We had our first project-wide outreach yesterday. It was a beach tug-of-war and dodgeball outreach. The idea is that the whole project would participate in some games on the beach that would draw a big crowd. People could have fun, and we could have a chance to get to know them, hear their spiritual story, and share with them the gospel. It went really well; the Outreach committee of our students that I am helping to lead planned and executed it well. This year's project in general is responsible and they are good at volunteering and taking initiative.
Personally, I had 3 significant conversations. One was with a guy named Raoul and his sister Rebecca. They came up to our table with bibles and started to look at one. They were about my age. They go to a church called Monteverdi Chapel, but it seemed like they had never made a decision to really trust and follow Christ and that going to church on Sundays was the extent of their faith. I shared the gospel with them through a booklet we have called the "Knowing God Personally" booklet, which summarizes the gospel in 4 points and gives the person an opportunity to respond to them. They listened closely and were very interested, and expressed interest in praying to receive Christ when they returned from the beach. They stayed around an continued to hang out with our group.
My next conversation was with 3 Hispanic men, primarily a guy named Carlos. The other two did not speak english well, but I got to ask Carlos a few questions. I gave the three a Knowing God Personally booklet in spanish for them to go through later. One of our students named RJ followed up with him and ended up having a good conversation with him. He said it seemed like Carlos was very interested and was starting to get it.
My last conversation was with a guy named Sunday, again about my age or a little younger. He had two friends with him. He described himself as a Christian, but when I asked him how long he had been a Christian, he said "since I was born". I asked him if it would be ok if I could share what I believe and see how close it was to what he believed, and he said sure. So I shared the KGP with him. I think his two friends benefitted more than he did, as they were listening closely and responding well to the questions I was asking. When I asked them how they would define "sin" one of them answered - "my life" - and the others laughingly agreed. At the end I asked them a hard question - how can you reconcile describing yourself as a believer when from what you have said your whole life would indicate otherwise? I think that question will resonate with some of them, and I left the KGP with them, so they know how to receive Christ if they decide to.
Overall it was a good day, and many good conversations were had. Our project director (and many others) often think of a person as a letter between A-Z, where A represents a total athiest and Z is a very mature believer. Each time someone shares with a person, they can be moved further and further along the scale towards a relationship with Christ. It's helpful to have that mindset, because even if a person does not receive Christ on the spot, your witness to them can significantly move them towards Christ.
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