Im pressing on...

Empty Lot

          This past Friday night Chad and I drove to our church, like usual, for Friday night PIE (our evangelism team). We went and opened up the church and.....waited.....and waited.....and waited.....for people to come. Nobody came. Not one soul. This is not the first time Chad and I have been the only two who have shown up and participated in PIE. For a whole year it was just Chad and I. And I was ok with that.
         It was hard to want to go out this past Friday. This is a mortifying admission as I read it, but its true. I felt sorry for.....well I'm not sure what. I was upset. Upset that there are more people who go to gospel choir concerts, crafting events, women's and men's luncheons than go out to share the gospel with those who need to hear.  Chad and I were in a passionate discussion about this exact topic in the car on our way to the Riverside Plaza for some evangelism. My mind was racing with frustration, resentment and disappointment. I was struggling with motivation for PIE that night. Instead of letting these feelings get the best of me I decided to pray. I asked God for forgiveness and help. I asked Him to encourage me, for more laborers, and for motivation. I also asked Him to change my attitude from frustration to compassion.
         After having a quick dinner at Panera, we headed out to the Plaza to do a few laps of tract distribution and conversations. To our dismay the Plaza was completely dead. I mean DEAD. There had to be about ten people walking around outside total. Wow. Not good from a tract distribution standpoint. I said a silent prayer and started walking around the vacant plaza. Chad and I started out together, handing out tracts to those we passed by. He then stopped and started chatting with two high school age guys, and I kept walking around passing out tracts.
         It was at this time that I noticed a young lady sitting on a bench in a Chipotle uniform. She looked like she was either on a break or had just gotten off work. As I was walking her way, I tried to hand some gospel tracts to a middle aged couple who walked by. The bill I was passing out had a picture of President Obama on it (I figured it was appropriate since he had just been reelected). After they took them and looked at the picture they promptly gave them back. I told them the bills were not political in any way but they would have none of it. Unfortunately that opportunity was lost. It did open the door for me to share with Kristen who had witnessed the whole commotion while sitting on her bench. I walked over to her and handed her one, being sure to say they were not political in any way. I then shared what they were about. I asked her if she had any sort of religious background, and she shared that she believed in God but that was about it. She believed that when we die, that it is the end, nothing else, no heaven and no hell. This is a convenient position to take because it allows for no consequence for sins nobody to be accountable to. I was able to share the gospel with her, she seemed to understand what I was talking about. I clarified who Jesus was, just in case she was unsure and encouraged her to read her bible (she said she had one) and not just trust what a person says. I also encouraged her to seek God out like it says in James 4:8a "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

        After speaking with Kristen, I continued passing out tracts to the few people walking around the Plaza. After a few minutes I noticed a couple of young people reading the tract I had given them a few minutes earlier. Since Chad was till sharing with Clayton and Joseph I decided to go over and see what they thought about what the tract said. When I asked, the young man Robert was still reading it. They said they were unsure about it. I asked what their religious backgrounds were, Robert said he was a Christian and Alondra said she was Catholic although not practicing. I then asked them if they knew where they would be going when they died. Robert said Heaven and Alondra said she did not know. I then asked them how they knew they would be going to heaven (or not ). Neither knew. I asked if they knew what the Gospel was....both said no. I went though the 10 commandments with them. Both had admitted to lying, stealing and being angry with others in their heart (which God considers murder see Matthew 5:21-22). I then asked them if they would be innocent or guilty of breaking Gods law. They knew and admitted they would be guilty. They also admitted that if they died that night they would end up in hell. They were clearly concerned. I shared a bit about life and how we are never guaranteed another day, the importance of getting right with God before its too late. I also shared the gospel with them. The gospel is that Jesus the Son of God came down to earth and lived a perfect life while here. He died on the cross for our sins and was buried and rose again three days later and is in heaven with God (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). I told them that they needed to get right with God . That they shouldn't put it off. That eternity is a long time. I shared how Great our God is. I let them know that there is nothing we can do to earn heaven, but repentance and faith in Jesus who is the Way the Truth and the Life. If you are not sure what will happen to you when you die, you can know. You can have peace, repent of your sins and trust in Jesus today. As it says in 1 Peter 2:24 "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
        All in all this was a very encouraging night of evangelism. Something Chad brought up after we prayed in the car was that if we had not gone there, those people would not have received a tract and Kristen, Clayton, Joseph, Robert and Alondra would not have had the gospel shared with them.  God answered my prayers and then some. He gave me courage to speak with some strangers. He encouraged me and caused my attitude to change as soon as I stepped foot onto the Plaza. This Friday night PIE was full of prayer on my part, and I know God heard. Please be in prayer for those who were spoken to, those who received tracts and for God to bring more people with a passion for Him and the lost to join the PIE team!

~N