Worldwide, the persecution of Christians is terrible. Many Christians are horribly mistreated, beaten, tortured and killed simply because they believe Jesus is Lord and choose to follow Him in the way they live. If, however, you are a Christian who lives in the USA, fear not!
My brother in Christ from Calvary Chapel Wichita and I were very mildly mistreated Saturday night during our evangelism adventure in Old Town. To say we were persecuted would cheapen the word.
It was a particularly chaotic evening with lots of noisy, bumper-to-bumper traffic cruising up and down the streets. My partner was handing out million dollar bill tracts and I was distributing Ten Commandment coins to initiate conversations. A million was offered to a young guy who was walking from one bar to another. He asked if it was "religious" and said disdainfully, "I have my morals in order." I gently asked him if he had ever lied. He responded by cursing both of us and giving us the single finger salute as he walked away. All we did was offer him a cool looking million dollar bill with a gospel message on the back. All we want is for him to admit his sinfulness, repent and trust Jesus Christ for salvation so he can escape God's wrath and eternal punishment in hell. This was the worst treatment I've ever experienced during any sort of evangelism effort in the U.S. or Mexico and it didn't hurt a bit. We shrugged our shoulders and continued the work.
If a person is not humbled and repentant, I will gladly take an angry response to the gospel. It is never my intent to make anyone angry. We are not to strive, but to lovingly and patiently teach God's law and the gospel (2 Timothy 2:24-26). If people sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit, let them get mad at the Ten Commandments and the gospel. Let them get angry because their conscience is bothering them. The Holy Spirit can use that to break a person and draw them to repentance and salvation.
Aside from a good conversation with a couple of young men, last weekend's gi-normous Automobilia car show didn't go too well. The temperature was about 105 degrees with high humidity and threatening thunderstorms. This is typical for Kansas in the summer, but not conducive to evangelism. People understandably don't like to receive sweaty tracts as the lightning approaches.
Thank you for reading and remember the words of Jesus in Luke 12:4-5.... "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear; fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Let your love for and fear of God overcome any fear of man and propel you out to obey His command to go into all the world and preach the gospel. God bless you as you go!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Breaking the Sound Barrier Again!
There is a big development to report from last night.... Wichita has a new person "breaking the sound barrier" (open air preaching). Around midnight, my brother in Christ from Calvary Chapel Wichita stood up and preached that the people wandering from bar to bar in Old Town must repent and trust Jesus Christ or perish. He preached for several minutes. Maybe this doesn't sound like such a big deal, but open air preaching requires a huge battle against our flesh that seeks comfort, wobbly knees, noise from passing traffic, and whatever spiritual forces that may come against the preacher. It ain't easy! It is one giant, sinner-loving, self-denying step up from handing out gospel tracts which, in itself, is a battle. My hope is that the Lord will orchestrate so we can tag team preach and be more effective at reaching Wichita with His gospel.
In other news... the Lord has let me do a little open air preaching and have one-2-one law & gospel conversations with 10+ people in the past few weeks. He has let me take them through a few of the Ten Commandments to show them their sinfulness and spoon-feed them the Good News of His taking our punishment. Although I clearly and specifically warn them about eternal punishment in hell, not one of the people was offended. Most thanked me and shook my hand afterwards. It's amazing what can be said to people when it is shared with love and concern. I'm hoping for a few more opportunities during this Independence Day weekend we're celebrating here in the U.S.
Next weekend is the enormous, annual car show called Automobilia in downtown Wichita. There will be hundreds and hundreds of cars lining the streets over around 12 city blocks. If the Lord tarries and the weather cooperates, thousands of people will be shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets during this show. Please join me in asking the Lord to give us boldness and lots of opportunities to distribute tracts, have one-2-one conversations, and open air preach.
Thank you for reading and thank you for your prayers! God bless you!
In other news... the Lord has let me do a little open air preaching and have one-2-one law & gospel conversations with 10+ people in the past few weeks. He has let me take them through a few of the Ten Commandments to show them their sinfulness and spoon-feed them the Good News of His taking our punishment. Although I clearly and specifically warn them about eternal punishment in hell, not one of the people was offended. Most thanked me and shook my hand afterwards. It's amazing what can be said to people when it is shared with love and concern. I'm hoping for a few more opportunities during this Independence Day weekend we're celebrating here in the U.S.
Next weekend is the enormous, annual car show called Automobilia in downtown Wichita. There will be hundreds and hundreds of cars lining the streets over around 12 city blocks. If the Lord tarries and the weather cooperates, thousands of people will be shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets during this show. Please join me in asking the Lord to give us boldness and lots of opportunities to distribute tracts, have one-2-one conversations, and open air preach.
Thank you for reading and thank you for your prayers! God bless you!
Monday, June 13, 2011
River Festival Final Report
First of all, thank you so much for your prayers! The Lord gave many opportunities to share with people at Wichita's River Festival through tracts and one-2-one conversations.
Throughout last week, aside from Thursday evening when events were stopped due to severe thunderstorms, there were many people in the streets of downtown Wichita for concerts and other events. Several hundred tracts were distributed and 14 people let me take them through God's Law (the Ten Commandments) and the gospel. Yea!!! Lots of seeds were planted and lots of people have a very important decision to make now.
It was encouraging to see folks from a couple of other good, Bible-teaching churches out on the streets during the festival. They were also distributing tracts and leading people through the gospel. May the Lord unify us and send us all out together to make an impact for Him.
Looking forward, there are no other huge opportunities on the horizon. A few car shows are scheduled where we may be able to pass out lots of tracts, but it's difficult to get people's attention off the cars long enough to talk. So a couple of brothers from Calvary Chapel Wichita and I are planning to continue evangelism in Old Town, parks, wherever the Lord leads.
Thank you for reading! God bless you as you step out of your comfort zone in faith. Remember, Peter could not walk on water until he stepped out of the boat.
Throughout last week, aside from Thursday evening when events were stopped due to severe thunderstorms, there were many people in the streets of downtown Wichita for concerts and other events. Several hundred tracts were distributed and 14 people let me take them through God's Law (the Ten Commandments) and the gospel. Yea!!! Lots of seeds were planted and lots of people have a very important decision to make now.
It was encouraging to see folks from a couple of other good, Bible-teaching churches out on the streets during the festival. They were also distributing tracts and leading people through the gospel. May the Lord unify us and send us all out together to make an impact for Him.
Looking forward, there are no other huge opportunities on the horizon. A few car shows are scheduled where we may be able to pass out lots of tracts, but it's difficult to get people's attention off the cars long enough to talk. So a couple of brothers from Calvary Chapel Wichita and I are planning to continue evangelism in Old Town, parks, wherever the Lord leads.
Thank you for reading! God bless you as you step out of your comfort zone in faith. Remember, Peter could not walk on water until he stepped out of the boat.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Another quick note about River Festival so far...
Well, my vision for what would happen at River Festival's first Saturday did not materialize. That's good! Instead of the youth distributing bottled water along with tracts, four youth from Calvary Chapel Wichita joined us in walking around to distribute tracts for a couple of hours in the morning. They jumped in eagerly and passed out around 100-150 tracts combined. When questions arose they turned to me or one of the other adults for advice about what to say. We adults watched from a distance and passed out a few tracts, too.
Yesterday evening, after the lull during the middle of our 100 degree day, I went back downtown to the festival and fished for one-2-one conversations. After an hour or so, the Lord let me have a very friendly, relaxed conversation with a couple of skateboarders and their four friends. They were really nice kids and a couple of them had a good understanding of the gospel. I simply tried to reinforce their understanding and thanked them for the conversation. It was an encouraging time.
If the Lord tarries, I hope to have more reports about the River Festival soon! Thank you for your prayers!
Yesterday evening, after the lull during the middle of our 100 degree day, I went back downtown to the festival and fished for one-2-one conversations. After an hour or so, the Lord let me have a very friendly, relaxed conversation with a couple of skateboarders and their four friends. They were really nice kids and a couple of them had a good understanding of the gospel. I simply tried to reinforce their understanding and thanked them for the conversation. It was an encouraging time.
If the Lord tarries, I hope to have more reports about the River Festival soon! Thank you for your prayers!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Just a quick note....
We've been hitting the streets of Wichita during the past two weeks. Lots of tracts have been handed out, we've had some very enjoyable one-2-one conversations, the folks around here have heard us preaching in public, and the "Are You Ready?" cross has been out. (A police officer in his patrol car even honked and waved at me yesterday while I held the AYR cross.) These are the best ways we've found to get the Word out. Thank you, Lord, for all of the opportunities and resources to make this happen!
Right now, I'm asking the Lord to use us at Wichita's huge River Festival. It begins this Friday evening 6/3/11 and has events every day through 6/11/11. Plans are in the mill and I'm not able to give you details now. Please return next week for a full report. Your patience is appreciated! God bless you!
Right now, I'm asking the Lord to use us at Wichita's huge River Festival. It begins this Friday evening 6/3/11 and has events every day through 6/11/11. Plans are in the mill and I'm not able to give you details now. Please return next week for a full report. Your patience is appreciated! God bless you!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Two Busy Weeks
Wow! The last two weeks have been a blur.... but a good one. Two weeks ago, I was able to visit my family in Christ at IDT Baja about 2 hours south of Ensenada in the state of Baja Norte, Mexico. This is the mission base where I served for nearly 3 years ending in 2009. The original plan was to participate in a conference for the local pastors, but I arrived a little late. Anyway, it was wonderful to fellowship with and encourage my brothers and sisters at IDT and do a little street evangelism Baja style.
By the way, if you are thinking of visiting Mexico for a mission trip, please don't let the news reports scare you. I experienced absolutely no crime or violence whatsoever in Tijuana, Ensenada, or anywhere else. If the Lord tells you to go, trust in Him and GO!
Since returning from Baja, I've been busy getting back in the saddle here. Last night, a brother from Calvary Chapel of Wichita and I hit the streets in the Old Town area of town where there are lots of bars, clubs and people who desperately need Jesus Christ but have not yet admitted it. We had quite a productive night of distributing tracts and speaking one-2-one with people on the streets.
I arrived at around 7pm and tried to distribute tracts to the dinner crowd. After an hour of a lot of rejections, I went to a busy intersection a couple of miles away with the "Are You Ready?" cross for a while. For those who don't know, this is a 4 foot tall wooden cross with the question Are You Ready? painted on the cross beam. The idea is to ask this question of people as they drive by in their cars. Many people in the U.S. are difficult to reach because they are always in their cars, homes, stores, etc. It's rare that they are out and available to engage in conversation about the most important subject in the universe; eternity and where they will spend it. The "Are You Ready?" cross is simply a way to put that question in their minds when they are unavailable to talk. It can also lead into good conversations with those walking by.
Upon returning to Old Town, the party scene was beginning to warm up and people were more open to talking. For some reason, it seems people more willingly take tracts from strangers at night rather than during the day. Anyway, handing out Ten Commandment coins with God's Law on one side and a brief gospel message on the back resulted in the Lord allowing me good, relaxed conversations with 6 people. He let me take them through the good person test (take the test yourself here y en espanol aqui). He also let me spoon feed each of them the gospel message of Jesus Christ taking upon Himself the punishment that we deserve and He let me encourage them to repent from sin and trust completely that Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient to pay the debt we cannot pay. All of this in spite of a chilly, windy 50 degree fahrenheit evening. Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for reading! God bless you as you share your faith!
By the way, if you are thinking of visiting Mexico for a mission trip, please don't let the news reports scare you. I experienced absolutely no crime or violence whatsoever in Tijuana, Ensenada, or anywhere else. If the Lord tells you to go, trust in Him and GO!
Since returning from Baja, I've been busy getting back in the saddle here. Last night, a brother from Calvary Chapel of Wichita and I hit the streets in the Old Town area of town where there are lots of bars, clubs and people who desperately need Jesus Christ but have not yet admitted it. We had quite a productive night of distributing tracts and speaking one-2-one with people on the streets.
I arrived at around 7pm and tried to distribute tracts to the dinner crowd. After an hour of a lot of rejections, I went to a busy intersection a couple of miles away with the "Are You Ready?" cross for a while. For those who don't know, this is a 4 foot tall wooden cross with the question Are You Ready? painted on the cross beam. The idea is to ask this question of people as they drive by in their cars. Many people in the U.S. are difficult to reach because they are always in their cars, homes, stores, etc. It's rare that they are out and available to engage in conversation about the most important subject in the universe; eternity and where they will spend it. The "Are You Ready?" cross is simply a way to put that question in their minds when they are unavailable to talk. It can also lead into good conversations with those walking by.
Upon returning to Old Town, the party scene was beginning to warm up and people were more open to talking. For some reason, it seems people more willingly take tracts from strangers at night rather than during the day. Anyway, handing out Ten Commandment coins with God's Law on one side and a brief gospel message on the back resulted in the Lord allowing me good, relaxed conversations with 6 people. He let me take them through the good person test (take the test yourself here y en espanol aqui). He also let me spoon feed each of them the gospel message of Jesus Christ taking upon Himself the punishment that we deserve and He let me encourage them to repent from sin and trust completely that Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient to pay the debt we cannot pay. All of this in spite of a chilly, windy 50 degree fahrenheit evening. Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for reading! God bless you as you share your faith!
IDT Mid-America
Welcome to the "official" IDT Mid-America blog. You may be a regular reader of my previous blog at 3w.cornerstoneinbaja.typepad(dot)com. If so, thank you! The old blog needed to be updated somehow to more accurately reflect my current mission of street evangelism in Wichita, Kansas and wherever else the Lord may send me. So, please continue to look here for information about evangelism activities along with some tips and encouragement. God bless you!
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