcome these young people into the God's family. We started with introductions, so I met Jessica, Ivan and Ida. I found out that they do attend church, so this was not their first time to make a commitment to Christ, but I was glad for them all the same. I told them that the Bible says that the angels in heaven were having a party tonight, rejoicing at their profession of faith in Jesus. I encouraged them to read their Bibles and pray every day, and they would "grow, grow, grow" and the children's song says. Then I encouraged them to get really connected at the church they attend.
Then, as I went to pray with them, I felt led to get down on one knee, because Jessica was kind of short of stature, and I didn't want them to feel like I was hovering over them. As I began to kneel, they did too. I was probably wrong, but I told them "oh no, you don't have to get down like this." It was a real privilege to to pray with them and for them.
Looking forward to tonight and tomorrow night, being down at the Key arena and witnessing God's incredible work at the Seattle Harvest.
God bless...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sharing With a Telemarketer
We got several phone calls the other evening, from political 'telemarketers'.
The last call was from a gal asking me to take a political survey. It went quite a few minutes and after I finished answering all her questions, she said thank you and was about to hang up and I said, "May I ask you a question?".
She said sure, so asked her if she had a Christian background and she said she was Catholic. I was so pleased, now I'm talking with someone with a foundation that I could build on, so I went ahead and used the Ten Commandments to show her that she was a sinner, although, she wasn't admitting much in the way of sin. I'll let God deal with her conscience.
I was a little surprised, but she allowed me to share the Gospel with her. A couple times I thought she was going to hang up on me. Praise God!
God bless...
The last call was from a gal asking me to take a political survey. It went quite a few minutes and after I finished answering all her questions, she said thank you and was about to hang up and I said, "May I ask you a question?".
She said sure, so asked her if she had a Christian background and she said she was Catholic. I was so pleased, now I'm talking with someone with a foundation that I could build on, so I went ahead and used the Ten Commandments to show her that she was a sinner, although, she wasn't admitting much in the way of sin. I'll let God deal with her conscience.
I was a little surprised, but she allowed me to share the Gospel with her. A couple times I thought she was going to hang up on me. Praise God!
God bless...
Monday, August 30, 2010
All Worn Out
I don't have any energy left to argue any more. Or at least that was the way I felt yesterday after a couple of hours of defending the Gospel in the God Mobile at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. To the question, "Do you believe you will go to heaven when you die?", athiest after athiest would come up and respond "No". I would ask, "why do you say that?", and they would answer "because I don't believe in Heaven."
Well, at one point when a late teen/early twenties couple came up, and responded that way, I looked down at my flip chart, and looked back up at them and said, "Well, I guess we don't have anything to talk about then do we?" They chuckled and departed.
Thank God for the unexpected blessings of people young and old who were willing to be receptive to the Gospel message. They make it worth all the effort (and it really isn't that much effort anyways.)
Also, praise God for young Sebastian, who kept running up and pointing to the flip-chart and saying yes. He also asked about when Jesus was coming again and he heard us talking about the rapture and wanted to know about that and heaven.
Finally, it was a blessing to be able to give out a few New Testaments, to some who had made professions of faith. I got the strong impression that those Bibles would indeed be read.
God bless...
Well, at one point when a late teen/early twenties couple came up, and responded that way, I looked down at my flip chart, and looked back up at them and said, "Well, I guess we don't have anything to talk about then do we?" They chuckled and departed.
Thank God for the unexpected blessings of people young and old who were willing to be receptive to the Gospel message. They make it worth all the effort (and it really isn't that much effort anyways.)
Also, praise God for young Sebastian, who kept running up and pointing to the flip-chart and saying yes. He also asked about when Jesus was coming again and he heard us talking about the rapture and wanted to know about that and heaven.
Finally, it was a blessing to be able to give out a few New Testaments, to some who had made professions of faith. I got the strong impression that those Bibles would indeed be read.
God bless...
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Trey
This evening, a guy parked his red ford ranger pickup on the side of our house. I was painting the back door to the laundry room, and I was busy, and I have been very hesitant to go witnessing to people as they have still been buying drugs next to our house. I waited and watched, to see if he lit up... I couldn't see anything being sparked, so I finally decided to go grab a million dollar bill and go give it to him and see what would happen.
I said Hi, have you gotten one of these? as I handed him the bill. He said what is this, I said, it's a Gospel tract, do you have much exposure to the Gospel? He said, yes, my father is a pastor of Calvary Chapel ??? [somewhere south].
I said, oh, well then, I wonder if you were to die today, would you go to heaven? He said yes. I said, what makes you sure of that? He said, I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I asked him if he considered himself to be a good person, and you know the rest. He ranked # one on the human predictability chart.
I explained the Gospel to him and I said, thanks for listening to me. God bless...
I said Hi, have you gotten one of these? as I handed him the bill. He said what is this, I said, it's a Gospel tract, do you have much exposure to the Gospel? He said, yes, my father is a pastor of Calvary Chapel ??? [somewhere south].
I said, oh, well then, I wonder if you were to die today, would you go to heaven? He said yes. I said, what makes you sure of that? He said, I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I asked him if he considered himself to be a good person, and you know the rest. He ranked # one on the human predictability chart.
I explained the Gospel to him and I said, thanks for listening to me. God bless...
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Upcoming Opportunities
I am looking forward to the possibility of going to
God bless...
- Stanwood/Camano Fair - Aug 6-8
- Clark Park Outreach (Everett) - Aug 21
- Evergreen State Fair (Monroe) - Aug 26 - Sep 6
- Puyallup Fair - Sep 10 - 26
God bless...
Sunday, August 01, 2010
AquaFest 2010
I spent last Saturday afternoon at AquaFest in Lake Stevens, handing out Gospel tracts at the parade, then sitting in the GodMobile sharing the Gospel with young people and one Jewish couple. The Jewish man said, very abruptly, "Your God is my God's Son". Well said!
God bless...
God bless...
Ironing Things Out
John and I at our practice session before going into the prison. Using an ironing board as a music stand.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Reflecting Upon Ananda Mela
Four and a half hours went by yesterday with such a whir that I'm having a difficult time putting together some cohesive thoughts and impressions from our outing to the Ananda Mela Hindu Indian festival at the Redmond WA city hall campus.
We started slowly, trying to hand tracts to people as they sat in the little court yard, listening to the music that was being played. We were all but rebuffed by several people who either wouldn't accept a tract or didn't want to have a conversation after accepting a tract.
At this point, the adventure became very encouraging. We spoke to a couple of sisters, who were dressed in beautiful Indian garb. They were very interactive and seemed to listen to everything we said and seemed like they understood what we were talking about. The one gal said she probably wouldn't deserve to go to heaven because she admitted to lying, stealing and breaking several other commandments. But, she said she hoped she could do enough good works to out-weight her sins. I was able to give her an analogy that helped her realize God is just and she could never bribe God with good works, or do enough to pay for her sins. I then had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with her and we left her with a Pocket Gospel of John.
We had so many one-to-one (or one-to-many) conversations and all the people we talked with were very respectful and humble and (seemingly) appreciative to allow us to "preach" to them.
There were a couple of conversations that were much more difficult though. Many Hindus claimed to be respectful of other religious perspectives, and even 'believe' in Jesus, but when I explained that Jesus is the only way to heaven, they came a little unglued. Nothing aggressive, but one lady got up and walked away, she got so upset.
We were very encouraged to meet a Christian Indian who actually had a booth at this festival. We went and visited his booth late in the afternoon, and he had a very scriptural exhibit. Interestingly though, he was instructed not to have any Bibles or Gospel tracts displayed. So, he had them hidden in a box and if anyone was interested, he would give them a Bible or a tract.
We also spent quite a bit of time in the 'Vedic' center area, speaking with their 'priests'. Here again, we were met with resistance, even attacks against the deity of Christ and the veracity of our Bible.
All-in-all, it was such a time of worship to God and being filled with His Spirit as we shared with person after person about the 'Gospel' message and explaining the need for God and his solution to our sin problem. We ended up giving away about four hundred and fifty tracts and a dozen Gospels of John. And we had some great one-to-one conversations with at least four dozen people.
The Indian people and culture is really in many ways very loving and kind and gentle and joyful. May God reach many of them with the Good News of how to receive salvation and have eternal life.
God bless...
We started slowly, trying to hand tracts to people as they sat in the little court yard, listening to the music that was being played. We were all but rebuffed by several people who either wouldn't accept a tract or didn't want to have a conversation after accepting a tract.
At this point, the adventure became very encouraging. We spoke to a couple of sisters, who were dressed in beautiful Indian garb. They were very interactive and seemed to listen to everything we said and seemed like they understood what we were talking about. The one gal said she probably wouldn't deserve to go to heaven because she admitted to lying, stealing and breaking several other commandments. But, she said she hoped she could do enough good works to out-weight her sins. I was able to give her an analogy that helped her realize God is just and she could never bribe God with good works, or do enough to pay for her sins. I then had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with her and we left her with a Pocket Gospel of John.
We had so many one-to-one (or one-to-many) conversations and all the people we talked with were very respectful and humble and (seemingly) appreciative to allow us to "preach" to them.
There were a couple of conversations that were much more difficult though. Many Hindus claimed to be respectful of other religious perspectives, and even 'believe' in Jesus, but when I explained that Jesus is the only way to heaven, they came a little unglued. Nothing aggressive, but one lady got up and walked away, she got so upset.
We were very encouraged to meet a Christian Indian who actually had a booth at this festival. We went and visited his booth late in the afternoon, and he had a very scriptural exhibit. Interestingly though, he was instructed not to have any Bibles or Gospel tracts displayed. So, he had them hidden in a box and if anyone was interested, he would give them a Bible or a tract.
We also spent quite a bit of time in the 'Vedic' center area, speaking with their 'priests'. Here again, we were met with resistance, even attacks against the deity of Christ and the veracity of our Bible.
All-in-all, it was such a time of worship to God and being filled with His Spirit as we shared with person after person about the 'Gospel' message and explaining the need for God and his solution to our sin problem. We ended up giving away about four hundred and fifty tracts and a dozen Gospels of John. And we had some great one-to-one conversations with at least four dozen people.
The Indian people and culture is really in many ways very loving and kind and gentle and joyful. May God reach many of them with the Good News of how to receive salvation and have eternal life.
God bless...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Handing Out Origin of the Species at the UW
We handed out 100 Origin books today (April 12, 2010) at the University of Washington.
Of all the books handed out, we had a couple of encouraging conversations with believers who were confused at first by us handing out the Darwin books. When they found out there was a 50 page forward, they were very encouraging.
Also, had a great, at-length conversation with a Jewish young man who peppered me with many, many questions. He didn't agree with many of my answers, but I had the privilege of sharing the Gospel after leading him through 4 of the Ten Commandments.
Praise the LORD, and thank God for my brother and evangelism partner Ron.
God bless...
Of all the books handed out, we had a couple of encouraging conversations with believers who were confused at first by us handing out the Darwin books. When they found out there was a 50 page forward, they were very encouraging.
Also, had a great, at-length conversation with a Jewish young man who peppered me with many, many questions. He didn't agree with many of my answers, but I had the privilege of sharing the Gospel after leading him through 4 of the Ten Commandments.
Praise the LORD, and thank God for my brother and evangelism partner Ron.
God bless...
Monday, February 15, 2010
Preventing Backsliding (or Making For Sure Conversion)
There are many who I meet, that claim that they are 'back slidden'. After a few questions though, I soon come to believe that (to quote Ray Comfort) they never slid forward in the first place. They claim to have tried Christianity. But for one reason or another, they no longer hold to that faith.
The real question is, whether or not they ever truly had a conversion experience. Jesus said, "Except you be born-again, you will in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.". So being born-again, isn't some flavor of Christianity or a label one places on themselves, but an experience that one has with the Savior. When someone repents of their sin and turns to God for mercy, and that person then places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I have no way of knowing if someone truly repents and trusts in Christ, but their lifestyle betrays their position with God.
There are many who claim to be Christian, who regularly attend church, but have no love for God and His word.
[stepping off of soapbox]
Be encouraged to share your faith in Jesus Christ, if you've truly been born-again and love God and His word. Otherwise, it might be better to be quiet about your faith. But even more, make your salvation sure, not by good works or words, but by repenting of your sins and turning to God for mercy and placing your faith in the Jesus Christ; that His life and death was a suitable sacrifice for your sins.
God bless...
The real question is, whether or not they ever truly had a conversion experience. Jesus said, "Except you be born-again, you will in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.". So being born-again, isn't some flavor of Christianity or a label one places on themselves, but an experience that one has with the Savior. When someone repents of their sin and turns to God for mercy, and that person then places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I have no way of knowing if someone truly repents and trusts in Christ, but their lifestyle betrays their position with God.
There are many who claim to be Christian, who regularly attend church, but have no love for God and His word.
[stepping off of soapbox]
Be encouraged to share your faith in Jesus Christ, if you've truly been born-again and love God and His word. Otherwise, it might be better to be quiet about your faith. But even more, make your salvation sure, not by good works or words, but by repenting of your sins and turning to God for mercy and placing your faith in the Jesus Christ; that His life and death was a suitable sacrifice for your sins.
God bless...
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Thinking Back To Freedom Fest
I was poking around and found this picture of a poster I made for Freedom Fest a couple of years ago.
Here's a funny story, about how God never gives you more than you can handle. I was asked to lead the Bible study at the midpoint of the set for our prison ministry (Forgiven Choices band) in the Freedom Fest Worship Tent. I was all ready to go and psyched up, until that is, I got there. I got so nervous, I thought there is no way I can do this. The band got a late start, so we had lots of time to mill around, (and for me to 'think about it.') We that 'time to think about it', did me no favor, I just got more nervous. As the band got started, there were, I don't know, quite a few young people in the worship tent to listen and worship. But as time went on, I'm not sure if it wasn't their style or they were unimpressed, one-by-one, people left the tent, until it was time for me to step up and lead the Bible study.
All the while I was thinking, where is there a rock I can hide under (I should have been thinking about the Rock Himself.) I thought to myself, if I leave, no one will miss me.
As I walked into the tent I was met by a crowd of one (excluding the wives and friends of the band members who were there.) But that one person, happened to be someone God wanted to get the message of the Gospel to.
In the end, I had no reason to be nervous of a large crowd, because I wouldn't be speaking to large crowd anyways.
Here's a picture of several members of Forgiven Choices:
God Bless...
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