Photo by Katherine Hood on Unsplash
Am I Welcome At Your Church?
Ministry Updates for March 22, 2024 and March 15, 2024
Conner, Joshua, Michael and I witnessed downtown on Friday March 15, 2024. We were out there for about two and a half hours and mainly handed out tracts. Joshua got into a couple of conversations and I had a short one with one young man. But we spent most of the night talking to one guy. He was out trying to get signatures for a petition, but none of us wanted to sign it. He got into a conversation first off with Joshua, then Conner and myself and then kept bouncing back and forth between us. His main contention was that the Bible was written by men and his other burning question was, “Am I welcome at your church?”
Joshua engaged him first in a conversation. The young man wanted to know how the God of the Bible was the real one when there are so many gods out there. I think he said that he worships the Norse gods. He kept going down one rabbit hole after another. Conner also engaged him in a conversation, but he kept going back to these same things. Finally, I told him that I’m really out here talking about Jesus Christ and I started witnessing to him. That’s when he told us that he’s bisexual and lives with a man. He wanted to know if he’d be welcome to come to my church. I told him that he is welcome to come there. I will call the young man C. He said that he’d be there Sunday morning. Sadly, he didn’t show up.
I wanted to make sure that he didn’t misunderstand me, so I pointed out that God doesn’t approve of his lifestyle. The Bible doesn’t, I don’t and my church doesn’t. But everyone is welcome to worship at church. Then he wanted to know where the Bible condemns homosexuality (not counting Leviticus). So I read to him Mark 10:6-9 where Jesus says that marriage is between a man and a woman. Conner directed him to Romans 1:18-32. Later on, we also had him read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Written By Men
He kept going back to the Bible was just written by men. But the Bible was written by men that were inspired through the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16). I point out that we know the Bible is true because we see it time and time again when we are street witnessing. He kept denying God and the Bible, so I kept pointing him back to Romans 1:18 where he suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. At one point he said that he lost someone really close to him and that he begged God to show him a sign. He said even if the wind had blown, he would have counted it. But nothing. Then he brought up how God gave Gideon a sign three times. I gently reminded C that Jesus said an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign (Matthew 12:39).
I told him that I was sorry that he lost someone close to him and that God didn’t comfort him through that time. I told C that I also lost someone close to me and I know it isn’t easy to go through. Then I asked him if I could pray for him and he said yes. We all gathered around him and I prayed for him and for his salvation. C told us that he grew up in a Christian home but was no longer a Christian. We pointed out to him that we don’t believe that he was ever truly a Christian because you can’t walk away from Jesus if you are truly saved because Jesus never leaves or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). Then I asked him if he had a Bible at home and he said no. I asked if he’d read it if we gave him one and he said yes. Michael quickly handed him a Bible.
We had C read Scripture several times after that. I told C that I was praying that he’d start reading the Bible that very night. He replied that I would have an unanswered prayer then if he didn’t read it. I pointed out to him that he was correct. That I would have an unanswered prayer, but that if he continues rebelling against God, that he’d be the one who dies in his sins and would spend eternity in Hell. I pleaded with him to read Romans since we had quoted from there and then I encouraged him to go back and read the Gospels starting with Matthew. We hope and pray that he will read the Bible and that God will save him and his friend.
Hope I Go To Heaven
Friday the 22nd of March was quite windy and cold. Anand, Michael, Conner, one of his daughters and I witnessed downtown. We were handing out tracts and I handed them to a couple of Hispanic guys who said they live in Carthage. They wanted to know what I handed them and I told them, “They are Gospel tracts. They tell you about Jesus.” I asked if they know Jesus and the one wearing a cross said yes, they know Him. So then I asked them if they are saved and they both said yes. Then I asked if they are going to Heaven and one said yes, but the other one said, “I hope I go to Heaven.”
I told him that I wasn’t picking on him, but I wanted to know how hope gets you to Heaven. He shrugged his shoulders. His friend said that you get there by going to church. So I gently said, “I’m not picking on you either, but how does going to church get you to Heaven?” Then he replied that we get there by doing good. At that point, I asked them if they had kept the 10 Commandments. They both acknowledged that they had broken them. So you really can’t go to Heaven by being good since we’ve all sinned against God and we’ve all broken the 10 Commandments. At that point I shared the Gospel with them. I asked them both to read the tracts. They shook our hands and headed on their way.
Not long after that, Conner got into a conversation with another guy out trying to get petition signatures. This time it was for “Women’s Reproductive Healthcare”. Conner engaged him in a conversation. The young man kept talking about rape and abortion being necessary sometimes to save the life of a mother. Conner was the only one he talked to, so I didn’t interrupt. But I’ve heard several doctors say that they never once had to kill a baby in order to save the mother’s life. I would also point people to the Bible where Joseph’s wife Rachel, died during child birth (Genesis 35:16-19). God didn’t tell Joseph to kill Benjamin in order to save Rachel’s life. It’s very sad when a woman dies during childbirth, but murdering a child is never right. Michael got into a long conversation with an older gentleman. I didn’t get an update on that conversation, but we pray that God will save both men as well as others who received tracts.
(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share their faith in Jesus with others)