Street Witnessing

Part 3 in a Series of 6 on “How to Share Christ”

What is Sharing with Strangers?

1.      It is speaking to strangers and passing out tracts in high-traffic, public places. The purpose is to confront people with the Gospel, telling them about Jesus Christ, God’s Son and how He died for their sins.

2.      The best place to do this type of witnessing is where there are lots of bars and clubs, along with tattoo parlors and stores that sell drug paraphernalia. In other words, the worst part of town! People living in or frequenting these areas are generally not believers. High-traffic and lost people are the perfect combination for street witnessing.

3.      There is quite a surprise element in sharing Christ in these areas.  People you encounter on the streets in bad areas of town are generally there because they are living in darkness and the last thing they want to see is the light of Jesus Christ. When you approach them, they may act surprised because a Christian is the last person they expect to see there.  But this is good because then you’ll get to explain that you are there to tell them about Jesus and how He died on the cross for their sins.

Be prepared

Be sure that you’re “prayed up” and ready for spiritual warfare when you share Christ like this. You’re in Satan’s territory and he doesn’t give up his captives without a fight.  The rewards for your work are bountiful though because as you pray and commit yourself to the Lord, He will empower you for this work. Also, there is no fruit sweeter than seeing a sinner come to Christ who’s been living full-time for the devil.

A Real-life Example of Street Witnessing

I once had a group of people with me in Juarez, Mexico and we were doing this type of witnessing in the red light district.  Prostitution is legal in Mexico and it was past midnight on a Saturday night as we walked the streets.  There were so many people milling around, it was hard to keep our group together.

We had a wonderful response from the people we talked to that night and one man who prayed to receive Christ was a male prostitute that God touched in a profound way.  At one point, as we were passing out tracts, we stopped and talked to people who were waiting in a long line outside a night club. Many of them spoke English which made it easy for our group to share Christ with them.

One young lady I talked with clung to me when I handed her a tract and shared Christ with her. Her friends kept laughing and pulling her away and I could tell she was torn between serving God and Satan. She was crying as she left. Looking back at me, she kept saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I have to go with them!”

This was very unsettling for our entire group and we grieved for her.  It was as if the Lord gave her a chance to follow Him and turn away from her sin, but she gave in and went with the crowd instead.  The one consolation I had was that she kept the gospel tract I gave her and I knew the Lord would use it in her life.       

That tract contained the Word of God and the Lord says in Isaiah 55:11 NKJV, “So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Silent witnessing

Leaving tracts in public places is a form of street witnessing, but it’s totally non-confrontational It can be a powerful tool in reaching people for Christ. Some Christians keep tracts with them at all times and deliberately leave them in unlikely places as they go about their daily business. Others regularly make trips to government buildings, shopping malls, flea markets, etc., strictly for the purpose of placing tracts where people will find them.  Either of these methods is an easy way to spread the Gospel and almost anyone can do it.

Many people are not sure what type of tracts to use.  There are a lot of different styles and types of tracts available, but a good tract is simply one that someone will pick up and read!  Whatever type you choose, it should be attractive, clean and not crumpled.  It should be biblically correct with clear steps for a person to follow in giving their life to Christ. If you can find them, tracts that have a salvation prayer that a person can follow are the best.

Chick Publications makes a good case for using cartoon type tracts; a Missionary told them that Communists in China developed a powerful way to reach the multitudes and they stole the technique from us! It seems that years ago their agents watched our children spend hours and hours reading comic books.  So they spent millions of dollars printing their propaganda in a cartoon format – and their results were extremely successful!

We have enclosed a cartoon-type tract for your use. If you’re interested in ordering more you can do so at; The American Tract Society (www.atstracts.org). The cost is about $2.50 for a pack of 20 tracts.

Before you go, prepare:

• Pray and commit your steps to the Lord and ask others to be praying for you.  Pray for safety
• Praise Him and thank Him for what He is going to do through you
• Remember that you cannot “save” anyone, but ask the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those you will be reaching out to and ask Him to give you His words to speak to them.  Jesus saves, we’re just His messengers!
• Plan ahead. Have your tracts in an accessible back pack, tote bag or whatever way will make it easy for you to work from.  This may take some trial and error for you to work out what is best for you.
• If you will be in a bad part of town doing street witnessing, do not go alone, plan to take someone with you. In Mark 5:7 NAS, Jesus sent out the twelve disciples in pairs.

As you go, remember these things:

• Pray unceasingly and remember that you’re a threat to Satan because you’re pointing people to Jesus who are otherwise headed for hell.  Stand against your enemy in the name of Jesus who defeated him on Calvary through His shed blood
• Never put anyone down and don’t be drawn into an argument
• Smile and express the love of Christ – you are on His business and you are His ambassador
• As you go, have an attitude of praise
• Don’t force a tract or your words on anyone.  Be gentle and considerate. Titus 3:1-2
• Be positive and bold when you speak to people
• Don’t be discouraged if you’re rejected.  Satan devises ways to discourage us so that we’ll give up and stay away from those he holds captive.  Press forward in the name of Jesus!

A Real-life Example of Using Tracts to Share Christ

In 1971, my husband Dave accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  He was 35 years old.  Looking back at the years that preceded his salvation experience, I can see how the Lord worked in our lives.  He allowed good and bad circumstances to shape and move our family toward the time when He would confront Dave with the reality of a Savior that loved him so much that He died for him personally.

After Dave was saved he told me how the Lord had used Gospel tracts to point him to Christ.  We owned a business and each day he would check the different jobs we had going.  There were no cell phones then, so he frequently stopped at phone booths to call the office and get messages. Very often, too often to be a coincidence, he would find a Gospel tract lying on the tray under the pay phone.  He was drawn to the message and in his curiosity to learn more, he would look around to be sure no one was watching, then he’d shove the tract (pamphlet) in his pocket and read it later in his truck.                                                                                  Dave & Barb Leonard, 2003                            

                                                                                                                                               

God dramatically used those little tracts to acquaint Dave with the loving Savior, Jesus Christ. We’re grateful to the faithful Christians who put tracts in places where he’d find them. God used them to plant seeds that in time, would lead Dave to accept Christ.                                                             

Submit Yourself to God

Part 2 in a Series of 6 on “How to Share Christ”

1.      Anything we do for God starts with preparation. God does things altogether different than the world. He wants to prepare you in such a way that you will permit Him to do His work THROUGH you - And that always starts with Him doing His work IN you.

2.      To submit means in part to yield to another person. It also means to surrender. My dear child in the Lord, Mona Corwin laughs and says “Whatever topic Barb is teaching on, you can be sure it will include surrendering to God!”  And she’s right.

3.      Surrender means giving God permission to take out and put into your life what pleases Him…in other words you give up your right to do as you please. 

4.      Have you ever fully surrendered yourself to Him? Whatever your situation, He beckons you to come just as you are and surrender it all. Only empty vessels can be filled and He will indeed fill you until you are overflowing with His Holy Spirit.

5.      Thank goodness the Lord doesn’t wait until we’re perfect to use us. If He did, His work would never get done! If you’re not already sharing Christ with others, we hope you’ll start today. The Lord will continue working in your life as you go about His business!

Do you really believe God?  This is a question we sometimes ask each other to be sure that we’re being obedient to the Lord and to His Word.  We want to be sure we’re not just believing in God, but truly believing Him in the sense that we take to heart what His Word says and therefore do what it says. 

A good example of what we’re talking about is the Great Commission Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:19 (Living Bible). “Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this – that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” 

Jesus gave this command to his eleven disciples, instructing them to teach others.  Their obedience to His command can be seen in the Book of Acts, along with the fruit of many thousands being saved.  The original eleven started sharing the gospel where they lived and they taught those they brought to Christ to do the same. From there, they took the gospel to other cities and countries.

However, somewhere along the way, Christians started putting this job into the hands of mission organizations, pastors and evangelists, and God has gloriously used that, but there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that Christians were to stop sharing Christ on an individual basis.

Dave and I never set out to be Evangelists.  We simply read in the Bible that Jesus said to tell the world about Him and we took it personally and seriously – we simply believed Him.  We began telling family, friends and co-workers what Jesus did for us and that He had a plan for their lives too.  We really didn’t know “how to witness” but the Holy Spirit faithfully helped us and sometimes used us in spite of ourselves!

What about you?  Are you willing to place your fears and pride at the feet of Jesus and ask Him to help you share Christ with someone that He puts in your path?  Are you ready to not only believe in God, but truly believe Him?  He’s waiting for you to take the first step and He promises to be with you.

Steps to keep in mind as you share your faith…

Love is the strongest motivator in the world

• If a person feels you really love them, they will open up to you and hear what you say
• Don’t try to fake love – the world knows the difference
• If you feel you’re lacking in love, ask the Lord to pour His love into your heart so you can share His love with others
• Love means you tip extra; you show people respect; you never condemn; you go out of your way to help people even if it costs you time and resources
• Be willing to let the other person have the last word if they are not willing to hear what you have to say – love doesn’t get mad.  Never return evil for evil, but return good for evil.

Invest in inexpensive materials and keep them handy

• Good gospel tracts are inexpensive and a great tool for sharing your faith – we discreetly leave them in public places such as bathrooms; we also put them in envelopes when mailing bills; our bank deposits are tucked inside tracts when we go through the auto-teller, etc.
• Gospel tracts are also a great ice-breaker when speaking to people about Christ. Hand someone a tract at the fast food place and as you do, look them in the eye, smile and say, “This is about Jesus – do you know Him? (more about this later)
• You can check out gospel tracts online at www.atstracts.org – look under “Evangelism.”
• We give paperback New Testaments to new believers and others who need them.  We prefer they start with Jesus’ teachings beginning in Matthew, and they’re not as likely to do that if we give them full Bibles.
• You can get the New International Version New Testament in paperback at www.ibsdirect.com for under $1 each if you buy by the case
•  

A Real-life Example of This Teaching

Have you noticed that keeping up repairs on a house is never ending? Just about the time you think everything is fixed and in good working order, something else breaks down! Since we can no longer do many of the repairs ourselves as we did in our younger years, we recently called a company to check out their prices and set an appointment for an estimate.

I__ and F__ introduced themselves and right away got down to business. We treated them warmly…“Can we offer you a cup of coffee or something cold to drink?”…as we showed them the work we needed done.  I__ gave us a cost estimate and after we picked ourselves up off the floor (smile), we told them to go ahead and do the work. 

             

After several hours, they finished the work and we invited the two guys to sit down for a minute while we wrote out a check. A key factor in making people feel at ease is to show them genuine love and respect. It’s amazing how people respond to this.           

                    

We gave them tracts and asked them the question, “What if you died tonight and God said, ‘Why should I let you in my heaven?’ What would you tell Him?”

I__ said he thought he’d probably go to heaven because he’d been a pretty good person. We asked if we could show  him something, and pulling out a New Testament, we turned to Ephesians 2:8-9 (New King James); “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

 

We explained that according to the Bible, it’s impossible to be good enough to inherit eternal life, but you don’t have to - Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins…He took your place and if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that He is Lord, the Bible says you will be saved (Rom 10:9).  Jesus is God’s gift to the world so that we might have eternal life. It is only through your belief in Him that God will let you into His heaven.”

             

F__ was listening intently and taking all this in, but he seemed to prefer to sit back and let I__ do all the talking.  We continued… “I__, do you believe the Bible and that Jesus died for your sins?”  “Yes, I do, I definitely do,” he said.  “Then don’t put off giving your life to Christ…the Bible says ‘Today is the day of salvation.’… none of us has a guarantee that we’ll see tomorrow.  Would you like to pray right now and know for certain that if you die tonight you will be with Jesus?” “I’d like to do that,” he said.

We turned to F__, smiled and said, “What about you?  He answered, “Well, I gave my life to Christ when I was a teenager, but I’m not living for Him the way I should.  I need to make things right.”  We said, “F__, would you like to pray with us now and rededicate your life to Christ?”  “Yes, I would” he said.

The four of us prayed together. I__ repented of his sins and gave his life to Christ and accepted Him as his Savior.  F__ repented and made his life right before God.  These men looked like a huge load had been lifted off of them – and indeed it had!  F__ and I__ left that day with Bibles and literature and plans to find Bible teaching Churches they could attend with their families.  Please pray for them to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Pray that their families will be saved.

A lesson to learn on looking back at this true story: If you are serious about submitting yourself to God to be used by Him, you will always be looking ahead at how you may share Him with others. We were prepared to share Christ with I__ and F__ before we made the phone call to have the house repairs done. We had tracts and New Testaments on hand to share. When the repair men came in, we were looking for the right opportunity to talk to them about the Lord. We try to take every opportunity to turn a worldly situation into a time to tell others about Jesus. Years ago we started with small steps as we shared about Christ. We encourage you to do the same. Take small steps and before you know it, sharing Christ will become second nature!

Making Yourself Available to God

Part 1 in a Series of 6 on “How to Share Christ”

 1.    Making yourself available means being sensitive to people you come in contact with, realizing that God is orchestrating your life and putting people in your path, from casual encounters to those you live and work beside. The more available you make yourself to Him, the more He will use you. This follows the same principle of Luke 6:38; “Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down…” If you make yourself available to be used by God, He will cause people to cross your path that He has prepared to hear the Gospel.

2.      Making yourself available means seeing people as God sees them. People hide behind masks and sometimes those who act like everything is great are the ones hurting and needing God the most. God is not impressed by outward appearances…He looks at the heart. When you look behind the masks people wear, you will see that they are just like you and need a Savior.  I Samuel 16:7; John 3:16-17

3.      Making yourself available means commitment.  Perhaps there is someone you know or will meet who is crying out to God, but they have never shared their need with anyone.  Are you available for the Lord to use you in their life? If you would like to be, then pray this prayer:

Dear Lord, give me discernment and help me see people’s hearts and their needs as you see them. Help me realize that the people around me are not there by accident, but are there for Your purposes. I give my fears to you and ask You for boldness to reach out and tell others about You. Help me to minister love and the Gospel to those who don’t know You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Real-life Example of This Teaching

So much of what God has accomplished through my husband Dave and me in ministry, has been learned through trial and error. We simply had a heart to be used by God, so we jumped in with both feet with only scripture as our guide and the Holy Spirit as our Teacher and the Lord has blessed our efforts.

After we had been witnessing on the streets of Boulder, Colorado for a few years, we spent some time with Ed Human and later with Arthur Blessitt. Arthur had paved the way for a new form of street witnessing in California and Ed learned under him. We were privileged to learn from both these men and we still use many of the concepts they taught us in our ministry today.

Ephesians 4:7-12 says that after the Lord Jesus Christ ascended on high, He gave gifts of ministry to His Church, “…To prepare God’s people for works of service…” With this scripture in mind we offer this series on Sharing Christ, in order to prepare you for works of service.

One of our early converts to Christ was Thomas Trask. When Tom was a young boy. only 9 years old, his Father was diagnosed with cancer and he died three months later. Tom was devastated by his Father’s death and the pain he felt for many years did a lot to shape his behavior and affect the choices he made as he grew into manhood. 

Raised in Colorado, Tom loved the mountains and developed a passion for the outdoors. He didn’t do especially well in school, although he was a true genius. While in high school, a teacher recognized his high level of intelligence and encouraged him to take the Mensa test.  He was accepted into Mensa International at the age of 17 with an IQ of 173.

Tom left home to attend Colorado University in Boulder, but drug and alcohol addiction ultimately caused him to drop out. Eventually he ended up living on the streets, a hopeless alcoholic and heroin addict, begging for money to finance his next high.

He was in and out of jail for minor offenses and officials recognized his addictions and put him on methadone to kick heroin. But methadone itself is highly addictive, so he simply traded heroin for a different habit. He supplemented methadone with other drugs he could buy on the streets, including cheap wine.

Sometimes, homeless people were picked-up for drunkenness and hauled off to the mobile home that housed the Alcoholic Recovery Center (ARC) until they sobered up. For Tom, this turned out to be a divine intervention from God…you see the ARC was located down the street from the small Church where my husband Dave was Associate Pastor!

It was a warm Saturday morning when Dave and our son Terry went to the Church to mow the yard (yes, this was part of his job as Associate Pastor!). They were busy working when they looked up and saw a pathetic looking guy coming out of the ARC - and he was heading straight for them! Wise to the ways of the street people, Dave shook his head and said, “Uh oh, this guy’s going to hit me up for some money.”

Sure enough, as Tom approached them he motioned toward the ARC and said candidly “I just got out of there and I need a drink really bad, do you have any spare change?”  Dave smiled and said, “No man, I’m sorry I can’t help you with that.” Handing him his card and looking him straight in the eye, he continued, “But if you ever want to be turned on to Jesus, give me a call” 

Tom shoved the card in his shirt pocket and continued down the street.  As Dave watched him walk away, he couldn’t help but notice several thick paper-back books that were sticking out of his pant pockets. “Wow, this guy must be a voracious reader!” he thought to himself.  Little did he know that the street people had given Tom the name, “Professor” because he always had his head in a book.

About 9:30 that evening, our phone rang. “Preacher Dave,” Tom said, “they put me back in the ARC and I’m pretty drunk right now, but I’ve been thinking seriously about what you said. Do you think you can come down in the morning and talk to me?” Dave said, “You bet, I’ll be there at 8:30 sharp.”

 

Tom was waiting for Dave when he arrived and they sat together on his cot and talked. He told Dave that something happened the night before he met him in the Church yard.  He said “I was lying here looking up at the ceiling and I cried out, ‘Show me if You’re God…I don’t know if You’re Buddha, or Jesus, or who You are.  I don’t even know if You exist, but show me if You’re there!’”

Using his Bible, Dave showed him about Jesus and Tom said, “I never knew this. No one ever explained the Gospel to me before…” Soon they were on their knees praying and Tom gave his life to Christ. He was 24 years old.

There was an immediate and miraculous transformation in this man and his countenance literally glowed! Instantly God delivered him from alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. Dave offered to take him to Teen Challenge and Tom accepted. That same day he began an intensive 18-month period of rehabilitation through scripture memorization. When Tom finished the program, he went on staff as a Counselor and had a huge influence in the lives of many young people. Later in his life, Tom received a degree in Computer Science and became a software developer.

A number of  years ago Tom was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and Cirrhosis of the Liver….a painful reminder of his past, although he had been walking 25 plus years with the Lord. He underwent extensive chemotherapy for the Hepatitis and eventually resumed a fairly normal life.

In December 2006, he complained of feeling like he had the flu, but continued working. Two days after Christmas, he met his two sons, Sam and Peter for lunch, but returned home feeling sick and went in to lie down. Shortly after, he got up and frantically told his wife Liz, “Call 911, I can’t breathe!” Immediately he passed out, falling into her arms. 

Thomas P. Trask passed into the presence of Jesus on December 27, 2006. The cause of death was Advanced Cirrhosis of the Liver.  He was 56 years old.  He lived 32 of those years faithfully serving His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Liz said Tom loved singing praise songs to the Lord and those are precious memories for her….Sam and Peter said they never saw their Dad waver in his faith. Tom remained an avid reader until the end of his life. He always seemed to be at the library checking out or returning books. As a matter of fact, in the days following his death, his family returned 25 books to the library – and that was just one week’s worth of reading for Tom!

  

“Precious in the sight of the Lord

 is the death of His saints.”  Psalm 116:15

A Lesson to learn on looking back at Tom’s story: Remember the night before Tom met Dave in the Church yard? Tom cried out to God to reveal Himself to him. God used Dave because he had made himself available to Him.

We shudder to think what might have happened if Dave had avoided Tom. What if he had gone inside to avoid talking to him? The truth is that many of us do things like that. We’re afraid that we won’t know what to say, or we’re just afraid of certain people, so we make ourselves unavailable. If you ask God. He will give you the words to speak and the boldness to step out of your comfort zone.

Update on Tom’s story: Tom’s wife Liz remarried in 2009. She is happily married to a fine Christian man, Gregory Hawkes.