Little Rock Street Evangelism

Going To The Saline County Fair

2009-09-11T22:03:00.005-05:00

John S, Chris and I went down to the Saline County Fair to share the Gospel today. This was a new fishing pond so we didn't know what to expect. The law enforcment agencies were there in abundance so we felt very safe.

We arrived and headed for the the midway to check things out. We were a little early so we had a chance to talk to some of the workers.

John S got into a conversation with the young lady at this booth and shortly engaged one of the men that walked up to him while he was there.

Here Chris engaged a group of young people about the Gospel, but they didn't want to talk much.

As the night went on the crowd started growing. John S and Chris engaged the youth as fast as they could. Many people proclaimed thier own goodness and that was how they were getting into heaven. By the end of the night there was a very large crowd and we were able to hand out many, many tracts.

Christians, do something for the Kingdom. Get out and share your faith. If you can't go to your local fair or some other event, find your avenue to share the good news. Put a tract in a bill when you send in your payment, write a letter to explain it to a loved one. Whatever you can do for the Lord, do it while you still have time.

A Day At The Rivermarket

2009-07-27T21:21:00.004-05:00

Don and I started out the day right next to the parking lot. We saw a few young men riding their bicycles nearby. Don headed over and gave them some tracts and started chatting with them. Two of them took off pretty quick when the Law came out but the other stayed and listened. They talked for a while and everything looked normal. But then........

The young man stood up! Many thoughts ran through my mind such as "Wow, dude is tall!" and "How fast can I call 911?"

It turned out he was just stretching his legs. Don and I discussed the encounter after and found we were thinking the same thing.

We met up with this couple who turned out to be postmodern Buddhists. Don tried for a while to reason with them using both logic and the Law, but I think he would have had more success nailing jello to a wall. They were very hard hearted.

We had a few more good conversations then decided to head home. On the way back I pulled out the giant money tract. A good fisherman must have various lures to catch fish, so a fisher for men must have a varied supply of Gospel tracts. I handed out about 100 of these in about 8 or 9 minutes. These young ladies passed me by, but then came back to get one. My prayer is that at least one of them will read the message on the back and God will save them.

If you are a Christian I have a question for you, do you share your faith? Why or why not? Do you believe what the Bible says will happen when we die? You know, the part about being judged for every thought, word and deed. If you have been saved from the wrath that is to come upon all the unrighteous, please share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those are not saved. Get trained, get some tracts, get going while we still have time.

Riverfest Outreach

2009-05-23T22:52:00.005-05:00

Riverfest is held every year in Little Rock down at Riverfront Park. Thousands of people turned out to enjoy the food, music and depravity..... so we had our mission! Over the 3 day event John, Chris, Denise, John S, Josh, Don and Larry R handed out thousands of tracts and had many one-to-one conversations. Saturday was also the day that Project Ezra challenged us to read the Sermon on the Mount in the open-air.

Friday night Chris got into several conversations. Here he is chatting with some men outside the park. Denise, Chris and I stayed well into the night handing out tracts once the concerts were finished.

Bright and early Saturday morning Don joined us and wasted no time getting tracts into people's hands. Don and I went through the park handing out a few tracts and conversing as we went.

We continued witnessing as the day passed keeping an eye on the time. We were going to meet outside the main gate for our Project Ezra challenge.

Josh and John S joined us about 4pm. Josh took a moment to open-air near the trolley stop.

We setup outside the main gate, prayed and got started. Josh started us off reading Matthew 5, then Larry R stepped up on the box for the first time and read Matthew 6.

When Larry finished I stepped up and read Matthew 7, trying to be as loud as I could so that perhaps a crowd might gather to hear us.

When I finished Don got up and preached the Law and the Gospel.

Josh got up again and engaged some kids with the "good person" test. They didn't pass.

Denise and John S continued passing out tracts while the open-air was going on.

By the end of the day many people received tracts and many tossed them into the trash. There was so much depravity there. Many were drunk, many women dressed in less than the sleep in and they were all going about it like nothing was wrong. It is a sad thing to look out into this crowd and realize that the vast majority will die and go to hell. Get out and share your faith while we have the time. Perhaps someone you speak to or hand a tracts to will be saved.

Mickey Mouse, Blues and Art

2009-05-04T23:55:00.004-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been very busy. New fishers of men were added to the team, old ones were stirred anew and the Gospel was heard by many.

Disney On Ice came to the Alltel Arena April 22nd-26th. Different groups covered each night and engaged the people as they arrived.

On the 23rd we stationed ourselves where three walkways merged so most people funneled right by us. Larry handed this dad a "Million Bucks."

Denise gives a tract to mom.

Almost every time mom or dad took a tract the kids wanted one too. Some of the kids even came back to get one from us. Maybe they'll ask their parents to explain what they say.

Don brought his minivangelist Emily down to the Rivermarket on the 25th. She wasn't shy about passing out Gospel tracts. The Farmers Market is now open so there will be large crowds for a while. We passed out many tracts and talked to several people and found out that there was a blues concert going on at the amphitheater today.

We headed over to the amphitheater entrance and found a long line forming. We handed out several tracts to those waiting in line as they listened to an announcement about needing an armband to get in to the show. Don dropped his pack and hopped up on a bench and proceeded to tell the people about God's "armband", the blood of Jesus.

Scripture says that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, it will also stir up a hornets nest. It turns out that the bench Don stood on was right next to the booth of a woman that adamantly refused a Gospel tract. It took her about a heartbeat to get in Don's face and let her feelings be know. That just encouraged him more. Many people applauded when he was finished.

Friday night, May 1st, rolled around and we went down to the Collaboration of the Arts event at the Rivermarket. Larry R and Chris joined us tonight for the first time. We also met up with another group that was there for some evangelism.

Jimmy, Don, Larry R and Chris discuss the events of the evening. We had several one to one conversations tonight. Being out at night brought us in contact with a different group of people but, the message they needed to hear remained the same.

Overall we handed out thousands of tracts and shared the Gospel with many people. I am in awe at how God continues to open the door for evangelism. With lawmakers trying to enact new laws in this country to hinder freedom of speech, it will become more difficult to preach sin, righteousness and judgment. If you are a Christian you know the cure to the worst disease known to mankind...death. Thousands die everyday and most of them will be going to hell. Find a way to share the life giving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't be like a firefighter that is affraid to offend someone by kicking in their door to pull them from a burning house. Kick in their door and pluck them from the flames of hell.

We Did Something

2009-04-11T21:07:00.001-05:00

The weather was warm, the sun was shining and the fishing hole was jumping with activity. I could just tell that all these people just couldn't wait to here the Gospel... Well some couldn't wait, the others were going to hear it anyway!

Denise witnessed to this guy riding his bicycle down the sidewalk. I'm glad he stopped to talk, Denise would have tackled him if he hadn't.

There were several more vendors set up today than normal. Hopefully as the weather warms up so will the fishing.

Denise got to witness to this couple behind the farmers market. There were a lot of groups out today, many families.

John S joined us again today. He stationed himself at one of the intersections and witnessed to people as they tried to walk passed him.

Here Larry and John S. witnessed to some folks as they were crossing the street.

John S. started up a conversation with this young man. He was an Egyptian believer that was in town visiting. He attends ASU in Jonesboro. He told us that he was active in evangelism at his school. We had a good talk about how to reach those who follow Islam.

God allowed us to have a good day today. We witnessed to many people and handed out a lot of tracts. I was able to share some evangelism resources with a few people including a pastor from Russellville and a youth pastor from New York. It still amazes me that so many people don't know the Gospel. I'm not just talking the about the unchurched, I'm referring to professing Christians as well. If you have the chance to share the Gospel with someone, please make sure it is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and not a man made version. Study the scriptures to see what the truth is. There are people out there who don't have enough knowledge to go to heaven, but have enough sin to go to hell. Charles Spurgeon said this with regard to winning the lost: "Brethren, do something; do something, do something!" So today I echo the prince of preachers and say, DO SOMETHING!

Into The Lions' Den

2009-04-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

This weekend the team walked into the lions' den. The spring "Diversity Weekend" was held in Eureka Springs on April 4th. With Gospel preaching and angry listeners this event could get rough in a hurry.

There were a large number of people there and the crowd was growing. Many people from all walks of life. They were all very "diverse".

When we arrived several others were already there and had set up a prayer station.

People from Missouri, Born of Him Ministries, the Jericho Riders, and various other places in Arkansas came together to proclaim the Gospel. It wasn't long before the opposition started. There was a band setting up to play and they told us we couldn’t be there. A few moments later the "Special Events Director" for the City told us we had to leave the park. Brad St Clair happened to be recording at that moment. This is the transcript of the conversation. (Thanks Brad)
Eric Young: Ummm, who is in charge of this?
Brad St. Clair: I am.
Eric: Okay, I'm gonna...I afraid you're gonna have to remove it out of the park.
Kevin Thompson: Actually, we don't.
Eric: Actually you do because I'm the Special Events Director for Eureka Springs, and I have a permit for the entire park from now until the end of...
Kevin: We talked to Parks and Recreation and he said we're fine...
Eric: Nope
Brad: We talked to the police, and he said if anybody has a problem with it to call him and then he'll...
Eric: I have a problem with it, let me go find him.
Brad: Okay, call the police.

When the police arrived they informed Eric that we were not breaking the law, but they did ask us to move the table over about 10 feet. We moved the table, had some prayer, and began the work.

There were several open air preachers ready to go. Greg stepped up first to preach the Gospel and the crowd got loud. They didn’t want to hear anything we had to say. They were playing music, shouting and the like. It was very hard to be heard over there noise.

Denise started a conversation with a man sitting on a nearby bench and got to share the Gospel with him and his partner.

Don was the second one up on the box. He lifted his voice as high as he could and preached the Gospel. Compassion for lost souls could be heard if one would only listen. About six men stepped up to preach through out the day.

As the open air continued a fiddler came over to play near us. He tried his best to interfere with the preaching. After a few hours of hearing the Gospel he finally approached Don and said that he was sorry. Don sat down and had a long conversation with him.

While the open air was going on, a few of us took off up and down the street to hand out some Gospel tracts. Most people took the tracts but there were a few that didn’t want to have anything to do with us, or that "Jesus stuff" we were handing out. One man got very angry that I even wanted to speak to him. There was so much hate and anger there.

As Brad was preaching, a man came and stood in front of him with a sign that said, "Don't feed the FUNDIES! Ignore them! Don't give them the attention they so desperately want!"

By the end of the day Don had that same man on a park bench explaining the Gospel to him.

Several times the people tried to block the open air preacher. Each time they would get into our "comfort zone" the police sent them back to their own spot across the park.

Don chased down a man that was carrying another sign and witnessed to him. He was a Gospel machine today.

Jeff, in the purple shirt, got into a good witness encounter.

We decided to wrap things up and head out after a few hours of open air and one to one witnessing. We paused for a group picture then we hit the road for home.This weekend was definitely a new experience. There were new objections and new fears. We did learn a lot though.

Maybe you couldn’t go to a place like this to share your faith. Maybe you are terrified to talk to a total stranger about Jesus Christ. If this isn’t your cup of tea, what is? What are you doing to further the Kingdom of God. When was the last time you shared the Gospel with anyone. Think of someone you know that is not born again. If they were to die in their sins where would they go? Sharing the Gospel with someone is scary, but the discomfort you will feel is nothing compared to what the lost will receive on the other side. Reach out to the lost wherever you can while you still have time.

Bits and Pieces

2009-03-28T20:59:00.000-05:00

We started out today handing out some tracts and looking for someone to witness to. There is normally many people walking about by themselves or in couples. Today most people were in groups of three or more. It took a little while before the fish started to bite, but as the temp warmed up so did the fishing. John S and Josh joined us for a while today.

Denise witnessed to a young couple waiting for a concert to start. The young man wasn't to sure about things, but the girl was rock solid. Maybe this will give her an opportunity to witness to him later.

Josh had a good conversation with this group. One was a Southern Baptist and one was Church of Christ. The others didn't say much and took off as soon as the Law came out.

The two Christians jousted a little with Josh and didn't seem to be convicted in any way. The woman that stuck around looked like the Law was doing its work very well. Josh did a thorough job of explaining the plan of salvation.

On the way back to the car we scattered a few parking ticket tracts around the area. There will be a few hearts beating fast over these. It might even get someone's attention enough to consider the message on the back.

We had many good conversations today. Many times while talking to someone, someone else would walk up and listen too. Most people we spoke with today had never really heard the whole story about what Jesus came to do. They understood bits and pieces but never had it explained to them where it made sense.

It is sad that someone can live in America with a church building on every corner and never hear the Gospel. Christian can you explain the plan of salvation? Can you tell someone the whole story and not just bits and pieces? The time for Jesus to return is coming quickly. Do you know anyone who is lost? Do you care? This is the hard question. Do you care enough to do something about it?? Preach the Word and tell the story before it's to late.

Smoke On The Water.

2009-03-14T21:04:00.010-05:00

The first event in the USA Barbeque Championship was held today at the Clinton Presidential Center. There were many people there, some from as far away as Canada. We had a great opportunity today to spread the Word. We were very blessed to have the whole evangelism team present today. John S and Josh from another local team also joined with us today to preach the Gospel. The rain clouds overhead looked menacing, but we serve a God that can say "Peace be still", so off we went.

We split up and mingled through the crowd, ambushing unsuspecting folks with millions of dollars in bailout money. Our favorite tract is the Million Dollar Bill from LivingWaters.com. Several people wanted more than one to give to their friends. We use Gospel tracts as ice breakers to start up a spiritual conversation with people. This tract has the million dollar question on the back, "Will you go to Heaven when you die?" It allows us to bring up the things of God without being offensive.

Most of the people that were there early were the contestants themselves and were very busy. A lot of folks that weren't busy were huddled under tents to avoid the light rain that was falling. John S managed to witnessed to one of the contestants as he was waiting on his meat to cook.

Josh got to witness to two young men when the stepped under the tent to stay dry.

Larry and Denise had the pleasure to witness to Tom. Tom said that he was a Cherokee, a Christian, and that he believed that most other religions would lead to God. He carries a staff "like Moses" with crystals and other thing mounted on it. He had a booth set up with healing crystals and the like. They had an interesting conversation with him. Please pray.

John S and Josh talked with Jose and his friends about their eternal destiny. They listened to them share the things of God very intently. Jose, with the blue hat on, was very open to the Gospel.

This is a picture I took to remind me of Sara. She is a waitress in one of the restaurants downtown. When I asked her if she would go to heaven when she died she said that she hoped she would, because she was a "good person". I shared with her what the Bible's standard for good was and she saw that compared to that standard she wasn't. I was able to share part of the Good News with her but, she "had to go now." It is frustrating when you only get to share part of the message with someone. God is sovereign though. He can arrange it so that Sara can her the rest of the Good News.

As I was speaking to Sara, Larry started up a conversation with Michael and Dennis. As usual Larry used a tract to break the ice with them. When Dennis asked what it was and Larry told him, he said "I'm an agnostic", gave it back to Larry and left the scene. Michael stayed and heard the Law and the Gospel. Later Denise ran into Dennis and got to witness to him.

We wrapped up the day with a group picture (Larry, Denise, John, Jimmy). We said good bye to Josh & John S and headed for the cars passing out a few more tracts along the way. Most of the time we don't see any fruit from our labor but, sometimes the Lord allows you to see something to build up your faith. We were in the car about to leave and He let us see something awesome.

We were sitting in the car discussing the day and saw a family walking down the sidewalk. The father bent down and picked up something off the ground. It was a million dollar bill tract that "somehow" found its way into their path. He showed it to his family and as they walked down the street he was reading it out loud. What an awesome God we serve.

We passed out quite a few tracts and had several one to one witnessing opportunities. Most everyone we talked to today thought that they were going to Heaven because they were a good person. The Bible is very clear that "there is none good except for God." 2 Corinthians 7:10 says "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death". Until someone recognizes that they are not a good person working their way to Heaven, but a sinner condemned to hell in need of a Savior, they will never throw themselves at the foot of the Cross in repentance and cry out "Lord forgive me!" Get trained how to share your faith, and seek the lost while we still have time.

SEC Tournament fills the pond.

2009-03-07T23:27:00.018-06:00

Today we headed down to the River Market. The SEC womens basketball tournament was going on at Alltel Arena so the crowd was fairly large. Denise took off like she was on a mission, followed closely by our minivangelist Sara.

We split up and went to work. I took Meagen the camera daughter with me. We quickly handed out several million dollar bill tracts to the basketball fans. Some were given to celebrate their teams victory and some as a consolation prize for a loss. Most folks were glad to get one and many asked for more.

I met Ryan at one of the tables at the market. He was quick to inform me that he was saved and that salvation came by repentance, baptism in Jesus name only, and getting the Holy Ghost. We had a good little conversation.

I met up with Bridgette and her two daughters walking down by the river. She said that she was a Christian. When someone professes to be a believer I always try to ask them how to become one myself. I'll ask them "If I were to come to you and say, I know I'm not right with God what can I do to go to Heaven when I die?" It took a few more questions, but she was able to tell me.

She said that she just tries to "live the life" as a witness to her unsaved friends. I asked her what would happen while she was "living the life" and her friend died before she told them the Gospel. The look on her face says it all.

We had a long talk about how to share her faith with the unsaved. During the conversation her two daughters heard the Law and the Gospel very clearly. Perhaps that seed will take root.

Vincent was full of, of..... Well he was just full. He knew that salvation was through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He also told me that he believed some people could be saved and not even know it. Hmm, we had a good little talk too.

I spotted Denise talking with Mike. He was sitting way off by himself. Denise just couldn't resist. Bullseye! Mike is going through some things right now that she could minister to. She seems to be drawn to those who are hurting. Please pray for Mike.

Anthony was in town to see Auburn play, just minding his own business when some crazy guy hands his wife and friends million dollar bills. She read the back of the tract out loud. He then turned and chased me down. GULP! It turns out that he is a Sunday school teacher. He said that he liked the tract and what we were out doing. I gave him a CD of Hell's Best Kept Secret and pointed him to some other evangelism resources.

I talked with Symara for a little while. She is the daughter of a minister and wanted another tract to take back to her father. She was interested in how I shared the Gospel because she had never heard it put that way. Perhaps another seed got planted today.

Denise gave Willy a tract and started to witness to him. He said he wasn't interested in hearing that stuff. She left the tract and started to walk. Amazing things happen when God is involved. He read the back of the tract and called Denise back to talk. Thirty minutes later he shook her hand and thanked her.

We had good day, passing out a lot tracts, witnessing to several people, just enjoying the work for the Lord. One thing bothers me though. Almost everyone I spoke with who claimed to be a Christian couldn't tell me how to become one. If I asked a plumber what I had to do to become a plumber, I would think that if he really is a plumber he should be able to tell me. Christian, can you tell someone how to become a Christian? If not how can you be sure that you are one.

Paul says to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Examine yourself, get trained how to share your faith, and seek the lost while we still have time. When the trumpet sounds we're done!

Amazing...

2009-03-06T23:52:00.006-06:00

A few minutes after posting the update on our Hot Springs trip I came across another blog about evangelism. This guy was from Fayetteville, AR, just a few hours up the road from me. I sent him a quick email and got an even quicker reply. Tim the evangelist was full of encouragement and it was a delight to find another team fairly close. We thought that we could work together from time to time to share the Gospel. I thought this was pretty cool...then the cool thing happened. Tim sent another email to me saying that he just saw that we were in Hot Springs witnessing and that he was in Hot Springs witnessing the day before. He planted the seed with Stoney that Denise got to water. Wow! Praise God! Only God could arrange such events. I look forward to see what He will do next.

2009 Prayer List

2009-03-06T23:41:00.012-06:00

The following list are names of people that we have shared the Law and the Gospel with during one-to-one witnessing or small group conversations. Please pray for these folks. I will update this post regularly and you will find a permanent link for this post in the right column of this blog. (Thanks Tony for the idea.)

02-21-09 -- Richo (River Market)
02-21-09 -- Nate (River Market)
02-21-09 -- Lavelle (River Market)
02-21-09 -- Cheyanne (River Market)
02-21-09 -- Roland (River Market)
02-21-09 -- Dale (River Market)
02-28-09 -- Stoney (Hot Springs)
03-07-09 -- Ryan (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Bridgette (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Vincent (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Mike (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Anthony (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Symara (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Willy (River Market)
03-07-09 -- David (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Isaac (River Market)
03-07-09 -- Brittany (River Market)
03-14-09 -- Jose (BBQ Contest)
03-14-09 -- Scott (BBQ Contest)
03-14-09 -- Danielle (BBQ Contest)
03-14-09 -- Tom The Wizard (River Market)
03-14-09 -- Michael (River Market)
03-14-09 -- Dennis (River Market)
03-14-09 -- Sara (River Market)
03-14-09 -- Tony (River Market)
03-14-09 -- Barry (River Market)
03-28-09 -- Damian (River Market)
03-30-09 -- Kieth (Wing Stop)
04-04-09 -- Brian (Eureka Springs)
04-04-09 -- Mike (Eureka Springs)
04-09-09 -- Ebony (Gas Pump)
04-30-09 -- Averial (and her husband Ron) (Wal Mart)
05-02-09 -- Kenny (Rivermarket)
05-02-09 -- Commadore (Rivermarket)
09-25-09 -- Cody (Faulkner County Fair)
09-25-09 -- Nathan(Faulkner County Fair)
09-25-09 -- Steve(Faulkner County Fair)
09-25-09 -- David(Faulkner County Fair)

Hot Springs was freezing....

2009-03-03T21:57:00.010-06:00

As the title implys...it was COLD!
We got out to Central Ave around 1:00. While we were parking Larry and I both saw this bumper sticker at the same time. We looked at each other and had a big grin, then we got out of the car. The temp was around 37 degrees and the wind felt like it was blowing at 100mph. Then it started to snow. Wow, he sure provided.

We took a stroll down the avenue pretty much by ourselves. Not many folks were out enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Most people we talked with were in a hurry to get inside. We did manage to pass out several Gospel tracts and Ten Commandment coins, the kids love these. Denise got a chance to share the Gospel with Stoney. He said he had already heard all of this from some young people that "come around like this". So I guess she was just watering the seed. Please pray for him.

All in all God did provide. He gave us the time, the ability, and the place to go "seek and save that which was lost". God is good and will continue to provide.

Evangelism Outreach

2009-02-24T01:02:00.004-06:00

This weekend we are going to be in Hot Springs. Perry Stone, host of Manna-fest (http://www.voe.org/) will be preaching. If the weather is decent, after the morning service on Saturday we are going to do a little fishin downtown. If anyone wants to join us, just let me know so we can make some kind of plan.

Where: River of Life Church
When: February 27, 2009 - March 01, 2009
Location: 1555 E. Grand Avenue, Hot Springs , AR 71901
Phone: (501) 623-6331
Details: http://www.hsriveroflife.org/
Service Times: Friday at 7:00 pm, Saturday at 10:00 am & 6:00 pm, Sunday at 10:00 am
Map: Click here for a map

Welcome

2009-02-22T15:19:00.002-06:00

Not much to say right now, but it's coming!! In the mean time check this out.