All By Myself

Over the years I‘ve had a few individuals tell me I shouldn’t be doing street evangelism alone. They think it’s unscriptural because Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. Certainly, there are advantages to going out in pairs or groups. Deuteronomy 32:30 says that if one can chase a thousand, two can “put ten thousand to flight.” There is power in agreement.

However, that doesn’t mean Christians are useless by themselves. There are examples in the Bible where individuals ministered to others without having fellow believers with them such as Philip leading the Ethiopian eunuch to salvation (Acts 8:26-40). While I prefer having a partner with me on the streets, many times no one else has been available or willing to join me.

One day while staying at a church in Hanover, Germany, the Lord told me to go out and evangelize that afternoon. But except for handing out a couple of tracts, I resisted doing so because I wanted someone else ministering with me. While venting before the Lord in the church sanctuary, I received a revelation as to why He often has me witnessing solo. It is to overcome the fear of man. As the old saying goes, “You and God are a majority.”

Because of my disobedience, the Lord kept me in Hanover an extra day and told me to aim for ten salvations. I had to do a lot of “fishing” to find those ten souls. During this, I was also able to share many Scriptures with an atheist, a lesbian, and a young woman promoting the Green Party. After praying with my tenth person that day (a Muslim originally from Lebanon), I was walking back to the church when I felt led to approach a couple talking in front of a tattoo parlor. The woman spoke English and prayed with me to get born again. Praise God for 11 salvations that day!  

If Jesus Christ continues to tarry His Second Coming and more laws are passed restricting the preaching of the gospel, we may find ourselves in challenging situations where the Lord will expect us to testify of Him even if other believers aren’t present. Jesus said in Matthew 10:18-20 (KJV), “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”  

If you were waiting at a bus stop and the Lord put in on your heart to witness to an elderly person standing next to you, would you refuse to do so just because nobody else was with you? I hope not. You could be that person’s final opportunity to receive salvation.

Speaking of the elderly, I once saw a news report about an 84-year-old New Yorker named Irma Moraes. For over 40 years, Irma passed out gospel tracts alone in the Times Square area almost every day. If an 84-year-old woman can do that all by herself, then how can other Christians have an excuse for not obeying the Great Commission?

 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” - Matthew 22:14

The Sinner’s Prayer

I’ve been faithfully doing evangelism now for twenty-three years. During that time I’ve used a variety of gospel tracts but prefer ones that include a salvation prayer at the end. Sometimes the Lord will lead you to approach people who don’t have time to talk but are willing to read something later. One day I stopped at a convenience store in Virginia and gave a tract to a young Russian woman working behind the counter. When I happened to stop by there again the next day, this woman thanked me for the tract. I found out she prayed a prayer like the one pictured here and gotten saved!

Nevertheless, there are Christians opposed to leading people in a “sinner’s prayer.” One reason often cited is “it’s not in the Bible.” Yet we have other generally accepted traditions not specifically mentioned in Scripture. Sunday schools cannot be found in the Bible yet many churches have them. The same thing could be said about altar calls for salvation. 

“Sinner’s prayer” critics seem to think when someone is ready to get saved, he or she will initiate their own salvation. One time I went street witnessing with a minister who tried to get potential converts to cry out to be saved. I didn’t see any of them give their lives to the Lord.

Not all sinners who are convicted of their need to get right with God will immediately know what to do or say. One example in Scripture is the Philippian jailer who asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) On the night of my conversion, I didn’t become born again until responding to my brother-in-law’s offer to pray with him. The power of God flowed through me and my life hasn’t been the same since.

The “sinner’s prayer” is simply a tool to guide people into making a decision for Christ. So the next time you witness to someone who recognizes their need for salvation, don’t be afraid to ask to pray with them. But instead of calling it the “sinner’s prayer”, I prefer the term “prayer of salvation.” Once a sinner accepts Jesus, he is no longer a sinner but a saint.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Little Preachers

Among the greatest tools for spreading the gospel is the printed page. I praise God for organizations like The Gideons who distribute Bibles throughout the world. Sometimes I give away their New Testaments to people who don’t have a copy of God’s word. Other times I give out gospels of John produced by the Pocket Testament League.

Still, I believe the greatest evangelism tool is a simple gospel tract. This handy “little preacher” is able to do what many of us often fail or are unable to do. Consider the following advantages of using gospel tracts…

• The gospel tract never stumbles over words or forgets important Scriptures.
• The gospel tract can be given during extremely brief encounters (when making a purchase, passing someone on the street, etc.).
• The gospel tract never gets sidetracked or caught up in an argument. It just gives the message of salvation, plainly and clearly.
• The gospel tract is never intimidated or fearful.
• The gospel tract is never tempted to compromise the message of Christ.
• The gospel tract can wait on someone’s door until they get home.
• The gospel tract can be left in public places and wait until someone’s curiosity causes them to pick it up and read it.
• The gospel tract never gets tired and gives up.
• The gospel tract never gets discouraged or disheartened.
• The gospel tract is inexpensive to produce.
• The gospel tract travels easily in letters, purses, and pockets as it goes into communities we could never personally reach. 
• The gospel tract will speak over and over when read and reread, whereas our verbal witness is usually only heard one time. 

Adolf Hitler’s personal bodyguard came to Christ as a result of reading Dr. Ford Porter’s famous tract “God's Simple Plan of Salvation.” After Hitler’s death and Germany’s defeat in World War II, Kurt Wagner’s life was in shambles. Everything he had owned was gone. Everything he had believed in was destroyed. With his life ruined and his future bleak, Wagner wandered the streets of Frankfurt penniless, hungry, and downcast. With thoughts of ending his life ringing in his mind, he turned into a YMCA for a free meal.

Wagner sat down in a chair and happened to pick up Dr. Porter’s tract printed in the German language. As he read the tract over and over, deep conviction set in. Wagner sought out a godly pastor who then led him to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. His life was transformed and eventually became a pastor himself.

No doubt stories like this are more than we could ever document. Communists and cults are aware of the power of the printed page and use them to advance their poisonous ideas. 

It seems like such a simple thing to hand someone a gospel tract or leave one in a restroom, on a table, in a waiting room or phone booth. We will never know this side of heaven how God will use our efforts to get His word to lost sinners unless we step out. Only eternity will reveal the exact number of souls saved and lives impacted by these “little preachers.”

Prayerfully consider setting a goal to give out a certain amount of gospel tracts. It wouldn’t take much time and effort to give out at least three tracts a day. By consistently doing so, you would reach over a thousand people within a year. All of us can do that regardless of our age or background. 

The “little preacher” will remain faithful and true presenting the gospel beyond our circle of influence…but only if we give Him out and make Him available.

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” - Romans 10:14

Keep Planting...and Watering

A Canadian pastor named Oswald Smith was famous for saying, “No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once.” Certainly, I agree everyone should have the opportunity to get saved. God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Still, there are multitudes that need to hear the Good News numerous times before they will respond favorably to the call for salvation. Four years ago while ministering at a church in Illinois, I took a survey during the morning and evening services. I asked the congregation how many times they heard the gospel before they got born again. Most people didn’t raise their hands until I counted up to five or six times.

I’m also a living testimony of this truth. While attending Sunday school and going through confirmation at a Lutheran church, I was never taught I must be born again. It wasn’t until I was sixteen when I first truly heard the gospel. In the winter of 1980, my best friend David invited me to a Bible camp. There a group of Christian musicians told a story illustrating how God sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. The story planted a seed in my heart that bore fruit years later.

In June 1981 while attending a Young Life meeting another friend invited me to, a drama sketch was performed showing various individuals trying to talk to God but He wasn’t responding to their prayers. A minister then explained man became separated from God because of sin. Our prayers cannot be heard unless we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. I thought to myself, certainly I want God to hear my prayers. So I stood up along with a few other teenagers and publicly announced I asked Jesus to come into my heart. Back then I didn’t fully recognize the importance of what I had just done. 

Various factors influenced me to drift away from Christianity. One of them was a strong love for secular music. Twice I attended seminars put on two preachers crusading against the evils associated with rock music. Dan and Steve Peters recommended listening to “Christian rock” and gospel music only. The Contemporary Christian Music I heard back then sounded lame and outdated compared to the secular stuff I enjoyed. I thought to myself; if I have to be a good little Christian by listening to this wimpy stuff all day long, then forget it!

In 1985 I enlisted in the Army National Guard. During my active duty time, my grandparents sent letters encouraging me to go to church but I resisted attending services at the army base. I also had a fellow platoon member named Cleveland who kept urging me to get God into my life. One night while our platoon camped out in the field, some of the men talked about spiritual things. I heard one of them claim the devil is real and initially comes across as a beautiful person. At the time I didn’t believe there was such a person as the devil.

In early 1989 while I worked at a music store, a pastor and his wife stopped in to buy a synthesizer. They informed me Prince’s former bodyguard “Big Chick” Huntsberry attended their church and offered to introduce me to him. Eventually, I heard Big Chick speak at a different church. After ex-Prince guitarist Dez Dickerson sang a couple Christian songs, Chick gave his testimony. I was pleased to hear he got delivered from drug addiction but couldn’t relate to his declaration of loving Jesus Christ. I thought, how could you love somebody you can’t even see? I still had a hard time believing in the supernatural.

A year later while attending Hennepin Technical College in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, I had a classmate who told me I needed God in my life. One morning while giving Robin a ride to school, she shared testimonies of how God provided for her. Robin also invited me to a Friday night gathering that I later realized was Christian-oriented. I was still resistant to the things of God but again more seeds were planted and watered.

Finally on March 19, 1991, I prayed with my sister and her husband to receive salvation. Suddenly I recalled all the people God previously used to minister to me. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The Bible also says that God confirms His word by the mouth of two or three witnesses.

We all can play a part in the harvest of souls regardless if we pray with a particular person. When I’m out evangelizing, God often leads me to people who already believe the gospel but haven’t been confronted with the need to make a decision for Christ. So whenever the Lord prompts you to witness to someone you know has repeatedly heard the Good News, don’t be disobedient. You might be the one to lead that person to eternal life.

“So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” - 1 Corinthians 3:7-8

Ministry Starts at Home

In 1985, I moved away from the Fargo, North Dakota area where I was born and raised.  After a brief stint in the army, I relocated to Minneapolis originally to pursue a secular music career.  Six years later I committed my life to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Ironically that happened in Fargo while visiting my sister and her husband. 

In recent years, God has sent me back to Fargo for lengthy visits.  A few times it appeared He wanted me to resettle there.  I wasn’t fond of the idea for I hate the colder winters up north.  Another reason was Jesus’ statement in Mark 6:4, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”  One day I talked about this with a pastor friend in Fargo.  He responded by asking me, “Are you a prophet?”  I answered “no” because I’m primarily called to be an evangelist.  Even so, God has continued sending me to other cities.

Many people in the Bible were sent to places far from home.  Abraham was called to start a new nation.  Jonah was instructed to go to Nineveh.  Even Jesus spent time in Egypt as a child before returning to Israel.  On the other hand, the delivered demoniac who wanted to travel with Jesus was told, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” (Mark 5:19)  There’s also Jeremiah who continued ministering in Judah despite experiencing much rejection from his relatives and countrymen.

While I’ve had the privilege of leading some of my family members to salvation, others haven’t been as receptive to the things of God.  Nevertheless, He has used me to minister to other people in Fargo.  This past Wednesday during another visit to my hometown, I felt led to do some street evangelizing there.  Eighteen people prayed with me to get born again.  During my outing, a man riding on a motorcycle noticed what I was doing.  He stopped to introduce himself and offered to buy me lunch after I was done witnessing.  Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man will abound with blessings.”

Some Christians say they want to be a missionary on foreign soil but won’t share the gospel with their neighbors and co-workers.  Ray Comfort says, “If you are not concerned about your neighbor’s salvation, then I am concerned for yours.”  We must be willing to minister to those in our immediate sphere of influence before God starts sending us to other cities and countries.  Jesus said in the Parable of the Talents and in the Parable of the Minas that if we are faithful in little, He will make us ruler over much.

Many churches have a sign posted above their exit that says, “You are now entering the mission field.”  Have you entered yours yet?

 “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant.  You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’” – Luke 19:17 (NLT)

Real Zeal

Last year while street evangelizing in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, I got to know a man who was one of the most “on fire” believers I ever met.  Surprisingly, this man insisted he wasn’t zealous enough.  Many times when I talked to him on the phone, he asked me to pray that he would have more zeal.  Personally I thought he was more zealous for God than me!

One dictionary defines zeal as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.”  Worldly people think it’s wrong to be zealous or fanatical about the things of God (I’ve often been labeled a “religious fanatic” when taking a public stand against sinful activities).  Yet many of these individuals have no problem acting fanatical at a sporting event.  Keep in mind the word “fan” is short for fanatic.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Be ye still men of might and vigour, men who serve their God with diligence and zeal.”  Several verses in the Bible encourage zealousness.  Here are a few of them…

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day” - Proverbs 23:17

“who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” - Titus 2:14

“But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you.” - Galatians 4:18

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent.” - Revelation 3:19

Zechariah 1:14 and 8:2 says the Lord is zealous about His people and their land.  When Jesus chased the moneychangers out of the temple in John 2:17, His disciples remembered Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”  Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13 refers to one of the apostles named Simon as “the Zealot.”

However, being zealous doesn’t mean being rude to people.  We must always speak the truth in love and with compassion.  I’ve seen eager believers witnessing in a manner that pushes people away.  A soul winner must learn to discern when to draw back from someone who isn’t receptive to the gospel.

Overzealousness can create problems when sharing the gospel in certain situations.  Just two days ago while doing street evangelism in a Minneapolis suburb, three boys were riding their bicycles towards where I was standing.  Believing this was a divine appointment, I offered them tracts and soon found out all three boys weren’t sure of their eternal destiny.  As they prayed to get born again, I perceived I needed to keep my time short talking with them.  Instead I attempted to minister to them more when a woman interrupted our conversation and got upset with me because I didn’t know the boys beforehand.  This is a reminder we must use wisdom when witnessing to younger children and get parental permission first whenever possible.

Romans 10:2 mentions that the Jews “have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.”  The next verse explains why: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” 

One should be zealous not to build their own kingdom but the kingdom of God.

“Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.” - 1 Corinthians 14:12