Thursday, May 16, 2013

New Leader for Boulder Outreach

Dave Hawkins is the new leader for the Boulder outreach, and we are thankful he is willing to take Patty's place due to her move. Patty is moving to AZ, and we are seriously praying about expanding to begin a new LTW table outreach in AZ and possibly Las Vegas with Patty leading. If God confirms this idea, LTW will be partnering with Patty and her church in this new location. Patty has been an excellent leader for the Boulder outreach, but I have met Dave, and he also has a love for evangelism and people. God is at work, and I look forward to working with Dave and the team in Boulder.

Dwayna

LTWW Update: Boulder

From Patty Petersen, leader:
 
Praise the Lord for providing workers for the table ministry in Boulder and for the many people who stopped by to talk and take literature.  From February to April we were on Pearl Street (outdoor pedestrian mall) twice a month on Saturday afternoons, and once in May.  Here are the highlights.
JANUARY
We set up the table in our church basement each Saturday night when we host the homeless as an overflow shelter.  After supper there are always a few who browse the table, taking literature or tracts or a Bible.  We also have a few conversations weekly to answer spiritual questions and share the gospel or pray for someone.  They have many challenges to overcome, but we know our love and the table materials give them hope.  Please pray they take that step of faith to put their hope and trust in Jesus.
FEBRUARY
Despite chilly weather, we almost never lacked for people with whom to speak in downtown Boulder.  Tracy talked with a young man named James who had lots of objections to Christianity, and to a couple named Jenny and Brian who were open to hear the gospel.  I talked for 30 minutes to an atheist farmer (John) with a brilliant mind.  He raised many objections but did admit he didn't have an answer when I asked how evolution could explain how we have male and female of each species.  He wouldn't take any literature.  A young man couldn't stay but took a copy of Mark Cahill's booklet, "The Second Greatest Lie Ever Told."  Please pray these conversations and literature bear fruit.
A Christian couple were glad to see us on the mall.  After I talked about how we share Christ with people, the husband said there was no need to talk about repentance with sinners; just stress new life in Christ.  I explained that without repentance and godly sorrow, there would be no new life in Christ, and we looked at a few Bible verses.  He took a few tracts along to pass out to friends.
MARCH
We are praying for "Don" a homeless young man, open to take a tract but doubtful of organized Christianity.  He has studied various world religions and thinks they all have bits and pieces of truth, but no one has all the truth.  He was bitter toward a Southern Baptist pastor who called him names and gave him a hard time when he asked to use the church bathroom.
We are praying for an older gentleman from Argentina visiting his son in Boulder.  He took the tract on Roman Catholicism in Spanish.  We pray he sees the truth of salvation by faith in Christ alone and gives his life to the Lord.
A Chinese tourist stopped by and took the "How to Know God" booklet in Chinese.  He didn't speak much English but seemed pleased to find the tract in his language.
We spoke with a man who buys jewelry from Native Americans to re-sell.  He had taken the book Muddy Waters a few weeks ago and said he has read it through twice.  It's by a Native American Christian woman who grew up in a family of medicine men.  Mike is rethinking the wisdom of selling some of the jewelry that has special spiritual meaning to Native Americans.  Please pray he comes to a deeper commitment to Christ and victory over areas of sin.
A woman on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ stopped to see what we were doing and prayed for us.  I always appreciate that.
We met "Mary Ann," a homeless fellow Christian going through a hard time in her life.  She witnesses for Jesus whenever she can.
One man described himself as a "free thinker" and believes there is just one overall religion in the world.  He had a long conversation with Dave.  Dave had brought his poster board with million dollar bills featuring celebrity caricatures so people could guess who they were and then answer the question on the poster, "What do all these people have in common?"  The answer is, "They will all one day die."  And from there we ask what people believe about life after death and other spiritual things...
I talked with a sweet young woman from Tibet who is Buddhist and whom I had met before at the nursing home where she worked and where my father lived for a couple years.  I met her husband that afternoon also and asked them questions about their lives and religion.  The husband said he is a student of world religions and had a Bible at home which he took from a hotel room, so he could study it more closely.  He hoped the new Pope would emphasize to Catholics the need to love one another and follow the golden rule which Jesus taught.  He believes Jesus was a good teacher and emphasized love, as all religions should.  He accepted from me the Mark Cahill tract which describes the basic principles of major religions and what Biblical Christianity teaches ("Second Greatest Lie").  Please pray they give their lives to Christ.
APRIL
Rob, Brenda and I were kept very busy with the crowds on Pearl Street when they were having the annual "Tulip Fairy Festival"! Many people stopped to take the IQ Test from our large sign.  We all had a few long conversations with very interested people. One young man agreed he was bound for hell but not concerned because he doesn't believe in hell.  He asked some very tough questions:  Do you favor the separation of church and state?  What is your position on gay marriage?  What if someone is born gay?  Later he said he wants to run for public office one day and wants to understand what various groups believe.  He told me I was an "unconventional Christian."  I pray that means I'm an authentic follower of Jesus and my answers made him think about taking the Bible more seriously and investigating the claims of Jesus.  He asked for and took one of the Bibles and a tract which gives the testimony of a man who was saved by Jesus and left the gay lifestyle.  May God save this young man and use him mightily for the Kingdom.
One Saturday there were many marijuana rights advocates on the mall with signs. There were also a few people with signs advocating for gay rights.  Some of them gathered around a man preaching the gospel from a footstool, to heckle him.  Dan, from our table, stopped there to talk with a few of the lesbian women who were shouting back at the preacher, and found one, Katie, who was open to talk a bit and said her parents were Christians.  Later I went by and located Katie to offer her the tract about the man who left the gay lifestyle.  She was again open and appreciated me coming to talk with her one-on-one and not shout at her about her sinfulness.  She took the tract and promised to check it out.
Stephen is a man in a wheel chair who regularly comes to Pearl Street to collect donations, to help him pay rent and utilities.  He is a believer and I've talked with him a number of times but this day I was especially encouraged as I listened to stories of God's faithfulness as he traveled around the country hitchhiking in the years before he was disabled.  God protected him and provided rides and food in unexpected ways, over and over.
MAY
A couple evangelist friends from Denver joined us and we talked with many people, despite the occasional sprinkle of rain, including a group of eight college students from Singapore who were open to talking about spiritual things, heard the gospel, and took some literature. 
It's been a huge blessing to lead the table ministry in Boulder for the past three years, and I know God will continue to bless this ministry going forward under new leadership.  Please pray for the transition and for ongoing witness for Christ in downtown Boulder where there is real spiritual hunger and too many wrong answers readily available.  Thank you for the prayer support!






Wednesday, May 15, 2013

A Cry for Justice--How the Evil of Domestic Abuse Hides in Your Church

Read this important article HERE. I could write a book on all I have seen and heard about this through direct sources in churches.

More Bad News About Rob Bell

Read this to see how Rob Bell is doing even more damage now to the Body of Christ by his distortions and lies in the name of Christianity.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

LTWW Update: Rio Grande Valley

Leaders: Curt and Janie Rolf
Jackson St.
Harlington, TX
May 4, 2013

At 8:00 A.M. a music vendor came over to say hello and admire Curt's tract rack. He asked him to make two for him. We praised God for the beautiful day as we talked. Another vendor came over to give a hug and say hello. Our ministry seems to have extended to vendors, too. A new vendor, just across the way, came over and was excited to check out our ministry and find that it is Bible based. She is the director of the children's ministry at her church and took several of our children's materials. She spotted the "Story of Jesus" and took the Spanish version. I told her we were erroneously shipped an extra 200 of them, and if the company would give them to us, she could have them. (The following week, the company DID give them to us. We will continue this conversation with her at our next outreach.) We also talked about the Wed. Prayer Night and the importance of praying for our country, emphasizing "His people" in 2 Chron. 7:14. While we were talking a fellow saw our free gift for you sign and came over looking for materials about abortion. We'll research this and see what we can find.

By 9:30 many people were out and about, even though we were at the end of the block. This is very unusual. A young bilingual man stopped to ask if we had only the Old Testament. Interestingly, we had never had that request before. I explained how he could only find the Old Testament in the Bible. He already had a Bible, so he took the tracts on the occult and magic. PTL! A couple of ladies came by and took The Gospel of John in large print, The Light That Was Dark, A Time of Departing, and two DVDs: God of Wonders and Countdown to Eternity.

Two delightful ladies were interested in our materials on Jehovah's Witnesses. Another fellow stopped by looking for Spanish materials for young people. He frequently goes into Mexico and was excited to find Bible lessons in Spanish to take with him. I knew my efforts had not been in vain. He was thrilled.
I can't say it was an uneventful day, but we trust each and every person who stopped at the table was part of God's plan for them.

It was fun to celebrate Mother's Day with pages for the children to color about honoring their parents and God's creation of flowers. Each child picked an artificial flower to accompany their coloring pages, which they could give to their mother.

Praising the Lord for another great day with Him,
Curt and Janie

Saturday, May 11, 2013

LTW Update: NYC (May 4th)


We had such a wonderful day, and we were busy. I worked with Ramiro, and people stopped by our table from all walks of life to find out more about why we believe in Jesus as Savior. It really filled up my heart with joy speaking with people about Jesus. 
One man stopped who was extremely mad at God. He said terrible things about God, and we just let him speak and listened. I believe he was expecting a reaction. Ramiro calmly spoke to Him about God's mercy and love, sharing his testimony about how the Lord had changed his life. It was a sweet encounter and one that the angry man was not expecting. We were not the least bit shaken in our faith, though that must have been the goal of the poor guy.
We gave out many Bibles, and we invited many people to church. We spoke with hurting people, arrogant people, people who appreciated us being there, and people who mocked us, and every conversation was a joy for us to have. This is not our work, after all. It is God's.

One woman stopped who believed that there were many paths to God, and she said there was truth in all religions. I told her that rat poison is 99% benign. It is the 1% that can kill you, and I explained that Satan likes to mix lies with truth. I agreed that there are elements of truth in every religion, but I opened up the Bible and took her to John 14:6 and read that verse to her. I also took her to 2 Corinthians 11:4 where we are warned that there is a "different Jesus" being taught. When I explained that Jesus lives within our hearts when we belong to Him, and that He now dwells in "a temple not made with hands," she smiled really big and said, "I like that." I explained that we go to church to grow and share our talents and gifts with other Christians, reminding her that the church is the "Bride" of Christ; to turn our back on the church hurts Jesus. She seemed more open as she left with a handful of materials.



One guy stopped who said he needed help finding his train. As Ramiro spoke with a professor at the table about Jesus, I took the guy to customer service. The guy returned and said he still needed help. I told him I would help him and offered him something to read on the train. He said, "I cannot read. I just got out of prison." He looked about thirty years old. He took a CD to hear of a sermon. I led him to the New Jersey Transit, thankful that the same Gospel for a thirty year old man who cannot read is the same Gospel for the professor at the table speaking with Ramiro.

"I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6

NYC and LTW to the Smokies Outreaches Cancelled Today Due to Weather

We cannot set up at these locations today, due to thunderstorms. We will plan on setting up next week.

Monday, May 06, 2013

Rising Persecution in "The Land of the Free"?

HERE is a new article by Berit Kjos on rising persecution of Christians in America.

Saturday, May 04, 2013

LTWW Update: Albuquerque, NM

Leader: Gregory Valdez
Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 4, 2013

Today was my first day of outreach, and I went to the park in my neighborhood.  I set up the outreach table around 1 P.M. and tuned up my guitar to use as a tool for drawing people over to my table.  As a family came near the table, I began to play Christian songs.  As I prayed, a lady came straight over.  She liked the songs I was playing.  We talked about the Christian music she likes, and as we talked she told me she was a member of a nearby church.  Maybe God used her visit to bring over another lady who was out walking her dog, and soon several other people came over. 

Since this was the beginning of my LTWW ministry, I didn't know the best time and place to put the table.  I'm trusting God to show me how to improve and be more effective.  Perhaps, I should try going in the evening when more people are in the park.  He will show me His plan, but I was available today and had some good conversations. This is a work in progress, and I am sure He will bless those who came by today and received materials, as some seeds were planted for His glory.

May God bless as we serve Him,
Greg