You Never Know What to Expect

I spent seven years doing street ministry and evangelism with an organization called Church on the Street (COTS).

It was the most incredible time of growth in my walk with Jesus in my entire life. The more I shared, the closer I grew to God.

Most of those involved with the ministry are ex-cons, ex-homeless, or ex-addicts, so many are a little rough around the edges to say the least. Still, they are some of the best people I have ever met.

One day we were at our usual corner by the McDonalds in town that 11 million people per year pass by holding our Jesus signs (We have some pretty nice, eye catching signs, the above photo is an example of one)

Now when you are out evangelizing, you never know what to expect or how you will react. As a matter of fact, when I tell someone what to expect when evangelizing, I tell them “You never know what to expect.”

So, at the corner with a group of our COTS guys at the exit from the McDonalds a truck drives out with the passenger window rolled down, the passenger yells out “your god is an a-hole,” without missing a beat one of the COTS guys yells back, “yeah, well, so are you.”

Now, I would not recommend this type of “evangelism,” but I bet the guy in the truck will remember that experience much more than if one of the guys replied, “Jesus Loves You.”

Remember Isaiah 55:11 tells us that anything we put out there God will use for His purposes and will not return void. So, even something like that God can use.

I gotta say though, the COTS guy was somewhat embarrassed by it afterward which really is a good sign of having the Holy Spirit telling you not to do something again.

How do you know if you are on the right track when evangelizing?

When your heart aches as much for someone that died without Jesus as it does when hearing about a full-term baby being aborted, this is a good sign you are headed in the right direction.

Before we close today, I would like to say, again, I do not recommend evangelizing in such a manner as mentioned. It is used only as an example of you never know what will happen when evangelizing.