Houston Update: Protesters and Someone Got Shot Five Times

We made it back from Houston. Thousands heard the glorious Gospel that transforms lives proclaimed by 105 faithful messengers. We partnered with Sports Fan Outreach International http://sfoi.org/ . I had the privilege of leading twelve of them. I also had the opportunity to train ten new evangelists in Open Air Preaching. The training covered two major topics: First, we considered the importance of prayer in the Christian’s life and in their evangelism efforts. Second, we explored how to have open air dialogue that can result in more people stopping to listen to your Open Air Preaching. We were equipped by two professors, one from Dallas Theological Seminary, the other from Reformed Theological Seminary in Houston.

First, a little bit about Houston, TX:  “Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States and the largest in Texas. The city also has a global economy and only New York City has more Fortune 500 headquarters. The 2010 Census showed that Houston was home to almost 2.1 million people within 599 square miles, although this number has since increased. The estimated population for 2016 is 2.2 million.[1]”  It is estimated that over one million people flocked into Houston to be apart of Super Bowl LI. By God’s grace, we were there in the middle of the mass of humanity sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our encounters on the street varied.  We encountered some lost souls who could not have cared less about Jesus Christ, some who were willing to listen, and others who consider themselves saved. My team gave out over 10k tracts and twenty Bibles to hungry souls.

Here is Demetrius’ story: As he walked past the preaching, he made eye contact with me. As he made eye contact, his paced slowed a bit. I asked the question that I have asked a thousand times before “Is your soul right with God?” He quickly answered, “You betcha. I love God.” I responded with my common follow up question, “Could you explain to me how I could be saved?”

He stared right at me, as he began to walk closer, smiling. He uttered the infamous three words, “You do good.” If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. I began to explain to Demetrius what the Gospel really is and how he could be saved and know with certainty. He shared with me that on Christmas Eve he was shot five times. The doctors told him that he should be dead. I told him that he was a walking miracle and that he needed to get right with God before it was too late. He said he would be back, but never returned.

There were several groups protesting anything and everything. We had a little interaction with them. They yelled at us that they did not want our white Jesus. I thought to myself “Well, neither do I,” because Jesus skin pigmentation was not either white or black. They did not want to deal with the logic of their statement (or rather, the lack of logic). As another brother was preaching, he was asking them how they could complain about anything from their Atheistic World View. They shouted back, “Why are you complaining?” He replied, “I’m not. I am telling you that Jesus took the wrath you deserve so you can receive the Mercy you do not deserve.”  There was complete silence after that truth bomb was dropped.

Dr. Alex Gonzales, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, taught on the atonement of Christ from the New Testament. Dr. Duncan Rankin taught about Christ’s Atonement and how it foreshadowed and was prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures.

One final story to encourage you: Tyron.  Tyron has lived in Houston his whole life and was resting on a walker and leaning against the building when I walked up and sat down beside him. He shared with me of his love for Jesus while thanking me for being in his city.  He gave a very clear Gospel presentation. I asked if he had a Bible. He explained that his sight is going and he wished he had a large print Bible. I got his address and Gospel of God Ministries bought him a brand new leather large print Bible. I will send it to him next week. If you’d like to send Tyron any encouraging words, please feel free to send them my way. I will print them out and send them with the package.

When you share the Gospel you never know what will happen. Thank you for giving me a chance to serve our Savior in this capacity! Go proclaim the Gospel to see a life transformed. Remember – the Lord blesses faithfulness. When you are faithful, He will be fruitful through you. If you’d like to join the Super Bowl Outreach next year in Minneapolis, visit: http://sfoi.org/