It's hard to completely put into words what really happened last night at our WORD overnighter for the guys at the church. Maybe the best way to explain it would be to just walk you through our evening together. Here we go. It was Friday afternoon, August 15th, 2008. This was a day that would be marked in my mind for years to come. I was at the church working quietly to myself and nibbling some Taco Bell (gotta love that horse meat) and so forth. Around 3:30pm, Paul Lipps had shown up with 3 guests, people that he knew from school.
These three young men were named Gunner, George and Andrew. Happy to make their acquaintance, I introduced myself to them and we proceeded to set up the Fellowship Hall for our Back-to-school game night. And oh, what a great time we had playing video games like Halo, Wii Sports, and Super Smash Brothers. Everyone was enjoying the various snacks they had brought, as well as everybody else's. Funions, Oreos, Cheez-it's, frozen pizza, and a LOT of pop of various natures were among the top picks for hunger gratification that evening. The whole time we were enjoying ourselves, I kept thinking to myself, "We have guests here that may have never heard the Gospel before."
A few hours later, another young man showed up named Derek (a friend of Gunner's). He took joined in the festive fun of halo killing sprees and mindless mayhem on the XBOX until it was time to "take a break." By "taking a break," my plan was for us to all take some time and pray specifically for our schools and our teachers, and our classmates. However, knowing that we had guests who may have never heard the Gospel before, I began to stumble around in my office for material that I could use to help share the Gospel with these young men during our time of prayer and devotion. What would I use? I found a booklet I created 2 years ago called "Evangelism Bootcamp" and figured, "That oughta work. I'll use that. I know it's effective and it put the Gospel out there in a clear, easy to understand and realize format."
So before we began, I began to pray. "Father, I know that a young man named Derrick got saved at our Bible study in May through the presentation of the Gospel. Lord, help me tonight to share the Gospel in a simple fashion. I don't want to be ashamed, I don't want to be timid. Help me speak the truth in love with boldness, unconcerned about reactions, but about the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. Help me to effectively share the Gospel with these young men that they may trust in you as their Savior before it's too late. Use this in a way that would honor and glorify You . . . Amen." And so our little talk began.
I used the Dearborn teens to help answer questions about what salvation was, what it means to be saved, how we can be saved, what are we being saved from and to, etc.. Our young men were very helpful and answered the questions exceptionally well. I basically shared the gospel with them, explaining to them what our WORD Youth Group is all about and why we want to see people saved. I spent deliberate time explaining to everyone what sin has done to us and why we need a Savior in the first place. Now the rubber was about to hit the road.
After my completion of sharing a simple plan of salvation, I sent our young guests off into a private area of the main floor of the church to be counseled with and by some of our young men. Paul had the privilege of witnessing to Gunner and his younger brother Angelo. Richard Brown spent time witnessing to George as Hayden, Mark, Ty & Josh Wafford spent time witnessing to Derek and Andrew. Not more than 10 minutes later, Richard returned with a smile on his face, telling me that George had accepted Jesus Christ to be His Lord and Savior. Hallelujah! Another one has come home! We were so happy and I expressed my happiness to George for making the greatest decision he'll ever make in his life. But the night was young.
Several minutes later, Paul returned telling me that Gunner has also trusted in Christ as His Savior. What an amazing God. Two souls saved through the witness and testimony of our young men. But wait, there's more. Several minutes after that, before I closed the devotion time in prayer, Mark and Hayden came to me letting me know that Derek had also accepted Christ as His Savior. It was a moment that would make any man or woman want to just cry and not care. Three young men trusted in Christ as their Savior right then and there at a youth group fun night all because of the invitation of a few people and a unique opportunity to hear the Gospel without interruption from the outside world. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing.
If you could have been in my shoes at that moment (actually, my socks because I didn't have any shoes on) it was enough to floor anyone. God had answered my prayer for these men. I was stunned, not because He answered the prayer but because of How overwhelmingly so He had answered my prayer. I then had the privilege of spending the next hour with these 3 young men (Andrew also joined in to make 4) and shared with them some things about learning how to grow in Christ. I gave them each a paperback Bible, with their name in it, helping them to remember the night where they repented of their sins and trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. What a life-changing experience. What a thrill and rush it was to see such amazing things worked in one evening through the power of God. Thank you Jesus.
Furthermore, I must thank all of my outstanding young men who showed love, and a genuine concern for the lost souls of their peers. This could not have been accomplished without their testimony and help in witnessing and leading these young men to Christ that night. All the glory be to God Almighty, but praise the Lord also for young men who are grounded in the truth and want to see other souls set free from the power of sin, changed into new creatures by the power of the Lamb. Oh, what an amazing Savior we have. I can only ask the reader to please pray for these young men and their walk with Christ and that they will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that all of us at DBC can be a Godly influence and mentor to them in their walk with Christ. Please pray for their spiritual growth and that more lives will be changed by the Gospel. I hope this tingly feeling of thrill and excitement never changes for me. I can't wait for the next opportunity to do it again and pray another soul will find his/her way home.
Love in Christ,
Chriscendo
These three young men were named Gunner, George and Andrew. Happy to make their acquaintance, I introduced myself to them and we proceeded to set up the Fellowship Hall for our Back-to-school game night. And oh, what a great time we had playing video games like Halo, Wii Sports, and Super Smash Brothers. Everyone was enjoying the various snacks they had brought, as well as everybody else's. Funions, Oreos, Cheez-it's, frozen pizza, and a LOT of pop of various natures were among the top picks for hunger gratification that evening. The whole time we were enjoying ourselves, I kept thinking to myself, "We have guests here that may have never heard the Gospel before."
A few hours later, another young man showed up named Derek (a friend of Gunner's). He took joined in the festive fun of halo killing sprees and mindless mayhem on the XBOX until it was time to "take a break." By "taking a break," my plan was for us to all take some time and pray specifically for our schools and our teachers, and our classmates. However, knowing that we had guests who may have never heard the Gospel before, I began to stumble around in my office for material that I could use to help share the Gospel with these young men during our time of prayer and devotion. What would I use? I found a booklet I created 2 years ago called "Evangelism Bootcamp" and figured, "That oughta work. I'll use that. I know it's effective and it put the Gospel out there in a clear, easy to understand and realize format."
So before we began, I began to pray. "Father, I know that a young man named Derrick got saved at our Bible study in May through the presentation of the Gospel. Lord, help me tonight to share the Gospel in a simple fashion. I don't want to be ashamed, I don't want to be timid. Help me speak the truth in love with boldness, unconcerned about reactions, but about the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. Help me to effectively share the Gospel with these young men that they may trust in you as their Savior before it's too late. Use this in a way that would honor and glorify You . . . Amen." And so our little talk began.
I used the Dearborn teens to help answer questions about what salvation was, what it means to be saved, how we can be saved, what are we being saved from and to, etc.. Our young men were very helpful and answered the questions exceptionally well. I basically shared the gospel with them, explaining to them what our WORD Youth Group is all about and why we want to see people saved. I spent deliberate time explaining to everyone what sin has done to us and why we need a Savior in the first place. Now the rubber was about to hit the road.
After my completion of sharing a simple plan of salvation, I sent our young guests off into a private area of the main floor of the church to be counseled with and by some of our young men. Paul had the privilege of witnessing to Gunner and his younger brother Angelo. Richard Brown spent time witnessing to George as Hayden, Mark, Ty & Josh Wafford spent time witnessing to Derek and Andrew. Not more than 10 minutes later, Richard returned with a smile on his face, telling me that George had accepted Jesus Christ to be His Lord and Savior. Hallelujah! Another one has come home! We were so happy and I expressed my happiness to George for making the greatest decision he'll ever make in his life. But the night was young.
Several minutes later, Paul returned telling me that Gunner has also trusted in Christ as His Savior. What an amazing God. Two souls saved through the witness and testimony of our young men. But wait, there's more. Several minutes after that, before I closed the devotion time in prayer, Mark and Hayden came to me letting me know that Derek had also accepted Christ as His Savior. It was a moment that would make any man or woman want to just cry and not care. Three young men trusted in Christ as their Savior right then and there at a youth group fun night all because of the invitation of a few people and a unique opportunity to hear the Gospel without interruption from the outside world. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing.
If you could have been in my shoes at that moment (actually, my socks because I didn't have any shoes on) it was enough to floor anyone. God had answered my prayer for these men. I was stunned, not because He answered the prayer but because of How overwhelmingly so He had answered my prayer. I then had the privilege of spending the next hour with these 3 young men (Andrew also joined in to make 4) and shared with them some things about learning how to grow in Christ. I gave them each a paperback Bible, with their name in it, helping them to remember the night where they repented of their sins and trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. What a life-changing experience. What a thrill and rush it was to see such amazing things worked in one evening through the power of God. Thank you Jesus.
Furthermore, I must thank all of my outstanding young men who showed love, and a genuine concern for the lost souls of their peers. This could not have been accomplished without their testimony and help in witnessing and leading these young men to Christ that night. All the glory be to God Almighty, but praise the Lord also for young men who are grounded in the truth and want to see other souls set free from the power of sin, changed into new creatures by the power of the Lamb. Oh, what an amazing Savior we have. I can only ask the reader to please pray for these young men and their walk with Christ and that they will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that all of us at DBC can be a Godly influence and mentor to them in their walk with Christ. Please pray for their spiritual growth and that more lives will be changed by the Gospel. I hope this tingly feeling of thrill and excitement never changes for me. I can't wait for the next opportunity to do it again and pray another soul will find his/her way home.
Love in Christ,
Chriscendo
