The first person I recall leading to faith in Jesus Christ – outside my immediate family – was a man named J. J. Herman. My husband and I were traveling, doing street ministry while living in an old touring bus with our four children. We were parked at a campground in Kimball, Tennessee. While my husband, Terry, was out looking for work, I grabbed up a handful of gospel tracts and walked across the street.
The little run-down motel across from the campground was apparently being rented out to transient workers. As I walked up the sidewalk, I saw a black man with a white cloth wrapped around his head leaning on the railing of a balcony watching me. I called up to him, and he answered me.
“Would you like to have a relationship with God?” I asked him.
He gave me a noncommittal answer, but continued to listen as I explained the gospel in an abbreviated form.
Finally, I asked him the crucial question: “Would you like to make that kind of commitment to Jesus, accept the salvation he offers and give your life to him?”
“I don’t know…” he answered.
“You know,” I added, “I might be an angel sent to tell you this, and it could be your last chance.”
“I thought of that!” he cried out. “Yeah, okay…”
That day, J. J. Herman made his decision to follow Jesus, and he entered the kingdom of God. That night when my husband and I walked over to where a group of men were gathered around a burning barrel chatting, and shared the gospel with them, J. J. hurried over and told them, “Listen to them! I became a Christian today!”
We led three other people to Jesus in Kimball before we moved on: Amanda, Kat, and Bryan. Amanda and Kat we just walked up to and told them how to know Jesus, and they prayed to receive him. Bryan came up to us as we stood with an 8-foot wooden cross in the far reaches of a Wal-Mart parking lot. He asked what we were doing, and we told him. He willingly prayed to receive Jesus as his Lord.
Some people respond to a direct question, like, “Do you want to know how to have a relationship with God?” or, “Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” Others are drawn to the cross, when my husband stands with the cross. I usually stand nearby, handing out gospel tracts – small booklets that give a simple gospel message. They are “door-openers.” They start conversations by giving people an opportunity to ask questions.
Once, we were down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. If you’ve never been to New Orleans at Mardi Gras, you would have a hard time picturing it – the grit and grime that sticks like goo to your shoes, the deafening noise, and the constant pushing, shoving, wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder flow of people. We were standing with the cross, handing out tracts and talking (screaming directly into an ear, usually; it was the only way we could hear each other!) to people about God. A man in our group reached over a couple of people and jabbed me in the shoulder. When I looked at him, he yelled, “WE NEED A SISTER OVER HERE!” He had to repeat it before I understood what he was saying. There was a young woman over there, weeping, asking for help. When I asked her what I could do for her, she yelled (although I barely could hear it), “I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!” I tapped my husband on the shoulder and we managed to gather up all our crew and work our way out of the throng, with the girl in the middle. We took her back to our camp that night, which was a cluster of RVs in the parking lot of a church.
I sat with Andrea in the sanctuary of the church and talked to her about God, but she was seriously drunk and next thing I knew, she was snoring. I went and got a blanket, and just covered her up and let her sleep right where she was.
Next morning, we got the girl up and fed her breakfast over by the camper. She was a college student from Charleston who could not take any more of the meaningless debauchery, and just wanted to get out of it. She’d been raised Catholic, but did not know Jesus. We kind of “tag-teamed” the gospel message that morning, each one of the group contributing a bit, and when my husband asked her if she “wanted to do that,” she nodded her head. She prayed then, repenting of her sin and asking Jesus to save her soul.
We got permission to baptize Andrea in the church’s baptistery. With just a dozen or so street ministers gathered around, she was baptized into a new life, and while she stood dripping in her wet clothes, we all put oil on our hands, touched her head and prayed for God to fill her with his Holy Spirit.
And he did! That little Catholic girl keeled over and went down like a stick of firewood! We all huddled over her body, there on the floor, and continued to pray for her, as a peaceful smile graced her lips. After a few minutes, her eyes fluttered open, and we helped her up.
At her request, we dropped Andrea off near her friends’ apartment, but not before giving her a Bible of her own.
Two years later, Terry and I got a Christmas card from California. Andrea was writing to tell us she had reunited with her mother and was back home, and to thank us for what we’d done for her.
Witnessing opportunities sometimes come totally unplanned. Sometimes, it’s just a divine appointment, pure and simple. I remember one time I got a traffic ticket, and when I went to pay it, the clerk said they had to have cash. Grumbling under my breath, I checked the clock and realized I had just a few minutes before my bank closed. I hopped in the car and drove over to Wal-Mart, where a branch of the bank was located. I made it in time, got the cash, and started back out. While waiting on the sidewalk in front of the store for some traffic to clear, I noticed the T-shirt of a young man standing next to me. It had the word “ministry” on it.
“Oh, are you a Christian?” I asked him.
“Uh, no,” he said.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I saw ‘ministry’ on your shirt and thought….”
“Oh, that’s just the name of a tour. It’s a band T-shirt.”
“Oh, okay. Well, would you like to be a Christian?”
“Well… yeah.”
So I explained the gospel to Andy, and right there on the sidewalk in front of Wal-Mart, a young man stepped into the kingdom of God, and the angels in heaven rejoiced! I told Andy to get in touch with a local church (because we were moving), get a Bible to read, and make sure he got baptized. As he trotted across the parking lot, I saw him give a happy little skip and kick a piece of paper. He was a newborn creature; all the old things were passed away!
Jesus told his disciples, “… you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come on you: and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. ~ Acts 1:8
Jesus spoke those words to his disciples just before he ascended back to heaven after his resurrection. “You shall be witnesses to me,” he said. It is quite likely that this was spoken not just to the eleven that we normally think of as Jesus’ disciples, but to a group of more than 100 followers, because just a few verses later on there are 120 disciples gathered together (verse 15). So, Jesus told his followers they would be “witnesses” of him throughout the world.
And he said to them, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” ~ Mark 16:15
I realize that not everyone is called to leave their home and go out to preach. Jesus told a man that he had delivered from demonic possession to go home:
…he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. However, Jesus suffered him not, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and has had compassion on you.” And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. ~ Mark 5:18-20
But notice that Jesus told him to “tell.” He was to be a witness of what God had done in his life. Everyone who is given new life through Jesus Christ should be a witness of that.
…sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you… ~ 1st Peter 3:15
Sometimes, when my husband and I are out in the ebb and flow of humanity doing street ministry, I will talk to someone who claims to be a Christian.
“Really!” I will say. “Praise God! Tell me your testimony!”
All too many times, that draws a blank stare, or a “Huh?” I figure if you can’t tell me how Jesus has changed your life, you probably don’t know him. That verse above, in 1st Peter, gives me the right to ask someone that question. Can you “give an account for the hope that is in you?” If you can’t do that, then how do you know you’re saved?
And if you’ve been saved, then according to the One that saved you, you have something to tell to others. You are his witness.
The little run-down motel across from the campground was apparently being rented out to transient workers. As I walked up the sidewalk, I saw a black man with a white cloth wrapped around his head leaning on the railing of a balcony watching me. I called up to him, and he answered me.
“Would you like to have a relationship with God?” I asked him.
He gave me a noncommittal answer, but continued to listen as I explained the gospel in an abbreviated form.
Finally, I asked him the crucial question: “Would you like to make that kind of commitment to Jesus, accept the salvation he offers and give your life to him?”
“I don’t know…” he answered.
“You know,” I added, “I might be an angel sent to tell you this, and it could be your last chance.”
“I thought of that!” he cried out. “Yeah, okay…”
That day, J. J. Herman made his decision to follow Jesus, and he entered the kingdom of God. That night when my husband and I walked over to where a group of men were gathered around a burning barrel chatting, and shared the gospel with them, J. J. hurried over and told them, “Listen to them! I became a Christian today!”
We led three other people to Jesus in Kimball before we moved on: Amanda, Kat, and Bryan. Amanda and Kat we just walked up to and told them how to know Jesus, and they prayed to receive him. Bryan came up to us as we stood with an 8-foot wooden cross in the far reaches of a Wal-Mart parking lot. He asked what we were doing, and we told him. He willingly prayed to receive Jesus as his Lord.
Some people respond to a direct question, like, “Do you want to know how to have a relationship with God?” or, “Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” Others are drawn to the cross, when my husband stands with the cross. I usually stand nearby, handing out gospel tracts – small booklets that give a simple gospel message. They are “door-openers.” They start conversations by giving people an opportunity to ask questions.
Once, we were down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. If you’ve never been to New Orleans at Mardi Gras, you would have a hard time picturing it – the grit and grime that sticks like goo to your shoes, the deafening noise, and the constant pushing, shoving, wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder flow of people. We were standing with the cross, handing out tracts and talking (screaming directly into an ear, usually; it was the only way we could hear each other!) to people about God. A man in our group reached over a couple of people and jabbed me in the shoulder. When I looked at him, he yelled, “WE NEED A SISTER OVER HERE!” He had to repeat it before I understood what he was saying. There was a young woman over there, weeping, asking for help. When I asked her what I could do for her, she yelled (although I barely could hear it), “I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!” I tapped my husband on the shoulder and we managed to gather up all our crew and work our way out of the throng, with the girl in the middle. We took her back to our camp that night, which was a cluster of RVs in the parking lot of a church.
I sat with Andrea in the sanctuary of the church and talked to her about God, but she was seriously drunk and next thing I knew, she was snoring. I went and got a blanket, and just covered her up and let her sleep right where she was.
Next morning, we got the girl up and fed her breakfast over by the camper. She was a college student from Charleston who could not take any more of the meaningless debauchery, and just wanted to get out of it. She’d been raised Catholic, but did not know Jesus. We kind of “tag-teamed” the gospel message that morning, each one of the group contributing a bit, and when my husband asked her if she “wanted to do that,” she nodded her head. She prayed then, repenting of her sin and asking Jesus to save her soul.
We got permission to baptize Andrea in the church’s baptistery. With just a dozen or so street ministers gathered around, she was baptized into a new life, and while she stood dripping in her wet clothes, we all put oil on our hands, touched her head and prayed for God to fill her with his Holy Spirit.
And he did! That little Catholic girl keeled over and went down like a stick of firewood! We all huddled over her body, there on the floor, and continued to pray for her, as a peaceful smile graced her lips. After a few minutes, her eyes fluttered open, and we helped her up.
At her request, we dropped Andrea off near her friends’ apartment, but not before giving her a Bible of her own.
Two years later, Terry and I got a Christmas card from California. Andrea was writing to tell us she had reunited with her mother and was back home, and to thank us for what we’d done for her.
Witnessing opportunities sometimes come totally unplanned. Sometimes, it’s just a divine appointment, pure and simple. I remember one time I got a traffic ticket, and when I went to pay it, the clerk said they had to have cash. Grumbling under my breath, I checked the clock and realized I had just a few minutes before my bank closed. I hopped in the car and drove over to Wal-Mart, where a branch of the bank was located. I made it in time, got the cash, and started back out. While waiting on the sidewalk in front of the store for some traffic to clear, I noticed the T-shirt of a young man standing next to me. It had the word “ministry” on it.
“Oh, are you a Christian?” I asked him.
“Uh, no,” he said.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I saw ‘ministry’ on your shirt and thought….”
“Oh, that’s just the name of a tour. It’s a band T-shirt.”
“Oh, okay. Well, would you like to be a Christian?”
“Well… yeah.”
So I explained the gospel to Andy, and right there on the sidewalk in front of Wal-Mart, a young man stepped into the kingdom of God, and the angels in heaven rejoiced! I told Andy to get in touch with a local church (because we were moving), get a Bible to read, and make sure he got baptized. As he trotted across the parking lot, I saw him give a happy little skip and kick a piece of paper. He was a newborn creature; all the old things were passed away!
Jesus told his disciples, “… you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come on you: and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. ~ Acts 1:8
Jesus spoke those words to his disciples just before he ascended back to heaven after his resurrection. “You shall be witnesses to me,” he said. It is quite likely that this was spoken not just to the eleven that we normally think of as Jesus’ disciples, but to a group of more than 100 followers, because just a few verses later on there are 120 disciples gathered together (verse 15). So, Jesus told his followers they would be “witnesses” of him throughout the world.
And he said to them, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” ~ Mark 16:15
I realize that not everyone is called to leave their home and go out to preach. Jesus told a man that he had delivered from demonic possession to go home:
…he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. However, Jesus suffered him not, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and has had compassion on you.” And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. ~ Mark 5:18-20
But notice that Jesus told him to “tell.” He was to be a witness of what God had done in his life. Everyone who is given new life through Jesus Christ should be a witness of that.
…sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you… ~ 1st Peter 3:15
Sometimes, when my husband and I are out in the ebb and flow of humanity doing street ministry, I will talk to someone who claims to be a Christian.
“Really!” I will say. “Praise God! Tell me your testimony!”
All too many times, that draws a blank stare, or a “Huh?” I figure if you can’t tell me how Jesus has changed your life, you probably don’t know him. That verse above, in 1st Peter, gives me the right to ask someone that question. Can you “give an account for the hope that is in you?” If you can’t do that, then how do you know you’re saved?
And if you’ve been saved, then according to the One that saved you, you have something to tell to others. You are his witness.