Category: Witnessing Conferences

Announcements/Witnessing Conferences

Announcing: Second Witnessing Weekend!

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My husband, Josiah, and I (Grace) have found our current season of life (caring for our toddler and baby) to make travel more difficult. Last year my husband had an idea that worked out really well: we ran a “Witnessing Weekend” from our home. We kept the attendance small, and loved being able to really get to know those who came. We are scheduling another one this year in March! To give you a feel for what it’s like, I’ll post photos and reports from last year below.


It was a simple, low-key event in our home where we taught some basics about witnessing and then put it into practice together at the mall.


Several of the attendees were new to witnessing, and it took a lot of courage for them to share the gospel in a busy shopping mall! We had many good conversations at the mall that day, and it was a highlight of the weekend. A couple of the attendees told us it was their favorite part, despite their terror beforehand. 🙂


We are so encouraged to see the Lord raising up laborers for the harvest and had so much good fellowship through the course of the weekend.


We scheduled some down time for singing and get-to-know-you activities.


All food and housing is included in this event. (Since Josiah and I live on the same block as my parents and Sarah and Andrew, we are able to divide the housing among our three houses.)


New special friendships!

This year we plan to witness both at the mall and at the St Patrick’s parade in our city. See more information and register here.

Witnessing Conferences

Josiah and Grace, Witnessing Training Travels

Last weekend Josiah and I had the excitement of teaching a weekend of witnessing training sessions to a couple dozen youth at a church in Indiana. It was a great encouragement to us to be with them and see the spiritual fervor and love in their local church body.

Josiah sharing about the simplicity of the gospel

Sharing stories after we went out witnessing at a Christmas event downtown

Josiah and I especially enjoyed participating in the 1 1/2 hour prayer meeting that this church family has every Sunday afternoon. It was special to see the joyful participation of so many young families who stay together all day for spiritual fellowship.

We were invited to speak at this church because we got acquainted with a man and his wife who attend the church at the Alliance Homeschool Leaders Conference in September where Josiah and I did the same training course with the group of teens. Below are a few photos from that event.

 

There are challenges to traveling and teaching with a one-year-old, but thankfully Hosanna loves making new friends.

Josiah and I organized our teaching in such a way that when one is sharing, the other can watch Hosanna. Our teaching sessions are short, sprinkled with video clips, and ending with discussion and interaction. Topics include overcoming fear, articulating the gospel with accuracy and power, eliminating excuses, using gospel tracts, listening yet leading, having pure lives, and living with our eyes set on the Bema (judgment seat of Christ for believers).

Announcements/Testify Training Camp/Witnessing Conferences

Testify Training Camp: Registration Open

Registration is open for our upcoming two Testify camps at the Iowa State Fair and Willowbrook Bible Camp. Because of space limitations, we decided to do two camps this year. Camp 1 will be August 8-12 and Camp 2 will be August 15-19.

It has been a thrill to see the Lord work and bless at these camps in previous years, and we anticipate Him to do the same in 2019 as we pray. Speakers will include Bryan Osborne, Micah Tuttle (Bryan at Camp 1 and Micah at Camp 2) and Tony Ramsek.

Register here. You can register as a day camper if you’re local, or for the full camp (which includes housing) if you’re coming from out of town.

See PDF of flyer.

This video, made after last year’s camp, gives a taste of what the camp is like!

Testify Training Camp from Tomorrow's Forefathers, Inc. on Vimeo.

Additionally, this video shows more detail about the booth that Answers in Genesis does at the Iowa State Fair–which is an aspect of what we do at the Testify camp.

Ark Encounter/Testify Training Camp/Witnessing Conferences

Iowa State Fair Gospel Ministry Video Reports

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There is so much to describe about how the Lord worked at the Iowa State Fair gospel booth outreach and Testify Training Camp that it is easier to communicate through videos. Thank you to all who have prayed for these ministries.

Our hearts were filled with gratefulness to the Lord as this year’s Iowa State Fair outreach wrapped up, and we look forward to what He has in store for next year!

The Testify Training Camp is described in the video below. We are tentatively planning on running two Testify Camps in 2019: one on August 8-11 and the second on August 15-19.

Testify Training Camp from Tomorrow's Forefathers, Inc. on Vimeo.

This video shows the Answers in Genesis gospel booth, inside the Varied Industries building at the fair:

Answers in Genesis Outreach at Iowa State Fair from Tomorrow's Forefathers, Inc. on Vimeo.

Announcements/Witnessing Conferences

Do Dinosaurs Disprove the Bible?

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We are very excited to have Answers in Genesis speaker Bryan Osborne teaching at our Testify Camp this year! I interviewed Bryan last year for the Will Our Generation Speak? video series that we’re making, and below is a clip from that interview. We’re looking forward to learning from him and seeing how the Lord works this year.

For more information about the Testify witnessing training camp click here.

Do Dinosaurs Disprove the Bible? from Tomorrow's Forefathers, Inc. on Vimeo.

Witnessing Conferences

Iowa State Fair Outreach – 2017 Report

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Shortly after our Testify Camp last year (witnessing training camp at the Iowa State Fair), we took off for conferences in Mexico and so I never posted a report. Finally, here are a few pictures and reports of what the Lord did last August!

We were super encouraged by the group of young people and adults who attended the camp and helped at the gospel both. There was so much enthusiasm and great fellowship!

Half the time was spent in witnessing training at the camp, and half the time spent putting it into practice at the fair!

After each afternoon/evening of witnessing at the fair, we’d come back to the camp and share stories. These times were a highlight as we got to hear how others were stretched but saw the Lord open doors for gospel conversations. There were some amazing stories, and much rejoicing.

One of the alluring aspects of the Answers in Genesis gospel booth inside the fair is the drone footage from the Ark Encounter on flat screen TVs on both sides of the booth. This attracts much interest and discussion. After answering a few questions about the Ark, we try to transition the conversation to their spiritual beliefs and the need we all have for Jesus — our true Ark of salvation.

Sometimes people will sit down on our folding chairs inside our booth to have lengthier discussions with us.

During our times at the fair, we’d divide into four teams and we always had one team praying in a back hallway. This was also a time to share prayer requests and discuss how things were going. Prayer is a huge aspect of witnessing. If God isn’t working, nothing happens.

The girls on my team <3 Tim Chaffey from Answers in Genesis was one of our speakers. His sessions on apologetics were awesome.

It was exciting to have the opportunity to put into practice that very day at the fair some of the things we learned from the sessions.

Brianna and Abigail, using a Noah’s Ark million dollar bill to begin a gospel conversation with this couple who stopped by the booth.

As you can see, our booth is pretty big (20×20), but it is still definitely not enough space to have our 50-60 campers witnessing inside it all at the same time. So, we came up with a little system…

Dividing into four teams with this schedule helped us greatly in keeping everything organized and operating smoothly.

It amazes us just how many deep, heart-to-heart gospel conversations we are able to get into at the fair, by God’s grace and provision!

Bill was a fantastic part of the booth. The children flocked to him to see his tricks, and then he’d share about Jesus.

The Lord arranged and coordinated a thousand things; I could never list them all. Believers from all around the country found out about the camp in so many different ways. The Lord provided opportunity for countless gospel discussions with unbelievers. We are so blessed to be servants of the Most High God who works intimately in our lives, and in drawing the lost to Himself.

If you are interested in joining us for this year’s fair, see more information and register here. We’re very excited that Bryan Osborne, speaker from Answers in Genesis, will be joining us this year. See a 2 1/2 minute video of Bryan speaking here.

This video I made a year ago, describing out 2016 outreach and advertising our 2017 camp. If you haven’t seen it yet, it will give you a further taste of what this outreach entails:

Answers in Genesis Outreach at the Iowa State Fair from Tomorrow's Forefathers, Inc. on Vimeo.

Announcements/Witnessing Conferences

Testify Training Camp 2018!

I’m excited to announce our 3rd annual witnessing training camp, scheduled for August 9-13. Last year doubled in size from the first year and it was a super exciting time. There was a mix of young people, middle aged, and older people, and the four days were pretty packed with fellowship, learning together, and doing outreach together. I’m excited to see who God brings this year! Feel free to spread the word to anyone you know who may be interested.

This year Bryan Osborne, speaker from Answers in Genesis will be joining us. He’s an awesome speaker and teaches apologetics in a very understandable way. See a short video we made of him sharing about using dinosaurs in witnessing here.

If you haven’t seen the video that we made promoting the camp last year yet, you can view that here. (It will give you a feel for what the ministry at the Answers in Genesis booth at the fair is like!)

Space is limited. Register here.

Christmas Ministry Ideas/Family News/Witnessing Conferences/Witnessing Stories

Dad Witnessing At Christmas Tree Farm

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After my dad and I picked out and cut down our Christmas tree this afternoon, we began talking about how we should witness to the guy who was working there. We thought that a good strategy for getting into a conversation would be to ask what he thought the second coming of Jesus would be like.

After my dad tied the tree to the top of our vehicle, he remembered he never paid for the tree. 🙂

When he went to pay, he asked his question about the second coming and they ended up talking for 10 – 15 minutes. I joined part way through.

“How’d that conversation go?” I asked dad as we were pulling away.
“Great,” Dad said.
As he began to explain the story to me, I pulled out my camera and started recording, hoping it might spark some new idea for others who might get into discussion this Christmas.

Dad Shares About Witnessing to Christmas Tree Farm Workers from Tomorrow's Forefathers, Inc. on Vimeo.

Announcements/Witnessing Conferences

Testify Training Camp Registration Deadline: August 1

(To see this flyer englarged, click here.)

The deadline to register for the Testify Training Camp at the Iowa State Fair is August 1st, just a few days away. We’re excited about the group God is bringing together, and we are looking forward to an exciting time of ministry and fellowship. We saw the Lord work in so many ways last year.

Click here to register. If you have not yet seen the 3 minute promo video we made last year, view that here.

Local Option: For those who live in the Des Moines area and would like to be a part of the camp as a “day camper,” you are welcome to do so for no fee. However, if you’d like to join us for any meals at the camp, that will be $6 per meal and we’ll need to know which meals you will be joining us for by August 1st. (If you won’t know until the last minute, you can bring a sack lunch.) To register as a Day Camper, please email me and let me know if you are planning to come for the whole time or just part, and if you want to eat any meals with us. I will be posting a schedule for the conference early next week.