Book Table Outreach

Here is a photo outreach report for your edification. Back on October 11, I was able to join friends from the Arabic speaking church for a “book table outreach” at the Arabic Cultural Festival in San Francisco. Besides being a favorite outreach event, it is always a joy to reunite and share loving fellowship with these brothers and sisters. The table was loaded with free Bibles, gospel booklets, tracts and videos in several languages. All day long people crowded our little corner of the room, where believers lovingly and boldly witnessed and read the Bible out loud to anyone who would listen.

Pastor Yousef witnessed to these young men from Saudi Arabia who are here for college.

Emir witnessing to more international college students!

These young men are from three different North African countries. They have also come here for college. The young man on the left was very interested in hearing what Yousef had to say.

This sister spent hours reading the Bible aloud to others and sharing the Gospel with many people. Here she is with this very curious young woman, who had questions (and wanted to debate) but ended up mostly just listening.

Meanwhile, while our sister was reading the Bible aloud and preaching the gospel to the young woman conversationally, these men were trying not to look like they were listening intently.

Eventually, she drew them in as they and several others listened to her share Truth from the Bible about our Savior. After this, these people went and stood around pastor Yousef while he talked about the Lord to them, and our sister went on to speak to others.

For the entire day, people were coming to the table to take tracts, Bibles and DVDs, and to listen to believers share the Gospel. Some folks were standing around reading their gospel booklets. The “Bible book table” was a very busy and crowded place all day. But on the other side of the room, except for the two hosts, the “Islam” table (stacked with Korans) stood vacant and quiet all day.

It is thrilling to see and meet these people from some very closed Muslim countries. Oh that God may add them to His Kingdom! He has brought them to this place that they may hear the truth about Jesus; that He is God, and that He is the sin bearer. He has brought them that they may hear of His mercy and grace towards us, in coming down to visit us..

To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Lk.1:79

Here is the photo album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=161921&id=561034376&l=aadc7d26dc

Summer Witnessing Ideas

Over on another blog they are arguing over the acceptability of different methods of evangelism. (You know, whether we must have a “relationship” with someone first before we have “earned the right” to share the gospel…..) This is hard to hear, knowing the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are very few! I’m hoping these brethren who do not like “creative outreach” are themselves doing something to try to get the gospel out. I try not to get into the fray on Christian debate & argue threads but I did offer my 2 cents. Although I love a good discussion, I usually don’t have time. Life is short and Jesus did say, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” (To which I say, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”)

I do hope to learn sound theology, and to understand the true gospel in order to be faithful in communicating the message, but I’m not going to the bat over most methods of delivery. I will though, over the message; I have a low tolerance for false gospels and the ‘easy believe’ gospel-lite. The other important issue for me besides the message, (and delivering the gospel using words), is sharing Christ with an attitude of humility, compassion, respect and love. But I think there’s a lot of room for creativity.

That said, here’s some summer witnessing ideas for you to consider. I’m sure you can think of other creative ideas. Everyone is different and God gives us all different ways we can reach out to others with the gospel.

1. Invite people for a barbecue. Share with friends or neighbors.

2. Bring a meal to an elderly widow/widower. Have a visit and share the good news.

3. Be a Christian camp counselor or VBS worker. Share with a child.

4. Go help a rescue mission like City Team. Talk with the people there.

5. Work with a local Christian organization’s summer outreach like Jews for Jesus or SOS in SF.

6. Go down to SoCal and do an Ambassador’s Alliance training outreach with the folks at Living Waters.

7. Go hang out with a bunch of college students and join them for an outreach in NYC.

8. Find your short term mission on Mission Finder. Go somewhere.

9. Start a blog. Tell it there.

10. Discover the joys of outreach on local college campuses. Summer classes start soon.

11. Set up a table at the mall and give away free bibles, gospels and CD’s. Make arrangements with mall management for reserving a time and space for your table.

12. Turn your vacation into a mission trip: prepare to share with people or give out gospels at airports, rest stops, theme parks, camping, festivals, the beach, state & county parks, sporting events…

13. Take note of the thousands of tourists that will be coming into the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding recreational hot spots, and remember they are here because God wants them to hear the gospel.

14. Set up a table at a park and offer face painting and craft materials for the children. Kids love this! Have a basket with gospel materials for them and their parents to take for free. The book, He Lived Among Us, available from Voice of the Martyrs, is a lovely gospel book done in cartoon-book style. The drawings are beautiful and the text is the Bible. It comes in many languages.

15. Start a conversation with someone in your neighborhood. Bring up spiritual things and see if they are open to hearing the gospel. You may make a new friend.

16. Burn some sermon jams like this, and this, to give out.

17. Try some open air-
preach on a bus
preach on a train
preach on BART
preach on the street

18. Get creative. Think of some other way.

19. Train, equip and encourage other saints to share the gospel.

Please remember, the most important thing is a good understanding of the Evangel- the gospel. We must know it in order to share it. As representatives of Jesus Christ, the true method is actually the message that we bring, so get to know the content of the gospel. That’s the best evangelism training there is. Know the difference between the law and the gospel. Know the difference between giving your testimony and testifying to the theological truth and facts of the gospel: Jesus Christ come in the flesh, crucified and sacrificed as an atonement for guilty sinners and raised from the dead in victory over sin and death for all who by faith trust in Him.