Month: September 2025

Taylor, a young father, attended Testify camp for the first time. While witnessing to a man at the gospel booth at the Iowa State Fair, Taylor reviewed two of the Ten Commandments, establishing conviction of sin.
Then Taylor asked, “So, do you know what God did for you so you don’t have to go to Hell, but can spend eternity in Heaven?”
“He sent Jesus to die,” the man replied, a bit flippantly, as if that was common knowledge.
“But how does that work? How can that save you?” Taylor probed.
The man looked at Taylor with great interest.
Tayler later recalled excitedly, “I’ve never seen anyone look at somebody like that. It was this intense look of ‘tell me’!”
Taylor joyfully explained the Great Exchange — how our sins were put on Christ so His righteousness could be put on us. The man thanked Taylor warmly! What a joy it was for Taylor to see God use him that evening, even though sharing the gospel in this context was new for him.

A highlight for me at each camp is hearing the encounters people describe when they come back from the fair each night. So many stories have the mark of divine intervention: the loving hand of God arranging circumstances and using all kinds of ways to open doors and soften hearts.

For example, one conversation began because of an acrobat named James performing gymnastic tricks. James’ audience had dwindled, but Chris and his 14-year-old son Noah (who were walking around looking for opportunities for gospel conversations) were watching and cheering. Then James told them, “Here, I’ll do one more for you—it’s called the ‘Jesus flip.’”
Chris’s jaw may not have visibly dropped, but he knew, There’s our open door!
After the cool flip that resembled Jesus with outspread arms, they chatted with James about Jesus.
“Do you know why Jesus died on the cross?” they asked him.
“No, I don’t,” he replied, “why did He die?”
They learned that James was an agnostic.
“How did you become an agnostic?” they asked.
As they talked with James, he became more and more interested.
“I really need to think about this and study what you gave me,” he said, promising to read the gospel of John.
At the beginning of the talk he was an agnostic, but at the end of the talk, he seemed close to salvation!
James thanked them at least 10 times for the talk!
And Chris said he felt it was the most sovereignly-orchestrated conversation of his life!

We live in a generation where many are Biblically illiterate. We don’t expect most of them to repent and put their faith in Christ right there on the spot (they simply are not ready), but we do expect the Lord to use us to plant seeds, put “pebbles in their shoe,” and push them a bit closer to saving faith. We also know that often these unbelievers have someone else who is a Christian that God is using already in their life. Dorian is an example of this:

Tony and Richard met Dorian one day at the fair.
“Your name is Dorian? No way!” Tony told him enthusiastically, “I wanted to name my son Dorian because of the amazing meaning it has in the Bible!”
This got Dorian’s attention!
“Dorian is the Greek word for gift,” Tony explained. “Here, let me show you some of the Scriptures.”
Tony had him read Ephesians 2:8-9 and many other Scriptures with his name, showing Dorian the wonderful news that God’s gift of salvation is unconditionally FREE.

Then guess what Dorian said?
“Just two weeks ago I met a new friend who is a Christian. He invited me to church and talked to me about this too.”
“Well, do you think that is by accident? It sounds like God is reaching out to you.” Tony said, “Out of the thousands of people at the fair today, I believe the Lord led us to you!”

Seeing God’s hand is a thrill. It may take perseverance—not all people are receptive, but those jewel conversations are worth digging for!

And whether we chat with a hardened atheist, a curious unbeliever, or a soundly saved Christian, God uses every encounter.

One of our Testify campers named Dave shared about an interesting response he received from a Christian at the fair. The Christian said, “Out of my 58 years on earth, you are the first person to bring the gospel to me, and I commend you for that.”

While that was an encouraging encounter, it is also a sad reminder. It reveals a sorrowful reality in our land—that many Christ-followers have taken their eyes off Jesus’ command: “Look at the fields—they are ripe for harvest!”

May the Lord realign our priorities, and may our love for HIM produce a greater love for those for whom He died.

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