Dates
-- September 14, 2007
-- May 11, 2007
-- April 28, 2007
-- April 6, 2007
-- April 2, 2007
-- February 24, 2007
-- February 23, 2007
-- February 9, 2007 (2)
-- February 9, 2007 (1)
-- January 13, 2007
-- November 10, 2006
-- October 27, 2006
-- October 20, 2006
-- October 13, 2006
-- August 28, 2006
-- August 4, 2006
-- August 2, 2006
-- May 11, 2007
-- April 28, 2007
-- April 6, 2007
-- April 2, 2007
-- February 24, 2007
-- February 23, 2007
-- February 9, 2007 (2)
-- February 9, 2007 (1)
-- January 13, 2007
-- November 10, 2006
-- October 27, 2006
-- October 20, 2006
-- October 13, 2006
-- August 28, 2006
-- August 4, 2006
-- August 2, 2006
Entries
Friday Burbank
September 14, 2007
The group got together for a night of evangelizing at the Burbank promenade/mall. Joey, Jeff and I met up with others and we prayed and I jumped up and began to open air preach. The crowd was rather small and there didn't seem to be much liveliness within the loiterers. After my first open air round, I began to patrol the streets and I had a more enjoyable time with that. One girl in particular was really convicted and thinking hard when I presented the Law and the wrath of God to her. That conversation was probably the best that night in my opinion.
As I was looking for a bathroom, a member of a street band was waiting with his band's equipment and I handed him a million dollar bill and he ended up telling me how he had just recently begun to read the Bible and that he was really enjoying it. I couldn't help but think about what purpose God had for the band member and me to run into each other. It could have been to just encourage him to continue to read the Bible, I'm not sure. All in all, it was a nice night.
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Friday Westlake Promenade
May 11, 2007
This was a nice night in Westlake with Jeff, Joey and myself. It started out really slow but eventually we found ourselves talking to a bunch of people. I remember this one guy in particular who I spent a good 20 minutes with answering questions and taking him through the Law. I spoke with a few other people that night but all in all, it was a simple night out sharing the word.
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Six Flags Evangelizing
April 28, 2007
Six Flags on a Saturday. Surprisingly, the lines were short for most of the day. I finally got to go on Superman and Jeff and I went on the new ride Tatsu. We had fun spending all of our money on a discusting sub sandwich (I was stupid enough to get the tuna sandwich) and well, that place is expensive. All in all, we weren't there just to have fun, we had people to talk to.
Jeff and I took a break from the lines and rides and we sat and talked to a muslim for a few minutes but the conversation ended abruptly when his friends told him to leave and go with them so we went to the next person. This new guy's name was Derek and its amazing that I even remember his name but Jeff and I talked to him for a good 30-45 minutes and it was the best conversation that I have had for awhile. We handed Derek and his two friends each a million dollar bill and Derek stated that he was from the Church of Scientology so I figured that the conversation would be fun. It turns out that he wasn't serious about that but rather he turned from a joking attitude to complete conviction and I could tell that he definitely was interested in everything that Jeff and I was talking about. After we discussed Judgement Day and Salvation, Derek asked some questions that I was happy to answer and well the whole conversation was great, that's about all I have to say. I gave him my card and thanked him for talking with us and that was about it.
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Friday at the Topanga Mall
April 6, 2007
After missing three weeks of Friday night evangelism, I called up my friends to see what they were planning for the night. I found out that only Dru was going out because everyone else has Good Friday Services to go to. So I went to the Topanga mall to pair up with Dru for the night.
Topanga is a difficult place to find people to talk to. Unlike many other spots, people at the Topanga mall are usually busy doing something and not just sitting down or anything like that. I was able to find one guy that night and I talked to him and it was a good conversation. I took him through the law and then asked him if he thought he would go to heaven when he died. He told me that he didn't because of "what he has and has not done". I had to ask him to be more specific and then I explained how it is not by our works that we get to heaven but by God's mercy (Titus 3:5). I elaborated by explaining how aweful it would be if we got to heaven and we compared and boasted about what we did to get to heaven. God doesn't want that, by his grace we get to heaven so that nobody can boast (Ephesians 2:9). After I mentioned this, the person understood and by that he definately began to think about where he was headed. I encouraged him to continue to think about the importance of his eternity and I left him at that. Although it was a short night with only one conversation, I think it was very positive.
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Jehovah's Witnesses and their Kingdom Hall
April 2, 2007
One morning a heard the doorbell ring but I was still in bed and I didn't want to get up. I figured it was just one of my family members who locked themselves outside and that somebody else would get the door. A couple rings later I looked out my window just as two Jehovah's Witnesses were walking away. I had missed them that morning but they left an invitation to one of their services at the local congregation. I immediately was interested and I was able to talk my mom into allowing me to go.
My girlfriend's father, Kirk, and I met at the Kingdom Hall and we entered. Kirk had grown up as a Jehovah's Witness but for me, it was completely new. The brother began his discourse for the night and the entire discourse was about Jesus and "who he really was" along with the last supper and why it is so important to remember him and live as a follower of him.
It was satisfying to hear the brother mention some things in the Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine such as salvation requires works, despite what Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 2:8-9 says. I was also noticing how frequently they went from book to book in the Bible. We read from John and James and Revelations and 1 Corinthians and Isaiah and a couple others as well.
I was already aware that according to the Watchtower, only the chosen 144,000 people may take communion but I was surprised that they had the bread and wine out on the table. I figured that it was just out on display for people to reflect on but all of the sudden they began to pass the bread and wine around and I was shocked. Kirk whispered in my ear not to take any because nobody does but I was confused because people were just looking at it. Now of course the Bible doesn't say that only 144,000 may take communion, this is clearly a Watchtower teaching but I had never seen nor heard of anything like this so I was just surprised to say the least.
I really enjoyed the discourse, not that I agreed with all of it, but as an educational experience and as something that is applicable to street evangelism, I really feel that observing this event was very beneficial to me.
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Saturday One-Day Basic Training Course
February 24, 2007
This was a first for me. I had the opportunity to join a bunch of people for Tony's Way of the Master class at Granada Hills Community Church. I showed up at around 8:30am and watched "Hell's Best Kept Secret", "True and False Conversions" and "What Did Jesus Do?". All three of these DVDs are excellent teachings by Living Waters ministries and those DVDs and the Bible are the curriculum of the class.
After we had lunch, Tony pointed two people out to me and they were the two that I was going to help out for the day. David, I forgot the lady's name and later a third was added named Tye. Before we left the church we talked and I offered to answer any questions they had and all that good stuff. I threw in some advice and told them a little bit about myself and asked what they were nervous about. They told me that they weren't sure what talking to strangers was going to be like so they were scared but that soon changed.
Santa Clarita was hosting Amgen's big bicycle race deal so I heard that about 100,000 people came to watch. Perfect opportunity so when we arrived, we loaded up with plenty of tracks and started to walk.
It didn't take long before the four of us were passing out million dollar bills and then, to my surprise, David stopped to talk to a guy standing around a booth. I was so happy to see him make an effort so quickly and when that conversation ended he began to talk to another guy shortly after.
The other lady (I feel horrible because I forget her name AGAIN! I hope she doesn't read this journal entry because I don't want to offend her.) but she was very nervous about talking to strangers but all of the sudden, she handed a million dollar bill to the Sheriff at the booth and began to take her through the Law just like that. I was very surprised but happy as well and it was great to see her make that step.
The whole day was very productive and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love to see other people begin to experience the joy and satisfaction of sharing their faith with others.
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Friday Night at Burbank
February 23, 2007
Back to Burbank for a lovely Friday Night. It was freezing outside but Jeff and I still spent most of our time out on the streets. I was able to talk to a good amount of people and I had one conversation in particular where the two guys were really paying attention and they were convicted by the law.
We had another one of those rediculous encounters with Westfield's mall security. We prayed inside the mall at the beginning of the night and that probably got them alerted right away but from what I heard, they were video taping us and some others were told to leave and that they couldn't "solicit" inside the mall. This is just another example of how Satan tries to keep us from sharing the truth.
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Friday Night at Valencia Mall
February 9, 2007 (2)
Once again, I met up with my fellow evangelist buddies. This time we went to Valencia's Town Center. I didn't know what to expect, this was my first time and I had heard good and bad things about the place (mostly good). Tony is teaching a Way of the Master class to a bunch of people so about six new people came, mostly to observe what we do out on the streets. I was paired up with Brandon, who I originally thought he said Brandy when he introduced himself, so I felt like an idiot but oh well. I pushed him a little to just hand out a track to some people because I feel that you can't just stay completely quiet when you are out evangelizing to people.
I was a little disappointed by the night because many people had already been talked to by others and it didn't seem as though I was getting anywhere. However, its ultimately up to God to work in them so I can't expect to see anything myself, hopefully the people that we talked to that night continued to think about everything on their own time and maybe further down the line they will realize their true need for Jesus Christ.
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Funeral Director Job Shadow
February 9, 2007 (1)
I had the opportunity to sign up to visit a funeral home and job shadow for the day. I figured that I wouldn't have another opportunity like this so I signed up and the next thing I know, I'm wearing a suit and tie and meeting the funeral director and the rest of the staff. The entire day was great. I showed up at 8:30 and I met everyone and I was given a tour throughout the vicinity. I was told that there was a Catholic funeral service at a church in the city as well as the burial that day so I was in for the complete experience and reality of the job.
The funeral director and myself got in the hearse and we drove to the church. As I asked questions and he answered, the topic of death obviously came up. He mentioned that people have their many different ways of dealing with a funeral so that in the profession you have to respect the customer's wishes even if you don't believe the same stuff as them, which I agree. I asked him about Jehovah's Witnesses and how they deal with funerals and he told me that he was a JW himself. Of course we spent the rest of the day talking about the Watchtower and the Bible and all that good stuff.
Although I don't think that I want to be a funeral director when I'm older, I got to experience something new, help and serve the family who were having the funeral and to share the Law and talk with the funeral director. What a great day.
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Friday Night at Topanga Mall
January 13, 2007
First time at the new Topanga mall for evangelizing purposes. I met up with the guys and we spent some time talking and seeing how everyone was doing. This was my first time back since I was gone for practically all of December. Its always nice to see new faces around and I was able to meet Jeff and that was nice. It was great seeing everyone because it felt like I hadn't been there forever.
Jeff and I started out by walking around looking for people to talk to. We saw a table set up with information about Los Angeles orphanages. There were two ladies there and they were asking for donations and educating the public about the current situation of the Los Angeles County's orphanages. We talked with them breifly but it didn't go that far so we continued on our way. My friend Joey and I paired up and talked to two girls at a make-up store and one got really annoyed and walked off and the other made it clear that she just wanted to believe what she wanted to believe. Neither of the conversations went all that well.
The new Jeff and myself paired up and we went over to a group of four guys. We began talking and this turned out to be the best conversation of the night. We went through the law, grace, everything and they were completely listening. After we finished Jeff pointed out that we didn't really go into enough information about what its like to have Jesus in our life. I see what he means by that and that's something that I'll keep in mind next time. I just pray that those guys as well as the girls that we talked to have seeds that will at some point grow to become great followers of Jesus Christ.
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Friday Night at Burbank
November 10, 2006
This night started out very slowly. Not that many people showed up and I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see everyone. Eventually Jeff and I began to walk the streets to look for people to talk to. We came across some people that he recognized from previous weeks but other than that, the night was really slow. It wasn't until later that I was able to find some people to talk to. I spoke with some teenagers and I took them through the law and all. Unfortunately it seemed as though nothing was sinking into anyone's head. Oh well, we planted seeds and hopefully they grow at some point.
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Friday Night at Burbank
October 27, 2006
One word, Gorilla. One of the guys from our group had a gorilla costume and it attracted a lot of attention. People were coming to take pictures and it really was a nice way to draw people closer and it gave us a chance to talk with them.
The night went well and I had some nice conversations with people. A lot of people showed up to evangelize and this always makes the night more fun. Plus, we get to fellowship with one another.
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Friday Night at Burbank
October 20, 2006
Well, this was my first time at the Burbank mall. I had the opportunity to meet some new people and I had a great time at a new place. The night was simple, I open-air preached for the first time and it didn't go as well as I had hoped but it's all good. I learned that when open-air preaching, it is imperative to speak loudly when you are open-air preaching. I found that many people in the back were leaving because either A, they didn't want to listen or B, they couldn't hear me. I'm pretty sure it was more B than A.
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Friday Night at the Westlake Promenade
October 13, 2006
Friday came around and despite my trip to Santa Monica at the Third Street Promenade, this was my first evangelizing trip since I got back from my Europe trip. I was so happy to go out and talk to people and to get back into the hang of doing it regularly. I finally found a parking spot and then I went to meet up with my two friends.
We had a chance to talk to many people at the promenade. It was Friday night and Westlake High School had a football game so once it ended, a lot of people walked around the corner to the promenade. I had the opportunity to speak to two groups that were really listening and I could tell that they were thinking about what I was saying. I simply took people through the ten commandments and then let them know that they have an important decision to make.
A couple times, I began to talk to some people who were joking around and not taking it seriously but within the group there was that one person who was listening and I hope that by my friends and me speaking to them, we planted seeds and made them think about it more.
It was a nice night and I was so happy that I had the opportunity to go because I had been wanted to go evangelizing with my friends for awhile and with all of my experiences getting lost, and not being able to go, it finally worked out well and I was satisfied doing work for God.
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Mormons in Munich, Germany
August 28, 2006
I was shopping in Munich with my cousin and my grandmother and as I walked out of a store I noticed a man standing on the side of a planter, preaching. He only spoke in German so I didn't understand what he was talking about but I assumed it was the bible. There was also a woman handing out tracts (in German). I asked her what her husband was talking about and she didn't speak english. I looked on the other side of the planter and I noticed that the Latter-Day Saints had a booth set up and there were about eight of them standing around and talking to people. So I went up to three of them and I asked if they were associated with the man preaching on the planter.
It didn't take long for me to realize that they were not associated with the man on the planter. I was told that the man on the planter was saying that salvation comes by the grace of God and that only the Bible is God's inspired word. Of course, at this point I'm telling myself, "I'm going to be here for a while."
I began just asking how they felt about their ministry in Germany. They told me that they enjoyed it even with the occasional lack of availability of American food. They also mentioned that no matter what negative things happened, it's still a blessing to be able to be out their doing *god's work.
After I had a casual conversation with them, I decided to ask about doctrinal issues. My favorite, first question for Mormons is, "How many gods are there?". I ask this because if they say one then they are contradicting their churches doctrine and if they say more than one, they are contradicting the Bible. They told me that they have the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and that they were all three individual gods that made of the Godhead. This was a redundant answer however it allowed me to ask them about whether or not God has a goddess wife and about the supposed god that our God supposedly had when he lived on another planet just like we live on the planet Earth (Please remember that I'm simply going through what the Mormon church believes and I have no intention of blasphemying, I also try my best to pay attention to what I should capitalize and what I shouldn't.).
Since they were not supporting the preacher on the planter's explanation on how to get to heaven, I asked them how you gain salvation. This was the most enjoyable part of the conversation for me. They told me that we need to be baptized, repent, be forgiven through Jesus Christ and to be good people. There are two things here that are not necessary to get to heaven.
The first is being a good person. We are lying theives, adulterous covetors, we are breaking God's commandments. Anything that is falling short of what God wants is in no way a good thing. If we tell one lie, we are in no way a good person. I explained this to them.
The second is that we don't need to be baptized to get to heaven. I asked them where in the Bible does it tell us that we need to be baptized to go to heaven. Almost immediately two or three of them said John 3:5. This was no surprise, I simply pointed out what John 3:5 and what John 3:6 says. "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit..." John 3:5-6 NIV. At first, it might seem as though Jesus is telling us we need to be born of water or baptized, however this is not the case. When you compare John 3:5 with John 3:6 you notice that they parallel, water:flesh and Spirit:Spirit. So if flesh gives birth to flesh and the Spirit gives birth to Spirit then I'm lead to believe that being born of water is vaginal fluids during childbirth. So I explained that this verse was not talking about baptism. Then they asked me about when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus and how he told him that he needed to be born again. Obviously we cannot enter the womb again to be born again so Jesus was talking about baptism here. At this point I asked them about the Rich Young Ruler that asked Jesus what he had to do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus told the Rich Yound Ruler that he had to sell everything he had and give the money to the poor and then to follow Jesus. So I asked the Mormons if we needed to sell everything we have and give the money to the poor so that we can go to heaven. They quickly said that we did not have to do that. So I explained that Jesus was talking to the Rich Young Ruler as an individual and Jesus was talking to Nicodemus as an individual and that we can learn from what he told them but that is not the way for the rest of us to get to heaven.
Baptism is a covenant that we have with God. Circumcision is a covenant as well. Does this mean that if you aren't circumsized you can't get to heaven? Not at all. God instructed the Jews to circumsize the males and not to eat certain foods like pork because at that time pork had health issues related to it. Even now, circumcision is practiced for sanitation. In the same way, we don't need to be baptized to get to heaven. Baptizism is like a wedding ring, you can still be saved/married without it, it's just an outward expression that you are married or you are going to follow Jesus' examples.
The whole conversation went well and I really hope they think about what I said and hopefully it will cause them to look into it themselves further. Its never easy talking to Mormons because they think they are following the bible yet they aren't and it's hard to point that out to them in a way that they will agree with you.
* I didn't capitalize "god's" because the Mormon's god is not the one of the Bible.
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Friday Night at Northridge
August 4, 2006
Friday night I went out to the Northridge mall with some others. We had a great night and I had the opportunity to talk to many people. I spoke to one guy in particular who started off pretty closed minded and then he started to ask me some questions and I was answering them and he had a big turn around in his attitude and it was great to talk to him. He mentioned that Christianity seems to all fit together but he didn't want to worry about being saved right now, he said he was willing to take the chance and continue to live how he is for the time being.
The security guards stopped us. I guess there were four people who complained that we were talking to people about God so the guards had to speak to us about it. We continued to mention that we were not soliciting anything and that we were just talking to people about God. They explained their policies and so we are going to speak to the Mall Management and the Director of Security to see if we can eliminate all the obstacles.
Apart from the security issue, it was a nice night. I started out exhausted and I didn't really feel like evangelizing that night. Once I started, and spoke with a few people, the exhaustion and laziness wore off temporarily, just enough for me to share the word with people. It's great how I can get just enough energy to go out and serve the Lord no matter how tired I am before and after.
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Mormon Conversation
August 2, 2006
I was at my friend's house the other day and as we were getting a tv out of the car, two Mormon missionaries road by on their bicycles. I waved to one and I was so happy to see them because I had been wanting to talk to a Mormon for a while. They stopped at a house up the street and when they were riding back down I stopped them and asked if I could ask them a couple questions. They said it was ok so I began to ask them if they considered themselves to be good people. They said yes and one guy said that he had already gone through this and he asked me if I had a little book that says "Do you consider yourself to be a good person?" I said "No, I don't but I do have two little books that say 'Are you a good person?'".
Since they were already aware of what Jesus did for us, we moved on to doctrinal issues. I asked them questions about God and whether or not he has a goddess wife. The Mormon didn't want to answer me. I asked multiple questions about their doctrine and they didn't want to answer me. The Mormon said that I "wasn't ready" to hear the answers. He told me that I would have to join the church and have accepted the fact that there are modern prophets who live today and then I would be able to get answers from him.
Do you realize how deceptive this strategy is? This Mormon was telling me that he didn't know stuff about his own church's doctrine. When someone comes to your door to solicit something, do you expect them to know what they are selling and do you expect them to attempt to answer your questions to the best of their ability? This Mormon didn't want to answer my question. He wanted me to join the church, allow them to saturate me with the Book of Mormon and their extra-biblical resources before he would even tell me bluntly what they believe. He had no problem answering questions as long as his answers were biblical, but once I asked about the other issues he didn't want to tell me. Why? Well I believe it's because they want people to think that they are Christians. Think about it, they make "Jesus Christ" bigger than the other words in the name of their church (The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints). They know that the average person is more familiar with the Bible than they are with the Book of Mormon. So they only mention biblical issues when they come to your door, with the hopes of convincing the resident that they are a Christian church. In the past, the Mormons did not care for the Christians, but now with a huge percent of America claiming to be Christian, they want to please the majority.
I told them that just reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it wasn't sufficient enough for me. The Mormons believe that they can read the Book of Mormon, pray sincerely, with real intent (Moroni 10:4 BOM) and if they feel a change in their hearts "a burning of the bossom", then what they read is true and they are following the "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion" -Joseph Smith. I explained that we are not to trust out own hearts because "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" -Jeremiah 17:9 NIV. Proverbs 3:5 tells us not to lean on our own understanding. It's apparent that we make mistakes and we are not to just rely on our own hearts or a sensation and then come to the conclusion that something is true. The Mormons only survival is the excuse that if you have pray about the Book of Mormon and are not a Mormon, then you were not praying sincerely enough or with real intent. No matter how much proof, or contradictions there are that show the fictitious nature of the Book of Mormon, it all come down to whether or not you are praying sincerely. Well that's bull if you ask me. The Bible is the most reliable book in the world. Nothing has ever proven it wrong and it is used by so many people historically, logically, geographically, religiously, educationally, etc. That is way I trust it, but the Book of Mormon has NOTHING except for eleven witnesses who signed statements saying that they saw the golden plates and that the Book of Mormon is reliable as well as millions of people saying that their bossoms are burning. Well, that isn't enough for me.
The two Mormons that I spoke with, were young gentlemen, a little older than myself. Only one of them spoke the whole time. The other commented about three times, but I remember what the guy asked me. He asked me if I was willing to join the Mormon church. I told him absolutely, "If the Book of Mormon proves to be more reliable than just the Bible alone." I want to be in the truth. He asked if I was willing to read the Book of Mormon and if I was willing to pray about it and I said "I plan on it but I want to finish reading the Bible before I continue with more books." He told me how that was all he wanted from me. Right around this time he mentioned that they had to go and so we thanked each other for one another's time and they rode off.
I plan on eventually reading the Book of Mormon, the Koran, The Watchtower Tract and Society publications and anything else that I can get my hands on. I want to hear as many sides, pro and con, to as many different religions as I can. This is the only fair way to give each group the opportunity to talk to me about their beliefs. I know that I will never become a Mormon, a Jehovah's Witness, a Muslim, etc. because I have done enough research to notice that all additions, distortions, etc. to the Bible, fall short of the reliability of the Bible alone. In every case of addition or distortion to the Bible, there are contradictions in the doctrine. This alone is a huge problem for Christian Cults. It upsets me everytime I think about how many millions of people think they are saved and yet they have a made up, pretend Jesus. These people are living and they are doing nothing more than praising a false idol that they have created. I pray that some of them would see through the manipulation and deception that takes place in these cults and that they would turn to the true Jesus Christ.
If Mormons come to your door and tell you they are Christians just because their church has his Jesus' name in it, ask questions. Don't be fooled by their kind and caring and family orientated lifestyles, these people are headed to hell and they are bringing more and more people there daily. Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions right now and it's because we are not equipping each other with the information necessary to catch them in their corrupt doctrine.
I have personally experienced more difficulty talking to Mormons than any other religious group out there. I can talk to Atheists and catch them in their illogical arguments yet Mormons consistently claim that they are in the truth. They will truly be corrected when they are judged by the one true God and unfortunately it will be too late for them. For now I will do my best to warn as many of them as I can.
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September 14, 2007
The group got together for a night of evangelizing at the Burbank promenade/mall. Joey, Jeff and I met up with others and we prayed and I jumped up and began to open air preach. The crowd was rather small and there didn't seem to be much liveliness within the loiterers. After my first open air round, I began to patrol the streets and I had a more enjoyable time with that. One girl in particular was really convicted and thinking hard when I presented the Law and the wrath of God to her. That conversation was probably the best that night in my opinion.
As I was looking for a bathroom, a member of a street band was waiting with his band's equipment and I handed him a million dollar bill and he ended up telling me how he had just recently begun to read the Bible and that he was really enjoying it. I couldn't help but think about what purpose God had for the band member and me to run into each other. It could have been to just encourage him to continue to read the Bible, I'm not sure. All in all, it was a nice night.
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Friday Westlake Promenade
May 11, 2007
This was a nice night in Westlake with Jeff, Joey and myself. It started out really slow but eventually we found ourselves talking to a bunch of people. I remember this one guy in particular who I spent a good 20 minutes with answering questions and taking him through the Law. I spoke with a few other people that night but all in all, it was a simple night out sharing the word.
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Six Flags Evangelizing
April 28, 2007
Six Flags on a Saturday. Surprisingly, the lines were short for most of the day. I finally got to go on Superman and Jeff and I went on the new ride Tatsu. We had fun spending all of our money on a discusting sub sandwich (I was stupid enough to get the tuna sandwich) and well, that place is expensive. All in all, we weren't there just to have fun, we had people to talk to.
Jeff and I took a break from the lines and rides and we sat and talked to a muslim for a few minutes but the conversation ended abruptly when his friends told him to leave and go with them so we went to the next person. This new guy's name was Derek and its amazing that I even remember his name but Jeff and I talked to him for a good 30-45 minutes and it was the best conversation that I have had for awhile. We handed Derek and his two friends each a million dollar bill and Derek stated that he was from the Church of Scientology so I figured that the conversation would be fun. It turns out that he wasn't serious about that but rather he turned from a joking attitude to complete conviction and I could tell that he definitely was interested in everything that Jeff and I was talking about. After we discussed Judgement Day and Salvation, Derek asked some questions that I was happy to answer and well the whole conversation was great, that's about all I have to say. I gave him my card and thanked him for talking with us and that was about it.
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Friday at the Topanga Mall
April 6, 2007
After missing three weeks of Friday night evangelism, I called up my friends to see what they were planning for the night. I found out that only Dru was going out because everyone else has Good Friday Services to go to. So I went to the Topanga mall to pair up with Dru for the night.
Topanga is a difficult place to find people to talk to. Unlike many other spots, people at the Topanga mall are usually busy doing something and not just sitting down or anything like that. I was able to find one guy that night and I talked to him and it was a good conversation. I took him through the law and then asked him if he thought he would go to heaven when he died. He told me that he didn't because of "what he has and has not done". I had to ask him to be more specific and then I explained how it is not by our works that we get to heaven but by God's mercy (Titus 3:5). I elaborated by explaining how aweful it would be if we got to heaven and we compared and boasted about what we did to get to heaven. God doesn't want that, by his grace we get to heaven so that nobody can boast (Ephesians 2:9). After I mentioned this, the person understood and by that he definately began to think about where he was headed. I encouraged him to continue to think about the importance of his eternity and I left him at that. Although it was a short night with only one conversation, I think it was very positive.
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Jehovah's Witnesses and their Kingdom Hall
April 2, 2007
One morning a heard the doorbell ring but I was still in bed and I didn't want to get up. I figured it was just one of my family members who locked themselves outside and that somebody else would get the door. A couple rings later I looked out my window just as two Jehovah's Witnesses were walking away. I had missed them that morning but they left an invitation to one of their services at the local congregation. I immediately was interested and I was able to talk my mom into allowing me to go.
My girlfriend's father, Kirk, and I met at the Kingdom Hall and we entered. Kirk had grown up as a Jehovah's Witness but for me, it was completely new. The brother began his discourse for the night and the entire discourse was about Jesus and "who he really was" along with the last supper and why it is so important to remember him and live as a follower of him.
It was satisfying to hear the brother mention some things in the Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine such as salvation requires works, despite what Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 2:8-9 says. I was also noticing how frequently they went from book to book in the Bible. We read from John and James and Revelations and 1 Corinthians and Isaiah and a couple others as well.
I was already aware that according to the Watchtower, only the chosen 144,000 people may take communion but I was surprised that they had the bread and wine out on the table. I figured that it was just out on display for people to reflect on but all of the sudden they began to pass the bread and wine around and I was shocked. Kirk whispered in my ear not to take any because nobody does but I was confused because people were just looking at it. Now of course the Bible doesn't say that only 144,000 may take communion, this is clearly a Watchtower teaching but I had never seen nor heard of anything like this so I was just surprised to say the least.
I really enjoyed the discourse, not that I agreed with all of it, but as an educational experience and as something that is applicable to street evangelism, I really feel that observing this event was very beneficial to me.
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Saturday One-Day Basic Training Course
February 24, 2007
This was a first for me. I had the opportunity to join a bunch of people for Tony's Way of the Master class at Granada Hills Community Church. I showed up at around 8:30am and watched "Hell's Best Kept Secret", "True and False Conversions" and "What Did Jesus Do?". All three of these DVDs are excellent teachings by Living Waters ministries and those DVDs and the Bible are the curriculum of the class.
After we had lunch, Tony pointed two people out to me and they were the two that I was going to help out for the day. David, I forgot the lady's name and later a third was added named Tye. Before we left the church we talked and I offered to answer any questions they had and all that good stuff. I threw in some advice and told them a little bit about myself and asked what they were nervous about. They told me that they weren't sure what talking to strangers was going to be like so they were scared but that soon changed.
Santa Clarita was hosting Amgen's big bicycle race deal so I heard that about 100,000 people came to watch. Perfect opportunity so when we arrived, we loaded up with plenty of tracks and started to walk.
It didn't take long before the four of us were passing out million dollar bills and then, to my surprise, David stopped to talk to a guy standing around a booth. I was so happy to see him make an effort so quickly and when that conversation ended he began to talk to another guy shortly after.
The other lady (I feel horrible because I forget her name AGAIN! I hope she doesn't read this journal entry because I don't want to offend her.) but she was very nervous about talking to strangers but all of the sudden, she handed a million dollar bill to the Sheriff at the booth and began to take her through the Law just like that. I was very surprised but happy as well and it was great to see her make that step.
The whole day was very productive and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love to see other people begin to experience the joy and satisfaction of sharing their faith with others.
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Friday Night at Burbank
February 23, 2007
Back to Burbank for a lovely Friday Night. It was freezing outside but Jeff and I still spent most of our time out on the streets. I was able to talk to a good amount of people and I had one conversation in particular where the two guys were really paying attention and they were convicted by the law.
We had another one of those rediculous encounters with Westfield's mall security. We prayed inside the mall at the beginning of the night and that probably got them alerted right away but from what I heard, they were video taping us and some others were told to leave and that they couldn't "solicit" inside the mall. This is just another example of how Satan tries to keep us from sharing the truth.
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Friday Night at Valencia Mall
February 9, 2007 (2)
Once again, I met up with my fellow evangelist buddies. This time we went to Valencia's Town Center. I didn't know what to expect, this was my first time and I had heard good and bad things about the place (mostly good). Tony is teaching a Way of the Master class to a bunch of people so about six new people came, mostly to observe what we do out on the streets. I was paired up with Brandon, who I originally thought he said Brandy when he introduced himself, so I felt like an idiot but oh well. I pushed him a little to just hand out a track to some people because I feel that you can't just stay completely quiet when you are out evangelizing to people.
I was a little disappointed by the night because many people had already been talked to by others and it didn't seem as though I was getting anywhere. However, its ultimately up to God to work in them so I can't expect to see anything myself, hopefully the people that we talked to that night continued to think about everything on their own time and maybe further down the line they will realize their true need for Jesus Christ.
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Funeral Director Job Shadow
February 9, 2007 (1)
I had the opportunity to sign up to visit a funeral home and job shadow for the day. I figured that I wouldn't have another opportunity like this so I signed up and the next thing I know, I'm wearing a suit and tie and meeting the funeral director and the rest of the staff. The entire day was great. I showed up at 8:30 and I met everyone and I was given a tour throughout the vicinity. I was told that there was a Catholic funeral service at a church in the city as well as the burial that day so I was in for the complete experience and reality of the job.
The funeral director and myself got in the hearse and we drove to the church. As I asked questions and he answered, the topic of death obviously came up. He mentioned that people have their many different ways of dealing with a funeral so that in the profession you have to respect the customer's wishes even if you don't believe the same stuff as them, which I agree. I asked him about Jehovah's Witnesses and how they deal with funerals and he told me that he was a JW himself. Of course we spent the rest of the day talking about the Watchtower and the Bible and all that good stuff.
Although I don't think that I want to be a funeral director when I'm older, I got to experience something new, help and serve the family who were having the funeral and to share the Law and talk with the funeral director. What a great day.
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Friday Night at Topanga Mall
January 13, 2007
First time at the new Topanga mall for evangelizing purposes. I met up with the guys and we spent some time talking and seeing how everyone was doing. This was my first time back since I was gone for practically all of December. Its always nice to see new faces around and I was able to meet Jeff and that was nice. It was great seeing everyone because it felt like I hadn't been there forever.
Jeff and I started out by walking around looking for people to talk to. We saw a table set up with information about Los Angeles orphanages. There were two ladies there and they were asking for donations and educating the public about the current situation of the Los Angeles County's orphanages. We talked with them breifly but it didn't go that far so we continued on our way. My friend Joey and I paired up and talked to two girls at a make-up store and one got really annoyed and walked off and the other made it clear that she just wanted to believe what she wanted to believe. Neither of the conversations went all that well.
The new Jeff and myself paired up and we went over to a group of four guys. We began talking and this turned out to be the best conversation of the night. We went through the law, grace, everything and they were completely listening. After we finished Jeff pointed out that we didn't really go into enough information about what its like to have Jesus in our life. I see what he means by that and that's something that I'll keep in mind next time. I just pray that those guys as well as the girls that we talked to have seeds that will at some point grow to become great followers of Jesus Christ.
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Friday Night at Burbank
November 10, 2006
This night started out very slowly. Not that many people showed up and I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see everyone. Eventually Jeff and I began to walk the streets to look for people to talk to. We came across some people that he recognized from previous weeks but other than that, the night was really slow. It wasn't until later that I was able to find some people to talk to. I spoke with some teenagers and I took them through the law and all. Unfortunately it seemed as though nothing was sinking into anyone's head. Oh well, we planted seeds and hopefully they grow at some point.
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Friday Night at Burbank
October 27, 2006
One word, Gorilla. One of the guys from our group had a gorilla costume and it attracted a lot of attention. People were coming to take pictures and it really was a nice way to draw people closer and it gave us a chance to talk with them.
The night went well and I had some nice conversations with people. A lot of people showed up to evangelize and this always makes the night more fun. Plus, we get to fellowship with one another.
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Friday Night at Burbank
October 20, 2006
Well, this was my first time at the Burbank mall. I had the opportunity to meet some new people and I had a great time at a new place. The night was simple, I open-air preached for the first time and it didn't go as well as I had hoped but it's all good. I learned that when open-air preaching, it is imperative to speak loudly when you are open-air preaching. I found that many people in the back were leaving because either A, they didn't want to listen or B, they couldn't hear me. I'm pretty sure it was more B than A.
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Friday Night at the Westlake Promenade
October 13, 2006
Friday came around and despite my trip to Santa Monica at the Third Street Promenade, this was my first evangelizing trip since I got back from my Europe trip. I was so happy to go out and talk to people and to get back into the hang of doing it regularly. I finally found a parking spot and then I went to meet up with my two friends.
We had a chance to talk to many people at the promenade. It was Friday night and Westlake High School had a football game so once it ended, a lot of people walked around the corner to the promenade. I had the opportunity to speak to two groups that were really listening and I could tell that they were thinking about what I was saying. I simply took people through the ten commandments and then let them know that they have an important decision to make.
A couple times, I began to talk to some people who were joking around and not taking it seriously but within the group there was that one person who was listening and I hope that by my friends and me speaking to them, we planted seeds and made them think about it more.
It was a nice night and I was so happy that I had the opportunity to go because I had been wanted to go evangelizing with my friends for awhile and with all of my experiences getting lost, and not being able to go, it finally worked out well and I was satisfied doing work for God.
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Mormons in Munich, Germany
August 28, 2006
I was shopping in Munich with my cousin and my grandmother and as I walked out of a store I noticed a man standing on the side of a planter, preaching. He only spoke in German so I didn't understand what he was talking about but I assumed it was the bible. There was also a woman handing out tracts (in German). I asked her what her husband was talking about and she didn't speak english. I looked on the other side of the planter and I noticed that the Latter-Day Saints had a booth set up and there were about eight of them standing around and talking to people. So I went up to three of them and I asked if they were associated with the man preaching on the planter.
It didn't take long for me to realize that they were not associated with the man on the planter. I was told that the man on the planter was saying that salvation comes by the grace of God and that only the Bible is God's inspired word. Of course, at this point I'm telling myself, "I'm going to be here for a while."
I began just asking how they felt about their ministry in Germany. They told me that they enjoyed it even with the occasional lack of availability of American food. They also mentioned that no matter what negative things happened, it's still a blessing to be able to be out their doing *god's work.
After I had a casual conversation with them, I decided to ask about doctrinal issues. My favorite, first question for Mormons is, "How many gods are there?". I ask this because if they say one then they are contradicting their churches doctrine and if they say more than one, they are contradicting the Bible. They told me that they have the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and that they were all three individual gods that made of the Godhead. This was a redundant answer however it allowed me to ask them about whether or not God has a goddess wife and about the supposed god that our God supposedly had when he lived on another planet just like we live on the planet Earth (Please remember that I'm simply going through what the Mormon church believes and I have no intention of blasphemying, I also try my best to pay attention to what I should capitalize and what I shouldn't.).
Since they were not supporting the preacher on the planter's explanation on how to get to heaven, I asked them how you gain salvation. This was the most enjoyable part of the conversation for me. They told me that we need to be baptized, repent, be forgiven through Jesus Christ and to be good people. There are two things here that are not necessary to get to heaven.
The first is being a good person. We are lying theives, adulterous covetors, we are breaking God's commandments. Anything that is falling short of what God wants is in no way a good thing. If we tell one lie, we are in no way a good person. I explained this to them.
The second is that we don't need to be baptized to get to heaven. I asked them where in the Bible does it tell us that we need to be baptized to go to heaven. Almost immediately two or three of them said John 3:5. This was no surprise, I simply pointed out what John 3:5 and what John 3:6 says. "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit..." John 3:5-6 NIV. At first, it might seem as though Jesus is telling us we need to be born of water or baptized, however this is not the case. When you compare John 3:5 with John 3:6 you notice that they parallel, water:flesh and Spirit:Spirit. So if flesh gives birth to flesh and the Spirit gives birth to Spirit then I'm lead to believe that being born of water is vaginal fluids during childbirth. So I explained that this verse was not talking about baptism. Then they asked me about when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus and how he told him that he needed to be born again. Obviously we cannot enter the womb again to be born again so Jesus was talking about baptism here. At this point I asked them about the Rich Young Ruler that asked Jesus what he had to do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus told the Rich Yound Ruler that he had to sell everything he had and give the money to the poor and then to follow Jesus. So I asked the Mormons if we needed to sell everything we have and give the money to the poor so that we can go to heaven. They quickly said that we did not have to do that. So I explained that Jesus was talking to the Rich Young Ruler as an individual and Jesus was talking to Nicodemus as an individual and that we can learn from what he told them but that is not the way for the rest of us to get to heaven.
Baptism is a covenant that we have with God. Circumcision is a covenant as well. Does this mean that if you aren't circumsized you can't get to heaven? Not at all. God instructed the Jews to circumsize the males and not to eat certain foods like pork because at that time pork had health issues related to it. Even now, circumcision is practiced for sanitation. In the same way, we don't need to be baptized to get to heaven. Baptizism is like a wedding ring, you can still be saved/married without it, it's just an outward expression that you are married or you are going to follow Jesus' examples.
The whole conversation went well and I really hope they think about what I said and hopefully it will cause them to look into it themselves further. Its never easy talking to Mormons because they think they are following the bible yet they aren't and it's hard to point that out to them in a way that they will agree with you.
* I didn't capitalize "god's" because the Mormon's god is not the one of the Bible.
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Friday Night at Northridge
August 4, 2006
Friday night I went out to the Northridge mall with some others. We had a great night and I had the opportunity to talk to many people. I spoke to one guy in particular who started off pretty closed minded and then he started to ask me some questions and I was answering them and he had a big turn around in his attitude and it was great to talk to him. He mentioned that Christianity seems to all fit together but he didn't want to worry about being saved right now, he said he was willing to take the chance and continue to live how he is for the time being.
The security guards stopped us. I guess there were four people who complained that we were talking to people about God so the guards had to speak to us about it. We continued to mention that we were not soliciting anything and that we were just talking to people about God. They explained their policies and so we are going to speak to the Mall Management and the Director of Security to see if we can eliminate all the obstacles.
Apart from the security issue, it was a nice night. I started out exhausted and I didn't really feel like evangelizing that night. Once I started, and spoke with a few people, the exhaustion and laziness wore off temporarily, just enough for me to share the word with people. It's great how I can get just enough energy to go out and serve the Lord no matter how tired I am before and after.
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Mormon Conversation
August 2, 2006
I was at my friend's house the other day and as we were getting a tv out of the car, two Mormon missionaries road by on their bicycles. I waved to one and I was so happy to see them because I had been wanting to talk to a Mormon for a while. They stopped at a house up the street and when they were riding back down I stopped them and asked if I could ask them a couple questions. They said it was ok so I began to ask them if they considered themselves to be good people. They said yes and one guy said that he had already gone through this and he asked me if I had a little book that says "Do you consider yourself to be a good person?" I said "No, I don't but I do have two little books that say 'Are you a good person?'".
Since they were already aware of what Jesus did for us, we moved on to doctrinal issues. I asked them questions about God and whether or not he has a goddess wife. The Mormon didn't want to answer me. I asked multiple questions about their doctrine and they didn't want to answer me. The Mormon said that I "wasn't ready" to hear the answers. He told me that I would have to join the church and have accepted the fact that there are modern prophets who live today and then I would be able to get answers from him.
Do you realize how deceptive this strategy is? This Mormon was telling me that he didn't know stuff about his own church's doctrine. When someone comes to your door to solicit something, do you expect them to know what they are selling and do you expect them to attempt to answer your questions to the best of their ability? This Mormon didn't want to answer my question. He wanted me to join the church, allow them to saturate me with the Book of Mormon and their extra-biblical resources before he would even tell me bluntly what they believe. He had no problem answering questions as long as his answers were biblical, but once I asked about the other issues he didn't want to tell me. Why? Well I believe it's because they want people to think that they are Christians. Think about it, they make "Jesus Christ" bigger than the other words in the name of their church (The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints). They know that the average person is more familiar with the Bible than they are with the Book of Mormon. So they only mention biblical issues when they come to your door, with the hopes of convincing the resident that they are a Christian church. In the past, the Mormons did not care for the Christians, but now with a huge percent of America claiming to be Christian, they want to please the majority.
I told them that just reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it wasn't sufficient enough for me. The Mormons believe that they can read the Book of Mormon, pray sincerely, with real intent (Moroni 10:4 BOM) and if they feel a change in their hearts "a burning of the bossom", then what they read is true and they are following the "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion" -Joseph Smith. I explained that we are not to trust out own hearts because "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" -Jeremiah 17:9 NIV. Proverbs 3:5 tells us not to lean on our own understanding. It's apparent that we make mistakes and we are not to just rely on our own hearts or a sensation and then come to the conclusion that something is true. The Mormons only survival is the excuse that if you have pray about the Book of Mormon and are not a Mormon, then you were not praying sincerely enough or with real intent. No matter how much proof, or contradictions there are that show the fictitious nature of the Book of Mormon, it all come down to whether or not you are praying sincerely. Well that's bull if you ask me. The Bible is the most reliable book in the world. Nothing has ever proven it wrong and it is used by so many people historically, logically, geographically, religiously, educationally, etc. That is way I trust it, but the Book of Mormon has NOTHING except for eleven witnesses who signed statements saying that they saw the golden plates and that the Book of Mormon is reliable as well as millions of people saying that their bossoms are burning. Well, that isn't enough for me.
The two Mormons that I spoke with, were young gentlemen, a little older than myself. Only one of them spoke the whole time. The other commented about three times, but I remember what the guy asked me. He asked me if I was willing to join the Mormon church. I told him absolutely, "If the Book of Mormon proves to be more reliable than just the Bible alone." I want to be in the truth. He asked if I was willing to read the Book of Mormon and if I was willing to pray about it and I said "I plan on it but I want to finish reading the Bible before I continue with more books." He told me how that was all he wanted from me. Right around this time he mentioned that they had to go and so we thanked each other for one another's time and they rode off.
I plan on eventually reading the Book of Mormon, the Koran, The Watchtower Tract and Society publications and anything else that I can get my hands on. I want to hear as many sides, pro and con, to as many different religions as I can. This is the only fair way to give each group the opportunity to talk to me about their beliefs. I know that I will never become a Mormon, a Jehovah's Witness, a Muslim, etc. because I have done enough research to notice that all additions, distortions, etc. to the Bible, fall short of the reliability of the Bible alone. In every case of addition or distortion to the Bible, there are contradictions in the doctrine. This alone is a huge problem for Christian Cults. It upsets me everytime I think about how many millions of people think they are saved and yet they have a made up, pretend Jesus. These people are living and they are doing nothing more than praising a false idol that they have created. I pray that some of them would see through the manipulation and deception that takes place in these cults and that they would turn to the true Jesus Christ.
If Mormons come to your door and tell you they are Christians just because their church has his Jesus' name in it, ask questions. Don't be fooled by their kind and caring and family orientated lifestyles, these people are headed to hell and they are bringing more and more people there daily. Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions right now and it's because we are not equipping each other with the information necessary to catch them in their corrupt doctrine.
I have personally experienced more difficulty talking to Mormons than any other religious group out there. I can talk to Atheists and catch them in their illogical arguments yet Mormons consistently claim that they are in the truth. They will truly be corrected when they are judged by the one true God and unfortunately it will be too late for them. For now I will do my best to warn as many of them as I can.
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