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Psalm 33:5
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Evangelism in Downtown Dayton, OH (Part 1)
Evangelism in Downtown Dayton, OH (Part 1)
Since the beginning of summer of this year, I have been praying for the Lord to put me across the path of people who I can go out witnessing with, people who believed in biblical evangelism and who go out into the streets like Jesus did to preach the gospel. Near the end of the summer, God faithfully provided.
For those of you who do not know, I had the opportunity to attend the Ambassadors’ Academy put on by Living Waters in July 2008. After you complete the academy, you are granted access to an online community made up of only people who have also attended or are on staff at the Academy. With very low hopes, a few months ago I posted on that website asking if anyone was in the Dayton, Ohio area (Dayton is a decently sized city about 30 or 40 minutes from Cedarville University, where I currently attend school). To my amazement (and God’s providence) there was.
The gentleman I was put in touch with was part of a Dayton evangelism team that went out every Saturday night to share the gospel. He put me in touch with the leader of the group, Judah, who in turn provided me with the details of when they met and what the team did. Basically, every Saturday night a group gets together for prayer and worship, and then proceeds to take their faith to the streets by open air preaching, singing (more on this later), and one on one witnessing.
This past Saturday was my first time meeting Judah and going out with him to witness. One thing that stood out to me was from the moment I met him, it felt to me like I had known him for five years. There were no awkward introductions. No awkward silences because we did not know what to say. No nervousness as we got to know each other. Why? Because we were united by a common goal: to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such as blessing to see how a passion for the lost and a love for Jesus Christ transcended and eliminated our human instincts to be withdrawn upon first meeting another person.
I was immediately encouraged and challenged by the boldness and passion it was clear Judah had. He had a passion for the lost and a heart for Jesus Christ, and it showed. He began telling me about the location we would be witnessing at and what to expect (more on this later). After talking some about the location and what we would be doing, we spend about forty-five minutes in prayer and worship. Hitting the streets without crying out to God in prayer is like going fishing without a fishing pole. It just doesn’t work. Remember when you go out to preach the gospel:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
Satan does not want you to speak. And he is going to do whatever he can to make you keep quiet. This becomes so evident when you really take the time to talk with lost people about Jesus Christ. We do not witness because it is easy. We did not witness because it is relaxing. We do not witness so people like us. When you go out and start a conversation about eternity you are entering spiritual warfare. We are not playing around here. This is a war for people’s souls. Would a soldier ever go into battle without his gear? Then neither should we go out witnessing without being prayed up, relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we wrapped up the prayer and praise, we loaded up the car, took a deep breath, and hit the streets of Dayton in the name of Jesus Christ.