Street Evangelism - Park Central Square - Springfield, MO - 7/28/23

 

Street Evangelism - 7/28/23

Park Central Square

Springfield, MO

 

I haven’t been out street witnessing very often over the last several years. Occasionally, I’d go to downtown areas, either in the Kansas City area where we lived for awhile, or a couple of times after moving back to the Springfield, Missouri area.

 

God has been moving me towards going out and doing street evangelism again on a more consistent basis. I don’t exactly know yet what form this will take, but you have to start somewhere. I’ve learned over the years that if you wait until all conditions are perfect in something you want to do, you will never get around to doing it! Just start it and adjust as you go.

 

Since I don’t have a team to go street witnessing with, I contacted my previous witnessing buddy, Dennis Vance, and asked him. He currently isn’t going out as often, due to medical issues he is facing, but his team still is. He connected me with them.

 

I met up with Michael and Anand, and his three children at the meeting location in downtown Springfield, MO. We prayed together and then started on our witnessing adventures.

 

There is still road and sidewalk construction going on. We started walking up both sides of the street towards Park Central Square, passing out gospel tracts to those who would take them.

 

After reaching the Square, we turned left and walked down another street on the sidewalk. We were passing out tracts to people along the way. Some would take the gospel tracts and others would not.

 

Anand’s young girls were great when handing out a tract to someone and saying, “Would you like a gospel tract?” Sometimes people would say yes and other times they would say no. It didn’t seem to bother them when they were told no, they would just move on to the next person. We can take a lesson from them. Don’t get hung up on the person rejecting to take a gospel tract. Forget it and move on.

 

I handed a million dollar bill gospel tract to a lady on the sidewalk. After walking about 30 feet, a young lady came walking fast behind me and said, “Excuse me, can I have one of those also?” Sure, and I hand her a gospel tract. It’s always fun when someone tracks you down and asks for a tract. See what I did there? ;-)

 

When we got back to Park Central Square, Michael and I walked in to see what was going on. They had multiple bongo type drums that were being played. There was someone playing with fire, swinging it around on ropes and sticks. People were sitting around listening to the drumming and chatting.

 

My go-to method of street evangelism was to start off by trying to hand a gospel tract to someone, then start a conversation if they took it or appeared interested. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that way. I still love it, and it is effective in certain areas.

 

However, in the downtown Springfield area, that has been done for years to people, and I think they have their shields up to that type of approach. Many times they say, “No thanks” when you go to hand them anything, even if you tell them it’s a gospel tract.

 

So, I decided to try a different approach. A more personable one, to see what would happen. It was successful.

 

Michael and I started walking up to people. I would say hello and let them know that we were out asking if we can pray for them or for someone they know that is having a difficult time with something. Almost everyone is either going through difficult times or knows someone who is. When you show you care enough to ask, and then offer to pray, many people will allow it.

 

The first couple we came up to was Diamond and Blue. Diamond was 3 months pregnant and had Eczema. It was getting inflamed and itched. We prayed for her eczema and her baby, and that God would show them he loved them. We handed them gospel tracts and they thanked us.

 

We walked up to a lady named Carol. I sat down next to her and asked if she had anything we can pray with her about. She said we could pray for her to find a house, as she didn’t have a place to live right now. We did pray for this. She said she goes to a local church. We gave her a gospel tract.

 

We walked up to these two guys, who said they were both named Jay. When asked if there was anything to pray with them about, they said no. I asked if there was anyone else we could pray for, Jay said we could pray for his dad. He didn’t give any details, but said, “God knows”. We handed them gospel tracts, we fist bumped and they thanked us.

 

We walked away from them and stood talking and looking around. There were two guys behind us, sitting down on the steps. He spoke up and told us hello. He started the conversation, so we walked over and I sat next to Neill, and his buddy was named Joshua.

 

After a bit, I asked if we can pray for them. Neill said we can pray for him, as he currently has bladder cancer and other cancer and is undergoing treatment. We prayed for him.

 

Michael then started talking with them, specifically directed towards Neill, and shared a little about his life and told them part of his testimony. They seemed glad to hear it and talked like they believed in God, but struggle and said it’s tough. Joshua didn’t say much, but he was very nice and polite to us. While Michael was talking, another guy came up and sat down and started listening. Michael gave them gospel tracts and we walked away.

 

We walked up to a coffee shop and went in and ordered drinks. We all sat around and got to know each other better, and told witnessing stories. It was good fellowship.

 

We then walked around some more and passed out a few more tracts, and headed home.

 

We didn’t verbally share the gospel much tonight, but we did pass out gospel tracts and had caring conversations with people and prayed for them. This is sharing the love of Jesus with them

 

Brad St. Clair

Earned an Associates of Ministry Degree

I have been taking Bible college classes and now I have earned an Associates Degree in Ministry through Vision International University.

I also received a Diploma of Biblical Studies. 

I wanted to give a rundown how all this came about.  I have read and studied the Bible since I became a Christian in 1980.  I want to keep growing in my knowledge of the Bible.  I also have my evangelism ministry, and would like to see it grow and reach more people.  I decided it would be beneficial to take structured courses to learn more about the Bible and how to operate in ministry.

I did something similar to this in October of 2005, when I took online courses to become an Ordained Minister.    

I didn't have the time (or money) it would take to go to an actual onsite Bible college.  I have looked for online Bible colleges every now and then.  Some of them appeared to be legitimate, reputable colleges, and others weren't.  I debated taking online college courses, but there are so many colleges providing online degrees today, that I decided it would be fine to do this, as long as I chose a reputable one.  

I had been receiving emails from a person that helps Christians grow their ministry.  After getting several emails, I decided to look into this online Bible school.  

It is the International School of Ministry (ISOM).  This is the world's largest multi-denominational, video-based Bible school, providing undergraduate and graduate-level biblical education in ministry.  They have 20,000 schools reaching into 150 nations and in 85 languages.   

ISOM has partnered with several Bible University and Seminaries that recognize ISOM online credit.  After a person takes the online courses and passes the minimum grade requirements, they can choose which Bible University or Seminary degree that best suits their needs.  I chose Vision International University to receive my degree.  Vision.edu

The International School of Ministry coursework that I had to complete consisted of the following: 

• 5 ISOM Core Modules - Trimesters
• 160 Lessons - to include exams
• 72+ Video Hours
• Coursework is self-paced, but cannot be completed before 12 months.

It took me approx. 13 months to complete the 5 trimesters.  I studied using the video-based lessons, as well as purchasing the 5 trimester workbooks.  I started it on April 23, 2019 and completed it on May 12, 2020. 

Regarding the program, it states: The ministry associate degree program offers a strong doctrinal foundation to grow in faith and maturity. Earning an associate degree allows you to explore biblical coursework to prepare you for the work in ministry. 

It consisted of the following.  Each trimester had a set number of courses, and each course had multiple lessons, with exams.  

Trimester 1

Foundations of the Faith

Supernatural Living

New Testament Survey

Praise & Worship

Fear of the Lord

Trimester 2

Power of Prayer

Ministry of Helps

Old Testament Survey

Essence of the Gospel

Jesus Our Healer Today

Living By Faith

Trimester 3

Church Based Training

Cell Groups

Power Evangelism

Leader's Integrity

Leadership Vision

Church Planting

Being Led by the Spirit

Promise Keeper

Altar Call

Trimester 4

Wilderness Mentalities

Developing Leaders

Cell Group Leaders

Reconciliation

Personal Evangelism

Spiritual Warfare

Authority & Forgiveness

Spiritual Breakthrough

Trimester 5

Christ Connection

Living to Give

Biblical Eldership

Reaching a New Generation

Managing for Tomorrow

Ministering to Youth

I may go back at some point and work on getting a Bachelor's Degree, but for now I have enough to do with working with my evangelism ministry to both go out into public areas to share the gospel and training other Christians how to be a witness for Christ and share the gospel.  

In Christ, 

Brad St. Clair

University of Kansas Outreach

I'm part of a start-up ministry in the Kansas City area called Firebase KC, which is most likely going to be called, "Love Kansas City".  It's part of the Firebase Movement, which includes "Love Twin Cities", "Love San Francisco", "Love Chicago", "Love Dallas", "Love New York", "Love Detroit", and "Love LA".  

We network and partner with local churches to reach out and share the gospel to the lost in the Kansas City area. Host prayer and outreach events, as well as provide evangelism training to the body of Christ.

Today we partnered up with a Christian ministry on the campus of the University of Kansas, Chi Alpha, located in Lawrence, Kansas.  In addition, about 30-40 students from the International House of Prayer University came in to take part in the evangelism outreach.  

It began at 10:00am with milling about and meeting each other and a briefing of how the day was going to go.  Around 11:30am - 12:30pm we had prayer with a worship band set up. 

Worship Band

Olga with Firebase KC / Love Kansas City

Zach - Director of Chi Alpha at University of Kansas

Then we began to split off into our various outreach events, both on campus and out in town.  I led a team of 12 into town to do one-on-one witnessing and prayer with people.  We split into teams of two and even three to a team.  We didn't want a mob of five or six people walking up and wanting to talk to them about Jesus...it might just scare them off! 😉

Since it was so cold today - mid 30's and pretty windy, part of what we did was go to lunch and witnessed to the waiters and waitresses. My team witnessing partner was Wei.  

We finally found a parking lot on Massachusetts Street (Called Mass Street to the locals), dumped in a bunch of coins in the parking meter and began our witnessing adventure.  

We decided we were hungry and went to "The Burger Stand" to eat.  It's kind of expensive, but the burgers and fries are really good...I will just say this is my "cheat meal" of the week since I'm on a diet! 

The Burger Stand

Wei and I ordered our food at the counter, then we went to the window to pick it up.  We didn't really have a waiter / waitress to come by so that we could witness to.  So after eating, Wei says, "I'm going to go over and talk with someone at a table".  Awesome.  He walks up to a family sitting at the table and proceeds to get into a conversation with them.  

I didn't want to be left out, so I decided to go over to the couple who were behind us.  I gave them a gospel tract and told them we were in town for an outreach, and asked if there was anything I can pray with them about.  They didn't have much time, as they were watching a football game on the TV.  The lady said that I can pray for her to make a good grade on her test coming up.  No problem.  I prayed for her.  She thanked me.  We walked out. 

We started walking up and down Mass Street and was passing out gospel tracts and asking people if they would like us to pray for them.  Since it was so cold, not too many people wanted to stop and chat, but some did take the tracts.  We did pray for several people and they have the gospel tract to read. that we gave them.  We pray that God will use the message to reach their heart and make them think about Him.  

As we were heading to the car to go back to campus, God did what He does sometimes.  He put someone in our path to talk with.  A man was sitting on the bench and asked us if we could spare any money.  Wei began speaking with him.  He is a homeless man.  He slept under the trailer of an 18-wheeler last night.  It got down to 14 degrees this morning!  We don't realize how well off we are most of the time, that's for sure.  

Anyway, Wei asked the man, Rob, if he could buy him a burger.  He said yes, and we proceeded to go back to "The Burger Stand" where we ate earlier.  He picked out a fancy burger, Wei ordered it for him and we sat and talked while it was getting prepared.  

He grew up in a Catholic home.  He said he got really bored with it and didn't keep up with it later on in life.  He said he was in his mid 30's.  He said he believes in God and Jesus, and he has even said "Foxhole prayers" (praying when you are in a tough spot and need God to really come through for you, because you have no other way out of your situation).    

However, he kept talking about different religions, Buddhism, etc.  He also kept going off topic and wanted to discuss a variety of things.  I've found over the years that Satan will try to do everything he can to keep the person from hearing the gospel, and they have all these thoughts and change the subject.  We only need to stay the course and don't let it distract us from sharing the gospel.  

I shared the gospel with him and Wei gave his testimony and talked about how God has changed his life and gave him a real inner peace.  Rob said that he is "getting it".  Wei led him in a salvation prayer right there in the burger joint.  We were sitting next to the front door, so people seen and heard us as they were walking in and out. I gave him some money and some snacks I had in my backpack, and Wei gave him an apple.  

We walked outside and he gave us a big hug.  Then, all of a sudden, a man walked by and just handed him a pair of winter gloves and said that he already has a pair of them.  We told him that was God taking care of him already.  We took a selfie with Rob and let him know we will continue to pray for him.  Wei let him know that he should find a church and begin attending.  He didn't have a cell phone, but he gave us his email address.  We will stay in touch with him. 

Brad St. Clair - Wei - Rob

We went back to the KU campus and they were winding down telling stories about how God had worked through them to reach others during the day.  

It was a great day.  A bunch of Christians came together to do what Christians are supposed to do...share the gospel with the lost and be salt and light in this world.  There are 150,000 people per day in this world who steps off into eternity, and the majority are going to hell, sad to say.  Look what Jesus said, 

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Please pray for those who heard the gospel, who were prayed for, and those who received gospel tracts.  We want the Holy Spirit to convict their heart so they will realize that God loves them and they need to repent and trust in Jesus to be saved.

In Christ, 

Brad St. Clair 

Power and Light District Street Witnessing

Power & Light District

Kansas City, MO

Street Witnessing

December 1, 2018 

We went out to the Power and Light District in downtown Kansas City, Missouri this night.  Mike came out, and we also had Joe, who I met on a street witnessing group on Facebook, and Joe brought a friend, Nathaniel.  


I am the Street Witnessing Outreach Leader for the Kansas City Evangelists' Fellowship (KCEF).  This outreach is just one part of their evangelism ministries to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  

We were able to have some good witnessing conversations with people, pray with some, and share the gospel with a loudspeaker so others nearby can hear.

This was the first night that I took my "Gospel Sign" in Kansas City.  Mike stood most of the night holding it. 

I really like taking this gospel sign to public areas.  Businesses pay millions of dollars to advertise on TV, billboards, etc.  So when we take it out, it is seen by many people and the words on the sign is seen and remembered, even if it is by someone we didn't get to talk to.  The Holy Spirit will bring conviction to their hearts.  One side of the sign says, "TRUST JESUS".  The other side says, "JESUS SAVES FROM HELL".  

Mike Holding the Gospel Sign

Brad St. Clair (me) Holding the Gospel Sign with Joe

When Mike was holding the gospel sign, several people came up to him just to ask questions and talk with him about God, Jesus, the Bible, other religions, etc.  

There were two young men who came up, named Brandon and Richard, I think, that spoke with Mike.  I found out one of them used to be in the Marine Corps like I did, so we found something in common right away.  I asked if we could pray with them and they said yes. 

Richard needed some prayers regarding college and exams, and Brandon had some relationship issues he needed prayer for.  I also prayed with them that God would show these two young men that he loves them, and to convict their hearts and draw them to Himself.  

Mike is the one who took most of the pictures and this short video clip of me open air preaching tonight.  Thank you, Mike.  ;-)

Joe went across the street and was passing out gospel tracts and had some good conversations with those walking by.  

Joe having a witnessing conversation with a lady

Brad St. Clair Open Air Preaching

Here is a picture of Nathaniel and Joe

If you are a Christian, I want to encourage you to share your faith in Christ with others.  Share the gospel.  Be a witness for Jesus in your everyday life.  That's what we are here for.  Jesus didn't just save you for you to go to heaven when you die. 

Jesus saved you to share the gospel with others so they might be saved and go to heaven with you.  That's what evangelism is all about - verbalizing / sharing the gospel message.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and that's what He wants us to do as well.  

You are in a unique position in your circle of influence to reach those around you with the gospel.  Show them the love of God.  There are so few people in the world that actually know anything about the truth of Jesus now days.  It's up to us to tell them.

In Christ, 

Brad St. Clair  

Delivering Thanksgiving Food Baskets and Sharing the Gospel

Thanksgiving Basket Outreach

November 18, 2017

This ministry created the Thanksgiving Food Basket outreach

I participated in a Thanksgiving Food Basket outreach today that was created by an evangelism ministry named, "Operation Save Kansas City".  There were dozens of Christians who took part in this outreach.  

Each food basket had approx. $200 worth of food that was given to families who could use it who live in the South Kansas City and Grandview, Missouri areas.  

We had 25 teams of two, an evangelist and a discipler, who went out and delivered three food baskets each (a total of 75 food baskets).  I was teamed up with Kenya.  We had a great time serving the Lord today.  

The first place we went to was to see a man named Gary.  He was a really nice guy.  He had some physical problems and had quite a few other things going on in his life that was tough.  Most of his family has already passed away and he is alone.  He had pictures of his wife and kids in his room and was telling us about them.  We really felt compassion for this man.  

We asked Gary to talk about his "God story" - his religious background.  He has had experience with Catholicism and Christian denominations, and has had friends who were Buddhist and other religions.  He said he has studied other religions as well as Christianity.  He said that his faith has been failing, but after talking with him, it didn't appear to be a Christian faith.  He said that he has prayed to God and asked for a fresh start, but he hasn't really seen any changes.    

Kenya and I shared our testimony with him.  We explained what it meant to be born again.  That we must repent (see our sin the way God sees it, regret it, and be willing to turn from our sin and turn to God and live for Him) and trust in Jesus, as well as pick up our cross daily and live for Him.  I explained that Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.  

I asked Gary if he was ready to surrender his life to the Lord and be saved.  He thought about it for a few seconds and said, "I don't know".  He wasn't ready.  He also kept interrupting our testimonies and when we were talking about what it meant to be born again.  He explained that he used to do many good things when he was younger, give away food, help people come out of drug houses, etc.  It was as if he was trying to show us how good he was.  I explained all that is good, but God says even our righteous acts are like filthy rags to the Lord, that's why we need Jesus to forgive us from our sins.  

He asked me, "So, are you saying that unless everyone believes like you are saying, they are wrong?"

I said, "Yes, they are wrong if they believe they will get to heaven without believing in Jesus".  I said, "The Bible says that Jesus said that I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man comes to the father except through me.  Also, there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.  Jesus also said that unless a man is born-again he cannot enter the Kingdom of God".  

He kind of just shook his head and thought about it for a second and then started saying how much he has studied other religions and they all have good parts to them.  

Kenya gave him a packet of information that had a list of good, local churches and other information.  He said he appreciated it, as he needs some help.  He said he currently attends a Christian church.  

I think Gary is really searching for God.  We asked him if we can pray for him.  He said yes.  We prayed for him for his physical problems and for Jesus to reveal to him that he loves him and draws him to God.  We all shook hands and we told him that we loved him and we will continue praying for him.  He told us thank you for the food basket that we delivered.


Kenya and I then went back to "base camp" to pick up our next basket of food and cold items and headed out to the second house.  


We went to deliver a food basket to a single mom named Tamika.  She had four children.  We took the food up to her apartment and she said that she is going through some tough times in her life, but that she is a believer and that her grandfather is a pastor.  She didn't really seem too open to having a conversation with us at this time.  The way she mentioned her grandfather being a preacher seemed like she was saying she is saved because she has a grandpa for a pastor.  Only God knows her heart and if she is truly born again.  We will be praying for her.  


She did allow us to pray for her and her family.  Her kids were well behaved and respectful, and a couple of them said, "Amen" when the prayer was finished.  Kenya handed her the information kit that had a list of local churches, and there was also a sheet included with information to call and enroll children to receive free Christmas gifts.  She thanked us for the food and we left. 


Kenya and I went back to our base of operations and picked up our next basket of food and cold items (both freezer and refrigerated items), and headed out to our next house.


This time we went to see Gloria. We went to her house and she had several people in the house - her husband, her grown daughter, and great-grandchildren.  Gloria said that she is a believer, and has been going to the same church since 1990.  She said she had gone through diabetes problems back then and God showed Himself alive to her.  


We spoke to her for a little while, and Kenya gave her the packet that had local churches listed and the form for free Christmas gifts for children.  She thanked us for the food and supplies.  She saw the toilet paper in the basket and said that it is a blessing because they are on their last roll of toilet paper right now.  That just goes to show that God loves them and provides in a time of need.  


We prayed for them and left.  They were very thankful for the items.  


We arrived back at base and did a little clean up and departed.  It was a wonderful time serving the Lord and being a witness for Him, as well as doing good works by delivering the needed food at the time.  


I thank God for the ministry, "Operation Save Kansas City", and for Laurie, who leads it.  This Thanksgiving Basket outreach was the idea of Angela.  She is the one that did all the work to set it up, etc.  I thank God for her.  


In Christ, 

Brad St. Clair