The 4th of July is one of the best times I know of for witnessing. People just sit around bored waiting for the fireworks to start. Everyone is in a festive mood, and many are very open to conversation!
A group of 12 of us gathered downtown to share the gospel with people. It turned out to be a terrific evening.
Here Michael Biegler and Jonathon Olson were having a conversation with a couple who were a bit argumentative, yet interested and friendly. They talked for over 30 minutes.
In the picture above, Nickie and Hannah talked with several older ladies. Sometimes older people know a lot of Christian terminology but have never actually understood the simplicity of the gospel!
As I was taking the above picture, I also noticed two girls sitting a ways away, listening to Nickie. Later, Nickie told me she talked to those two girls as well! She said they were seriously interested, and close to the point of putting their faith in Christ! Please pray for them.
My dad and Brad had several great conversations. They came back to our group afterwards with excitement and it was fun hearing their report!
When it got dark we all came together to share stories. Few activities are as satisfying as getting the gospel out to many people.
At Bright Lights last Monday, Sarah, Stephen and I taught a meeting on witnessing. (We combined the girls in Bright Lights and the guys from Stephen’s Light Shop group.) In the picture above, Michael is sharing a story from one of his conversations from the 4th:
One couple he talked with claimed to be believers, so he asked them, “Do you share your faith very much?”
“Well…” the guy hesitated.
Michael replied, “Well, suppose you were a fireman and someone was in danger on the 2nd floor of a burning building, and you had all the equipment to rescue him–”
About this point, Michael noticed that the wife gave a little half-smile, and glanced at her husband.
“He is a fireman,” she said.
Michael laughed and replied, “Oh, then you will really relate to this. Okay, what if you didn’t rescue that person even though you had the ability to do so? You would be in big trouble, wouldn’t you?”
“Oh yeah!” the guy strongly affirmed.
“Well, as a fireman you are only saving them from an earthly death, but when we share the gospel we are showing them the way to be saved from eternal death. Which do you think is more important?”
This leaves us all with a challenge. Let’s view life from an eternal perspective, obey the commands of Jesus, and enjoy the blessings of being in the battle WITH CHRIST.
Amen!
Hi,
Thanks for all you all are doing. You are an encouragement to us here in North Carolina. I used to live in the DC area and can relate to your ministry there. We would like to get you to North Carolina. We are usually at the flea markets on the weekends. Most people are open and a lot say they are Christians but few actually share their faith. I like your fireman illustration.
blessings,
dean
Awesome! SO glad you all were able to go out and share the gospel on the 4th of July! It is always encouraging to read about your witnessing adventures! The story you shared about the conversation with the fireman was sooo neat – God works in amazing ways. 🙂 We also had an opportunity to go witnessing on Indepenence Day. It was just a few of us, but we had a great time giving out tracts, singing, and proclaming the gospel. Here is a link to a video of our 4th of July witnessing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alE4ZyspuPI&feature=plcp
Thanks for posting, and keep on telling the lost of our great Saviour!