By Justin Edwards
Free hot dogs, free snacks, free drinks, and free
trillion dollar bills! That's right, every person who received free food and free drinks this past Saturday afternoon at the Carolina Panthers tailgate also received the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! An event organized by a local baptist church to share the Gospel with the lost, we were able to bring the Good News to hundreds, if not thousands, of football fans attending the NFL game.
The plan Saturday was to give out 400 free hot dogs and several hundred cold beverages. We were in a perfect location being only 2 or 3 blocks from the stadium along a primary pedestrian route where everyone tailgating on that side of the stadium had to pass by us. It was amazing to see the look on people's faces when we told them free food. Some knew there had to be a catch, and the only thing we required of them was to receive a Gospel tract. But this gave many opportunities to get into spiritual conversations and share Jesus Christ. We also ran into lots of believers, many of which actually helped us in our mission by "recruiting" people to come check us out. I must have seen one female security guard return 4 or 5 times to get more food and some of the resources we were distributing. It was such an awesome site to see!
Only God knows how many lives were touched on Saturday and I could spend a long time sharing conversations I had and witnessed of others. Suffice it to say, it was truly a blessing to be used by Him in this way, and this event is only the beginning of many more to come. A fire was lit in me several months ago to be bold in sharing my faith in public, and I pray that I can only live a life worthy of the calling.
I have been so blessed over these last several months to come in contact with some great brothers and awesome resources to be equipped with sharing the Gospel. One brother shared
Mark Cahill with me back in April and it has proved to be a great encouragement to me in learning how to adequately share the unadulterated gospel. Common fears in witnessing are being overcome and the more opportunities I have, the more confidence and trust I have in knowing God will not charge us with any work He has not sufficiently equipped us for.
So I want to take this opportunity to encourage you to begin praying and thinking of ways you can organize and take the Gospel to the streets in your area. The internet has been so beneficial in equipping me to have face to face encounters with the lost, but there is so much more out there than from behind the keyboard. We have started a facebook page titled
The Speak:Truth Project and I invite you to join the group. This page will be a platform for organizing our local events but also to share ideas and to encourage and equip other believers to fulfill the Great Commission in their own towns.
There are untold opportunities for you to engage in. Rock concerts, bar alleys, club scenes, sporting events, malls, piers, amusement parks - anywhere! All it takes is 1 or 2 believers to trust God to work through them as they obey the command of Jesus Christ to spread His salvation to all people. If you have the same fears I had, then you must get a copy of Mark Cahill's book,
One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven. This is the book that "started it all" for me, and I believe it's potentially the most important book a born again believer will ever read. What else are we here for other than to glorify God through salvation and taking this message to the lost? For additional resources, check out airō's page,
Evangelism - Equip Yourself.
Bride of Christ, the hour is getting late. Current global events are screaming of the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is time to get out of our comfort zones, evaluate our priorities, and do absolutely everything necessary to get the Gospel out. God is very patient so that none should perish, but His patience has an expiration.
The question must be asked: how many people do you know on their way to hell because they don't know Jesus, or rather, Jesus doesn't know them? How many people in your local towns are headed to the same place?
And now a more important question must be asked: what are you going to do about?
Jesus is coming soon - let us be faithful to the end!
And [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. - Mark 16:15
No comments:
Post a Comment