Post by Jeffrey Olver on Jun 27, 2006 8:32:49 GMT -5
Saturday June 24th, myself and my friend Jason Kirkover travelled to Deep Ellum in Dallas Texas to do some ministry.
We arrived close to 11PM...having to park several blocks away because neither of us brough money for parking! All along the way we placed tracts on cars and handed them out.
11PM is usually when the crowds start thronging the streets, but this night it was fairly unpopulated. Lines for clubs barely went past the ends of the buildings and some them look plain deserted!
"The Curtain Club" had it's usual courtyard drinkers lounging around outside. So we stationed ourselves once again with our backs to the "Velvet Hookah" and began to preach.
At first I was able to engage a few hecklers who grabbed more attention for me. But once they realized they weren't getting their money's worth standing outside the club, they went inside. But I noticed many folks still listening intently. It was a much older crowd this night. Mostly looking like they had been out of college for a while, late 20s.
Many men claimed their rejection of the Bible very openly, yet stayed and listened in relative peace. Only once in a while objection or shouting something random at me.
All throughout the night Jason and I were able to speak to many who approached us, including a country singer named Crystal (?), four men who had served in the army in Iraq, and several other men and women who were fairly drunk - which made it exceedingly difficult to have a intelligent conversation.
Towards the end of the night a popular band began their show inside the club and most of the people packed back inside. Leaving only a few here and there who were mostly drunk. At one point a group posed for a picture in front of me...thent he women tried to pose next to me and were purposefully getting WAY too close for comfort. I stepped away from them, announcing that I was an engaged man - the young man holding the camera sort of rebuked the girls and they stopped trying to pose with me.
One young man who was a musician claimed that I had convinced him and wanted to know what he had to do. Jason was able to take him through the Law and the Gospel, explaining it very thoroughly, revealing that the man was definitely not convicted nor did he want to seriously consider what I had been preaching. He walked away, but did so with his hands on some Gospel tracts Jason gave him.
We needed no bullhorn, we didn't have any signs - though I think the "TRUST JESUS" sign would have been very nice to have -and no police hassled us one bit. In fact an officer in a car drove right up the alley and parked at the end - he was a Christian and Jason was able to share some tracts with him and speak to him for a good while. The officer supported us whole-heartedly!
The messages throughout the night were based mainly from Romans 6:23 and Revelation 21:8.
At 1AM it seemed like Deep Ellum emptied, so we went home.
It was a blessed and uninterrupted night. Amen!
On a personal note: more than ever now I see so clearly the dire need for intense and intimate PRAYER before and after ministry. It's in those moments that I feel the Lord shares with me His desire that none should perish and His burden from Matthew 7:13-14 - that so few enter in at the straight gate. Oh, to come boldly before the Throne of grace and plead for souls, souls, souls! Samuel L. Brengle, in his book "Helps to Holiness" (I highly reccomend it) said that prayer should make the soul sweat! Amen! Amen!
We arrived close to 11PM...having to park several blocks away because neither of us brough money for parking! All along the way we placed tracts on cars and handed them out.
11PM is usually when the crowds start thronging the streets, but this night it was fairly unpopulated. Lines for clubs barely went past the ends of the buildings and some them look plain deserted!
"The Curtain Club" had it's usual courtyard drinkers lounging around outside. So we stationed ourselves once again with our backs to the "Velvet Hookah" and began to preach.
At first I was able to engage a few hecklers who grabbed more attention for me. But once they realized they weren't getting their money's worth standing outside the club, they went inside. But I noticed many folks still listening intently. It was a much older crowd this night. Mostly looking like they had been out of college for a while, late 20s.
Many men claimed their rejection of the Bible very openly, yet stayed and listened in relative peace. Only once in a while objection or shouting something random at me.
All throughout the night Jason and I were able to speak to many who approached us, including a country singer named Crystal (?), four men who had served in the army in Iraq, and several other men and women who were fairly drunk - which made it exceedingly difficult to have a intelligent conversation.
Towards the end of the night a popular band began their show inside the club and most of the people packed back inside. Leaving only a few here and there who were mostly drunk. At one point a group posed for a picture in front of me...thent he women tried to pose next to me and were purposefully getting WAY too close for comfort. I stepped away from them, announcing that I was an engaged man - the young man holding the camera sort of rebuked the girls and they stopped trying to pose with me.
One young man who was a musician claimed that I had convinced him and wanted to know what he had to do. Jason was able to take him through the Law and the Gospel, explaining it very thoroughly, revealing that the man was definitely not convicted nor did he want to seriously consider what I had been preaching. He walked away, but did so with his hands on some Gospel tracts Jason gave him.
We needed no bullhorn, we didn't have any signs - though I think the "TRUST JESUS" sign would have been very nice to have -and no police hassled us one bit. In fact an officer in a car drove right up the alley and parked at the end - he was a Christian and Jason was able to share some tracts with him and speak to him for a good while. The officer supported us whole-heartedly!
The messages throughout the night were based mainly from Romans 6:23 and Revelation 21:8.
At 1AM it seemed like Deep Ellum emptied, so we went home.
It was a blessed and uninterrupted night. Amen!
On a personal note: more than ever now I see so clearly the dire need for intense and intimate PRAYER before and after ministry. It's in those moments that I feel the Lord shares with me His desire that none should perish and His burden from Matthew 7:13-14 - that so few enter in at the straight gate. Oh, to come boldly before the Throne of grace and plead for souls, souls, souls! Samuel L. Brengle, in his book "Helps to Holiness" (I highly reccomend it) said that prayer should make the soul sweat! Amen! Amen!