What Does That Shirt Mean To You?
Ministry update August 4, 2026
Doug and I witnessed downtown Friday night and Doug said a wonderful prayer before we started. He asked God to bless the tracts and any conversations that we’d get into and he asked God to direct us through the Holy Spirit and give us wisdom through the Holy Spirit. As we were walking toward a guy sitting on a bench wearing a t-shirt with three crosses on it, I was prompted to ask the guy what his shirt means to him. I’ve never asked that question before. Doug was about a half a step ahead of me, so I suggested he ask the guy that question. When Doug got to him, he said. “What does that shirt mean to you?” Both of us were surprised when the guy replied, “I own this vintage store here and I just like these old Jesus t-shirts.”
We’ve never asked someone that question before. Typically, you kind of figure a Christian is wearing a Christian t-shirt – even if they are a false convert, they at least think they are saved. But Jamie didn’t pretend at all. He just liked the shirt. So obviously Doug took advantage of that opening and explained to him what the shirt represents. Doug was talking to him about the 10 Commandments when Jamie said that he’d read the tract later. Since he was trying to get rid of us, Doug turned and started talking to a young man that just walked near him. I then told Jamie that we aren’t trying to force anything on him, but that nothing is more important than your eternal soul. I told him God is Holy, we are not. We’ve all fallen short of God’s glory and that’s why we have to repent of our sins and trust Jesus to save us. There’s no other way of salvation.
Saved Earlier This Year
Prior to that encounter, Doug handed a tract to Howie who said that he was saved earlier this year through Freeway Ministries. Freeway is a wonderful ministry that tries to reach the homeless and the down and out. We really couldn’t tell if Howie is a true convert or not, but Doug shared truth with him and Howie allowed Doug to pray for him. I asked him if he has a Bible and he said that he has one. I encouraged him to read it. We pray that God would truly save Howie if he isn’t saved or start him on the path of sanctification of he is truly saved.
Then we ran into four or five teenagers on the square. One kept trying to tell me a knock-knock joke, but he kept messing it up. I told him that I was in no hurry, but he quit trying. Then another teenager asked me rate his skipping, then he asked me to name an ACDC song. By then I was quite curious about what they were doing, so I asked them and they said that they were on a scavenger hunt. I asked if they were with a group or something and they said no. There were a couple of mom’s with them and one spoke up and said that she came up with the things that they were supposed to do. I told her I thought that was great.
Then I told them that I thought I had been a pretty good sport, so I now had a question for them. I asked them how do you get to Heaven? One kid said you have to be saved. So I said, “Saved through Muhammad or the Pope or who? He shrugged his shoulders, but one of the other kids yelled out – Jesus, you have to be saved through Jesus. I told him that he was right. They all took tracts and I told them that Jesus is the only Savior, and we come to Him his way, through repentance and faith.
What Happens After We Die?
Doug and I handed out some more tracts and then I handed one to Corey. He stopped to look at it so I asked him what happens after we die? He said that we go to Heaven. So I asked him how do we get there. He said through good works. I told him that none of us are good (Romans 3:10-12) and the Bible says that our very best works are as filthy rags to our Holy God (Isaiah 64:6). It doesn’t mean doing good is a bad thing, it just shows us how Holy God is!
I shared the Gospel with him and then it started raining. He said that he didn’t want to get wet. So I asked him if he has a Bible and he said that he does. I encouraged him to read it every day and suggested that he start with the book of John to see if what I was saying was right. It started raining harder as Doug and I walked back to our vehicles. I said, “Jesus suffered and died for us, so I guess we can get wet for Him.” We did get wet, but it was worth it. We had a blessed night of witnessing.
(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to hand out Gospel tracts to other or tell other people about Jesus. True believers, we have the greatest gift of all time and we need to share the Good News.)