We are planning on teaching an evangelism class at Austin Bluffs Evangelical Free church on August 8th.   We will be teaching this “crash course” from 8am-4pm at the church.  Anyone is welcome to attend.  The fee for the class is $10, which includes lunch and a workbook.  Let us know a few days before, so we can get the lunch ordered.

     The class will focus on biblical concepts of evangelism.  We will learn how Jesus and the people of the bible evangelized the lost, and how we can use this as a model when we evangelise today.  Practical ways of sharing the gospel will be taught and practiced. 

     Please join us as we learn to be obedient to the command of Jesus to, “share the gospel with all creation”.

     A testimony from Maritza about a group of seed sowers last weekend a the “Gay Pride” event here in town.    

  Connie, Robert and his friends Jake and Sam, and I attended the Gay Pride Fest. We split in twos and decided to start by walking around. I dropped three Million Dollar Bills on the table for the people manning the High Plains Unitarian Church booth where the Religious Education program is based on: faith in community, joy in spirituality, and use of the mind as if were a parachute (the mind works best when it’s open like a parachute). I gave a What if…I’m pretending tract to the lady manning the Episcopal Church booth. She had literature on the church’s support program for people with alternative lifestyles.

Robert witnessing at Gay Pride

     As Connie and I were walking around, a teen girl said hi to me. It was Kirsty, 15. I met her at a church I used to attend. She has had difficulty in dealing with a drug/alcohol addicted mom who ultimately abandoned her. Kirsty lives with her 50-something father near Union and Platte. Ozias told me how Kirsty always had a hard time fitting in the church youth group and how other teens avoided her. When I met her, she was in need of an adult female friend so I took her out to lunch several times. We went over the Gospel a couple of times, but she always came across as I-know-I’m-saved-because-I-believe. We stopped having lunches because she never responded to an invite I sent her in November and December.

     When Kirsty said hi, she was walking by me. She was sporting pink and blue streaks in her blonde hair.

     “Hi. What are you doing here?”“It’s Gay Pride. (Duh!)” “But you’re a Christian. Being gay is against God’s Law.” “I gave all that up! I’m a lesbian now!,” she snapped as she picked up her pace. “You gave up Jesus?” “He never did anything for me!”  “He doesn’t have to do anything for you. He already did everything for you by dying on the cross for you.”  “I don’t care if I go to hell!” I continued to a couple of steps behind her as she would slightly turn her head over her shoulder to answer me, but then look away when I would talk back.  “But hell is an awful place! Aren’t you afraid of dying? Hell is eternal.”   “I don’t care. I’m living my life!”  “But your life is temporary! It’s your eternity that we’re talking about! Aren’t you afraid of dying?”  “I don’t care if I go to hell! I’m living my life the way I want!” 

     I must have walked a half block with her when I either lost her in the crowd or I let her walk away-I don’t know which.

     The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck were standing on their ends. I was shaking. I was also mad. Kirsty’s statement, “He never did anything for me!” reminded me of Warrenesque teaching. The teaching that invites people to “try Jesus” as if Jesus were a used car that you test drive and then return to the lot if you don’t like it. I know for a fact that one of the adult leaders in the youth group Kirsty attended is all over the Purpose Driven Life stuff because Ozias is a witness to this. Ozias told me that at one of the meetings he attended there was a breakout session. The Purpose Driven adult leader told the kids sitting at the table with her to, “try Jesus for thirty days and if He doesn’t work out for you, I’ll give you $100.” Ozias dropped out of youth group soon after that and a month later, we left the church.

     Though I shared the Gospel with about six other people later that day, I couldn’t shake off Kirsty’s words or the fear of her destiny. I kept thinking about how many teens are out there that are just like Kirsty. I’m not blaming that church or its youth leaders for Kirsty’s falling out. I simply want to point out the importance of biblical evangelism. Robert talked to a teen boy who was at GP by himself. The teen told Robert that he attended church service at a nearby church and that his mother knew that he was at GP.

     Connie pointed out that many of the teens at the GP were probably there because they think it’s cool to be there and not because they’re practicing a gay lifestyle. It was also sad to see how many pre-schoolers and elementary age kids were at the GP with their parents and grandparents. GP is not a place for kids. GP is a perverted adult event in which children need not attend. As Seed Sowers and church members and leaders, we can help keep children out of events like these by teaching biblical evangelism to parents and their children.

     We went downtown and watched those crazy guys flying through the air with their motorcycles.   But we did something even more daring afterwards….. handed out gospel tracts GASP!

     More on the book, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, by Mark Dever. 

1. Repentance

     Many people today may think that a gospel message should not include judgment and guilt, and  was only culturally revelant to a previous generation.  And the only way people will respond is by a message of freedom.  But according to the bible, although freedom is a wonderful aspect of our messabge, sin and guilt are at the very heart and core of the gospel.  And this aspect must be covered to make repentance necessary.  For we should not believe that we are simply all engaged in a search for truth.  The fall did not leave people neutral toward God, but as His enemy.  Therefore, we must not pretend that non Christians are seekers looking for truth, but by nature are dead spiritually and estranged from Him. 

     Our gospel message must require repentance, which only makes sense when this issue of sin and guilt is explained in a personal way.  And the word repentance must be explained to the non Christian as, turning from the sins you love to the holy God you are called to love.  And also admitting that you are not God, and  beginning to value Jesus more than your immediate pleasure.    

2.  What is evangelism?

     “Evangelism is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making out a good case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting; it is not exposing the contemporary dilemma, or arousing interest in Christianity; it is not wearing a badge that says “Jesus saves”!  Some of these things may be right and good in their place, but none of them should be confused with evangelism.  To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what He as done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. ” (p80)

     For those of you who know me and the “little woman”, you know how much we believe in and love Compassion International.  There are many reasons for this that I will not go into now, but one of them is the commitment to making sure the gospel is heard in every student center that Compassion works through.  This is important because a lot of folks nowadays believe social action and public involvment is the same as evangelism, and it is certainly not.  For all of you “emergents” (sorry Doug Pagitt and Dan Kimball) out there that believe this, I submit to you that it is not biblical.  Of course most emergents do not believe in the authority of scripture, but that is, again, another story.

     I have recently been reading a book written my Mark Dever called, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.  He addresses this issue by explaining that social action may help you to commend the gospel, which is why Jesus taught, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”(Matt 5:16).  Even though these works are good and appropriate, they are NOT EVANGELISM.  To be evangelism, the gospel must be clearly communicated, whether in written or oral form.(Page 75)  He goes on to say that, “when our eyes fall from God to humanity, social ills replace sin, horizontal problems replace the fundamental vertical problems between us and God, winning elections eclipses winning souls”. 

     Our testimony is a good thing, but does not save anyone.  Everyone has a testimony of something that has been profound or has made a positive impact in their lives, but does not provide salvation.  As God’s Word says in 2 Corinthians 4:4-5, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake”. 

     So lets be faithful to share the gospel with the lost.  For in it is “the power of God unto salvation”(Romans 1:16).

Excerpt from an email from Robert…  email   rsleepyg@yahoo.com   
Greetings Seed Sowers
Here’s an opportunity to love our neighbors! There is a Gay Pride event downtown Acacia Park on Sunday July 19th. It’s starts at 10a and goes until 6p.
http://yourpridecenter.org/springspride.htm
We’ll be meeting at Pikes Perk on Tejon @ 11am then heading to Acacia Park to hand out tracts and do one-2-one witnessing. There will be a few people arriving earlier at 10am.

The plan is to form up in groups of two and talk with, listen to and share the gospel with people around the park. We can start our initial concentration at the entrances into the area, probably Tejon & Bijou and Platte & Nevada. We can adjust as necessary once we get under way. During the parade we can break for lunch and continue to pray.

The main thing right now is to pray. Let’s pray for:
for power and filling of the Holy Spirit
for rapport with the people
for exaltation of Jesus and His Word
for the Holy Spirit to cleanse the area
for the fear of God to fall in the area
for decrease of self, crucifixion of the flesh and complete yielding
for protection from police and physical harm
for the covering of the full armor of God
for the strengthing of weak Christians
for the salvation of souls

If you have any questions, please shoot me an email or give me a call. Take my number for Sunday. 659-8588.

Blessings, Glory, Honor and Power in the name of our King!

robert

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matt 22:34-40

And please join Maritza at the El Paso County Fair in Calhan, CO.  Contact her at saphah@yahoo.com 

El Paso County Fair
I’m going to the El Paso County Fair on the following dates. Problem is that I need an Ambassador or two.

Sat Jul 18 - all day
Wed Jul 22 - all day
Thurs Jul 23 - 9 am - 1 pm
Fri Jul 24 - all day
Sat Jul 25 - 9 am - 1 pm

     We made it to the DMV again today to preach the gospel.  My turn this time.

     We have been at the DMV every morning this week to preach the gospel.  Yesterday, towards the end of my gospel presentation, a supervisor from the DMV came out and told us to stop.  She said that she could “hear us speaking inside”.  To this I asked her if she needed to be saved, and she freaked out and told us to stop, NOW! She said that her rights were being broken, and she did not have to hear what we had to say.  I told her that I would take just a few more moments to finish, and she said, NO!  So I told everyone that we were being kicked out and I did finish speaking of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. 

     Afterward, we tried to talk to the supervisor about if we were breaking any laws, and she would not talk to us.  So we have decided to keep going back.  We should, however, look to get a “public use” legal form filled out, so we can be “official”. 

     A bunch of local seed sowers are planning on being downtown Colorado Springs this Sunday for the “Gay Pride” parade and festivities.  We will meet at Acacia Park at 11AM and spend most of the day there, so please join us.  We will speak to the folks 1-2-1 and hand out tracts. 

     We will also keep going back to the DMV every morning  this week at 7:30am, so plan to join us there.

The following is a testimony about some visiting seed sowers, and their night out witnessing in Colorado Springs last Saturday night.  Maritza met them downtown and this is her account. 

On Saturday night, I met Mary & Nathan Mangusen, Ambassadors from Newport News, VA. We met at downtown Colorado Springs and handed out Million Dollar bills to the partyers. We then planted ourselves across from the Thirsty Parrot on the corner of Colorado and Tejon.We shared witnessing stories and handed tracts to passersby. Mary shared with Layton who is currently working but lives at the City Mission. Layton told Mary that he is a Christian and uses Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life book as a teaching aid for when he reads his Bible. Mary talked to Layton about the Law, true repentance, and living in holiness. As she was talking to Layton, someone threw on object at her that hit her hard on the head. Mary kept talking to Layton as he became quiet and listened to her. Thank God Mary didn’t get hit in the eye or the ear and only ended up with a peanut-sized bump on her head.

Yet she’s another preacher stoned for proclaiming God’s sovereignty.

Mary and Nathan

I went to LA last year to the Ambassadors Academy and did some street witnessing.  Tony Miano is the head guy, and he was great.  This video is indicative of the craziness you can encounter on the “left coast”.