Perry Noble

Publisher’s note: Perry Nobel socks a home run with his 6 Thoughts on Evangelism article. Soak up item number three. It helps release the hesitant.  

Noble is a 32,000 mega church pastor in South Carolina. He has recently been rebuked by his parent denomination, the Southern Baptists, for calling the 10 Commandments the 10 Promises. Be that as it may, this article on evangelism is not tainted by compromise. It’s worth digesting. We all say some silly things sometimes; let’s let the Baptists work this out with one of their own.

Recently, while visiting Petra, the amazing carved rock formations in Jordan, I had time to wait while my ambitious, young traveling companions did their thing: high climbing and exploring.

I seated myself on an ancient broken pillar and was taking in the stunning scenery when a young Bedouin travel guide came and sat on a near-by, broken pillar. He wanted to visit and hopefully talk me into paying him and his donkey to take me up to the rock carved monastery. Since the dinars in my pocket were at an all time low, I knew I didn’t have enough for the trip plus tip, so I just chatted away with him.  After a few minutes I was quickened to ask him about his faith.

“Do any of you (the many Bedouin travel guides at Petra) believe in Isa?” (Isa is the Muslim name for Jesus.)

“No, we follow Mohammed,” was his predicted reply.

I stunned myself with my next unplanned and bold statement.

“Mohammed is dead.  Better to follow someone who is alive.  Jesus is alive,” I told him.

He appeared visibly shaken and explained it was the way they were brought up and even if he’s dead, they still follow him.

I explained a little about the death and resurrection of Jesus. I again emphasized the fact that Jesus is living and how it makes much more sense to follow someone who is actually alive and how following someone who is dead makes no sense.

He was almost speechless and said it is the way they were raised and they’ve always believed what they believe.

“Jesus often calls out to people who were raised with different beliefs,” I reassured him.

“Islam may help you somewhat in this life, but it will do you no good when you die.” I went on to explain, “Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father except through Him. Believing in Jesus is the only way we can go to heaven after we die.”

At this point, maybe because he didn’t know what to say, he got up and went behind me to talk with his fellow travel guides. I could overhear him saying, “She just said….” and couldn’t hear the rest, but I knew he was sharing what he had just heard from me.  I didn’t sense they were going to go ballistic, but sensed more of a contemplative attitude in them.  I considered turning around and talking to all of them but instead felt led to sit quietly for awhile and then get up and move on after a few minutes.

I was surprised at the bold, directness that Jesus led me to use with this young man. Normally, I am not this bold when witnessing to Muslims, but I said it with compassion and truth. The truth sets people free, not wishy-washy niceties.  I had a sense of a Godly calling on this young man’s life. Please join me in praying that he have a life-changing encounter with his Savior.

Publisher’s note: We publish stories of personal evangelism. Print your story in the contact box below or contact me in the “About Mark” section on the home page. Your story can encourage others in the “lost art of personal evangelism.”

A Modern Day Love Story

A modern day love story that will warm tender hearts.

They came looking for answers. He was a distraught father and she an eleven year old daughter. She had recently been diagnosed with brittle diabetes, a severe form of diabetes which can cause extreme fluctuations of blood sugar and carries a short life expectancy. They came from a mountain village near Oaxaca, Mexico, and stopped at Casa Hogar Benito Juarez, the Children’s Home where I live and work.  They hoped to see a specialist here in Oaxaca.

The father and daughter were invited to participate in our daily devotional, a teaching and prayer time, at Casa Hogar. The dad declined and sat outside but the daughter came in.

She sat and listened and after the teaching and much individual prayer, Beto, a former resident who is now visiting Casa Hogar asked for prayer for his niece for healing. We all gathered around, laid our hands on her and start praying. Somehow she ended up in my arms, crying. I pulled her close and started praying for her. I asked Beto if she had ever asked Jesus into her life and he said “No.” I then started seriously praying that God would envelope her in his love, wrap his arms around her and let her know how much He loves her.

After a short time of praying, she looked up at me and I started talking to her about how much God loves her. I told her about how God created her special, how He knew her from the womb and now knows everything about her. He knows how many hairs are on her head and what kind of foods she likes and dislikes. He knows all about this disease and wants to help her all the way through it.

Then I asked her, “Do you want to ask Jesus into your heart?”

She said, “I don’t know.”

Another helper stepped up and started explaining how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and how everyone has sin.

The whole time this precious eleven year old just rested in my arms. She began to feel God’s love for her. I felt like I was part of a modern day love story. Then she looked at me again and I started praying again that God would envelop her in His love. The verse was going through my head that His love brings us to repentance.

Shortly after that I asked her again, “Do you want to receive Jesus into your heart?”

“Yes!” came her reply!

I asked her to repeat a prayer after me. I led her in a simple prayer of repentance, asking Jesus into her heart and life. We also asked Him for help with the doctors and healing for this disease. She started crying again and I just pulled her close and loved her.

Afterwards, I told her they were having a party in heaven and that I loved her and wanted her to come back and visit me again. I went back to my work and she went out of that room.  With the help of another lady, they then led her father to the Lord. What a happy, happy day!

Publisher’s note: Shelly Stalker teaches music and dance (and does the laundry!) at Casa Hogar, a children’s home for disabled children in Oaxaca, Mexico. She is commissioned as a missionary and sent out from The Church of Living Water in Muscatine, Iowa. Anyone wishing to financially support Shelly will have a reward in heaven. Contact The Church of the Living Water.

Don’t be Chicken

​So Don’t be Chicken, Take Steps of Faith  

Chicken Evangelism–Don’t Be Afraid of Faces

Chicken evangelism​?​ 

Don’t be afraid of faces.

​Wh​at are you talking about? 

No​,​ we are not ​talking ​about sharing the ​G​ospel with chickens.

There are times in our lives when we need to take action ​even ​when it seems scary or ​challenges us to ​do something we have not done before.​ We feel “chicken”. ​Perhaps you ​have ​not share​d​​ Jesus with others or ​have only ​shared ​occasionally​.​​

Perhaps I can encourage you by telling you my first experience with chicken evangelism.

I was a new convert to Christ. ​At the time, ​I was in the ​N​av​y ​in San Di​e​go, ​California​​. I was sharing Christ along with other Jesus followers. We were on the street handing out ​​Gospel tracts when a very large and mean looking man ​came​ walking toward me.

The ​L​ord told me to talk to this man and invite him to​ church. I said​,​​ “Lord, He is is bigger and very mean looking.​”​ I thought​ that​ if I talked to him,​ he’d beat me up and it would be my last day to be alive. ​But somehow the Lord empowered me. I mustered up strength​,​ and ​put ​on the best look that I could​. Fearfully​ approach​ing​ the man​, I invited him to go to church with me that evening​. ​The man’s total countenance changed! The hardness became softness, the angry look became a happy look! ​The man became very excited and came with me to church ​that very night ​and got saved. He was so happy that he wanted to sing and play a guitar​ right there at church that night!​.

Let me encourage you not to be afraid of faces.

​If y​ou are wondering what to say​, just ​begin the chicken evangelism by simply​ starting to talk about easy topics. ​ I still do this. People are at ​​different ​stages in their lives​ and have different interests​.​ The Lord helps us to be sensitive to what they might be interested in so we can have “conversation starters”​, such as ​starting to talk about ​sports.

Sometimes, ​I wear ​a​n NFL hat or MBA jacket to​ make sports talk with strangers​. ​Then​ ​I ​lead​ the conversation into ​a ​Jesus talk. ​Or w​hen ​my wife and I​ take walks​,​ we meet people working in the yards and flower beds. ​Then ​we engage in yard and and garden talk​,​ ​and lead​ ​into ​talking about the Lord Jesus.​  When we ​share​ ​w​hat Jesus ​has ​brought into our lives and w​hat He has done ​personally ​for ​us, no one can argue that experience. ​

Kari Anderson

He Did That for Us?

Recently, while waiting in a shuttle bus from downtown Los Angeles to the LA airport I asked a young man, a fellow passenger,”Have you given your heart to Jesus?”  He politely told me he was from China and didn’t know much about those things.

I then proceeded to tell him about Jesus.  How He was God’s son  and came from heaven as a baby and how God had sent Him to earth to help us.  “Because”, I reminded the young man, “we all do things that are wrong.”

He affirmed.  “Yes, we all do wrong things.”

I explained how Jesus died on a cross to pay for all of our sins so we can be forgiven of them and totally cleansed from all wrong doing!

The young man looked at me very intently and said emphatically, “He did that for us?”

This truth seemed to be a tremendous relief for this young man who was very hungry for righteousness. I went on to explain that Jesus rose again and is alive today and with us always.

At this the young man said, “So, He’s right here with us now?”

“Yes.” I replied. “He’s right here now with us in this shuttle bus and we can ask Him for help anytime.”

“How do you do that?” the young man asked. “Do you mean if I need help making a decision, He can help me know what to do?”

“Yes”, I explained, “you can talk to Him anytime and not even out loud and ask for His help.”

At that point other passengers started entering the bus and it was difficult to continue on with the conversation but I asked him if he’d like me to send him some literature that could further help him understand.

He said, “No, that’s okay.  I can look up more information about Jesus on the internet.”

That was one precious moment with a young Chinese man and a great privilege to be the first one to explain to him about Jesus and His power of forgiveness.

Kari Anderson, my wonderful wife, reflects Christ Jesus. Known as  one who “hears God and does what He says,” Kari has traveled in obedience to His will on several continents. A “prophetic forerunner,” she has instigated mission work in Turkey, above the Arctic Circle, in the Middle East, and in the United States. Kari can be reached at her website www.karipearls.com –Publisher’s note