Repent and Turn Ministries
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Street Witnessing 071009
Street Witnessing
Downtown Springfield, Missouri
July 10, 2009
Tonight I met up with Steve. We met at Park Central Square. There is a "Sounds on the Square" going on during the summer at the square. Bands play, vendors set up, crowds are milling about, etc.
We prayed and got started walking around. We didn't stay around the square too much because the music was so loud that we couldn't have a conversation with anyone without yelling to be heard.
On the outskirts of the square, we met a young man named "Hammer" (Pic below...yes, that's his real name). Steve had a good witnessing conversation with him. Steve took him through the law and the gospel (Steve is on the right)
Tonya
I asked, "Have you ever told a lie?" She said yes. I said, "What does that make you if you tell a lie?" She said, "A sinner". I said, "Well, more specifically, if I told a lie, you'd call me a what?" She said, "A liar". She then agreed that would make her a liar.
"Have you ever stolen anything?" She said, "Maybe something small". I said, "If I were to open someone's wallet, and only take a one dollar bill, that would still be stealing, right? The value of it doesn't matter". She agreed that she would be a thief.
"Have you ever used God's name in vain?" She said yes. I said, "Many people don't think twice about using God's name in vain, but that's like dragging his name through the mud. We're using God's name as a curse word. That is called blasphemy".
I told Tonya that she admitted to me that she is a lying, thieving, blasphemous person. I explained that the Bible says that all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire, that no thief will inherit the kingdom of God, and that the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
"One of these days we will all die. 10 out of 10 people die. 150,000 people die each and every day over the earth, that's almost 2 people per second. When you die and stand before God on the Day of Judgment, will you be innocent or guilty of breaking His law?" She said, "Guilty". "Will you go to heaven or hell?" She said, "Hell".
Keep in mind that when I originally asked Tonya if she had a Christian background, she immediately told me that she goes to a local, well-known church in the area. Now, after taking her through God's Law, the Ten Commandments, she has seen that she has sinned against God and on her way to hell. That's one of the purposes of God's Law, to bring conviction.
I asked her if the thought of her going to hell concerned her. She said it does. "Do you know what God did for you so that you don't have to go to hell?" She thought about it for a bit, then mentioned Jesus.
I explained to her that if she was in a courtroom and found guilty of serious crimes, and had a $50,000 fine to pay, would a good judge just let her go if she said that she was sorry? No. The law has been broken and a penalty must be paid. And in the same way, that's what God did for us 2,000 years ago when he sent his one and only sinless Son to pay the penalty for our sin. We broke God's law and Jesus paid our fine.
Jesus said that unless a man is born-again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3). To be born-again, we must repent and believe in Jesus.
Repent: God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins will be wiped out (Acts 3:19).
Believe: For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
I thanked Tonya for talking with me and asked her to think about what we talked about. She said she would.
Connor, Ryan & John
Steve and I decided to walk up to the movie theater. Along the way we passed out gospel tracts. Some people would take them and others would not.
There were three teenagers standing on the sidewalk in front of the movie theater. I handed them tracts and got into a conversation with them. It was Connor, Ryan and John. We went through the Ten Commandments. John seemed to be somewhat knowledgeable about the Bible. He brought up the word, "Repent", and said we need to do that to be saved.
(Pic below)
One of the young men, Ryan, who seemed to lose interest during the conversation, later apologized and said he was just noticing all the police cars that were just driving around. He didn't mean to be rude. He thought something might be going on. We had a good conversation, we shook hands and I thanked them for talking.
There were three teenagers standing on the sidewalk in front of the movie theater. I handed them tracts and got into a conversation with them. It was Connor, Ryan and John. We went through the Ten Commandments. John seemed to be somewhat knowledgeable about the Bible. He brought up the word, "Repent", and said we need to do that to be saved.
(Pic below)
Bus Station
Steve and I walked up to the bus station, because we saw the buses parked there and knew people would be waiting. There were some people sitting on the benches. Steve took one side, passing out tracts, and I took the other.
As I was doing so, a young security guard came up, and said to me in a very stern, somewhat loud voice, "Excuse me, you cannot be passing those out here". I told him, "Yes, I can. I have a letter from City Utilities explaining that is legal for me to be here doing this". He said okay. A few seconds later, he came up to me and said, "Can I see your letter?"
No problem. I pulled my letter from the General Counsel of City Utilities and showed it to him, where it states we have permission to pass out literature and engage those who are willing in conversations. He said, "Okay, it's fine for you to do this, I just had to see your letter".
I had to write to them quite a while back because we were stopped from passing out tracts and talking to people at the bus station. This is well within our legal limits to do this. We, as Christians, need to stand up for our rights, or they will be taken from us. Satan is alive and well, and is out to steal, kill and destroy. He will do everything he can to keep Christians from being heard. Don't give in.
As I was doing so, a young security guard came up, and said to me in a very stern, somewhat loud voice, "Excuse me, you cannot be passing those out here". I told him, "Yes, I can. I have a letter from City Utilities explaining that is legal for me to be here doing this". He said okay. A few seconds later, he came up to me and said, "Can I see your letter?"
No problem. I pulled my letter from the General Counsel of City Utilities and showed it to him, where it states we have permission to pass out literature and engage those who are willing in conversations. He said, "Okay, it's fine for you to do this, I just had to see your letter".
I had to write to them quite a while back because we were stopped from passing out tracts and talking to people at the bus station. This is well within our legal limits to do this. We, as Christians, need to stand up for our rights, or they will be taken from us. Satan is alive and well, and is out to steal, kill and destroy. He will do everything he can to keep Christians from being heard. Don't give in.
Garren
At one point, we walked past this man near the bus station, named Garren. I handed him a gospel tract and we got into a witnessing conversation. One of the things I like about witnessing to someone, is that they really reach down in the memory banks to remember everything they can about the Bible, to show you that they are Bible literate. This is good, because it causes them to think about the things of God.
We went
through the law and the gospel, the grace of God. One of the things
that stands out to me in this conversation, was that he quoted part of
John 3:16 as saying, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
FORGOTTEN Son". It seems most people have heard and partially memorized that verse.
Justin, Josh & Noel
Walking down the sidewalk, Steve and I passed out tracts to Justin, Josh & Noel. They laughed and said that they are also Christians, passing out tracts and talking to people. When asked if they minded if we did a "role play" with them, to show them how we share our faith?
We basically went through the Good Person Test, which is taking them through the Ten Commandments, then once conviction is brought, giving them the gospel. They thought it was a very good way to share Christ.
Please keep those you read about in your prayers. Pray the Holy Spirit will bring conviction to their hearts so that they may repent and believe in Jesus so they can be born-again.
In Christ,
Brad St. Clair
We basically went through the Good Person Test, which is taking them through the Ten Commandments, then once conviction is brought, giving them the gospel. They thought it was a very good way to share Christ.
Debriefing
Afterwards, we went to the coffee shop to discuss how the night went. There were some who didn't take a gospel tract, even when they were told what it was. One guy, when he was told what it was, continued walking and yelled back, "I'm a satanist". I yelled back, "Come back, I'd like to talk to you". He said, "No, I'm not really". He just wanted us to leave him alone. I suppose he thought saying that would scare us off. Nope. Another guy, after finding out what it was that we were trying to hand to him, stated that he was an agnostic, therefore he didn't need it. It is amazing to see such a rejection of God and Jesus out in everyday life. Please keep those you read about in your prayers. Pray the Holy Spirit will bring conviction to their hearts so that they may repent and believe in Jesus so they can be born-again.
In Christ,
Brad St. Clair