Post by joem on Apr 29, 2007 16:01:53 GMT -5
Fayetteville, NC Outreach Report email to my church late last night
Jerrod and I headed out to Fayetteville this morning in search of lost souls and found an abundance of them waiting for us. We met Carl, Bill and some others from the Raleigh and Fayetteville GNN teams and set up on a corner beside a small grove of trees. My new sign drew quite a bit of attention. Large blue letters quote some verses and ask the question "Do you understand the gospel of Jesus Christ?" On the back of the sign the Ten Commandments are listed along with interesting facts about the Bible. The crowd was somewhat hostile early on, not very many people willing to talk for the first part of the day. After about an hour, most everyone had gone except the two of us. That is when things started to get interesting.
We passed out several thousand tracts and had some great one-to-one conversations. A group of young ladies stopped to talk after getting a MDB tract and I asked them if they understood the gospel. They thought they did, however they soon learned they had never actually heard a biblical gospel presentation. The Law of the Lord weighed heavy upon them and they were all crushed under the conviction of the Spirit and began to see their
need for Jesus Christ in a new light. I invited them to count the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, gave them some literature and prayed for them as they walked away with their eyes opened to the truth.
Jerrod was busy talking to everyone who would give him a chance to speak. He met Mike, a young man fresh out of prison for drug related convictions, who had been questioning God for the hardships he was facing since his release two months ago. Mike had a job, however he had not received his first check yet, so he was living on the streets. The mission downtown is pretty rough, the park is a safer place to sleep. I told Mike that if he
had money he would probably already be high, so it was a blessing that he was broke. I offered him no cash, just some literature, a warning and a message of hope. He was appreciative, shook our hands and left encouraged.
A short time later, I was finishing up a conversation with a small group when I noticed an irate man standing in front of my sign. He was a white supremacist who told me that Jesus was not a Jew and that Hitler had the right idea. I told him Jesus was a Jew and Hitler is in hell. He cursed me until he was out of sight and I went over to join Jerrod in another conversation he had started with several teens. About this time a fight broke out in front of us between a couple of guys. The fight was getting out of hand, blood was being shed and I yelled for the police who came and arrested the two young men. The air was tense in
the area for the next couple hours. I considered moving, however earlier this week as I prayed over this outreach, I was lead to pick a spot and claim it, and refused the temptation to move.
Jerrod stopped two gothic girls with swastikas on their hands and pentagrams on their necks. They shouted at him saying they were agnostic, and truly they were without knowledge of the truth. One of the girls kept her gospel tract, hopefully she will read it. We had a steady stream of folks taking tracts and asking questions about the sign, God, judgment and the gospel.
I spoke to Tina as she stopped and asked me a question about repentance. Tina had been living in sin with her boyfriend who has been beating her for over a year. She finally left him after she was told DSS was going to take her little boy and girl if she stayed with him. I explained the gospel to her and she understood, asking questions the entire time. I told her that
becoming a Christian would cost her dearly. I explained that she can't hold on to her sin and follow Christ. She talked with me for 45mins or so, counting the cost and making decisions. She knows that she must pick up her cross daily, not just today. Pray for Tina and her children.
Jerrod was speaking to some gothic kids and a homosexual, expounding upon the gospel and the need for repentance. I was able to talk and pray with James, who had suffered a severed artery and tendon in his wrist. He was thankful that we took the time to explain the gospel to him and pray over his injury. I then gave a tract to a man who in turn told me he was Muslim and followed Muhammad. Muhammad is in hell, if you follow him, you will be there with him. People are not used to hearing the truth, plain and clear.
Soon after that, Jerrod started a conversation with a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses. I stepped in and for almost an hour showed them the flaws and heresies of their religion. They vowed to pray about it, and left us. We were both getting tired at this point, and it was getting late. I received a rebuke for preaching "hell fire" from a lady and her husband. The words
of Jesse Morrell came to mind, "If people would quit going to hell, I could stop preaching about it." I was able to speak to two young men before we left. They both thought they were saved, yet neither could explain the gospel to me. I took them through the gospel and invited them to count the cost, forsake their sin and follow Jesus. One of the young men had just had knee surgery and was on crutches. I prayed for their spiritual condition and for the young mans knee, and it was time to leave.
It was a long day, and it is almost 1:00am when I am writing this. Once again, I did not get any pictures or video as we spoke to hundreds and passed out several thousand tracts. The glory stories would take up more pages than I could write, and there are more stories than I can remember. Please pray for every seed that was sown. I thank God for Jerrod and his willingness to labor for lost souls. God was truly exalted today.
Grace and Peace, Joe
Jerrod and I headed out to Fayetteville this morning in search of lost souls and found an abundance of them waiting for us. We met Carl, Bill and some others from the Raleigh and Fayetteville GNN teams and set up on a corner beside a small grove of trees. My new sign drew quite a bit of attention. Large blue letters quote some verses and ask the question "Do you understand the gospel of Jesus Christ?" On the back of the sign the Ten Commandments are listed along with interesting facts about the Bible. The crowd was somewhat hostile early on, not very many people willing to talk for the first part of the day. After about an hour, most everyone had gone except the two of us. That is when things started to get interesting.
We passed out several thousand tracts and had some great one-to-one conversations. A group of young ladies stopped to talk after getting a MDB tract and I asked them if they understood the gospel. They thought they did, however they soon learned they had never actually heard a biblical gospel presentation. The Law of the Lord weighed heavy upon them and they were all crushed under the conviction of the Spirit and began to see their
need for Jesus Christ in a new light. I invited them to count the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, gave them some literature and prayed for them as they walked away with their eyes opened to the truth.
Jerrod was busy talking to everyone who would give him a chance to speak. He met Mike, a young man fresh out of prison for drug related convictions, who had been questioning God for the hardships he was facing since his release two months ago. Mike had a job, however he had not received his first check yet, so he was living on the streets. The mission downtown is pretty rough, the park is a safer place to sleep. I told Mike that if he
had money he would probably already be high, so it was a blessing that he was broke. I offered him no cash, just some literature, a warning and a message of hope. He was appreciative, shook our hands and left encouraged.
A short time later, I was finishing up a conversation with a small group when I noticed an irate man standing in front of my sign. He was a white supremacist who told me that Jesus was not a Jew and that Hitler had the right idea. I told him Jesus was a Jew and Hitler is in hell. He cursed me until he was out of sight and I went over to join Jerrod in another conversation he had started with several teens. About this time a fight broke out in front of us between a couple of guys. The fight was getting out of hand, blood was being shed and I yelled for the police who came and arrested the two young men. The air was tense in
the area for the next couple hours. I considered moving, however earlier this week as I prayed over this outreach, I was lead to pick a spot and claim it, and refused the temptation to move.
Jerrod stopped two gothic girls with swastikas on their hands and pentagrams on their necks. They shouted at him saying they were agnostic, and truly they were without knowledge of the truth. One of the girls kept her gospel tract, hopefully she will read it. We had a steady stream of folks taking tracts and asking questions about the sign, God, judgment and the gospel.
I spoke to Tina as she stopped and asked me a question about repentance. Tina had been living in sin with her boyfriend who has been beating her for over a year. She finally left him after she was told DSS was going to take her little boy and girl if she stayed with him. I explained the gospel to her and she understood, asking questions the entire time. I told her that
becoming a Christian would cost her dearly. I explained that she can't hold on to her sin and follow Christ. She talked with me for 45mins or so, counting the cost and making decisions. She knows that she must pick up her cross daily, not just today. Pray for Tina and her children.
Jerrod was speaking to some gothic kids and a homosexual, expounding upon the gospel and the need for repentance. I was able to talk and pray with James, who had suffered a severed artery and tendon in his wrist. He was thankful that we took the time to explain the gospel to him and pray over his injury. I then gave a tract to a man who in turn told me he was Muslim and followed Muhammad. Muhammad is in hell, if you follow him, you will be there with him. People are not used to hearing the truth, plain and clear.
Soon after that, Jerrod started a conversation with a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses. I stepped in and for almost an hour showed them the flaws and heresies of their religion. They vowed to pray about it, and left us. We were both getting tired at this point, and it was getting late. I received a rebuke for preaching "hell fire" from a lady and her husband. The words
of Jesse Morrell came to mind, "If people would quit going to hell, I could stop preaching about it." I was able to speak to two young men before we left. They both thought they were saved, yet neither could explain the gospel to me. I took them through the gospel and invited them to count the cost, forsake their sin and follow Jesus. One of the young men had just had knee surgery and was on crutches. I prayed for their spiritual condition and for the young mans knee, and it was time to leave.
It was a long day, and it is almost 1:00am when I am writing this. Once again, I did not get any pictures or video as we spoke to hundreds and passed out several thousand tracts. The glory stories would take up more pages than I could write, and there are more stories than I can remember. Please pray for every seed that was sown. I thank God for Jerrod and his willingness to labor for lost souls. God was truly exalted today.
Grace and Peace, Joe