Each year our small evangelism team from GCC heads out to the Mission Inn - Festival of Lights. This year there were over 40,000 people on opening night! This meant that we were able to pass out over 1,000 tracts and have several conversations with people in one night (not bad for 3 people!).
This past Friday was the 2nd week of the Festival of Lights and the crowds were noticeably smaller, but we still were able to pass out around 800 tracts and have several great conversations about the Gospel. The weather was cold and wet but there were still a good number of people out to see the lights and celebrate the season.
One conversation in particular stood out to me. It was with a college age guy by the name of Sayid. Since it is the Christmas season I began by asking Sayid what Christmas means to him. He responded by saying that "Christmas is about family, food, and presents!". His sisters were with him and they agreed with his response. I think asked him if he would be on Santa's naughty or nice list. He said "naughty" list. I then asked him if he believes in God (he did). I then asked him if God would put him on His naughty or nice list. He said he would be on God's naughty list. We swung to the 10 Commandments and it turned out that he (and his sisters) had broken many of the Commandments (lying, stealing, blasphemy, adultery of the heart, etc...). Sayid admitted that he would be guilty and was heading for hell.
Good conversations and genuine people have been hard to come by over the last few years. It seems our culture is getting worse and worse (more God hating/God ignoring). Sayid though said that this news concerned him. When Sayid heard the Gospel he was nodding his head in agreement. He said that one of his good friends had become a Christian and had been sharing with him also. We told him that he needs to repent/put his faith in the Gospel (that Jesus died for his sins, was buried, and rose again on the 3rd day). He asked us where our church was located and told us that he had been thinking about going to church with his friend (he said his friend attends a Calvary Chapel in Corona).
Our hope and prayer is that one day (hopefully soon!) Sayid will come to a saving faith/knowledge that Jesus is his Lord and Savior. Our hope is that if you are reading this that the friend I mentioned will be an encouragement to you. An encouragement to share your faith with your friends and family members. Statistics show that around 70 percent of people come to faith in Christ through the Gospel witness of a friend or family member. So while you are alive and your friend or family member is alive, share the Gospel with them! You don't know if you have tomorrow!
This past Friday was the 2nd week of the Festival of Lights and the crowds were noticeably smaller, but we still were able to pass out around 800 tracts and have several great conversations about the Gospel. The weather was cold and wet but there were still a good number of people out to see the lights and celebrate the season.
One conversation in particular stood out to me. It was with a college age guy by the name of Sayid. Since it is the Christmas season I began by asking Sayid what Christmas means to him. He responded by saying that "Christmas is about family, food, and presents!". His sisters were with him and they agreed with his response. I think asked him if he would be on Santa's naughty or nice list. He said "naughty" list. I then asked him if he believes in God (he did). I then asked him if God would put him on His naughty or nice list. He said he would be on God's naughty list. We swung to the 10 Commandments and it turned out that he (and his sisters) had broken many of the Commandments (lying, stealing, blasphemy, adultery of the heart, etc...). Sayid admitted that he would be guilty and was heading for hell.
Good conversations and genuine people have been hard to come by over the last few years. It seems our culture is getting worse and worse (more God hating/God ignoring). Sayid though said that this news concerned him. When Sayid heard the Gospel he was nodding his head in agreement. He said that one of his good friends had become a Christian and had been sharing with him also. We told him that he needs to repent/put his faith in the Gospel (that Jesus died for his sins, was buried, and rose again on the 3rd day). He asked us where our church was located and told us that he had been thinking about going to church with his friend (he said his friend attends a Calvary Chapel in Corona).
Our hope and prayer is that one day (hopefully soon!) Sayid will come to a saving faith/knowledge that Jesus is his Lord and Savior. Our hope is that if you are reading this that the friend I mentioned will be an encouragement to you. An encouragement to share your faith with your friends and family members. Statistics show that around 70 percent of people come to faith in Christ through the Gospel witness of a friend or family member. So while you are alive and your friend or family member is alive, share the Gospel with them! You don't know if you have tomorrow!
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