I Need To Get Back To Church

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I Need To Get Back To Church

Ministry Update February 10, 2025

Several of the guys and I have been witnessing this winter, I just haven’t been providing updates. But last Friday, Doug and I witnessed at an indoor area. It’s private property, so I don’t want to say too much. We have the right to get into Gospel conversations at private businesses, we just can’t run around handing out tracts openly like we do downtown. But Doug and I had a great time witnessing and we basically had three good encounters. The last one being with a guy who said, “I need to get back to church.”

Before that conversation, Doug handed the million dollar bill tract to a couple of young men. They actually came back over to us and one of them told us that he’s in the military and getting ready to be shipped off to the Middle East. Doug encouraged him to read the back of the tract and to also go online and see some of Ray Comfort’s videos on street witnessing to help him share his faith with others. Doug also ran through a Good Person Test to show him how to do that. It was great encouraging a couple of people who say they are believers.

What Does The Cross Mean To You?

While Doug was finishing up with them, I saw a young man wearing a cross. I asked him what the cross meant to him and he replied, “It makes me feel closer to God.” But when I asked him if he’s a Christian, he said that he wouldn’t say that. Turns out, he just likes the cross and he feels spiritual, but doesn’t understand the sacrifice that Jesus made on behalf of His true followers. So I shared the Gospel with him and his friend. The friend was growing impatient, but the young man with the cross really listened. Afterwards, I asked him if he had a Bible and he told me that he doesn’t like to read. I encouraged him to download a Bible app on his phone and that many of them offered audio versions. I asked him to start in Matthew and listen to the New Testament. The young man and his friend both took tracts.

Toward the end of witnessing time, Doug stopped and talked to another couple of young men. I didn’t hear all of the conversation because I tried to talk to a guy who wasn’t interested in the Gospel. But I heard enough of Doug’s conversation to know that he shared the Gospel with both of them and the one young man named Zach responded, “I need to get back to church.” Doug told him going to church is a good thing, but the main thing was repenting and putting your faith in Jesus. He shared more of the Gospel with him.

After they finished their conversation, I asked Zach if he had a Bible and he said that he didn’t. So I handed him a New Testament. His friend Brandon looked at me like, are you going to give me one? I could tell what he was thinking, so I apologized and told him that was the only one that I had with me. As we kept walking and talking, I realized that we were near the door where I parked so I asked the Brandon if he could wait 5 minutes and I’d run and get him a New Testament too. He said that he would. May God save Zach and Brandon both.

No, I’m Catholic

It was cold and misty on Wednesday while I handed out Why Christianity booklets at Missouri State University. I handed out quite a few booklets the week before, but tried to hand some more out that day. They cost more than my normal tracts, so I try to make sure they know what it is before I give them to the students. (The tracts are cheap enough that I just want them in their hands, praying they will read them later). One girl looked at the Why Christianity cover and said, “No, I’m Catholic.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that over the years of street ministry. Out of their own mouths, they say No to Christianity because they are Catholics. Can you imagine standing before God on Judgement Day and say No, I’m Catholic? I shudder to think of it. Maybe it was because of the cold weather, but I also had several mockers. One girl asked what I was handing out and when she saw what it was, she shook her head, laughed and said, “Get out of here.” Toward the end I tried to handing them to a couple of young girls and one them yelled, “Get away from me!” Right or wrong, I just started open-air preaching for a little bit while they were in earshot. The one that told me to get away from her, turned around and started laughing.

The week before, a lot of students took the Why Christianity booklets. So, I mainly handed out booklets that day, but brought a short message afterwards. One girl walked by and said, “Not everyone’s a Christian.” I thought, thank you captain obvious, but I guess she meant it that what I was saying might be offensive to non-Christians. I just kept open-air preaching and said, “That’s right. Not everyone is a Christian. But there are only two ways to die, in Christ or outside of Christ. Don’t foolishly die outside of Christ. We will all stand before God on Judgment Day, whether you believe in God or not. Don’t foolishly wait until then to bow your knee to Jesus and confess that He is Lord. Do so in this Life!”

Looking For The Parking Garage Near A Bank

Justin and I witnessed downtown on Friday January 31, 2025. It was really cold that night, but we handed out several tracts. Toward the end of the night, he tried to hand tracts to a couple of young women who were pulling their luggage behind them. They both refused tracts, but as they passed us, they said something to the effect that they weren’t sure they were heading in the right direction. So Justin yelled after them, “Where are you headed?” They yelled back, “We are looking for the parking garage near a bank.”

I told them they were heading the wrong direction and suggested that they follow us and we’d direct them to where they need to go. They started following us and told us how they rented an AirBNB and someone broke into the house. The lock was broken and the owner wouldn’t refund their money. So they were looking for somewhere else to stay. I told them that we were sorry to this happened to them. We got about a half a block away and the one said, “Is that the bank we are looking for?” I told them yes and the other one said, “I see the parking garage next to it!” So I said, “I have a Gospel tract for both of you.” This time they both took one.

Justin lives downtown, so I wasn’t really ready to quit yet, so I told him that I’d walk part of the way back toward his apartment. As we got in front of the Regency, there was a pretty good crowd standing in front of the building waiting to go in. So I asked Justin if he had a few minutes and he said sure. So I brought a short message. I told the crowd that we didn’t know what they were there to see, but that nothing is more important than your eternal soul. I shared the Gospel with them. Several laughed at us, but one girl seemed to genuinely listen.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the Gospel with others. You may never open-air preach and that’s ok. Not everyone is called to do that. But every true believer can share their testimony, share the Gospel, give the Good Person Test or hand out a Gospel tract. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Unbelievers need to hear the Good News.)