Bezeugen BLOG

This is part 8 of the “As You Go” series. If you have missed the first seven parts, you may like to catch up. One of my favorite famous quotes about Evangelism is by Charles G Finney:

Make it an object of constant study, and of daily reflection and prayer, to learn how to deal with sinners so as to promote their conversion.

I’d like to conclude this series over the next three weeks by providing some resources that I have found useful for learning about evangelism and “dealing with sinners”.

This week, I’d like to recommend three books. The first two are wonderful next steps in the process of learning how to share the Law and Gospel with the lost. The third book is useful in your daily devotional and Bible study time.

The Way of the Master

This book is written by Ray Comfort. It provides insight on how to bypass the intellect and go straight to a person conscience while witnessing to them.

One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven
This is Mark Cahill’s first book. It provides wonderful insight into witnessing and tract distribution. Mark has witnessing to Charles Barkley and Michael Jordon. He shares these stories and gives so much food for thought that I have found myself re-listening to the audio book time and again.

The Evidence Bible
This Bible is much like any Study Bible. However, it is filled with footnotes and articles that tie verses to Evangelism. When looking for ways to “make it an object of constant study, and of daily reflection” this Bible provides the platform for that study. I have learned many great insights by using this Bible on a daily basis.

I hope and pray that you will make an investment in one or more of these books so that you can make dealing with sinners and object of daily study. In addition to the links above, One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven is available from Mark Cahill’s website. All three books are also available from Living Waters.

I have a few copies of Way of the Master and One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven. Bezeugen Ministries will provide these free of charge while supplies last. A suggested donation would help cover our costs and provide for more evangelism resources. If you would like to request one, please contact me.

So you have decided to start witnessing door to door in your neighborhood and are wondering what you need to get started. We are using a three pronged approach to witnessing door to door:

• doing a food drive
• gathering prayer requests
• taking a “spiritual inventory” for the purpose of sharing the Gospel

I thought I’d make a list of the items that are useful.

Cart
I take a cart with me when I go witnessing door to door in the neighborhood. The primary purpose of the cart is to carry the food that is collected for the food drive. However, the cart also holds additional tracts, Bibles, books and plastic bags to give people to put their food donation in. Don’t forget to put in a bottle of water for each member of your team, especially if it is hot. These are available at Staples.  The cart folds up for easy storage when not in use.

Plastic Bags
When asking for food donations, sometimes it is handed to provide the person with a plastic bag to put their donation in. Some people will have their own plastic bags handy. However, some will not. My wife saves the plastic bags from when she shops at the grocery store. I take these bags with me when I go door to door. When I approach each door, I bring one bag up to the door with me. That way if the person would like a bag, I can simply hand them one.

Clipboard
I carry a clip board with me. You can get a clip board at any number of stores. This one at Office Max is less than $5. On the clip board I put the following items:

• Several sheets of blank paper for taking notes, tracking the number of houses and one on ones, etc
• Several prayer request cards. In a future post, I will provide you with the prayer request cards that we use.
• Several copies of the information sheet from MetrcoCrest Social Services about the food drive. If you are in the Dallas Metroplex, this sheet may be useful to you. Otherwise, ask your local food pantry for a similar sheet.

The American Family Association has issued a boycott of the Gap stores because of their policy to celebrate “the holiday” instead of “Christmas”. You can sign the boycott online. Here is what the boycott is about:

Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, the three stores owned by San Francisco-based Gap Inc., are being targeted by AFA in a limited two-month boycott over the company’s failure to use the word “Christmas” in its advertising to Christmas shoppers.

Gap refuses to use the word Christmas in its television commercials, newspaper ads and in-store promotions despite tens of thousands of consumer requests to recognize Christmas as well as repeated requests from AFA to do the same.

AFA has also provided a list of top retailers and how the recognize Christmas. Please consider tracking this list and spend your Christmas dollars at retailers that are friendly to Christmas!

Today, I went to the Galleria Mall in North Dallas. Walking in the entrance next to the Gap, I was greeted with the following advertisement pasted on their window.

“This Holiday”? “What holiday are they referring too, I thought?” Are those “holiday trees” that I see there behind the sign? I decided there was more that I could do than simply “boycott” the store. So, I went in. I couldn’t immediately find anyone that worked there. There was a line of about four people waiting in the line for the cashier. So I went and joined that line.

Cashier: Next please
Me: Hi
Cashier: May I help you?
Me: Yes, I was curious what holiday the sign in the front window refers too?
Cashier: Do you mean the holiday on December 25th?
Me: Yes, what do you call that holiday?
Cashier: You can call it anything you want.
Me: I call it Christmas. I am wondering why your company does not call it Christmas
Cashier: You can talk to the manager about that.
Me: OK.

At this point, the cashier calls for the manager and I hand the cashier one of our brand new “Christmas Trivia” gospel tracts.

Manager: Hi
Me: Hi, my name is Carl Kalbfleisch. I was asking your cashier why the sign says “holiday” rather than “Christmas.” In fact, when I asked her what holiday the sign was referring too, she said the holiday on December 25th and refused to say “Christmas”.
Cashier: looks over and acknowledges that she would not say “Christmas”
Manager: We have employees of many different faiths so therefore we don’t use “Christmas”
Me: I find your corporate policy to replace “Christmas” with “Holiday” offensive and therefore have decided that I will not shop here and have suggested to my friends to do the same.
Manager: Sorry you feel that way.

At that, I handed her a “Christmas Trivia” gospel tract and left.

I find it interesting that businesses are perfectly happy to take our money. And that it seems the only way they understand anything is to not shop there. But, why stop with a simple boycott? If we don’t go there, they will not know why we are not there. Instead, why not go to the store and explain to them exactly why we are boycotting and then give them the Gospel.

You can get some wonderful Christmas tracts at One Million Tracts and Custom Tract Source. Most packs of 100 are about $3 each plus shipping. I encourage you to order some and go hand them out at the Gap stores.

The next mailing of the Bezeugen Tract Club will include 20 Christmas tracts (plus 10 other tracts). This mailing will go out on Monday, November 23rd. Why not enroll in the club right now, then when you receive these tracts go to the Gap stores, ask for the manager and explain that as a Christian you are offended by their ignoring Christmas. Share the Gospel and give them a tract. Remember, there are things we can do.

1. Sign the boycott
2. Keep current on AFA’s list of how top retailers recognize Christmas.
3. enroll in the Bezeugen Tract Club by November 23rd so that you get your Christmas tracts or
4. Order your own Christmas tracts from One Million Tracts or Custom Tract Source

Ray Comfort, in his book “What Hollywood Believes”, wrote about the spiritual beliefs of a number of celebrites. This book is a wonderful compilation and serves to edify the believer in Jesus as well as great reading material for the un-believer. I hear all the time about celebrities that follow Scientology and are members of other cults. I generally, will not go to the movie or watch the show of these celebrities that are involved with cults because I don’t want to support their beliefs even indirectly. For instance going to see Tom Cruise or John Travolta in a movie is putting money into their pockets which is then donated to the church of scientology. (Besides, IMHO, neither of them has made a movie worth seeing in years).

So with that said, it’s been on my mind for some time now. Who are the Godly celebrities that have been born again? I’m talking movie stars, TV show personalities, sports figures and politicians. I’d like to start with a list of names and then add to the list over time. I’ll start here with this blog entry. I’ll edit it over time to add additional celebrities. Send in more names and I’ll add them to the list. For each name, then send along information with a URL to the referring site which provides proof that the person is a born again believer in Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9 states:

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

 Therefore, it seems reasonable that if a celebrity is born again, that there would be some proof of it on the Internet. Let’s see how long we can make this list!

I posted the question on Facebook, “What celebrities do you know of that are born again believers in Jesus?” I got the following responses:

• Stephen Baldwin – I am second
• Matt Barkley – USC QB
• Bill Bates
• Bono, See article in Christianity Today
• Sam Bradford – Oklahoma QB – YouTube FCA Interview
• Kirk Cameron – Wikipedia
• Adam Clayton – U2
• Alice Cooper
• Charlie Daniels – Hypermart
• George Foreman
• Steve Harvey
• Elizabeth Hasselbeck
• Mike Huckabee – I am Second
• Michael Irvin
• Colt McCoy – Texas QB – YouTube
• Gavin McLeod – Foxnews
• Chuck Norris – Official Site
• Tyler Perry – CBN
• Roy Rogers – Biography
• Connie Seleca
• Emmitt Smith – Associated Content Article
• Dee Snyder of “Twisted Sister”
• Tim Tebow – YouTube ESPN story
• John Tesh
• Kurt Warner – YouTube
• Lisa Whelchel – Official Site
• Damian Williams…USC football player! 
• ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic 
• Zig Ziglar – Official Site
• Every member of U2 is a born-again Believer in Christ…

So now, let’s get busy and find URL’s to prove that each of these people believes in Jesus. Will you help me do this?

I was riding my bike and reflecting on the Ecclesiates 3 reading from Project Ezra last weekend.  Consider the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
 ²a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; ³a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away; ⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.

As I rode, I was praying to God. Passing by so many houses in the City of Carrollton, I realize there are many doors yet to knock on. Well, actually, most of the houses remain. I’ve been to a little over 300 out of 40,000 (or so) houses. From this, there is obviously a time to knock on doors and a time to refrain from knocking. Why refrain? To pray for the soil!

So, not only can I get some much needed exercise, but I can use the time to pray for the city. Would you join me in praying for the City of Carrollton? Here are some of the things that I have been praying for:

• That God would make the soil fertile so that when we knock on doors the seeds will take root
• That God would raise up workers to go into the field with me to share the Gospel door to door. If you live in or near Carrollton and would like to go door to door to reach the city, please contact me.
• That there is sufficient time available to share the Gospel door to door
• For wisdom on other ideas on bringing the Gospel to the city. Specifically, I need guidance on plans to do “revivals” at apartment complexes as a way to bring the Gospel there.
• I am still praying for a good location in Carrollton to do Project Ezra. Currently, I do Project Ezra each week at a park in Plano, which is the next town from Carrollton.The park itself actually borders with Carrollton. But, if possible, I’d like to find a public place in Carrollton where there are people to hear the Words of Project Ezra and the associated open air preaching.
• Pray for Godly leaders – major, city council, police, fire department

Perhaps you can pray these things for your city too. Post a comment below with other prayer requests for Carrollton or your city.

BTW, the city is extending the greenbelt bike path. It comes almost to my house now. What a great ride. I don’t know who at city hall is responsible for extending this bike path, but you have my thanks and appreciation!

So that you can pray over Carrollton, please see the map below:

View Larger Map

On Saturday we taught the Basic Evangelism Training Seminar to a group of believers at Empowerment Christian Center in Farmers Branch, TX and then took them door to door in the neighborhood across the street from the church.

When we went door to door down the street, we split into two teams. One went down one side of the street. The other went down the other side of the street. At the first house an woman answered the door. She did not speak a word of English. I was thinking, “wow, this is going to be tough.” But she went and got her teenaged daughter who, in between text messages, would translate between me and her mom. She told her mom that we had come to collect food for the food pantry. They went off and came back with more food than would fill two of the plastic grocery sacks that we had brought with us! I then said, “the second reason we are here is that we are having a prayer meeting, and wondering if there is any specific way we can pray for you.” The girl looked puzzled, translated, then said, “no, that’s ok.”  Eventually the father joined the conversation. The father could speak some English, but it was broken and very hard to understand. So, I said, “the third reason we are hear is we are doing a spiritual inventory of the neighborhood. For instance do you believe in God?” Yes, came the answer. “Do you believe in Heaven and Hell?” Yes, again. “How do you get to heaven?” She replied, “by doing good things!” So, I asked if she considered herself to be a good person. We had a good long conversation from there. She eventually told me that they believed in a religion from Asia called Jainism. Unfortunately, I was not familiar with it, but I was still able to reason with her from the scriptures, from logical thinking about the fact that there must be one thing that happens when a person dies, and the like. I offered her a “Why Christianity?” tract and she said that she would read it. As we walked away from this house, the two ladies from the church that were with me were absolutely amazed at the beliefs of this family and so concerned that they were going to hell.

We moved on to the next house on the street. As we went down the block we talked to a Catholic who after hearing the Law and admitting she would go to hell for breaking it, excused herself from the conversation. At another house when I asked, “do you believe in God” she responded, “no, and I don’t care to participate in your survey” and closed the door on us. At another house as soon as we asked about “spiritual things”, the woman closed the door.

As we went from house to house the women fro the church that had just been trained got up the courage to ask the first two questions about collecting food and the prayer request. Then they would hand off the conversation to me to do the spiritual inventory. Yet as we moved down the street and realized that each house was filled with people going to hell. They were more and more concerned.

Finally, at one house when we asked how he was going to get to heaven, the man said, “only by trust in the Lord Jesus Christ!” Yeah! This man had six children and ten grandchildren. And he was teaching his grandchildren about the Lord. We prayed with him and his granddaughter.

We finsihed going down our side of the street and then meet up with our group that had been going down the other side of the street. We compared notes. They counted two Christians at one house. And we also counted one Christian household. Pastor Tony told me later, “surely our eyes have been opened” to the needs of the community. We went back to the church and prayed over the prayer requests that we had gathered and for the salvation of all the people that we meet that are not saved.

We plan to meet again next Saturday and do some more door to door in that neighborhood.

Now it’s your turn. Why not schedule a Basic Evangelism Training Seminar at your church, small group, youth group or retreat and then start going door to door around your own neighborhood?

In the first six parts of the series we have looked at the use of Gospel tracts in evangelism and that even an atheist knows the importance of Evangelism. We have watched two foundational messages called Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversion. Finally, last week, we offered Jon Speed’s book which explains what Biblical Evangelism in the New Testament looks like.

What we have found is the reason that people do not take the next step and “go” share the Gospel is fear! You might be afraid you don’t know enough. Or afraid, you don’t know what to say. Or maybe you are afraid that you will offend someone. Or that they won’t like you if they know you are a Christian. These fears are all common to man. And even seasoned evangelists have a hearty fear at times. Yet, because Christ commanded us to evangelize, we must overcome our fear. People are dying and going to hell. Their eternity is based on us overcoming our fear.

There is certainly much to learn about Evangelism. Charles G. Finney says, “make it an object of constant study and daily reflection and prayer to learn how to deal with sinners so as to promote their conversion.” It’s not a matter of learning everything there is to learn and then going and doing. It is a matter of learning that first little bit, faithfully doing what you can and then taking the next step. For instance, even right now, being compelled to save people, you could hand a Gospel tract to the cashier and simply say, “please read the message on the back when you get off work.” Then walk off. It’s that easy. Or even simplier, why not leave a Gospel tract in the credit card slot at the gas pump for the next person to get when they get gas. You see, you can spread the Word without even talking to people! Are you ready to get started handing out Gospel tracts? Then why not enroll in the Bezeugen Tract Club today and get your free supply of 30 Gospel tracts per month so that you can hand out one each day?

At Bezeugen Ministries, we recognized a need for Basic Evangelism Training and developed a two hour seminar to help you overcome your fears. The seminar is taught in homes, restaurants and churches. In fact, we can even present it one on one over a cup of coffee.We share many ways to hand out Gospel tracts.We teach you how to have a one on one conversation using the Way of the Master method. Then we share some do’s and don’ts to get you started. The seminar includes some time for role play to observe first hand what witnessing looks like. Finally, we point you to some recommended resources and encourage you to get started. With additional scheduled time, we can include a witnessing event or going door to door to share the Gospel. These post-seminar events allow participants to observe us doing what was taught.

At a recent seminar we took the participants door to door in the neighborhood across the street from the church. They really had their eyes opened as they heard first hand from the people living near by that they were going to hell. No, the people did not use that term exactly. However, we we take the Bible at its word, that Jesus is the only way to salvation, then anyone who has not repented of their sin and put their trust in Him alone will go to hell when they die.

So now, the next step is up to you. Would you email me and schedule a seminar for your church, small group, youth group or retreat?

For more information on the Basic Evangelism Training Seminar can be found on the Bezeugen web site. On this site you can read about what others have said about the training as well as find the dates of the next scheduled seminars.

Last week I was interviewed by Tony Miano on Amabassador’s Alliance radio about door to door methods that I am using in Carrollton. I invite you to click the link, listen to the show and then post your comments. The interview begins about 8 minutes into the audio. Let me know what you think.

The links referenced in the interview are:

• BLOG (this site) – door to door evangelism blog: CarrolltonForChrist.blogspot.com
• Bezeugen Ministries – our ministry web site: www.bezeugen.org
• After Life Catalog – online Gospel presentation: www.AfterLifeCatalog.com
• Tract Club – enroll online, get 30 Gospel tract for free per month: www.bezeugen.org/BTC/BTC.html
• Bezeugen BLOG – periodic updates on the ministry and witnessing “as you go”: bezeugen.blogspot.com

In the first five parts of this series, we have covered the value of sharing the Gospel using Gospel Tracts. We looked at Brady’s testimony of how he was saved once a Gospel Tract brought him the knowledge of a need for repentance. We then turned to the Frank Jenner story and saw how people world wide were saved by the faithful efforts of one man in Australia which lead people to repent and believe in Jesus. In part 3, we looked at An Interview with An Atheist and heard how even a non-believer knows what the Bible says; namely that Christians are to warn people about the coming judgment of going to hell, share the Gospel and tell people to repent and trust in Christ. Finally, in parts four and five we looked at two foundational messages from Living Waters – Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversions. These two videos lay the foundation for why the Law is needed when sharing the gospel so as people repent and trust Christ for the right reason. With these, five parts, the intent has been to lay the foundation that there is a real need for Evangelism.

This week, in part 6, we begin to turn to the mechanics of how Evangelism should be done. As I mentioned in part 4, there are many “methods”. There are numerous books writeen on the subject of Evangelism. Some talk about so called “friendship Evangelism” where the idea is to develop a friendship with someone so that one day you may have the chance to share the Gospel with a person. Other “methods” are more of a “turn or burn” approach.

It’s not really important what men think Evangelism is or even should be.If we want to know how to Evangelize, then we must turn to the source, the Bible. Romans 1:16 says:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Does salvation come through friendship? No. Does it come through saying a prayer? No. Walking an aisle? No. The verse says that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. Many support friendship evangelism by quoting St Francis of Assissi in saying, “preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words”. However, Romans 10:14 directly contradict this saying:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Does this negate so called friendship evangelism or servant evangelism? No, not entirely. But, in either of those efforts, the Bible must clearly be preached as well as being a friend or serving. As an example, the other night, my family and I were on our way to a high school football game. We had stopped at the gas station to put air in the tires of our car. Just then, a woman pulled up with a flat tire. She and my wife went inside the gas station to see if one of the employees would change the tire for her. None would. So, I did it. She was very appreciative. After changing her tire, I said, “I am able to do this for you because of what Christ has already done for me.” Then I handed her a gospel tract and asked her to check it out later. Normally, I might have had a one on one conversation with her at this point, however, she was headed to the hospital where her husband was having some tests run, so I felt it was better to get her on her way and ask her to read the card, which she said she would.Regardless, the message of the gospel was shared. She was not going off wondering “why did this guy change my tire?” She knew precisely that I changed her tire because of what Jesus did for me.

In the book, Evangelism in the New Testament, author Jon Speed examines what the Bible has to say about contact evangelism verses friendship evangelism. The book addresses the question of whether evangelism should take place only in the context of friendship and long last relationships, or if it is also done among strangers. Jon examines the texts of the four Gospels as well as the Book of Acts. His contention is that Evangelism in the New Testament is primarily done with strangers. Rather than summarize, the entire book here, I’d like to encourage you to read the book for yourself. Therefore, Bezeugen Ministries is offering free copies of the book to anyone (*) who will read it. You may also like to purchase a copy of the book from One Million Tracts. The book is about 40 pages. I have found it to be a quick read. However, it contains a wealth of information not found in much larger volumes of work.

It is my hope and prayer that you will request a copy of this book and read it. If you like the book, then please pass it on to your pastor, the head of Evangelism for your church or to one of the members of your elder board. If you don’t like the book, then please send it back to me so that we can give it to someone else who will enjoy it. Either way, after you read the book, would you please email me and let me know what you thought of it?

Jesus commands all Christians “to go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). This “go” literally means “as you go”. So, we then need to know how to Evangelize as we go. This book provides some wonderful Biblical background. Next week we will look at more of the mechanics of how to do it.

* – due to funding, this offer may need to be revoked in the future. Books will be shipped free of charge to the US and Canada. All other international requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

Last week I was back in New York for company business. When I travel on business, I work long days and put in many hours. Often we have group dinners after work as well. But, being in New York City and staying a block from Times Square, I like to take advantage of the opportunity and go out and do some witnessing while I am there. Let me hit a few highlights.

Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology has a location about a block off of Times Square. They send out their “missionaries” into Time Square to hand out post cards inviting people to come to their church and watch a 15-minute “Intro to Dianetics” video. On my past two trips, I have found that I can find the person handing these out and then try to witness to them. If I can talk to them, I can distract them from handing out their invitation and possibly save someone from also following the lie. This trip I brought some “One Heartbeat Away” tracts. These are postcard sized tracts that are about the same size as the invitation that the scientologists are handing out. The tract also has a website on it where people can get a free copy of Mark Cahill’s book. These tracts were very popular. Several people said they would be ordering a copy of the book. By standing near the scientologist, I can hand one of these tracts to anyone that took one of their invites. I have nearly a 100% “hit rate” getting people who took the scientology post card to also take my tract! One thing that was interesting was that the scientologists scurry away from me. I believe that they are repelled by the Holy Spirit. I even had one woman offer me a dianetics invite twice within about 15 minutes. Then both times when I tried to witness to her she scurried off. The second time I asked why and she just scurried off again. One other thing about Scientology. One night I stood outside of their church and handed out these tracts to everyone that was coming out!

Pray for FD
One night while trailing the scientologist and handing out tracts to everyone who got an invite from her, I handed a tract to a man named FD and he asked me to explain it to him. He had a long conversation; probably at least 45 minutes. He had been raised in a church, but saw the hypocrisy from his own family regarding the church that he was totally turned off from it. The things he told me about how he had been abused in the name of Christ really broke my heart. He asked a lot of good questions and seemed genuinely interested in answers. I answered his questions and then told him that there were even more detailed answers in the One Heartbeat Away book. I suggested that he order a copy. He said he would. I gave him my card and asked him to contact me with questions. I also told him that I could put him in touch with the author of the book if he had questions. He liked that. We parted company. I’m praying that he will repent and trust Jesus so that I’ll see him in heaven one day.

Madison Square Garden
This trip I ventured further from Times Square than I previously had on my other trips. On Tuesday, I had no business obligations for dinner and there was a NBA game between the Celtics and Knicks at Madison Square Garden (MSG). I looked a the map and it seemed like taking a subway to MSG was the best bet. However, when I asked at the hotel front desk, I was told that I could walk there just as fast as dealing with the subway. So, I choose to walk to MSG – about 12 blocks. I arrived at MSG about half an hour before the tip off of the game. There were people everywhere! An amazing difference between MSG and the American Airlines Center in Dallas where I have done a lot of ministry in the past is that at MSG only a small fraction of the people were going into the game. There we far more people simply walking down the street than were going into MSG for the game. In Dallas, the only people at the stadium are those going to the game. Anyway, because of this, there was no noticeable change in the number of people on the streets before or after the game started. I tried several different locations to hand out tracts. Finally, I realized there is really only the front entrance off of Broadway for people going to the game. I stood there and handed out tracts. I got into a couple of good one on one conversations while I was there. One woman was also distributing literature. She asked me what I was handing out. “Gospel tracts”, I replied. It turned out she was handing out coupons for a topless club nearby. I had a short conversation with her, gave her a tract and shared the Gospel with her. Finally some guys came to ask her about her club and then they all left. I moved to the street corner and handed out tracts to lots of people. I must have handed out more than 500 tracts this night.

A Miracle on 34th Street
The Macy’s from the movie is on the corner of 34th and Broadway. Having been to New York two other times, I’ve had some of my friends encouraging me to open air preach on the streets. One comment on Facebook was something like, “you need to do it for those of us who have not been to New York!” Being out by myself in a strange and big city makes it a bit unnerving to do open air. However, I was standing across the street from Macy’s and I was handing out Celebrity Million Dollar Bill tracts. Probably one person in ten was taking them. It was a little discouraging. Then, as the light turned red and a crowd of people started to gather at the corner, I raised the million dollar bill tract above my head and started speaking loudly, “ladies and gentlemen, the million dollar question is, when you die, will you go to heaven?” I quickly shared the law and the gospel as the light was changing. Whew! That was not so bad. So I hung out there for about 30 more minutes handing out million dollar bill tracts and stop light preaching. One street vendor got a little bent out of shape that I was distracting from his business. But, that is OK. Another, man came and asked for money for a hot dog. Since there was a stand right there, I bought him one for dinner.

Central Park

My last day in New York, the meetings wrapped up a little earlier than normal. A group of us were going to go to MSG later in the evening for the NHL game between the Rangers and the Devils. So, I had a couple of hours to kill. I had not had the opportunity to do any sight seeing in day light, so I took the opportunity to walk to Central Park. As I walked, I handed out a few tracts and prayed. When I got to the park, I was impressed by how big it was and also that it was very clean. You go down some steps to the trails. There is a huge ice skating rink and people were skating. Other people were just walking around or sitting and talking or eating dinner. The park has some large rocks. One is the height of a couple story building and has stairs up to the top of it. Some people were taking pictures. So I would offer to take a picture of the whole group. Then when I handed the camera back to them, I also handed them each a tract! As I was doing that, the Holy Spirit began telling me, “Carl, those rocks look like a nice place to preach from!” I was thinking, “surely, not! Not here. I can’t!” But the feeling did not go away. And I could sense that there were a lot of lost people right there in the park. Those rocks did look inviting. I remembered Tony Miano saying, “Don’t Quit” at the Ambassadors Academy. I had every excuse. No Bible to read from. Not enough time. But, alas, my iPhone has YouVersion Bible on it. I looked up 1 Corinthians 13, the Project Ezra reading for the previous weekend. I read it. Prayed. And then headed for a rock that was right on the main trail. About 50 feet away there were groups of people sitting around. Others were walking by the heavily traveled trail. I got up on the rock and started, “ladies and gentlemen. good afternoon. There is a group on the Internet call Project Ezra. Project Ezra is dedicated to the public reading of God’s Word, the Bible.” At that I could see several people look away. But, I continued, “today I will be reading First Corinthians chapter thirteen.” Then I read the chapter. Using Tony’s springboards to the Gospel, I then preached the law and the gospel right there in Central Park. When I finished, I thanked the people for listening and got down. Just then two people walked up and said, “that was bold.” We spoke for a few minutes. They were fellow believers. It was so nice of God to send these believers to encourage me. Thanks!

As You Go
I have not even gotten around to telling about sharing the Gospel with people at the airport, on the plane or at Starbucks and other restaurants that I visited or even doing some sight seeing at Rockefeller Center and walking to the Empire State Building. Some of these events took place in a very intentional setting. However, the open air at Macy’s and in Central Park were both spontaneous. And any of the tract distribution in Times Square could be coupled with any ordinary vacation or just an evening out. So, remember, share the Gospel “As You Go”. That is what Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19. For more information on witnessing “As You Go”, please check out the series by that name on this blog.

There are no immediate plans to return to New York. But, when the next business trip arises, you can be sure that I’ll be packing my tracts so I can go back out and plant some more seeds.