The Lost Cause Ministries

Evangelism Memory Verse:

 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

–Hebrews 2:14,15

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:

   “Whenever I read a theological treatise, I can tell it is unsound if it trifles with the guilt of sin, the claims of justice, or the supremacy of the divine Law…They speak of sin in God’s people as if it were only a spot, instead of a mortal disease.” 

 –Charles Spurgeon in “The Sweetness of God’s Word”

 

 

 

Evangelism Opportunities:

1.  Tuesday, February 24^th:  TLC Ministries will be doing evangelism at the University of North Texas in Denton. We have reserved a free speech area (Area C) 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 27^th:  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, March 3rd:  Details same as #1 above. 

4.  Friday, March 6^th:  Details same as #2 above. 

5.  Tuesday March 10^th: Details same as #1 above.

6.  Saturday, March 14^th:  TLC Ministries will be taking the Gospel to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Greenville Avenue in Dallas.  This is a HUGE parade drawing tens of thousands of people.  The carpool from FBC Justin will leave at 7:30AM, in order to insure getting a parking spot somewhere close to the parade route.  The parade begins at 11:00AM and finishes by 12:30PM.  When the parade is over, we will return to Justin.  To catch a ride with the carpool, please contact me at jon@lostcauseministries.com.  Please note:  Due to the content of this parade, all participants must be at least 18 years old. 

7.  Friday, March 20^th:  Details same as #2 above.

8.  Tuesday, March 24^th:  Details same as #1 above.

9.  Friday, March 27^th:  Details same as #2 above.

10.  Tuesday March 31^st:  Details same as #1 above.

11.  Thursday , April 2^nd—Sunday April 5th: TLC Ministries will assist TXARM with ministry to the NASCAR\Samsung 500 fans at Texas Motor Speedway.  There are a multitude of exciting opportunities to do servant evangelism for the fans and workers at TMS.  TLC Ministries is serving with Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries (TXARM) to bring seasoned Biblical evangelists to do one-to-one and tract distribution at this event. Opportunities include childrens ministry, golf cart evangelism, information table staffing, night shift at the ministry tent, and much, much more! If you would like to discuss the opportunities, please contact either Tim (tim@lostcauseministries.com) or Jon (jon@lostcauseministries.com) to get involved!

12.  Tuesday, April 7^th: Details same as #1 above.

13.  Friday, April 10^th:  Details same as #2 above. 

14.  Tuesday, April 14^th:  Details same as #1 above.

15.  Friday, April 17^th & Saturday the 18^th:  TLC Ministries will take the Gospel to the Main Street Arts Festival in Fort Worth.  This is an event not to be missed.  100,000 people will flood the streets in downtown Fort Worth to see the art vendors, but we will be there with thousands of tracts and a bold proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We’ve seen the organizers of this event do some downright zany things to try to stop the legal preaching of the Gospel.  The police have upheld our right to be there consistently over the last five years.  Please keep this event in prayer, mark your calendars now and make plans to attend.  Specific times and rendezvous points TBA. 

16.  Tuesday, April 21^st:  Details same as #1 above.

17.  Friday, April 24-Sunday April 26:  TLC Ministries is in the process of applying for a festival booth at the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival in Denton, TX.  Please pray that we will have favor with the festival committee and be allowed to exhibit here. 

18.  Tuesday, April 28^th:  Details same as #1 above.

Road Trip!!!

Jon Speed will be traveling to the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, GA on Thursday March 5^th to assist Justin Pierce and Sports Fan Outreach with the NASCAR Kobalt Tools 500 race that weekend.  Bill Carpenter of Motor Racing Outreach has asked Justin to gather 25 evangelists with backgrounds in Way of the Master style witnessing to assist with outreach at this event.  If all goes well, there may be opportunities for Way of the Master-trained evangelists to do the same at NASCAR events across the country.  Jon will give some instruction on Friday afternoon on the “do’s and don’ts” of speedway evangelism. 

There will be no open-air preaching at the Speedway; we will focus on literature distribution and one-to-ones. 

If you would like to go with Jon, please let him know no later than this Friday (Feb. 27^th).  Costs will be $20 per night ($60) for a bunk at the Skipstone Camp (located five miles from the track), gas expense and meals (on our own).  Jon’s email is jon@lostcauseministries.com.

Evangelism Report:

University of North Texas (Denton):

On Tuesday, I (Jon) met Tom Sadowski on the campus of UNT to do some outreach.  Tom began the open-air preaching with a strong challenge to the atheist students about the intellectual honesty of atheism.  During that time I passed out What If? tracts to the students and was able to distribute quite a few.  After the class change we enjoyed a light lunch in the Student Center and then resumed preaching at the next class change. 

I felt compelled to preach Galatians 3:10-13.  There were no gimmicks, no tricks to try to draw a crowd.  I simply preached the text and elaborated on the Gospel.  The Lord gave me grace to preach for about half an hour and a small crowd of students stopped to listen.  There were no serious hecklers.  During that time several representatives of Campus Crusade for Christ stopped and listened.  Two were from Rice University (near Houston) and one other was from University of Colorado.  They had questions about what we do and set up an appointment to meet with us when we were done for the day.  Representatives from two other Christian student organizations stopped to encourage us and ask questions.  One of these organizations may be interested in having us come and address their Christian sorority about evangelism.  Please pray that the Lord would open this door.

We passed out tracts and had a few one-to-ones between class changes.  During the last change, Tom preached while I passed out tracts again.  We ended up having a lengthy conversation with two atheist students where good questions were asked regarding man’s free will (or lack thereof), the purpose of life (the glory of God) and others.  They were challenged with the Word of God and seemed fairly open to the truth, although they did disagree with it.  Please pray for the Word to find good soil in their hearts. 

At this time, our friends from Campus Crusade returned.  Tom spoke with them while I spoke with a wonderful Mormon student named Jake.  Jake is a very intelligent post-graduate student and was a pleasure to speak with.  Unlike many Mormon missionaries (he was once one) Jake was very straightforward about what he believes and seems to understand the basic differences between Biblical Christianity and the teachings of the LDS church.  We chatted for about 20 minutes, after which he took my business card and indicated interest in continuing the conversation.  He has since emailed me and we are going to continue the discussion next week.  Please pray for gracious wisdom on my part and a “good soil heart” on his.  This is true friendship evangelism; the Gospel is proclaimed and friendships are made.  There is no hidden agenda; it is based solely on a discussion about the Gospel. 

After I wrapped up with Jake, I spoke with the Campus Crusade guys for awhile (with Tom) about the nature of open-air preaching and doing evangelism on university campuses.  Unlike other encounters with CC folks, this one went very well and they seemed open to the concept of confrontational evangelism on college campuses.  I gave one of them a copy of Evangelism in the New Testament.  Please pray that they will see the value of doing confrontational evangelism on their college campuses. 

Iglesia Agua Viva (Lewisville, TX):

This report comes from Rex George, who spear-headed this important service opportunity:

Early Saturday morning, TLC members, Rex George and Tom Sadowski met with members of the Iglesia Agua Viva to begin construction and remodeling of the church sanctuary.  After materials were gathered and purchased (thanks to donations) for painting and the construction of a stage, all began work just after 8 a.m.  Painting went without a hitch but as for the construction of the stage, if it weren’t for Tom providing the necessary power tools, the framing of the stage would not have gone so quickly (thanks Tom!).   Pastor Pedro Beltran and his wife Zaida were thankful and grateful for the work and fellowship of all those who volunteered.  The Beltran’s are a joy and reported that there is a great need for a church in the predominately Hispanic part of Lewisville.  They said there is potential of a great harvest in the area and that God has blessed the church with so much in a short time.  We look forward to seeing the final completion of the remodeling and pray the Lord bless this church.

For more information about the Beltran’s and how we came along side them in ministry, see the link to the More Than Conquerors blog.

Mystiqal Mardi Gras Parade (Dallas, TX):

On Saturday night, TLC Staff was joined by Jason Sides, Tom Sadowski, Ron Martinez, Jeff Pittman, Chris Manfreda, Randy Edmonds, and Josef and Lena Urban (missionaries to Guadalajara, Mexico) to share the Gospel at this increasingly decadent event.  When we arrived, we were blessed to be reunited with the former GNN Local Leader for Dallas, Jeff Rose.  Jeff is now a missionary to Scotland.  Jeff was joined by several students from Christ for the Nations and Rick Calhoun and his wife (her name escapes me now). 

While the parade took place, we spread out along the route and passed out tracts to passersby.  I had a good one-to-one with a man and his wife; his name was Robert.  Using the Ten Beers tract, he stopped and quickly named 10 beers, but could only name three of the Ten Commandments.  He admitted to breaking them and we talked about the Gospel.  He was very serious while we talked and listened patiently to the Gospel.  Please pray for him, that he will not forget the tract or the conversation. 

After the relatively short parade, we moved into the West End area and set up an open-air preaching point.  Jeff Rose brought out his “half mile hailer”, a powerful and large over the shoulder amplification unit.  We all took turns preaching for several hours.  The full Gospel was proclaimed and the lost were challenged to repent and believe the Gospel. 

In an atmosphere like this one, the revelers are there to purposely sin.  Of course, they do not want to hear the Gospel, or at least many of them think that they do not.  Some men opposed the Gospel by threatening the preacher, other women opposed it by exposing themselves to the preachers or to the listeners (aka “flashing”).  It’s very obvious when something like that is about to happen, so it’s easy enough to turn away. 

In spite of the opposition, there were many meaningful one-to-ones and some who formerly mocked came back later to have serious conversations about the Gospel.  The preaching set up the one-to-ones.  Some might question the wisdom of going to events like this one to proclaim the truth.  In our experience we have found that Christ can be and is exalted when we boldly proclaim the truth in love to those engaging in flagrant sin.  We have seen professing Christians leave events like this because they are convicted about participating in the sin.  We have seen unbelievers repent and believe the Gospel on the spot.  Somehow the wickedness contrasted with the pure truth of the Gospel convicts those who are sensitive to such things and the Spirit of God does a mighty work of conviction and, in some cases, regeneration. 

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 Resources:

1.  Check out this interview that Trish Ramos did with the pastor who is discipling the founder of Hamas’ (the terrorist organization) son!   

2.  Check out this sermon jam, featuring John MacArthur, on loving Christ.  Excellent stuff for the potential false convert.     

3.  Here are some of the sermons from the recent True Church Conference in Muscle Shoals, AL.  If, like me, you weren’t able to attend, here’s the next best thing. 

•  The Repentance of Nineveh by Rev. David Miller
• The Radical Depravity of Man by Conrad Mbewe
• Counseling Seekers for Repentance by Jeff Noblit

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 FBC Justin.

Here is the speaking schedule, as it stands at the present time:

Thursday evening-  7:00PM
Friday evening-  7:00PM
Saturday evening-  6:00PM
Sunday morning-  10:30AM
Sunday evening-  6:00PM
Monday morning (Pastor’s conference, First Baptist Church, Justin, Texas)-  9:30AM

Please mark your calendars and plan on coming out to this meeting series for your refreshment.  

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 will be held at the Media Center at the track infield. There is a chili dinner afterwards, but you need to RSVP if you would like to attend. To do so, please email me at jon@lostcauseministries.com.

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 at UNT and in Dallas.

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 have begun 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. 

11.  Pray for the establishment of the spring schedule for both TLC and TLC East Side.

12.  Pray for the Texas Revival Series as we begin planning for the next event. 

13.  Pray that our applications at the various festivals will be approved.

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