On Saturday and Sunday of early June, with the leadership of the church pastors, a number of young and not so young church members at Grace Family Church went to the streets of North Highlands with the message of the Gospel. They set up the posters to bring the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and invited others to repent and be saved.
According to one of the participants, Joseph Sheremet, overall the response of the people who were driving through such intersections was generally positive. Some were rejoicing and blessing the team, some gratefully accepted the Gospel tracts, while some have avoided eye contact and just passed by.
Street evangelism is not a simple task! It requires leaving one's comfort zone, become vulnerable, set oneself under scrutiny, and be ready to receive criticism and insults. Is there a reason to have this kind of ministry? What can we say or hear during the few seconds or a three-minute conversation at the intersection? Is this not a complete waste of time and energy?
«No, absolutely not. » - was the response of J. Sheremet. «I am confident that at the proper time, the Holy Spirit will remind the words spoken by these street evangelists that this message was meant for them. It is a call for their salvation, and the Gospel is offered to them. I also used to think that this is not a very effective way to serve. However, the Lord revealed to me that I was wrong. One of the days, some brothers and I were standing with similar banners on the streets of Hollywood. The next day we went to San Diego for similar evangelistic service. While being there, I was approached by someone who said, «I remember you! » I was confident that I never saw this person in my life, and said that I wasn't sure if we ever met, to which he replied, «I saw you yesterday in Hollywood at one of the intersections. You were there with this banner. » To me, this was God’s affirmation of the necessity of street evangelism. It is true that we will probably not going to be witnesses of people's repentance, although that does happen from time to time. However, time will come when the seed will sprout. If even one soul will be saved, then we should labor tirelessly at it».
May the Lord God bless His heroes who boldly minister to Him and the people proclaiming His mercy and goodness to those who are perishing!
O. Avetisova
