chicken evangelism experiences

May I share a couple Chicken Evangelism experiences with you?

 Jessica manages a butcher shop in a nearby town. I had met her once before but had forgotten her name. Entering the store, I asked her name again. She waited on me and carried items to the car.

We conversed briefly and I popped the Chicken Evangelism question, “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?”

She answered affirmatively, “Yes, I have.” “That’s really great! Can you tell me how it happened in a sentence or two?” I asked.

“Well, does it have to be only a sentence?”

She wanted to talk more but I explained I didn’t want to keep her from her job.

“OK. When I was five years old, I went to church and I received Christ there. “She was happy to talk about her experience.

“That’s great,” I said, “It really shows.”

She beamed and gave a happy “Thank you!” for the encouragement.

Something good happens every time we open our mouth for Jesus Christ. Chicken Evangelism experiences can be scary, but each encounter turns out to be an adventure. This time with Jessica was heartwarming and happy for us both. She and I will always be a friend because of this.

Armando was best man at a wedding renewal ceremony. All dressed up in a silvery tuxedo, he looked somewhat uncomfortable. We waited together for the ceremony to begin.

“Have you given your life to Jesus Christ,” I asked. He didn’t know how to answer and seemed puzzled. He didn’t really know how to answer.

Finally, he responded, “Yes, I’ve been baptized.”

“That’s great, and have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” I asked again.

“Yeah, well, yes, I want to get back into church.” He was telling me his heart, but was obviously fuzzy about what it means to become a child of God. We continued to discuss his desire for a couple minutes. He owns a Bible. He talked relatively freely about his thoughts. I invited him to come to a church meeting and he inquired about the time.

The door is open with Armando to discuss faith. I hope that he will become a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. He needs further contact.

By this time the ceremony was ready to begin, so our conversation ended.

Chicken Evangelism experiences propel us into an exciting realm. When we ask that initial question, “Have you given your life to Jesus Christ?” we never know what the response will be. Many people respond with a “Yes.” Some say “No,” and a few are fuzzy with their answer. Nearly all want to talk about their faith. Our job is to bring people to Christ and make disciples where we can.

How about you? Have you led anyone to salvation via Christ Jesus, the One who loved us and gave His life for us? You can! Browse around this website and be inspired.

Tell your own Chicken Evangelism experiences in the comment box below.

Dale Sexhauer, evangelsit

Editors note: Amazing miracle! This report from Dale Sexhauer came across my desk a few minutes ago. It’s too good to hold  back. To God be the glory!

I have many mutual friends who know Dale personally and have invariably spoken highly of him and his ministry. Some of these friends include Bobby Martz, Ted Jensen, and Howard Jackson, to name a few. Each will vouch for the character of Dale Sexhauer and for the integrity of this report from India. I have not yet met Dale, but look forward to the opportunity. He resides in Willamsburg, Virginia when he is not traveling. God has used this man by allowing miracle after amazing miracle to follow him for over 30 years in ministry. 

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers! God poured out His Spirit in our first village crusade here in North India, healing the lame, demon-possessed, those with asthma and many other diseases. Two men with painful kidney stones were touched by God and instantly healed.

Around 800 people called on Jesus’ name for salvation. This is the most amazing miracle of all!

Last night during our second crusade, an amazing miracle took place which astonished all the people. A man whose stomach was swollen by around 12” for 10-12 years was healed and his stomach instantly shrunk down to normal size! A woman who had two painful tumors for six years, one on each breast, was healed — all the pain left and the tumors instantly vanished!

Please pray for the last two nights of this crusade, in the village of Panje Ke Utter, and for our last two crusades in unevangelized villages.

To God be all the glory for His amazing love and His amazing miracle working power which is being demonstrated today because Jesus is alive!

Obedience Brings Blessing in Surprising Fashion

SOME EXPERIENCES CAN BE UNFORGETTABLE LIKE THIS ONE

Sometimes I would knock on doors in the daytime, but sometimes it was in the dark of the night. That was how it was the time no one answered the front door of a 31st street house. I had always taught others not to give up, but to try another door. Maybe they don’t use that first door. So I bravely headed around toward the back of this house.

Nice Doggy?

IN THE MOONLIGHT I SAW SOMETHING THAT STARTLED ME

A distance away was a large dog. He growled…and then suddenly leaped at me. My heart almost stopped until I saw that he was chained and jerked to a full stop after a few feet.

Feeling safe I stepped up on the porch. Next came an unwanted revelation. That chain was merely caught on a rock, and now that dog came flying at me, leaping past the rock and setting his teeth around my ankle.

I could not move. There I stood looking down as my prayers started going up.

“Nice doggy, in Jesus’ name let me loose. Nice doggy, let go in Jesus name” I quietly and prayerfully intoned to his perked up ears.

WHEN HE FINALLY DID LET GO, IT ONLY TOOK A SPLIT SECOND FOR ME TO PUSH THROUGH THAT DOOR AND INTO THE KITCHEN OF A VERY SHOCKED STRANGER 

 “I am so sorry, “I explained to the lady, catching my breath. “Your dog had his teeth around my ankle, and this was my only escape. Please forgive me!”

We both laughed with relief. I was safe, and this was not a home invasion, and I was not a thief breaking into her house.

As crazy as it all seemed, as the situation unfolded, somehow the Lord turned even this around into a great opportunity to witness to this lady.

THIS ACCOUNT IS TAKEN FROM THE BOOK

REACH THEM ONE BY ONE by

CLAIRE H. GOODWIN

Editors note: Claire Goodwin is an experienced soul-winner with memorable stories to tell. Her book will inspire any one wanting wanting God to use them. You can buy her book at CalvaryPentecostalRevivals.org.

You too can lead people to salvation in Christ. Many people are ready. They just need someone to show them how.

If you have led someone to Christ, tell your story in the comment box below. Your story will inspire others.

Chicken Evangelism Makes Friends

Make a Friend with Chicken Evangelism

The crowd of ticketed passengers was waiting at the gate for our flight from Portland to Salt Lake City. As is usually the case, we were all avoiding eye contact, yet simultaneously profiling our fellow passengers. Over there was the severely overweight man; I hoped not to have to squeeze into a seat by him. Then there were the women with necklines so low I would be embarrassed to have to sit next to them. There was a foreign-looking guy with scraggly hair and pants so low his belt was actually below his buttocks.  I’ve never seen a man who wore his pants so low.  Fortunately, he wore such a long-tailed shirt that that he was not exposed.  I mused, “I think I could handle sitting next to him.”

I boarded the plane and found my assigned aisle seat, 27C.  A lady came and took seat 27A by the window.  Finally, just before closing the doors, the man with the low pants came and sat down beside me in 27B.  He immediately fiddled with his cell phone so as to avoid any contact.  After a while I interrupted him by introducing myself.  “My name is Ed*,” he returned.  I found out how to spell his name and that he was a Filipino from Manila.  I told him about my trip with my wife to Mindanao and our wonderful experiences in the Philippines.

After the plane took off I asked, “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?”  He replied affirmatively, yet so vaguely that it left me wondering.  Because I’ve asked this initial question so many times to so many people, I could count on a time tested result. I expected I could make a friend. I expected the man would open up about his life, and he did. As we conversed I discovered that he was born a Roman Catholic, that he had received Christ as a child, (“a long time ago”), and that he had been divorced four years ago.

As the flight continued, I shared parts of my life and my story with Ed.  He began asking questions about my life.  He was very interested in our farm and what else I did.  I told him I was a marriage counselor and we talked about the many benefits of marriage.  He began to open up about how his marriage had fallen apart and how he had tried, without success, to keep it together.  Ed knew I was interested, so he shared his life.  He has a Bible (“I have many Bibles”), he reads almost daily, doesn’t go to church, and has no current job.

Near the end of the flight I asked if I could pray for him.  “Sure,” came his welcome response.  We had talked almost non-stop for the duration of the trip.  Surprisingly, Ed was more interested in my life and me than most strangers I had ever met.

Want to make a friend?  Take courage and simply ask, “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?”  Ask soon after you meet—ask before you chicken out. I find I have about a five-minute window. If I share Christ in that period, I can do it. If I wait too long, I usually chicken out. When I first began, I was afraid I might offend someone. The opposite turned out to be true. The simple question “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” opens the deeper parts of a soul. It’s a way to make a friend, but it’s more than that.

Here’s how it works. When we share unashamedly what means most to us, the other person opens up also. I’ve found again and again that many people will share openly with a caring stranger the things they hide from friends and family.

God’s heart is for the lost. You will be amazed how He will use you with strangers. You can lead people to Christ. You can enjoy new friendships with strangers. God wants to use you. Take courage, try it. Chicken evangelism is fun and never ceases to be an adventure.

If you’re leading people to Christ, I’d like to know how you do it. Tell your story in the comment box below.

*Ed is a pseudonym.

Simple Faith Saves

Simple Faith Saves

A famed jailer of yesteryear asked, “What must I do to be saved?” He got a simple answer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” Did he have theological understanding? No, his simple faith saved him.

What did Zacchaeus do to be saved? He came down from the tree and “received Him (Jesus) gladly.”

What about the thief on the cross? He believed Jesus would come in His Kingdom.

All three experienced salvation in different ways, yet one aspect was common to all. They connected to God through simple faith in Jesus.

I too was saved though simple faith. I prayed, “Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.” And He did.

Some people need time and abundant information. We should give it to them. Others are already prepared to receive Christ. They have enough information. In the end, no matter how intellectual a person is, childlike faith opens the door to eternal life. Like St. Paul, we can help people by making the gospel clear so they can respond in simple faith.

I was witnessing to a man who was hesitant to receive Christ. He said, “I go by science rather than religion.” As we talked further, I sensed he had plenty of knowledge about Christ, but was sitting on the fence. He just needed to make a decision. Would he follow Christ or not? I told him, “You’re ready. You don’t need more info. You just need to make a decision about who you want to live your life for.”

I said, “I’m going to leave you alone for a few minutes. Think about this. When I come back let me know what you’ve decided.”

About five minutes later, I came back. “I did it!” He announced happily. Praise God! He just needed to take the simple faith plunge. You can help people by inviting them to take a step of simple faith.

Make the Gospel Simple

Chicken evangelism is dedicated to the simple gospel (Christ died for our sins, Christ rose from the dead) and simple faith (believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved). Let me be clear. We’ll do whatever it takes to win a person to Christ for all eternity. However, when it comes to religion many people appreciate the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

You Can Be a Soul Winner

We are winning souls for Jesus. You can too. Immerse yourself in these blog posts. You will be inspired and become a soul-winner. God’s love for the lost will grow on you. He doesn’t want His suffering and death on the cross to have no effect. Your own simple faith can inspire others. Will you join with us to populate heaven?

If you have led someone to salvation through personal evangelism, tell your story in the comment box below. Others will find inspiration from your story.

Does Moral Purity Affect Evangelism?

Does moral purity affect evangelism?

Many issues either cloud or enhance evangelism. Moral purity is one.

You ask, “How does moral purity affect evangelism?” Guilty people don’t evangelize. (Before we paint everybody with the same brush, let’s remember, lots of folks who don’t feel guilty don’t evangelize either.)

Talking with another about Jesus opens the door to the deepest levels of our hearts. When we open up to the deeper levels, what else do we find there? Something inside warns, “Let’s not go there!” We don’t even need the devil to remind us of past failures. Or sometimes a person may fear a future failure. Either way, we’re stymied.

I own an old 1950’s era backhoe. It works, but it’s a rickety-rackety old machine. The hydraulic cylinders leak and once while out on a custom job, the hydraulic pump rotator failed. We don’t do custom work for others anymore. Why not? Because we’re afraid the pump may fail again.

In the same way, past moral failure affects our ability to pass on the good news. Just the reminder of a past failure or the fear of a future faux pas quills any thrust. “Better not take a chance,” we reason, and so the desire for evangelism gets pushed farther and farther aside until it no longer exists as a viable option.

Does moral purity affect evangelism?

You bet! Paul Anderson has written an article to help people wait for sex until marriage. It’s the best article I’ve seen on the subject.  I’ll include it here.

THE BATTLE FOR PRE-MARITAL PURITY

Sex is God’s idea, not Satan’s. Yet Satan has managed to fool many, even in the church, with the idea that God’s commands are too limiting, that God must not know how to have the most fun, that “holy” and “happy” should not be used in the same sentence. So we have Christians asking, “Why must we wait? We are engaged, as good as married. We don’t think it’s wrong, at least not that wrong. And forgiveness is available.” Others acknowledge that they wanted to abstain but regretfully crossed the line.

So why wait?

1.  Waiting builds trust. If you can break the law of God now, you can break it after you are married. Karen and I have no doubts with each other. We started building that trust when we dated. We spoke about boundaries, because we wanted to please God in our relationship.
2. Sex includes the possibility of a child. Are you ready to have a child? Not if you are not married. The first command given was to “be fruitful and multiply…” Sex is the consummation of marriage, not the preparation. To join together sexually and yet not be prepared to accept all the responsibilities that accompany such action puts a strain on the relationship that God did not intend it to have.
3. Jesus affirmed the order of creation. He said, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? (Matthew 19:4,5). Physical union is the privilege of a man and a woman committed to live together for life. That is why Jesus added, “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate” (v. 6). Until a couple has made that commitment and gone public, they are not ready to have physical relationships. Jesus said so.
4. Intimacy is for marriage. Paul wrote that “it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (I Cor. 7:9). The solution the Bible offers to one whose passions are getting the best of him is not to follow his passions but to get married. Solomon writes, “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”  And that time, according to his love song, is the marital relationship.
5. You’re not married until you’re married. Many are engaged and break the engagement. They give themselves away, then wish they had not, because now they have a broken heart plus a strong bond with a person no longer with them. The soul ties created by illegitimate sexual relations can wreak havoc on marriages. Using sex to get a mate could mean getting the wrong mate. Sexual involvement blinds couples to the will of God as the physical relationship takes precedence over the spiritual and psychological. Being in God’s will trumps any station in life.
6. Sex needs boundaries. Like a power plant, strong and dangerous, it needs protection, which marriage provides. Sex without boundaries is a fire out of control. When sex does not include the borders of marriage, it cannot be enjoyed in the same way. Shame, guilt, doubt, distrust, and resentment often come from going ahead against the will of God. Peace, joy, and fulfillment result from doing it God’s way. Sex on the sly does not bring the greatest fulfillment because it lacks the commitment that raises sexual experience to a higher level.
7. Restraint is not repression. Jacob waited for Rachel because he loved her. Some men use the opposite reasoning: “Because I love you, I want you.” Love can wait; lust cannot. Are you planning on being married for life? Then can you wait six months to prove your love?  At the center of the cross is self-denial. Followers of Jesus know the value of crucifying fleshly passions. Our greatest need is not for pleasure; it is for holiness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,” and that satisfaction lasts!
8. God knows how to enjoy sex. Satan does not. It is not that Satan is too passionate; it is that he is not passionate enough. He separates sex from commitment, from child-bearing, from loving our partner God’s way, reducing the intensity and the joy of sexual love to irresponsible intimacy. Sex is more than a physical act; it is spiritual—every time, and including God enriches it.
9. Look at the casualties. If you have stepped over the line, would you say it was worth it? How many people have you talked to who have said, “I wish I hadn’t waited?” You reap what you sow, and when you sow patience, you reap character. Once virginity is given up, it is never recovered. God forgives when we come in repentance, but forgiveness does not restore the original condition. Some brides and grooms wish they could give their partner the gift of virginity. A wedding day is heightened by two people joined together who have walked in purity. It can be clouded over by a pregnant bride or by a couple who have given themselves to multiple partners. Wondering if you are pregnant (and desperately hoping you are not) is a lousy way to enjoy sex. And abortions are out of the question for committed Christians. But then—so is pre-marital sex.
10. Character counts. There are better tests for the choice of a marriage partner than physical compatibility. So practice other ways of saying, “I love you.” Pre-marital sex is not inevitable. God provides a way to overcome the temptation (I Cor. 10:13). Accountability to Christian friends can help. Engaged couples that pray together and walk in the light with mature Christian friends will look back on their engagement period with delight, not with regret. Society clearly condones pre-marital sex. It has increased among Christian singles, but that does not make it right. According to the Bible, our bodies are not our own to do with them as we please. We give them to God to do as He pleases (Romans 12:1,2; I Corinthians 6:19,20).
11. The Bible says to “flee sexual immorality.” That doesn’t mean seeing how close you can get to the fire without being burned. Don’t put yourself in an apartment alone if you want to live by biblical convictions. Why test yourself by making out until you lose good judgment? Don’t fool yourself—and don’t test God. Acknowledge your weakness—and your hormones. Foreplay is meant to get your body moving toward a culmination. Stay away from the triggers. If you are no longer in full control, you are in a dangerous place.If my children said, “Don’t you trust us, Dad,” I would answer, “Of course I don’t. And I don’t trust myself. That’s why I have constructed moral fences.”  I am warning you because Jesus gave His listeners many warnings. So did the apostle Paul. Jesus Christ is Lord, and He is the Lord of every area of our lives, not the least of which is our relationships with the opposite sex. Learn to live under His Lordship with freedom and joy. Don’t assume that you can do what you want and simply play the forgiveness card. He does not forgive those hardened by sin and living for personal pleasure. He does forgive those broken by sin—and treats them as if they have never sinned. The grace that forgives is also the grace that empowers us to live in a way that brings more than God’s forgiveness; it brings His favor.

So what if you have already crossed the line? What if you have tried to come back and can’t? Sexuality takes in much more than the physical. A complex of issues could be involved, like abuse, poor parenting, mistaken identity, loneliness, or depression. We are not looking for people to blame, but we may need to look for the need behind the deed in order to be “more than conquerors” as the Bible promises.

Without the grace of God to carry you, these eleven principles will only crush you. They are fulfilled not by grit but by learning to trust the indwelling Holy Spirit. This may require the help of a mentor or a counselor to bring you to freedom. Because the Christian life is described as a walk, a process rather than an event, you may not be able to count on one prayer ministry session or one talk with a friend to break the power of sin. Know that God has liberty for you, even if it takes time and a battle. Remember that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Paul Anderson is former Director of Lutheran Renewal Services. He blogs at PastorPaulAnderson.com

How Does Moral Purity Affect Evangelism?

The morally clean and forgiven person has fewer obstacles in the way. Note the word “forgiven.” And this is huge.

He who is forgiven much, loves much. Forgiveness releases a soul. Forgiveness allows love to flow. Forgiveness catapults a believer into the will of God. Forgiveness can and should turn us into a dynamo for Jesus.

The forgiven man or woman has no guilt or shame. How does his renewed moral purity affect evangelism? It can dramatically alter results. For the man who knows that he knows that he is guiltless in the eyes of God and then gets filled with the Holy Spirit—watch out! He has the power and experience to set his world on fire!