Evangelism...

As you can probably tell by the title, this week's topic was evangelism. It was an interesting, powerful and convicting week. Our speaker David Lehmann was very passionate about evangelism and it was all but impossible to pick up on his enthusiasm. One thing that I was really impacted by this week was how complicated Christians and the church make evangelism. Why is it so hard for us to speak the name of Jesus in public? If you go and see a movie and really enjoy it, naturally you are going to go out and tell all of your friends about it. Why don't we do the same with the gospel? It is the greatest news of all isn't it? Jesus is much more important than a movie, right?

It was really challenging this week because I am scared to go up to a complete stranger and start up a conversation about Jesus but the more I think about it the more necessary it is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the entire world! I've always felt I have been doing my part in evangelism with things like mission trips and the Hope Bus, which are great ministries that do great works for the Kingdom of God, but David really pushed it further than just serving people or building relationships. Yes, we can serve someone in the name of Jesus but eventually it has to come to the point where we are intentionally speaking the word of Christ. Someone will not automatically be saved by the actions we do. Our actions are the key that can unlock the door but again, it comes back to being intentional about sharing the gospel message.

We were able to practice the new ideals of evangelism and the practical teachings from the week Thursday night in downtown Portland. There is a ministry called Nightstrike that gathers under a bridge and provides a hot meal, haircuts, foot washings, pedicures, manicures, Christian literature, someone to talk to, and the gospel message to the homeless. We each got placed into different groups. I was assigned to a group of people who would go out from the bridge and find people within the city itself to hand out sandwiches and a drink and socks. During our journey we met a man named Burt. We started a conversation and quickly realized he was very drunk. It was difficult to stand there for an hour listening to him stammer on uselessly and not being able to find the entrance to open up the conversation to Jesus when there are people out there that will gladly speak to us about it. BUT, we stuck to it and like I said, stood there for an hour before we had our opportunity to share our faith. Unfortunately because of his current mental state it seemed that nothing was getting through. We left the conversation discouraged but I remembered David's teaching earlier in the day. We are not going to be able to save every person that we meet on the spot but we can move them closer to salvation with each meeting. So, I left hoping that our conversation would stick enough to move Burt closer to salvation. Our time with Burt went so long that we had to start heading back to the bridge but we still had food and socks to give out so on our way back we kept our eyes and hearts open. I then spotted a couple of people sitting on the corner begging for money and my heart jumped....here was our opportunity. They gladly accepted our stuff and we got into a small conversation. After hearing their story we asked if we could pray for them and they gladly agreed. Unfortunately because of time restrictions we were not able to stay and talk longer but I left that meeting knowing that something was planted in their heads. Although disappointed that I wasn't able to bring them to salvation I have to trust that God will provide the people they need to bring them to him. I did my part that night but I wonder if I did enough.

All of that to say, are we doing enough? 95% of Christians will never share the gospel to someone. How sad is that? What was Jesus' last command? GO, and preach the gospel! Why are we so focused on ourselves that we completely miss the people crying out for help? Why aren't our churches flooded with the homeless, drunks, drug addicts, or lost? What is the worst that could happen if you asked someone if you could tell them about Jesus? They say no. What's the best thing that could happen? YOU SAVE THEM! Now think of what would happen if you don't ask...whats the worst thing? They are lost for eternity.

I'm done preaching but I challenge anyone to work on not being ashamed of the greatest man in history, not being ashamed to even mention the name of Jesus in public. Its something that I'm working on because in the end, it is what we are called to do.

Danielle and I are continually blessed with letters, prayers, and support. We just want to thank each and every one of you for partnering with us through this journey. You are all on our hearts and as much a part of this journey as we are. Thanks,

Josh