[Rolando]

Originally Posted by buzzoff1031

Perhaps. I've gone to church most of my life. But yet I'm still a "babe," if not unsaved. I have issues to work through.

That's an easy problem to solve. How about you simply just ask the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Saviour? Salvation is simple and easy. Just trust the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior. Free and simple.


Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .
Acts 16:31

[MC1171611]

Originally Posted by buzzoff1031

Perhaps. I've gone to church most of my life. But yet I'm still a "babe," if not unsaved. I have issues to work through.

Exactly; Bible study is of great importance to you in this stage of Christian growth. The Lord will grow you through that Word and strengthen your faith through through prayer and personal experience. The closer you get to God through His word, the closer He'll get to you! (James 4:8)

[Here Am I]

Originally Posted by buzzoff1031

Perhaps. I've gone to church most of my life. But yet I'm still a "babe," if not unsaved. I have issues to work through.

Some people say they will get saved after they clean up their life, or get some things changed, or even work through issues.

Instead of trying to do it yourself, why don't you let the Lord do it for you? If you ask Him for help with your issues, He will help you...

...but you need to be born again, first. Why not just take care of it, now? "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)" (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Don't put it off...none of us is guaranteed a tomorrow...

[Biblestudent]

Originally Posted by pbiwolski

Preaching "on the street" is really the oldest form of preaching there is. It is probably better termed "public preaching", for it consists of taking the word of God to the public (masses, perhaps), and outside the four walls of today's churches.

We used to have a "Street Preachers Conference". Later, we called it "Public Preachers Conference". The reason is we also preach in market places, cemeteries, etc., and these are not "streets".

[Kiwi Christian]

Originally Posted by Biblestudent

We used to have a "Street Preachers Conference". Later, we called it "Public Preachers Conference". The reason is we also preach in market places, cemeteries, etc., and these are not "streets".

Do you only preach in the cemeteries on All Saints Day 1st November, or at other times as well?

"Open Air Preaching" would be the more general term, yet "street" preaching does have it's precedent in the Bible:

2 Samuel 1:20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

Jeremiah 11:6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.

Matthew 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

Luke 14:21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

[Biblestudent]

I used to go street preaching every Monday - in the market place in the morning and in the streets outside a mall down in the city in the afternoon. Also we preach in pumpboats and inside public jeepneys. Saturdays, we also did open air preaching Saturdays.

What caused my polyp was, in addition to public preaching, I taught day and night classes in the Bible school, and I also taught student choirs and church choirs. In other words, my voice works 8AM - 9PM every day plus weekly street preaching plus no voice rest. "Shame on me" for overusing, misusing, and abusing my voice.

But thanks everyone for your prayers! My voice is back in business, minus excessive shouting and no more street preaching -- except when there is an opportunity, and with a microphone or megaphone if possible. For example, my grandma asked me to preach to her former classmates on a pumpboat last week!

[tonybones2112]

Buzz, the Jack Hyles/Sword Of The Lord crowd emphasis soul winning as the main thing to the exclusion of all other work for God. I believe there many ways we can win souls. The front line soldier may fire his weapon, he needs 10-30 people in the rear area to support his position in the foxhole. He needs food, he needs ammunition. Do not be intimidated by the Guilt Trip Evangelists, many of those never leave home, have never passed out a tract.

My calling for personal evangelism is the street. We had at one time a small street ministry in The Oregon District in Dayton Ohio on Fifth Street, a covey of adult book stores, bars, nightclubs, in an alleged "historical" area of the city. You never know what's going to happen next or what you will meet. The nursing home ministry was not for me, neither was the jail ministry.

Paul said be instant in season and out to answer EVERY man at ANY time in ANY place. If you feel called to the street, then by all means do so. God gave each of us a unique personality with unique talents. One of mine is writing. Another is, as a former bouncer in a biker bar that became a gay bar, I am not afraid of confrontation. I'm a "street" person myself, I am not homeless, but understand the street. Pual was a Pharisee and probably the most weel educated human on earth. He preached Christ crucified in synagogues, in homes, on Mars Hill among the gnostics, anywhere was his pulpit.

Children, young adults, and many adults have their "heroes". John Wayne, Al Pacino, Madonna, etc. One of the few heroes I have is Arthur Blessit, who carried the wooden cross 36,000 miles over the earth. That's a street ministry to me, and Arthur is a man we should emulate if we emulate any.

Grace and peace

Tony Bones

[stephanos]

I agree with you. But the thing to stress is that we all should be doing something. There is no excuse to do nothing. I at least keep tracts in my pocket at all times and I leave them in the soda drop in soda machines, pay phones, under peoples windshield whipers, in restrooms, etc. The point is to get the gospel out there. Street preaching is one way to do that, but it tends to be very condemning and repulsive to folks (though this isn't the case with all street preachers, mostly the James Lyman croud). This is why I think door to door soulwinning is a great way to get the gospel out there. Also brother Luke explained to me what letter boxing is and I think that it is another great way to get the gospel out there (though I think this is illegal in the USA, therefore leaving a tract and invitation on the doorknob is advisable! ^_^), and it's a good way for shy folks (like myself!).

Peace and Love,
Stephen

[tonybones2112]

Originally Posted by stephanos

I agree with you. But the thing to stress is that we all should be doing something. There is no excuse to do nothing. I at least keep tracts in my pocket at all times and I leave them in the soda drop in soda machines, pay phones, under peoples windshield whipers, in restrooms, etc. The point is to get the gospel out there. Street preaching is one way to do that, but it tends to be very condemning and repulsive to folks (though this isn't the case with all street preachers, mostly the James Lyman croud). This is why I think door to door soulwinning is a great way to get the gospel out there. Also brother Luke explained to me what letter boxing is and I think that it is another great way to get the gospel out there (though I think this is illegal in the USA, therefore leaving a tract and invitation on the doorknob is advisable! ^_^), and it's a good way for shy folks (like myself!).

Peace and Love,
Stephen

I agree with everything you say here, my friend. My only contention I have ever had are with some people in the past who took it to an extreme degree. Like leaving a wife at home after appendix surgery, still fighting an infection. Another group rose up in arms that I was writing tracts. "There are plenty of good tracts available.". Not on Jesus Only/Oneness Pentecostals. Not a one, matter of fact. So I wrote one after researching their beliefs.

We had one charming lady in church who placed tracts in 12 packs and cases of beer. Another pair of kids got the idea to put tracts in helium balloons, after renting a tank of helium. They did like 500 balloons, maybe 4000 tracts. That is a GREAT way to get kids interested in witnessing and evangelism. Of course, the ballons go up, I think 10,000 feet and pop, the tracts rain down. They may catch a headwind and travel thousands of miles. The myriad ways of witnessing and getting the gospel is limited only by the number of Christians to be sent forth, and there are many ingenius ways of witnessing and giving out tracts, as posted above. Have a meeting at your church, have young people, bring up the idea of the balloons. Have a thorough discussion on ways to get tracts out, as the lady with her 12 Pack Ministry. She got results

My main thrust is cults and hardcases you meet on the street. Give them a tract, if they respond badly, that's an infinitely better sign than them taking it, thanking you, moving on and throwing the tract down and maybe being in hell for breakfast the next day. On the street, do not impede their travel, but if they want to stop and fuss with you, you have them interested. Be polite. If they shovel you down woth feces, stay polite. We had rocks, bottles, baggies with unidentified liquids thrown at us, we took that for a sign we were doing RIGHT. Peter said if you suffer persecution for doing right, then you must be on the right track, you touched a nerve.

A bountiful harvest to you Stephen. Plant the seeds, another wil water, God will give the increase for His glory.

Grace and Peace

Tony Bones

[Kiwi Christian]

Originally Posted by tonybones2112

My main thrust is cults and hardcases you meet on the street.

A team of us were out last night street preaching and tracting, when a Christian approached me, and instead of commending the work which we were doing proceeded to tell me how I was disobeying God and making myself an authority over the Bible because I am a member of a denomination, that being Independent Baptist. Talk about a discouragement! Then I got to talking to an agnostic vegan, who had the audacity to tell me that the Bible is full of many contradictions. When I asked him if he had ever read it through he said "no". I wasn't surprised. After speaking to him about many different issues, with me always trying to get the conversation back to the salvation of his soul, he left smiling with a tract and the gospel message driven into his head by the mere fact I told him how to be saved about 10 times!