Open Boldly

To Be Continued at a Later Date

2009-04-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

The main problem for this blog is one more thing to write. I fully plan to write again. Have I kept my goal? No. The streak stopped on a trip to Utah when we took students there for an academic meet during which we spent two days involved at the school in competition. Thanks for keeping up and I'll let you know when I'm ready to start up again. I intended when I started to put more detail into the evangelism opportunities that I had, but I also found that it was difficult to spend the time doing so and meeting my other obligations. Meanwhile, however, let's open our mouths boldly as we ought to speak.

Jack in the Box

2009-03-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

March 22, 2009. Day Eighty-one. Sunday. I talked to a lady at Jack-in-the-Box and gave her tract.

Cross Court

2009-03-23T00:31:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2009. Day Eighty. Saturday. I gave a tract to a neighbor in the court across from ours.

My Dentist

2009-03-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

March 20, 2009. Day Seventy-nine. Friday. I had a dentist appointment. I talked to both the lady that cleaned my teeth and then the dentist about the Lord. The lady was Filipino, but she lived in Guam until 1997 and her children went to school at Harvest Baptist school. She was still Catholic but was interested in the Bible. I left her a tract and brochure. The dentist grew up in Hong Kong. He's Chinese. He doesn't know English real well. He said he was Buddhist because of his parents, but he's not that into Buddhism. He had read a little of the Bible because of a friend. I told him what was different about the Bible and Jesus versus Buddhism. I left him a tract and brochure.

Grocery Parking

2009-03-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

March 19, 2009. Day Seventy-eight. Thursday. I was in the parking lot of the grocery store with my son and I got into a conversation with the man parked right next to me. We talked about his eternity and I left him with a tract.

B'hai

2009-03-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

March 18, 2009. Day Seventy-six. Wednesday. I drove the van for evangelism. We went to a neighborhood in El Sobrante. I had Alanna and my daughter Julia with me. We talked to a man from Iran who was in the Baha'i religion. He didn't say much about what he believed, but as he worked on his car battery, he told us a fascinating story of how he was a prisoner in Iran for two years and then escaped across the desert with other Bahai on camels. The Bahai have a feast every 19 days at his home. I asked him what the significance of 19 was, but he didn't have an answer for that---it's just important.

We also talked to a Buddhist man and another Buddhist woman.

Post Office

2009-03-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

March 17, 2009. Day Seventy-six. Tuesday. I was delivering some things at the post office and gave a tract to a man in the parking lot.

Walking Home

2009-03-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

March 16, 2009. Day Seventy-five. Monday. We live walking distance to the library. I gave a tract to someone as I walked home.

Church

2009-03-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

March 15, 2009. Day Seventy-four. Sunday. This is one of those days that I'm counting the preaching at church as evangelism. I did preach the gospel there. I like to have something personal too, but today this was it.

Preach School Program

2009-03-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

March 13, 2009. Day Seventy-two. Friday. We had our academic and fine arts meet. We have the 7-12 concert then on Friday night. I preached a gospel message, coming from 1 John 5:13.

Music Man

2009-03-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

March 12, 2009. Day Seventy-one. Thursday. I took my son to rehearse with a world-class pianist who directs a world-class classical group. We had a great conversation and he gave us some material from his group and I gave him a tract and brochure from our church.

2009-03-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

March 11, 2009. Day Seventy. Wednesday. I drove the van for door-to-door. I had Kim and Griselda with me. We went to twenty-four doors, because a lot of people weren't home. We did talk to one Roman Catholic lady who say she wasn't sure what would happen when she died. She was busy, but took the tract.

from the library

2009-03-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

March 10, 2009. Day Sixty-Nine. Tuesday. On the way walking back from the library, I gave a tract to someone in our neighborhood, a few courts down from where we live.

Store

2009-03-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

March 9, 2009. Sixty-eight. Monday. I gave a tract to a store clerk.

Muslim

2009-03-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

March 8, 2009. Day Sixty-seven. Sunday. On the way home from church, I stopped at a gas station. The man pumping gas across from me was Muslim. I asked him if he practiced faithfully, that is, whether he prayed five times a day. He said, "no." He was from Pakistan. I gave him a tract.

Louisa

2009-03-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

March 7, 2009. Day Sixty-six. Saturday. My wife and I went by to visit Jenisha and Jason, who were not home. Then we went to a few doors in San Pablo. We gave the entire plan of salvation to Louisa. She was a Catholic from San Salvador. She listened. And she really understood it, but she was not willing to relinquish her will and way to receive Christ. Pray for her conviction. We spend a long and thorough amount of time preaching to her.

School Boys

2009-03-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

March 6, 2009. Day Sixty-five. Friday. We have young people in our school who aren't yet saved. I preached about the saving gospel in chapel, but I talked to a group of jr. high boys about their salvation.

Cat

2009-03-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

March 5, 2009. Day Sixty-four. Thursday. I gave a tract to an elderly lady with a big cat.

Angie and Veronica

2009-03-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

March 4, 2009. Day Sixty-three. Wednesday. I drove the van for door-to-door with teens. I was with my daughter and Clarissa. We went to several doors in El Sobrante and talked to two ladies. Both were Catholics. We talked to Angie for 15 minutes and Veronica for 25. We left tracts.

Piano Teacher

2009-03-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

March 3, 2009. Day Sixty-two. Tuesday. I gave a tract to my children's piano teacher.

Post Office

2009-03-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

March 2, 2009. Day Sixty-one. Monday. I gave a tract to the post office lady while mailing a package.

Teen Girl

2009-03-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

March 1, 2009. Day Sixty. Sunday. I spoke with an unconverted young teenage girl about the condition of her soul. We didn't talk long but the goal was toward her conversion.

Sushi

2009-02-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

February 27, 2009. Day Fifty-eight. Friday. Our son brought my wife and I to our favorite Sushi restaurant, which is in Benicia. After a Titanic, California roll, and crunchy crab, and some green tea ice cream, I gave a tract to the waitress.

Opposite Court

2009-02-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

February 26, 2009. Day Fifty-seven. Thursday. I gave a tract to a neighbor on the furthest side of the opposite court from us in our neighborhood.

Jimmy

2009-02-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

February 25, 2009. Day Fifty-six. Wednesday. I took our teens and others out door-to-door again. My wife went out with another lady in the church. I had Griselda and Kim with me. We went to about 10-15 doors and had conversations with two people. We talked awhile with the administrative pastor at a new-evangelical church in town. He gave me his testimony about being saved when he was fourteen at a GARBC church. We did talk about a couple of controversial subjects, but he had to go to supper. Later we talked to Jimmy, who was from Reno, but here living with a friend. He looked like he had a tough life so far, about early thirties. He came out of the house and we talked near his car, because he didn't think his friend would be happy about his talking to us. He had a difficult time admitting he wasn't good and that he deserved hell. His attention started to wane, so we left him a tract. He must strive to enter into the narrow gate.

Four Things

2009-02-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

February 24, 2009. Day Fifty-five. Tuesday. I gave extra time after family devotions going through the gospel again with my eight year old daughter. She knows what we call the "four things you need to know." I'm going over the details and emphasizing the importance of salvation.

Library

2009-02-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2009. Day Fifty-four. Monday. I went to pick a book at the library I had on hold. I held the door open on the way out for a Chinese woman. I gave her a tract. She smiled and said, "Thank you."

Country Run

2009-02-28T08:38:00.000-08:00

February 22, 2009. Day Fifty-Three. Sunday. After being at church most of the day, in the evening after church I gave a tract to someone who lives in our neighborhood at Country Run.

Board Member

2009-02-21T22:36:00.000-08:00

February 21, 2009. Day Fifty-two. Saturday. I had a very interesting talk about salvation and eternal life with a board member before our board meeting on Saturday with Berkeley Youth Orchestra. The death of a family member came up, which led to talk about the death of a child. I began talking about H. G. Spafford and It Is Well with My Soul.

Best Buy

2009-02-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2009. Day Fifty-One. Friday. I gave a tract to a Best Buy employee while I was there looking at a computer.

Down the Street

2009-02-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

February 19, 2009. Day Fifty. Thursday. I gave a tract to a neighbor down the street from me.

Two Women

2009-02-21T22:29:00.000-08:00

February 18, 2009. Day Forty-nine. Wednesday. I drove the van for door-to-door on Wednesday. I talked to two women. Jahna and Cynthia. I had two teen girls with me, Alanna and Kim. Jahna was a former Jehovah's Witness who was married to a Muslim. Cynthia was a former Pentecostal, now being confirmed as a Catholic. I had fairly long and interesting conversations with both of them. They didn't have time for the conversation to be complete, but I'd like to tell you how those conversations went.

Kitty Corner

2009-02-21T22:27:00.000-08:00

February 17, 2009. Day Forty-eight. Tuesday. I gave a tract to a neighbor, a lady, that lives on the opposite corner from us.

Eight Houses Down

2009-02-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

February 16, 2009. Day Forty-Seven. Monday. I gave a tract to a neighbor about eight houses down.

One Block Down

2009-02-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

February 15, 2009. Day Forty-Six. Sunday. I gave a tract to a neighbor a block away, stopping on the way home from church. We had an afternoon service.

Sikh Man

2009-02-15T01:16:00.000-08:00

February 14, 2009. Day Forty-Five. Saturday. I'm going to write more on this tomorrow or the next day, but I went door-to-door with my wife and we made it to one door. We talked to Raavi, a twenty-two year old Sikh, Punjab Indian-American young man. I'll give you the low-down on this soon.

Check Out

2009-02-15T01:14:00.000-08:00

February 13, 2009. Day Forty-Four. Friday. I went to the grocery store for an errand and I gave a tract to the check-out.

Not What I Wanted

2009-02-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

February 12, 2009. Day Forty-three. Thursday. I would call this my worst time of the year. I did talk about the gospel to two men that I'm not sure believe a true gospel, that would both profess to be saved. However, for talking to them, I didn't go as far as I would have wanted.

USA Station

2009-02-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

February 11, 2009. Day Forty-Two. Wednesday. We had a rainstorm come in and we called off teen door-to-door. I got caught talking awhile after church too, but stopping on the way home for gas, I gave a tract to the lady in the USA gas station window.

New Neighbors

2009-02-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

February 10, 2009. Day Forty-One. Tuesday. We have some new neighbors about 7 houses over. I gave them a tract.

Chinese

2009-02-10T00:27:00.000-08:00

February 9, 2009. Day Forty. Monday. I gave a tract to an elderly Chinese couple that lives nearby.

Reception

2009-02-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

February 8, 2009. Day Thirty-Nine. Sunday. I briefly challenged someone with the gospel at a reception after an afternoon concert my kids played in.

Hispanic Lady

2009-02-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

February 7, 2009. Day Thirty-Eight. Saturday. I gave a tract to a hispanic lady at a restaurant.

Gabi

2009-02-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2009. Day Thirty-Seven. Friday. I have one child who hasn't professed faith in Christ, so I talked to her about salvation in particular---my daughter Gabi.

Jason

2009-02-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

February 5, 2009. Day Thirty-Six. Thursday. We had Jenisha and Jason over on Thursday for Supper and a time in God's Word. We answered questions and talked about salvation, preaching the gospel. He wasn't ready to receive it, but it was an important time.

David

2009-02-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

February 4, 2009. Day Thirty-Five. Wednesday. I was with three of our teenage girls---Kim, Joyce, and Clarissa---and we visited about 15 homes. We talked to three people. We spent an hour with David, who was not saved. He had a philosophy of having a good "journey," not so concerned about the end. He respected the Bible, he said. He believed in God. But He did not take the Bible as an authority. I went to quite a few verses and he was under conviction, but I ran out of time.

Third on the Right

2009-02-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

February 3, 2009. Day Thirty-Four. Tuesday. If you are a regular reader here, you might be getting tired of reading that I handed out a tract. I don't blame you. I'm sure that I'm going to be reporting of more talking to people as more time opens up. I know I'll be talking to people tonight. We're having supper with Jenisha and Jason on Thursday night. She made a profession of faith in January going door to door.

Last night I gave a tract to our neighbor across the court from us, third house on the right.

Two Doors Down

2009-02-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

February 2, 2009. Day Three-Three. Monday. I gave a tract to a neighbor two doors down on my way walking back from the library. The library is just up the hill from us.

Drive Through

2009-02-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

February 1, 2009. Day Thirty-two. Sunday. I went through a drive through in the afternoon and I smiled and gave a tract to the lady that took my money.

Jenisha was in church today. We will start a Bible study with her this week.

Garage Door

2009-01-31T22:33:00.000-08:00

January 31, 2009. Day Thirty-One. Saturday. Something happened with our garage door on Saturday; out of my range of mechanical understanding, so I called in the garage door man. He repaired it and I stood and briefly talked to him about eternity and left him with a tract.

Realtor

2009-01-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

January 30, 2009. Day Thirty. Friday. I took my wife to Starbucks in the afternoon and one of our former realtor's walked in, John, and so we talked to him for awhile. I asked him how business was going and he said he wished it was going better so he could take a trip to Italy. We talked a little while longer and he mentioned Greece. My daughter is doing a history project on Greece right now. We told him. Then I told him that some of the New Testament was written to churches in Greece. I gave him a tract and told him, "We're not going to be here forever, John. This is something you need to consider." He nodded his head, "yes."

Parents

2009-01-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

January 29, 2009. Day Twenty-Nine. Thursday. I went over to my parent's house to help them with something and I gave a tract to one of their neighbors.

Pinole Shores

2009-01-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

January 28, 2009. Day Twenty-Eight. Wednesday. I drove the van again for teen evangelism. We usually fill up a fifteen passenger van and others go out separately. We come back for supper afterwards, then Bible study and prayer. It's a nice night.

I was with Julia (my daughter), Kim, and Griselda. We went to 12 doors in Pinole at Pinole shores, our groups covering all of Windrose Circle. We talked to a few people. We talked to Thomas, who said he was saved, but believed he could lose his salvation. I talk to many people like this. I worked my way through several eternal security verses, ending with a warning really from Galatians 5:1-4. He said he might come to church sometime. I asked the girls if they thought he was saved. They didn't think so.

We talked to Noah and Tubela. I asked the latter if he was saved, knew he had eternal life. He wasn't sure. Noah said he was and that he was talking to the latter about salvation.

I found out that Jenisha had tried to come to church on Sunday but got lost and couldn't find it. She has been working on her Bible study with the Bible I gave her. She was going to come on Sunday, she said. A lady from our church and her daughter went to visit her tonight. She was happy to see them and agreed to get together with her. Michele, who we baptized on Sunday, was in church tonight, and she responded well to the preaching, prayer, and fellowship.

Back Door

2009-01-28T22:19:00.000-08:00

January 27, 2009. Day Twenty-seven. Tuesday. I gave a tract to my backdoor neighbor, the one across the fence.

Late Door

2009-01-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

January 26, 2009. Day Twenty-six. Monday. After supper, I picked up some tracts and my New Testament to go out, but it was late, 8:10pm. I went to a neighborhood that I'd been knocking on doors. It was very dark and seemed very late. I rang the first doorbell and the person inside wouldn't open the door, but agreed to let me leave a tract. I thought too late a start, so I got in the car and scooted back home.

Few Houses Down

2009-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

January 25, 2009. Day Twenty-five. Sunday. I gave a tract to a neighbor after getting back all day at church. Two were baptized that you've heard about on this blog. Jenisha didn't show up, but we'll be patient and see what happened.

Orchestra Meeting

2009-01-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

January 24, 2009. Day Twenty-Four. Saturday. I'm on the board of an orchestra. I coordinated part of our mid-season parent meeting. Afterward we had some time to mill around and talk to various ones. I talked to John and then Morgan about the Lord.

Other Side of the Court

2009-01-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

January 23, 2009. Day Twenty-three. Friday. I got a call from Jenisha today. She got the Bible and the study. She said she will do the study and come on Sunday. I gave her a call today to remind her. I called her today to remind her. You can pray for her. Last Sunday during preaching Michelle was obviously very convicted. She came forward at the invitation. Renee talked to her for an hour afterward and she made a profession of faith. This was someone that Marlowe and Becky had talked to door-to-door. She wants to be baptized. We'll baptize her tomorrow. Pearl's son has pancreatic cancer. David went to visit him Tuesday and he made a profession of faith. David followed up to talk to him about baptism. He wants to be baptized.

We live on a court with twelve other town houses. Right across the street are twelve others. I walked to the other side of the court to give a neighbor a tract.

Follow-Up

2009-01-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

January 22, 2009. Day Twenty-two. Thursday. Every day is different for me. I know about how it is going to go. I spoke to a couple of unbelieving parents in our school who are lost to testify for Christ. I drove to Jenisha's house with my son. I had called her. She wasn't home, so I dropped by a Bible, a pre-discipleship study, and a short letter. She had made a profession of faith. I'm following up.

Alex

2009-01-22T22:04:00.000-08:00

January 21, 2009. Day Twenty-One. Wednesday. I drove the van for teen evangelism again tonight. We have 6-8 groups out. I had two teen-aged young ladies with me, Alanna and Joyce. We went to 16 homes, distributing a tract at each door. We had conversations with two people. One was very angry. She said, "Take us off your list!" I said, "We don't have a list." She said, "The Jehovah's Witnesses do and they take me off their list." I said, "Can I give you one of these?" "No!" "I'm just being nice to you!" She blew her lid and slammed the door. I feel sorry for her. This isn't untypical here in California.

We talked to Alex. He said he liked Buddhism. He was Hispanic. He grew up Catholic and went to Catholic school, but he was a scientist. I have something I say to men like him. I said it. I'll share that with you sometime.

Across the Street

2009-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2009. Day Twenty. Tuesday. I have talked to our Asian neighbors across the street a few times about the Lord. I gave them a tract today with an invitation for an evangelistic Bible study.

IHOP

2009-01-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2009. Day Nineteen. Monday. Today was the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and I didn't venture into the world from the house except to take the family to IHOP (International House of Pancakes) with a gift card. I left a tract with the waiter.

BART

2009-01-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

January 18, 2009. Day Eighteen. Sunday. I rode the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train and gave a tract to a man there.

Long Conversations

2009-01-17T22:50:00.000-08:00

January 17, 2009. Day Seventeen. Saturday. I talked to James about salvation. I spoke to Lynn about salvation.

McDonalds

2009-01-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

January 16, 2009. Day Sixteen. Friday. I got through my day without running into any unsaved people or going door-to-door, so I stopped by McDonalds for a small fry for the sole purpose of talking to two people and giving them tracts.

The Ref

2009-01-15T22:35:00.000-08:00

January 15, 2009. Day Fifteen. Thursday. I knew my day was full. I expected one contact at least with an unbeliever. I started thinking about it well before I reached that point. I gave the referee a tract after our basketball game.

Apartment #4

2009-01-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

January 14, 2009. Day Fourteen. Wednesday. I drove the van as usual for Wednesday evangelism. I had three high school teen girls with me: Alanna, Griselda, and Clarissa. We went to some apartments in the city of San Pablo. The first apartment, #4, was on the upstairs left of building 2300. I rang the doorbell. A woman asked who was there. I introduced myself and told why I was there: "I'm Kent Brandenburg, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, and we're introducing our church, letting people know who we are and what we believe." She asked us to wait. We waited. She came to the door, a young, black woman, about mid twenties. She had a four year old daughter. She had just moved up from Oakland. She wasn't attending any church.

I segued to the gospel with a means that I often use. She wanted to listen. She was eager. I explained the gospel to her. We spent about an hour and fifteen minutes preaching. She received Christ. I showed her some verses that would give her assurance. She gave us her phone number. I asked if she would like a Bible study. Yes. I explained about baptism. I went through some other verses with her. Pray for Jenisha.

Next Door

2009-01-14T22:35:00.000-08:00

January 13, 2009. Day Thirteen. Tuesday. I talked briefly to my neighbors while out front of the house and gave them a tract. I've talked to them many times.

Turkey

2009-01-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

January 12, 2009. Day Twelve. Monday. I was with the whole 23 member family all day. This was the day we had planned to be together around my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary. We left home at 9:30am to head to San Francisco. I looked for evangelistic opportunities all day. At the parking area, I walked to little hut to talk to the attendant. I gave him a tract and began talking to him about the Lord. I found out he had just moved here from Turkey. Later in the day, I walked to the window of a trucker who was making a delivery. It looked like he was sitting and waiting, so I went to his window and handed him a tract and asked him if he had time, to read that. I did the same thing with a family that was sitting in the car in a parked position.

San Pablo Ave.

2009-01-12T00:19:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2008. Day 11. Sunday. I preached on Sunday AM and PM, and in between we got a family picture taken with the 23 members of my parents and their children and their grandchildren, then had a big meal together. I was looking and praying for an evangelism opportunity. I took it when I had it. I talked to a man on San Pablo Ave. in Pinole, walking to my car. It was brief, but I challenged him and gave him a tract.

Stanford Rejection

2009-01-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2009. Day 10. Saturday. I was walking quickly across the Stanford campus (my son was there with a trombone thing and I gave the ride) down in Palo Alto, convicted about evangelizing. People speed around that place with very little lingering (at least on this occasion). I pulled out a tract, offered it to a lady, and gave her an invitation to salvation that she abruptly rejected.

Don the Limo Man

2009-01-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2009. Day Nine. Friday. This was my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and I knew early in the day, as we prepared for a big surprise for them, I would be able to talk to the limo driver (and owner). I talked a little to Don, when I gave him the tract. When the proceedings were over, we walked outside and one of the neighbors next to the church grounds got our attention on the other side of the fence. Behind one of our buildings, someone had ditched a large portion of someone's belongings in the night. They called the sheriff and so I talked to our neighbors, Carlos and Grace, and the sheriff's deputy, and gave them all tracts. The sheriff bagged the belongings, I'm sure prepared to return them to the owner and to be a help in apprehending some thief.

Two Stores

2009-01-08T23:18:00.000-08:00

January 8, 2009. Day Eight. Thursday. In two stores I went into, running errands, I passed out three tracts, talking to one man about salvation.

Parking Lot

2009-01-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

January 7, 2009. Day Seven. Wednesday. Normally I drive the van for door-to-door, but I had a couple of appointments. However, I gave a tract to a Chinese mother and her two children as I briefly talked to her in a parking lot.

Shell Station

2009-01-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

January 6, 2009. Day Six. Tuesday. I talked to a man and gave him a tract while gassing up at the Shell station.

Wing Stop

2009-01-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

January 5, 2009. Day Five. Monday. I was running all day. I won't get into it, but I gave a tract to the Wing Stop register lady. I saw her walk away with it in her hand.

One Salvation Talk

2009-01-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2009. Day Four. Sunday. I talked to a boy, who I don't believe is converted, about his salvation. I also preached twice for church. Revelation on Sunday morning and 2 Samuel on Sunday afternoon in this case, because we had a meal on the grounds between services.

Breakfast Burrito with Bonus Buildings

2009-01-04T01:37:00.000-08:00

January 3, 2009. Day Three. Saturday. I went to men's prayer time. We went to McDonald's afterwards. I handed out tracts on the way in and to people on the inside. I talked to a man that visited our church over 20 years ago, invited him back with a tract. Later my wife, daughter, and I knocked on 17 doors and talked to Amber, Chuck, Cindy, and Shanelle. One was AME, another Church of God of Christ, a third Church of Living God, and the fourth attended a Baptist church 20 miles away. The other doors we left tracts and brochures.

At Door: Come Back Later

2009-01-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

January 2, 2009. Day Two. Friday. I get up in the morning thinking about this goal, so I'm praying about it and looking for opportunities all day. Nothing opened up today, because I was inside working. I had to get cleaned up to go somewhere. I picked up my NT, which sat on a small stack of tracts. I drove to a neighborhood in the town I live. I determined to do one of two things. I would keep going until I ran out of tracts or until I got to preach the entire gospel to one person. I talked to Stacy, Ramone, and Raquenell. Stacy and Raquenell said they were saved. I don't talk to many people who either say they're saved or even know the term "saved." Usually people aren't saved and/or they don't know that terminology. I would have pressed it further with both of them, but I was hoping to get to someone tonight with whom I could preach the gospel.

Ramone was a mid-twenties young black man. He said he didn't have a church. He said he had never attended a church. He said that he believed the Bible was true. I asked what he thought happened when someone died. He said they face God. I asked if I could show him from the Bible what it said about eternal life. He said, "Not right now, but he wanted information, if I had it." He agreed that people either went to heaven or hell. He was friendly. I gave him the information. I asked him if he knew that I wasn't a Jehovah's Witness. He said, "No." I told him I wasn't and then what was the difference. I gave him our church brochure and tract. I'll be coming back later sometime.

Grocery Store: Tract

2009-01-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2009. Day One. I went to bed at 4am and got up at 11am. I ate a bowl of frosted mini-wheats. Those have been a find, by the way. You find out usually late morning how important they've been to you. I spent some time on a project at home for a little while and then my family and I drove to a church member's house. I was there until 5:30pm. Let me tell you one of the many benefits of this goal of mine for the year.

You are thinking about evangelism. You think about opportunities. You pray about God opening a door. On my way home, I was praying for what I should do. I looked at the bright windows of people at home as I drove through my neighborhood. I pulled into the garage. We all got out. I walked into the kitchen with my wife. She mentioned that we needed milk. I put my coat back on and drove the one minute to Lucky's grocery store. I bought one gallon of milk and went through the self-check. I saw the young black lady, working alone at the self-check aisle. I handed her a gospel tract. I smiled and said, "Here's something for you to read when you have the time." She smiled, took the tract, and said, "Thank you, sir."

When I got home, my son was on the computer in the garage. He asked, "What happened?" I told him what I just told you. I said, "Why do you ask?" He said, "Julia told me." He smiled and then continued, "You're going to have some amazing stories this year." This is going to influence my family as well.

One tract. Let's see what tomorrow holds.

2009: Open My Mouth Boldly

2008-12-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

December 31, 2008. I have a goal this year to evangelize one person every single day. I can pass out a gospel tract to get that done, but I prefer to talk to someone. The latter is what I want and the former what I'll settle with to reach the goal. To add some accountability, I will write about my evangelism experience every day.

My theme verses are Ephesians 6:19-20:

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

That's where the blog name comes from, the phrase, "open my mouth boldly." We are sanctified by the truth (John 17:17). What God wants is bold proclamation of the gospel. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ" (Romans 1:16).

If you want to join me in that goal, let me know here in the comment section. Every day you can comment after my post and let me know how your evangelistic opportunity went!