by Calvin March 5th, 2023
This is a report on a witnessing encounter I conducted in my local “Jerusalem” within a couple miles of my home and church. Today I went to a local bus stop to share the good news of the gospel. I talked to Calvin and this report is about my encounter with him.
Calvin was not shy with me talking to him and he asked some good questions. I asked him what he thought happened after we died, and he said he was not sure. From a cultural background, Calvin is African American in his mid-20’s. I did adapt my presentation level to someone that is close to my daughter’s age but he was not as familiar with Jesus Christ as my daughter.
Calvin was not that knowledgeable with the gospel and was unaware that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. He did not seem confused or hostile. He was mildly curious and attempted to change the subject a few times.
I was able to share the gospel with him, but he was not interested in a tract. I think I am one of the first few people Calvin has encountered to share the good news with him and hopefully many more people will as well. I do think that this encounter helped reinforce the good news and that the Holy Spirit will continue to weigh on his heart and hopefully next time someone will be able to convert him. We had good conversations about Jesus Christ, but the bus came before I could pray with him. He knows where my church is but I will be surprised if I see him there.
Derrick February 20th, 2023
This is a report on a witnessing encounter I conducted in my local “Jerusalem” within a couple miles of my home and church. Today I went to a local bus stop to share the good news of the gospel. I talked to Derrick and this report is about my encounter with him. One lesson learned for me is that I need to be more courageous as I prayed before leaving my Jeep to have the courage and then it took some time at the bus stop to start engaging with people.
Derrick was a little apprehensive of me talking to him, but we broke that barrier quickly once the conversation kept going. I asked him what he thought happened after we died, and he said that it depends on where you want to go. He said that there are many different religions and that if you commit to one and be a good person then you will go to heaven.
From a cultural background, Derrick is African American in his mid-50’s and was in the US Navy and has seen the world along with many different religions. He mentioned that his parents were both born again and did witnessing like what I am doing. He was born and raised in Lynchburg, VA and went to UVA for college. I mentioned that my Pastor was born and raised in Lynchburg, VA and his father was the Pastor of White Oak Baptist for many years before retiring recently. I did adapt my presentation level to someone that was familiar with Jesus Christ.
Derrick overheard my conversation with Calvin earlier and I quickly understood why he was apprehensive to talk to me because I could tell that he was internally torn and really has not decided what he believes. He was knowledgeable with the gospel, but he does not believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven and he does not believe that the Holy Bible is the only official Bible.
I was able to share the gospel with him, and he knew the Bible verses. A Bible tract was not necessary for Derrick but I do think that this encounter helped reinforce the good news and that the Holy Spirit will continue to weigh on his heart and hopefully next time someone will be able to convert him. We had good conversations about Jesus Christ, but the bus came before I could pray with him. He knows where my church is and I will not be surprised if I see him there sometime soon.
Tashia February 15th, 2023
This is a report on a witnessing encounter I conducted in my local “Jerusalem” within a couple miles of my home and church. Today I went into the local neighborhood Popeyes to share the good news of the gospel. I talked to Tashia and this report is about my encounter with her. One lesson learned for me is that I need to read the Bible verses aloud if they are unwilling to. I should also bake the Gospel into my prayer more if they are not accepting Jesus Christ at that time.
Tashia was sitting outside Popeye’s when I first met her, I sat down next to her and asked her how she was doing. She mentioned that she is homeless, has six children, and three grandchildren. We talked more about her situation and then I asked her if she went to a local church. Her response was that she went to Faith Church down the street last weekend for the first time and liked it. I asked her if she knew who Jesus Christ was and she responded with a no.
From a cultural background, she does not seem to have a strong relationship with God and does not know anything about Jesus Christ. We are both Caucasian but have different religious and church backgrounds. I did adapt my presentation level to someone that doesn’t know anything about Jesus Christ. I was able to get through the whole Gospel with her.
Tashia was receptive of the Gospel but was dismissive about Jesus Christ. She believes that if she does good that she will be good in God’s eyes. She was not interested in understanding how she could be forgiven of her sins, and I do not think she believes what was said about Jesus Christ being the Son of Man and dying on the cross for our sins.
I was able to share the gospel with her, but I was not able to share specific Bible verses as I could tell she was not willing to spend that amount of time in the Bible. I did ask her if she could read, and she said yes. I then provided her with a Gospel tract for further reading. Even though she was not accepting Jesus Christ in this encounter, I know that she has been given the Gospel and hopefully next time things will be different. I did pray with Tashia which reinforced the information on Jesus Christ and all the miraculous things that can happen once we surrender ourselves to him. I informed her of where our church is so that she can stop by sometime.
Isaiah February 12th, 2023
This is a report on conducting Servant Evangelism in my local “Jerusalem” within a couple miles of my home and church. Today I went into the local neighborhood to help those in need and to share the good news of the gospel. I talked to Isaiah and this report is about my encounter with him.
Isaiah is unsaved and this was evident through our face-to-face conversation. He grew up in Washington DC and went to a Pentecostal church with his family growing up. He has some recollection of what it was about but I suspect he forgot most of it.
James is unsaved as this clearly came through during the face-to-face conversation we had. He grew up in Jamaica and says that he goes to Seventh Day Adventist Church, but a lot of what we talked about was the Old Testament and not the importance of Jesus.
Isaiah was sitting outside Popeye’s when I first met him, then I bought him lunch and provided him $10 to purchase some things he might need. I mentioned that I am doing this because of the love Jesus has in my heart. Isaiah was thankful and informed me that he is somewhat spiritual and has not given up on religion altogether. He was curious as to why I was giving him so much attention and love to which I mentioned Jesus Christ.
I was able to share the gospel with him, but I was not able to share specific Bible verses as I could tell he was not willing to spend that amount of time in the Bible. I did ask him about Heaven and Hell to which he acknowledged that they exist, and he started talking to me about Jesus Christ and how he was the Son of God and died on the cross. He was not exact on the details surrounding the cross or about Jesus being raised from the dead. He talked about his situation with his girlfriend and four children and how one of them died at a local hospital while giving birth. He talked about his current situation where he is trying to provide for his family and the struggles he has. I continued to inform him that Jesus Christ works miracles when we put all our faith and trust in him. Isaiah knows where our church is located so I do hope that I see him there soon. Unfortunately, I did not pray with Isaiah and that is something I will ensure I always do at the end of every encounter.
This approach to evangelism is effective, helps to start a conversation, and emulates what a Christian should be doing. I do agree that Servant Evangelism is a helpful model for a daily lifestyle. I do not see myself doing this every day, but a few times a month will be my goal. I am still nervous about the process and looking back, I could have done better at asking specific questions and making particular statements. I need to keep forcing my self to do this and then I know I will get more comfortable to where I want to share the gospel versus feeling forced to share the gospel.
James February 5th, 2023
This is a report on conducting Servant Evangelism in my local “Jerusalem” within a couple miles of my home and church. Today I accompanied the “Brothers of Thunder” into the local neighborhood to help those in need and to share the good news of the gospel. We talked to a couple of different people, but this report is about our encounter with James at a bus stop.
James is unsaved as this clearly came through during the face-to-face conversation we had. He grew up in Jamaica and says that he goes to Seventh Day Adventist Church, but a lot of what we talked about was the Old Testament and not the importance of Jesus.
Since James was at a bus stop, I gave him $20 to help pay for his bus fare for the month. We talked about how he is getting the $20 because of the love Jesus has in our hearts and how we want to help everyone. James was thankful and informed us that he believes in God the creator of the universe. He mentioned that he believes in the Godhead, but it was not specifically the Triune God of Christianity.
We were able to share the gospel, but this process took over 30 minutes as he kept waiving the busses by because he was so passionate about the conversation. James knew of Jesus Christ but was not willing to agree that he was the way to God or any type of afterlife. He said he read the Bible twice and he referenced a lot of the Old Testament scripture, but when we talked about Jesus Christ, he was dismissive and not focused on him as much. James believes that he will be rewarded for his good works as he follows the Ten Commandments, does not eat pork or shellfish, and follows the laws. Through discussion, we found out that he does not eat pork and shellfish specifically because it is stated in the Bible. We talked to him about the New Covenant, but he was not willing to listen. There was a conversation about sin and how Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but James was not accepting of the message. Before we departed, we did have a prayer where the two brothers and I laid hands on James and prayed out loud for him in the name of Jesus. He asked for our phone number and we will follow up with him in a week or so.
This approach to evangelism is effective, helps to start a conversation, and emulates what a Christian should be doing. I do agree that Servant Evangelism is a helpful model for a daily lifestyle. I do not see myself doing this every day, but a few times a month will be my goal. Another benefit was to know what people think about our local church when asked. James does not like our church because it is Baptist. When I asked him what he had against the Baptist faith, he answered that they do not follow the laws and sleep with women, gamble, and make fun of other people. This was observed when he was in Jamaica. It was good for me to accompany two of our Deacons, “Brothers of Thunder”, as we were able to reach more people and I was not as nervous when asking questions because they were available to answer any questions that I could not when the people ask questions.