Evangelism Update November 30, 2009

Evangelism Memory Verse:

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

–John 8:31,32

Evangelism Quote:

“O be not too quick to bury the Church before she is dead.”

–John Flavel

Regular, Weekly Outreaches:

1. Truck Stop on I-35 W, north of Fort Worth: Thursdays, from 7-9PM. Truck to truck witnessing. Contact: Ron Martinez (ron@lostcauseministries.com).

2. Day Laborer Camp (Mckinney): Saturdays from 7-8AM. Witnessing to the Hispanic community. Spanish tracts and one-to-ones. Contact: Byron Porter (byron@lostcauseministries.com).

3. Skate Park (Allen): Saturdays from 10-11PM. One-to-ones with skaters. Contact: Byron Porter (byron@lostcauseministries.com).

Special Outreaches:

Saturday, December 5th: 6:00AM–About noon:  TLC Ministries will join Bezeugen Ministries (and others) at the Capital One Bank Adolphus Children’s Parade.  This is a massive Christmas parade in downtown Dallas that will draw more than 350,000 people!  This is a “gift wrapped” opportunity to share the gospel as people wait for the parade to begin.  We will pass out tracts, do one-to-ones and open-air preach.

The carpool will leave FBC Justin at 6:00AM.  If you want to reserve your spot in the carpool, please let me know at jon@lostcauseministries.com.  Please bring money for breakfast on the road, and lunch (if you want to eat).

We are planning on parking near the corner of Main and Akard Streets and doing ministry at intersections near the main parade route (along Commerce).  Because of the size of the crowd, and the policies of the Dallas Police Department for this parade, it is very difficult to work Commerce Street prior to the parade.  We can easily work the side streets.  When the parade concludes, we will be able to work Commerce Street as people leave for their cars.

TLC, let’s plan on hitting this parade hard.  I know it is a busy time of the year, but this is probably the largest parade in DFW throughout the entire year.  If we miss this opportunity, we miss a golden one.

Evangelism Report:

Fort Worth Christmas Parade\Tree Lighting:

On Friday night, I traveled down to Sundance Square to do some witnessing in Fort Worth.  Unbeknownst to me when I scheduled this outreach, the Fort Worth Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting was scheduled for the same night!  Thousands of people crammed downtown Fort Worth.   It took me an hour to get down Belknap Street and parked.

Dan George met me there, along with Ted and Linde Winton and some others who do outreach there fairly regularly.  The parade was over by the time that I got there, but there were still many people in line to talk to Santa Claus and just wandering the streets.  We were able to open-air preach with a lot of freedom and people stopped to listen from time to time.  It was the usual crowd: many heckled half-heartedly, mocking as they passed by.  One college aged kid stopped on his bicycle to mock one of the guys from Jeremiah Cry Ministries as he preached.

But there were also people who stopped to sincerely listen, including Christians who were greatly encouraged by anyone having the boldness to step up publicly and proclaim the gospel.  One lady listened patiently while I preached the gospel and stepped up afterward to encourage us.  She asked us to keep being faithful because if one person is reached with the truth, then it is so important to that one person.  She said that she had also been a false convert and that she had come to Christ in reality.  Her husband came back a little later and handed me a $20 bill.  I tried to give it back, but he would not take it.  As I shared with some friends from church later, if we get money when we’re preaching it’s because people are usually throwing pennies AT us rather than giving cash TO us.

We also passed out hundreds of gospel tracts and had some one-to-ones.  The Lord was glorified and the gospel was preached.

Thanksgiving Basket Distribution:

I hesitate to mention it on this blog since it was not an official TLC outreach, but I do want to include it for your encouragement and as an idea for others.  Last Saturday, my wife and I helped with the Thanksgiving Basket Distribution at FBC Briar.  The church gathered at 9:00AM to assemble the baskets which included a turkey, pie crust, pie filling, dinner rolls, cans of vegetables, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.  We also included an ESV outreach New Testament, an invitation to come to the church’s annual Thanksgiving dinner, an audio message on CD proclaiming the gospel from our pastor, and a gospel tract called “The Problem and the Solution.”

The members of the church submitted names of people in their neighborhoods who might be blessed by this gift.  A total of 20 baskets were distributed.  We (me, Kim and a friend from church) took a basket to a dear family in Azle and had the chance to briefly share the gospel with them.  Then we brought two baskets back to Justin and delivered them to a couple of our neighbors.  It was a blessing to be able to give, through the church, both a tangible help during this season, as well as a thorough presentation of the gospel.

On Tuesday night, the church had their Thanksgiving Dinner and several who received baskets came out to the dinner.  Beforehand, there was a brief service where Pastor Randall presented the gospel.  Some who were visitors also heard the gospel in personal one-to-one conversation around the table.

I share this here because this is a simple outreach any church can do for a fairly small amount of money.  While we tend to highlight fairly intense contact evangelism on this blog, I think we need to remember that sound servant evangelism exists.  These were not turkeys given out without the gospel; in that case, they would have only been turkeys and stuffing.  But this was a meal that was given with the gospel in its fullness: the New Testament, the gospel CD, the tract, and the invitation to hear more.

I believe that a solid local church outreach plan will include both street evangelism and community servant evangelism, but it is not evangelism unless the gospel is included.

Road Trip:

It’s officially time to start registering for this year’s Super Bowl Outreach in sunny Miami, FL! This year, the NFL is combining the big game with the Pro Bowl. Both will be held the same week in the same venue, making the Super Bowl an even bigger event for Biblical evangelism! So, at this year’s outreach you have an option. You can come for just the Super Bowl during the last half of the week (Feb. 4-7) or you can come for the whole week and hit both games (Jan. 29-Feb. 7). The “short camp” will be $199. The “long camp” will be $399. Accommodations will be at the Gold Coast Christian Camp. To pre-register, a 25% down payment is required to hold your spot.

The TLC team is planning on going for just the Super Bowl outreach itself. To sign up for the carpool, email jon@lostcauseministries.com.

Prayer Requests:

TLC’s financial support has been cut 50% since July. Essentially, this means that we need to raise $40,000 to cover the loss to two salaries. This amount will bring us back to the post-July cuts. Please prayerfully consider whether you might be able to support this ministry.