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Praise God For The Conversations

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Elly Talking To Two Young Men

Praise God For The Conversations!

Ministry Update June 5, 2022

We were blessed to have Trevor, Elly, their two girls, Keven, Joshua and I all out witnessing Friday night. I started out with a short message and had a drive by mocker or two. But before Trevor could bring his message, Elly was nearby having a discussion with a couple of guys. So he respectfully held off so he didn’t interfere with their conversation. While that was going on Joshua spoke to a young lady that’s a college student and said that she’s a believer. Also before Trevor could preach, a young man approached him and they had a long conversation. So we praise God for the conversations! [Read more…]

From Mocking To Listening to Questioning

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From Mocking To Listening To Questioning
Ministry Update May 29, 2022

It was a real privilege Friday night to meet some Facebook friends in real life and witness together. I met Trevor, Elly and their girls and we shared the Gospel in downtown Springfield, MO. I noticed that people took tracts from the girls and sometimes the people would walk a little ways away and stop and read the tracts. Their youngest daughter was very brave. She held a sign that said judge with righteous judgment and a couple walked by walking a dog. All of a sudden the dog started barking at her, but she never flinched. But the highlight of the night was when two boys went from mocking to listening to questioning. [Read more…]

I’m Going To Hell

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I’m Going To Hell

Ministry Update May 22, 2022

Keven, Joshua and I walked around downtown handing out tracts Friday night. Seemed like several people took tracts and we also had a lot of rejections. But a lot of times Joshua would reach out his arm to hand out a tract and say, “Are you going to Heaven or going to Hell?” The overwhelming majority said they were going to Heaven. Of course we don’t know what they are counting on to get there, so we want people to take tracts so they can read the Gospel. But Friday night Joshua had two different men say, “I’m going to Hell” and they were both proud of that fact.

Another thing Joshua said while handing out tracts is “Here’s good news for you.” Sometimes people would take the tract but other times they refused. I joked with Keven and Joshua that we need to come up with a tract that says Bad News on it and say if you don’t want the good news, here’s bad news for you. We could literally tell people the bad news that they have sinned against our Holy, Righteous God and that death and Hell await them. We could also just leave it with the bad news and then give them a phone number to call in case they change their minds and want to hear the good news after all.

Drive By Encourager

I brought a short message earlier in the night on how we all serve someone. As I was sharing the Gospel a woman drove by and said “You bet’ and followed that up with “Amen”. Sometimes we have drive by mockers, but it was nice having a drive by encourager. One young man stood near the building at the end of the parking lot listening to part of the message. Keven and Joshua handed out tracts during this time too. The three of us had a great time of fellowship Friday night. I enjoy the fellowship as much as the street witnessing.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the glorious Gospel with this lost and dying world. Christian, you may not go out street witnessing, but you can hand someone a Gospel tract. You can share your testimony with others. If you haven’t done so already, please start today.)

You Are The Man!

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You Are The Man!

Have you ever had someone tell you, “You are the man!” Or “You’re the man?” Obviously, people mean this is in a good way. Maybe you’ve done a really good job at work or your department has performed really well and people at work will tell you, “You are the man!” Or maybe you were really good at sports in high school and people called you “the man or the woman”. Again, we typically hear this as being a good thing. But did you know the Bible talks about a person being the man and it’s not in a good way?

The Bible tells us that at the time when kings typically went out to war, King David stayed in his palace. One day he was walking on the roof top, looking around and he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. He told one of his servants to fetch her and they did. Then David committed adultery with the woman. The woman’s name was Bathsheba and she was married to Uriah the Hittite. Well, Bathsheba became pregnant from their sexual encounter, so David thought no problem, he’d just have her husband brought back home from the war. Uriah would sleep with his wife and the problem would be solved. [Read more…]

Not Many Fish

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Not Many Fish

Ministry Update August 1, 2021

We had five fishermen Friday night, but not many “fish”. Yes, we are fishers of men and we were excited to be downtown witnessing even in the extremely hot weather, but there just  weren’t many people milling around. Robert and Carl came out with Keven and Pastor Mike and I were there too. We handed out tracts for about an hour and I brought a short message at that first corner. One guy flipped me off the whole time he turned the corner in front of us, but that was about it as far as mockers go. A couple of women listened for a while from across the street.

After I brought a message, we all headed to the square. It turned out Keven and his group were going to visit a friend, so Pastor Mike and I stayed near the square and handed out tracts. One young man asked me if I was getting ready to preach and I told him that I already brought a message. He asked what Scripture I used, so I told him that it was about the Pharisee and tax collector in Luke 18:10-14. While we were talking to the young man, Brian a state representative from Branson, MO came up and shook our hands. He thanked us for witnessing downtown and told us that he goes out witnessing on the square in Branson with some people from his church. That was encouraging to hear too. Pastor Mike and I had some takers and some rejectors of Gospel tracts.

Do You Wanna Tell Me About It?

On the way to see their friend, Keven and his guys handed out tracts too. Here’s what Keven said happened before they got to their friend’s apartment: “After you guys left, the 3 of us were walking along South St. & Walnut and I handed a tract to some young guy, who said, what’s this? “Jesus, the gospel” I say and he said “Do you wanna tell me about it?” And it was on. He was a bit drunk, and admitted it, but was quiet & respectful and actually asked questions that made sense.  Such as, if Jesus died for the sins of the world, are we not automatically just forgiven? No, you have to ask for it. Then Carl gave a bit of his testimony.  Then the guy’s two friends sort of dragged him off”. We praise God for this encounter. May God save the young man and may the Lord bless the tracts that were handed out.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the Gospel with others. Hand out Gospel tracts, tell others how God saved you when you repented of your sins and put your faith in Jesus)

Foolishness

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Foolishness

When you hear the word foolish, what do you think of? Stupid? Ignorant? Lacking of knowledge? A foolish person is someone that is unwise or uses bad judgment. The biblical meaning of foolishness is absurdity or folly (according to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary). The Bible actually talks about preaching of Christ Jesus and Him crucified as appearing like foolishness to the world. So I ask you tonight, does our lifting up the Lord Jesus out here on the streets sound like foolishness to you? [Read more…]

Great To Be Back

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Conner Open-Air Preaching

Great To Be Back

Ministry Update October 12, 2020

Due to health issues (not Covid), I was unable to witnessing downtown for about two months. So it was great to be back out Friday night. Conner joined me and we had a wonderful time. I had a couple of walk-by mockers and Conner had a drive-by mocker. There also were a couple of cars in the parking lot directly across from us that kept their stereo’s blaring the whole time we both brought messages. But the Gospel still went forth. There was a woman in a wheelchair that listened to part of both of our messages. We also talked to a couple of guys that were headed to the square to witness with a different group of evangelists.

Even though several people took tracts, sadly, many more refused them. A large group of young men all refused tracts. The last guy said, “I’m already voting for Trump.” I replied, “This isn’t about President Trump. It’s about Jesus Christ – the King of kings and the Lord of lords.” He just kept walking and didn’t say anything else. It was tough getting Gospel tracts in people ‘s hands, but Conner and I had a great time of fellowship. I told him that I’m currently reading Not Ashamed Of The Gospel by John MacArthur and that I’ll give it to him after I finish. He asked me if I’d heard Union With Christ by Sinclair Ferguson and I told Conner that I hadn’t. He let me borrow the CD’s. Yes, it truly was great to visit with my friend and it was great to be back downtown sharing the Gospel. There really is no greater honor in this life than lifting up the precious name Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, to this lost and dying world. May the King of kings and the Lord of lords be glorified.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share their faith in Jesus with others.)

Cowardice To Mouth Off Something And Walk Off

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Cowardice To Mouth Off Something And Walk Off

Ministry Update July 12, 2020

I’d say we typically have more mockers than not while open-air preaching and I’ve mentioned mockers many times when giving updates. But Friday night while Conner was open-air preaching a group of three guys walked by and one of them mouthed off. I didn’t think much of it (because it’s just the normal), but Conner had great insight. Conner boldly said, “It’s cowardice to mouth off something and walk off.” I’d never really thought about it, but he’s absolutely correct.

A person is a coward that mouths off something and walks away. If you really believed in your convictions, shouldn’t you stand up for what you believe? Mockers are cowards. If they weren’t, they’d have a real discussion. The mocker Friday night proved Conner’s point because even though Conner called him a coward and pointed out how cowardice it is to mouth off something and walk off, the mocker kept on walking.  [Read more…]

Smaller Crowd Than Normal

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Smaller Crowd Than Normal
Ministry Update June 7, 2020

Friday night I brought a message Are Deathbed Confessions Real in downtown Springfield, MO. The parking lot across the street was nearly full, but the lot behind me was completely empty. There weren’t nearly as many people out as would have been before COVID-19, but it was great to be out witnessing again. Five people stopped to listen to at least part of the message. A man in a wheelchair actually rolled down to the corner and he listened to the whole message. One gentleman kept yelling “Read Exodus 3:14”. I kept open-air preaching and every now and then he would yell the same thing. After I finished talking about how Jesus suffered, bled and died on the cross for guilty sinners and rose again from the grave and how the Lord is the only Savior and pleaded with people to repent and trust Him, I read Exodus 3:14.

The Great I AM

The man cheered after I read the words God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you,’” I pointed out that Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” This is the One I’ve been talking about! Jesus is the great I AM. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords and every knee will bow to Him. Oh, but you must do so in this life in order to receive everlasting life. If you wait until Judgment Day to do so, it will be too late. On Judgment Day, those who say it then, will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where they will suffer forever. After stating this, I pleaded with people to repent and surrender to Jesus. Today is the day of salvation.

After sharing the Gospel in the open-air, I walked around downtown and handed out tracts. Many people refused, but only one guy stated that it was because he was afraid of taking anything from anyone (afraid of the coronavirus). But I was quite surprised at the number of people who willingly took a Gospel tract. Some even took one after they asked me what it was and I told them that it’s a Gospel tract – it tells you about Jesus. May God bless the tracts and have people share them with others and may God bless the message that went forth, even though it was a smaller crowd than normal.

Why The Message – Outrageous Puppy Killer?

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Sean Branch Outrageous Puppy Killer

Why The Message Outrageous Puppy Killer?

This message was posted in January 2013 because it truly was horrific. A young man in Washington, D.C. was sentenced to four months in jail for killing a little puppy. Why did he do it? He was mad at the dog’s owner, so he viciously killed the poor, little, defenseless puppy. This is truly awful. People should be outraged over such behavior. We must stand up for the rights of animals! As horrible as this story is, there’s something even worse. Much worse. Three thousand little babies are killed every day in America! Little babies, poor, little, defenseless babies are viciously murdered every day. This is horrific. But where’s the outcry? Why aren’t people hopping mad about this? Why does this travesty, this injustice continue unabated? It does so because of choice, because of a woman’s “choice” to kill her unborn child. [Read more…]