Everyday Evangelism-August 25, 2009-Yoville

"Life has many choices. Eternity has only 2." "God is uncreated. He never had a beginning and has always been in existence." "150,000 people die every day. Where do they go?" and "Are you good enough for heaven? How good do you have to be?" What do these statements have in common? They are the quotes that I use in Yoville, a Face Book game that is similar to Second Life. I am not a game person and don't understand directions to games, so I am already challenged to play this game. But this game provides a way to come in contact with different people. There are different scenaries in Yoville, all of which, at some time or other, have people in them. The people have silly names some times, but behind every avatar (character) there is a human being that needs to hear the Gospel. Yoville is a game that has a city setting, and each person that creates a character, gets an apartment. Each character can earn money by going to the factory a couple of times a day. The people in Yoville are generally hardened to the Gospel, but some are interested. Usually, but not always, someone wants to be my buddy when I have gone out preaching the Gospel. You can see how deceived people are by their responses to the Gospel. Some of them think that sharing the Gospel is 'shoving God in their faces' as one person put it. But they don't understand it is good for them to hear the Gospel. That is how faith comes about. Only in eternity will we know how many people will be reached with the truths of the Gospel. We need to be faithful to find places where we can 'publish' God's word so people can see it. We need to pray that God will give them eyes to see with and that He will open up their hearts and minds to the Scriptures. Yoville is just one way to do that. There are many ways to reach people, and we need to look at ourselves and let God work His grace in our hearts, then, we can minister to others. And we need to use our talents and skills to bring glory to Him and tell others, in such a way, so that the cloud that is between them and God will dissolve and they will see Him more clearly.

Everyday Evangelism- Christmas Caroling Project Preparations

It is only 4 months until December and I decided it is time to get ready for the Christmas Caroling Project this year. We will need a group of people to meet together to sing and play instruments, as we visit homes in the month of December to bring our Christmas greetings to. We would like to represent Metro Life Church and minister to families, if possible, in the vicinity of the church building. We will take an evening and go door to door and sing the old Christmas carols that are based upon Biblical truths. Each family will receive a bag which contains a book, a toy with the Gospel message on it somehow, some candy and cookies, a bookmark, a bar of homemade soap, and whatever other suggestions people have. We will go to about 30 houses, and if we have enough people, we will divide up into 2 groups. Then each group will go to 15 houses, and when we are done we will come back to the host house. Anyone who lives close to the church building, say within 5-7 miles, would be a good candidate for hosting this event. We would love to sing to your neighbors and provide an open door for them to soften up to us and you, the host, so that should they have any questions, they would feel more comfortable about asking them. Last year, we had one lady who was very touched and started crying and opening up. The year before that we had a lady thank my son-in-law for the caroling and the bread, the day after we went caroling in his neighborhood. This will be a good opportunity to show hospitality for Metro, and will leave the book with them, "More Than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. Anyone interested in being part of this in any form, please let me know. Contact me. There is quite a bit of preparation and everyone can do something, so it won't become stressful for any one person.

Everyday Evangelism- 08/04/09-Yoville and Walmart

Well the Walmart idea didn't work out so well. I went to the manager and she didn't understand what a prayer station was, nor did she really care to find out. She just said that her manager only has Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts set up tables. But I have seen the prayer stations done at a park, so that is an idea I am going to look into. Another thing I am doing, is going into Face Book and one of the application programs is called " Yoville". It is like a chat room where they give you an apartment and ways to make money and a virtual city where you can go shopping and buy things to decorate your apartment. What they don't know is that it provides a great opportunity to chat with people and communicate the Gospel in the different parts of the town. The best place is right in front of the apartment building where the hot dog stand is. There are lots of other figures there, and each figure has a person behind it that needs to hear the Gospel. It is very similar to doing open air as there are hecklers there, and people try to distract by wanting you to play games with them. Others are interested and ask questions. I have one lady who was irritated because of my preaching, so she asked to be my buddy, to which I said yes to. She became my buddy so she could email me and let me know that she didn't like what I was doing. But she did have questions. In one of them she wanted to know what God has ever done for me. The other one she was asking wanted to know if I really cared for the people, or was I just saying that. When I was talking to the people in that area in front of the apartment building, I told them that I cared for them. I guess she wanted to make sure that what I was saying was really true. Anyway, it is cool to be out there and proclaiming the Gospel. I feel like I need to become part of this game so I can go into the world of these lost people. So, I invite those of you to join me in Yoville if you are my friend on Face Book.

Everyday Evangelism - July 26, 2009- Church Parking Lot

Today we went to the church meeting, as usual on a Sunday morning. We were learning from the book of Hebrews again, seeing Christ in the Old Testament. He is revealed in the New Testament as our Great High Priest. A piece of furniture that was missing from the place where the priests used to carry out their sacrifices, was the chair. When Jesus was finished with offering the sacrifice of Himself, the Bible says that He sat down. In the Old Testament the priests were not able to sit, because they were always offering sacrifices. They were a picture of what Jesus was going to do for us. He only had to die one time. No more need for sacrifices. The final one had been offered, and the curtain was torn. The way to the holy of holies was now open. We can come boldly to the throne.
Now after the meeting was over, I left and was heading toward the car. There was a guy on a bike and I offered him a tract. He stopped and we talked for a couple of minutes. I shared the Gospel with him. He didn't speak English well, and I tried to communicate with him as best as I could. I would explain a Bible truth to him, and his usual response was "I know" or " I know that". He did admit to not being a good person, but I didn't sense a deep conviction of sin. I gave him 4 tracts to go home with. Please be praying for him. His name is Lisandro. He was very kind to talk to.

Everyday Evangelism- July 23, 2009 Walmart

I love shopping at Walmart. When it is not so hot out, there are lots of people that you can talk to. I try to make my way in while I walk across the parking lot to give out tracts and start conversations with people. Today I met a young man named Chris. Gave him a tract, and shared the Gospel with him. He didn't seem to understand the Gospel when I first started talking to him, but seemed to understand later on in the conversation. I invited him to church on Sunday and he said he wanted to come. He said he would bring a friend. Now I have great plans for me and Walmart. I have been reading about Tony's Prayer Station and today I went to go look for the manager of the store so I could get a PD-38 form. She wasn't in, but will be in tomorrow. I will look over the form and see if we will be able to set up a Prayer Station at our Walmart here. I would like to have friends that would be interested in being at the Prayer Station with me when I would do them. Of course, we have to make sure we get permission first. Wouldn't that be cool? (Well, maybe in the fall or winter : ) Would love to plan to be out there once a month at the Prayer Station.

Everyday Evangelism- July 21, 2009

What an exciting night at The Conversation tonight. It it week # 6, next week being the last class. People are asking for something to continue. We have approximately 40 people attending, with lots of help from the Metro people. Tonight as I was in the lobby waiting for the late people to be coming in, I noticed a skateboarder who was flying in front of the church building. Whenever I see a skateboarder, I am inclined to go after them because they seem to respond to listening to the Gospel. So I told a co-worker who was standing next to me that I wanted to get him. Of course, by the time I would have gotten out there to get to him, he would have been long gone. So my co-worker asked me if she should go get him. I told her "Go" and she did. She caught up with him and invited him to the free dinner. He responded, and came in, skateboard in arm, and joined for the dinner and as far as I know, stayed for the whole meeting. Now I am impressed. His name is Andy and we need to pray for him. I'm sure he heard the Gospel and God will be working in his heart. I hope he comes back next week.

Everyday Evangelism- July 18, 2009

Today I had just a little more time to shop and didn't have much to get at the stores. I am a little surprised that it still took about 2 hours to go into Walmart and then down the road to Sam's and back home. But the time allotment today was good, for I wasn't pressed hard to get back home or to some appointment. I gave out several tracts and when I was at Sam's, I gave a Giant Money tract to a young man, who refused to take it. I asked him why, and he didn't want it. I asked him if anyone had ever shared the Gospel with him, and he said he has his own beliefs. I asked him what he thought was on the other side after we die, and he really didn't know, and said he would find out when he gets there. He actually was easy to talk to, and I continued to ask him some pointed questions. I finally left him with this; I said to him, "You need to get a hold of a Bible, in the New Testament find the book of Luke. Then read Luke chapter 16, and then think about if you still feel the same way about eternity". He said he would and I told him I would be praying for him. He didn't give me his name, but he was a young man in front of Sam's entrance/exit doors. God knows his name and we can be praying that other people will be coming across his path to share the Gospel with him so he can repent and come to faith. Thank God for opportunities to preach the Gospel!