The Lost Cause Ministries

Evangelism Memory Verse:

“Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Isaiah 41:10

Did you memorize last week’s verse? For a great aid for Scripture memorization, check out this FREE software here: www.memoryverses.org/smsw.shtml

Evangelism Quote:

“If a man should lose the whole of his worldly substance and become a bankrupt, it is possible that his loss be made up. He may have another estate as good. But when the time of life is gone, it is impossible that we should ever obtain another such time. All opportunity of obtaining eternal welfare is utterly and everlastingly gone.”

–Jonathan Edwards in “The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It”

Evangelism Opportunities:

1. Tuesday, February 10^th: TLC Ministries will be doing evangelism at the University of North Texas in Denton. We have reserved a free speech area on campus near the Student Union and will pass out tracts, do one-to-one and open-air preach. You can find directions to the campus at www.unt.edu. If you would like to join us, please email me at jon@lostcauseministries.com.

2. Friday February 13^th, 7:00-9:00PM: : TLC Ministries will be doing evangelism at the Southlake Town Square in Southlake. We will meet at the plaza behind Brio’s Restaurant at 7:00PM. The carpool from FBC Justin will leave that parking lot at 6:30PM. If you would like to be a part of the carpool, please contact Jon Speed or Tim Crawford.

3. Tuesday, February 17^th: Details same as #1 above.

4. Saturday, February 21^st, 5:00PM–??: Dallas is having their second annual Mystiqal Mardi Gras parade in downtown Dallas. We will meet at FBC Justin to carpool to the event at 5:00PM. The parade starts at 7:30 so this gives us some time before the parade starts to tract, open-air and do one-to-one. This will NOT be a family friendly event, so we’re asking that participants be 18 years of age or older. If you would like to join us, please email me at jon@lostcauseministries.com.

5. Tuesday, February 24^th: Details same as #1 above.

Evangelism Report:

“TLC East Side”: Skate Park (Allen, TX):

**This report comes from Byron Porter & Jason Sides, co-leaders of “TLC East Side”**

God provided great opportunities for evangelism as Jason Sides and Byron Porter were joined by Jeff Clayton at the Skate Park in Allen, TX. We handed out Celebrity Million Dollar Bills from Living Waters and Super Bowl trivia tracts from One Million Tracts to all of the skaters and onlookers. Several of the kids responded in agreement and mainly listened to the biblical presentations. As with many angst ridden teenagers, there were those who responded with thanks for the tracts but were all too eager to get back to skating and avoid a theological introspection.

We asked all the teens who had a Christian background, “What’s so great about Christianity?” and “Why should anyone become a Christian?” One 15 year old skateboarder said that it’s because we get to worship Jesus. It was good to know that some of these teens are able to recognize Jesus as God. We took them through the standard of the Law and explained just how thorough God will be in His righteous standard of judgment. There were a few timid questions from the teens, and some interest from them in the gospel.

Nathan was one teen that hung around us for a bit as we challenged his friends with the good person test. I had the opportunity to give him a gospel tract several months before and he asked for more to give to his friends. Jeff had a couple of good one-to-ones that I hope he will write about. Jason spoke to one of the moms and gave her Mark Cahill’s book, “One Heartbeat Away”.

I spoke to one of the dads there at length about the moral decay in this country. This easily transitioned into talking about the 10 Commandments and the Bible. He was raised Roman Catholic and now renounces it and Christianity as just the best story available for controlling the masses. I asked what he was basing his information on and he says his favorite resource for refuting the Bible was Wikipedia. We talked at length about Biblical prophecy, original sin and the Bible’s inerrancy. We finally discussed why bad things happen. This was another great opportunity to focus on sin and his fervent belief that he is a good person. As it turns out, the primary sin in objection was adultery. He said he wouldn’t have an affair with someone whose husband was simply out of town. Now I don’t know how he could justify this particular discretion as an excuse to commit adultery on other occasions, but his sin was exposed. Jason and Jeff were able to weigh in at the tail end of the conversation and offered Tony Miano’s book “Take up the Shield” which he took. We pray God will grant this man repentance from his rebellion.

Finally upon leaving the park, we ran into a fellow evangelist who was more surprised than encouraged to see other folks out evangelizing. He is excited to join us someday soon.

Southlake Town Square:

After taking a lengthy hiatus from doing much organized evangelism at the Town Square, we’ve decided to add Southlake as a regular venue to our evangelism schedule. With the emergence of “TLC East Side” (covering Dallas and points east), and the time we’ve taken away from this venue over the last year, we believe that the time to return to Southlake is ripe. Our plan is not to return every week, but it will be the venue of choice for Friday or Saturday nights for the next year or so.

On Saturday night we had a strong turn out to share the Gospel at the Town Square. TLC Staff members (Jon & Tim) were joined by Ron Martinez, Carla Martinez, Caleb Martinez, Chris Manfreda, Chad Welty, Jeff Pittman, Jimmy Reesman, and Chris Diggs. Any time we can get ten believers out on the street to share the Gospel, that is a success. We gave out hundreds of tracts and had many one-to-ones.

The atmosphere at the Town Square is very laid back. This was a nice change for those of us who just got back from Tampa for the Super Bowl Outreach. The Super Bowl is a very intense witnessing experience. It was a blessing to have people thank us for passing out tracts, witness to them and (later) even open-air preach to them.

According to Forbes Magazine, Southlake is the wealthiest community in America, beating out other places like Seattle, Washington D.C., Beverly Hills and other affluent communities. More than half of the households of Southlake make at least $180,000 per year. According to the article, the Town Square is representative of this wealth. Since I do my Christmas shopping for Kim there every year, I believe it. This year I saw an $180 jigsaw puzzle in a shop there. I guess when you’re making $180,000 a year, $180 doesn’t seem too bad for a jigsaw puzzle until you stop and consider the fact that you could support a missionary to India for about six months on that much. Imagine standing before the Lord on the day of judgment saying, “Yes, Lord, but look at my cool jigsaw puzzle! I got it at Southlake Town Square!”

Incidentally, we happen to believe that speaking to the folks who hang out there about materialism is a very good springboard to sharing the Gospel. In essence, it addresses the Tenth Commandment (covetousness) and the First Commandment (the exclusivity of God as the object of our worship). Materialism must be repented of and the wealthy must turn and trust in Christ alone. No wonder Jesus said that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom (Mk. 10:23-27). It’s not impossible; the Lord is so powerful that He can even bring a rich man to repentance and faith through the miracle of regeneration.

The Lord Jesus gives us the model for witnessing to the wealthy; confront them with the Law. When they wrap themselves in self-righteousness, challenge them about their materialism. It is a violation of God’s holiness to be self-centered and more concerned about accumulating junk that will perish in the using than to be concerned about the glory of God. It’s not seeker sensitive and it definitely won’t fill up the pews at certain prosperity Gospel churches in Southlake (there is one) to say this, but it’s what the wealthy lost need to hear.

I can’t speak to all of the one-to-ones that took place, but I had several good ones with the teenagers that hang out in the Square. The night started with Carlos, Keel and Marcus. I used an old-style (pink and blue) curved illusion tract from Living Waters to start the conversation. The guys were obviously out there to simply enjoy the evening, but they listened for about ten minutes as we discussed the Gospel. After I spoke with them, Chris Manfreda showed up and we partnered up for the rest of the night.

We went over to the Theatre and passed out tracts there for a few minutes and then ran into Nick and Will. These guys seemed to consider the Gospel as a joke at first, but as we talked about the Law and materialism, they sobered up a bit. At the end of the conversation I thanked them for listening and they sincerely thanked me for taking the time. How different from our perceptions of how the lost will view us when we share Christ with them.

Our last good one-to-one took place on the steps of the Town Hall with three guys named T.C., Alex and M_________ (can’t remember his whole name). Chris started this one out and did a very good job sharing the Gospel with the kids. Chris asked me if I had anything to add, and I just asked them, “What would keep you from getting right with God.” The “leader” of the group seemed to speak for all of them when he said that he did not think he could repent from lust. At this point we spent more time talking about justification by faith and the nature of true repentance. I challenged them to trust Christ before the day ended. Please pray that they will and that they’ll check out the websites on the tracts they got.

We finished the night with about a half hour of open-air preaching near the fountain behind Brio’s. A couple of teens were playing a guitar and bongo drums in the plaza and we paid them to play quietly while we preached. The guitar player is a pastor’s kid; Ron was able to speak to him about the Gospel for several minutes. The effect was interesting; it was something like listening to an online sermon compilation while the guys took turns preaching.

I preached on materialism and Mark 10, Ron preached on Hell, Chris preached his first ever open-air message on the nature of the Gospel, and Tim finished with a message on false conversion. To our surprise, a fairly large crowd gathered to listen. Several adults came over to listen, which seems to be the way to speak to the adults who hang out in the Town Square. They were respectful and even complimentary. When I finished, preaching and sat on the ground to pray, a teenage girl came over and tapped me on the arm to thank me for preaching! We gave her some free resources. She claims to know Christ, but attends a large seeker sensitive church. Pray that she will come to a knowledge of the truth.

All in all, good seed was sown and Christ was glorified. Soli Deo Gloria!

Book Published!

TLC Ministries is pleased to announce that “Evangelism in the New Testament” by Jon Speed has been completed and is NOW AVAILABLE. Copies of this forty-six page booklet are available through One Million Tracts. The printing is extremely well done and includes two powerful color charts and an attractive cover. The cost is only $7.00 per copy. Listen to what some readers have said:

“Jon has done a wonderful job of showing exactly what it means to fulfill the Great Commission. ’Evangelism in the New Testament’ will be a great source of encouragement to those who want to do what Jesus commanded us to do—to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” –Ray Comfort (Living Waters Publications)

“It could easily be argued that this should be mandatory reading for all pastors, elders and deacons.” –John Legg (Way of the Master, Australia)

“I don’t know how you could more clearly state the need for us as Christians to be involved with evangelism unless you took a 2×4 and hit us over the head with it.” –Mark Mews (Flagstaff, AZ)

There is a bulk discount available: 10 copies for $5.00 per copy.

Evangelism in the News:

Check out yet another report on the Super Bowl Outreach from Mission Network News:

Evangelism Resources:

1. Do you want to pass out Gospel tracts, but want a fuller message than what is on most of the Million Dollar Bills or the smaller ice-breaker tracts? Then we encourage you to check out the tri-fold tracts from One Million Tracts! I recently edited one of these and it is a very well done presentation of the Gospel. It’s called “The Problem and Solution”. Check it out here. The cost is only $4.00 per pack of 50, which is very reasonable for a tri-fold tract.

2. Please check out this FREE article from our friend at Sermon Index, Greg Gordon. It’s called “Suffering for the Gospel”. It only takes a few minutes to read, but is worthwhile.

3. Please check out this very important message from Dr. Steve Lawson given at Countryside Bible Church in Southlake this past Saturday at their Sola Conference. It’s called “The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards”. IF YOU DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY OTHER RESOURCE WE PLACE ON THIS BLOG THIS YEAR, YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS ONE (sorry for the caps, but this really is THAT important). It is a powerful reminder of how we must treat time as true Christians.

Evangelism Training Opportunities:

1. Geoff Thomas, pastor of Alfred Place Baptist Church in Aberystwyth, Wales will be coming to North Texas March 5-9. Thomas was a friend of D. Martin Lloyd-Jones and is considered one of the finest preachers in all of Britain. He will be speaking at Providence Chapel in Denton and FBC Justin. Here is the speaking schedule, as it stands at the present time:

Thursday evening- Denton
Friday evening- Denton
Sat. morning- Denton
Sat. afternoon- Denton
Sunday morning- First Baptist Church, Justin, Texas
Sunday evening- First Baptist Church, Justin, Texas
Monday morning- Pastor’s conference, First Baptist Church, Justin, Texas

We will provide more details as they become available. Please mark your calendars now.

2. The Texas Alliance of Raceway Ministries (TXARM) is holding its annual speedway ministry training event on Saturday, February 28th, from 8:30AM-Noon. TLC Ministries partnered with TXARM last year to help bring the Gospel to the three “big” races at Texas Motor Speedway (Samsung 500, Bombardier Lear Jet 550, and Dickies 500). We encourage everyone who is involved with TLC Ministries to consider volunteering with TXARM this year. Opportunities include tract distribution, handicap transportation (and evangelism), a pinewood derby event, staffing the information booths, serving coffee to Speedway workers, childrens ministry in the campground, and much, much more! Above all, the volunteers are encouraged to witness to everyone they serve.

The training is tentatively scheduled to be held at the Media Center at the track infield. There is a possibility that it will be changed to a local church. Please watch this blog for more details.

 

Praise:

We (Jon and Tim) wish to thank all of the contributors who have generously donated to TLC Ministries recently. Our salaries were originally scheduled to be scaled back by more than a third effective January 1. Because of your generous giving, we are now able to delay that cut in salary until April! Words fail us. Please know that our families are grateful. We are grateful to have the opportunity to serve Christ at this time in history and we cannot do it without you. Thank you for your gracious support. Please consider continuing to support TLC Ministries as we pursue the glory of God on the streets of DFW and beyond.

Prayer Update:

1. Pray for Ron and Jon as they prepare for upcoming court appearances on July 30, 2009. Pray for the CLA as they prepare the cases.

2. Pray for the upcoming outreaches.

3. Pray for all of those who heard the Gospel in Allen and Southlake this past weekend.

4. Pray especially for those named in the report above.

5. Pray that the staff of TLC will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

6. Pray for the financial situation of TLC Ministries. We are beginning to raise support for the time when our salaries are cut by 33% by April 1^st. We are confident that the Lord will continue to provide. We thank God for all of the donations which have come in to delay this cut. Thank you!

7. Pray for all of the upcoming outreaches. We need protection from those who oppose the Gospel, favor with the authorities, good soil hearers, and wisdom to present the Gospel carefully and accurately.

8. Pray for those we have recently witnessed to and those who have received tracts and heard the preaching of the Gospel.

9. Pray for the establishment of the “TLC Dallas” evangelism team. Jason Sides and Byron Porter will co-lead this team.

10. Pray that the open-air preachers we are training will continue to mature in doctrine, love and passion for the lost and the glory of God.

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