Last Friday our Evangelism team, paired up with some of our friends from Love ASU. Love ASU is a campus orginization at Arizona State, dedicated to seeing lives changed through outreach and prayer.
Crowd listens to gospel presentation on Mill
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We started the night off by sharing the gospel via mic a few times. From there we let the Love ASU crew have a go at the mic. Between our group and Love ASU, the Christians totalled in at about 40 people! We were able to use that amount of people as an advantage, to form a crowd. As people passed by in the streets they quickly joined the large group, curious as to what was going on. We rotated on the mic for about an hour and a half. Anything and everything was shared, from testimonies, poems, skits, spoken word, scripture reading, etc., By about 10:30, I stood mesmerized as I counted about 125 people in the crowd. At this point random Christians off the street began congregating as well.” So, what is this? Christian open mic night?” A local believer asked. She later shared her testimony and sang a beautiful gospel song with her brother. Her brother finished up their presentation by rapping the gospel message to the crowd. The crowd cheered each time one of the Christians finished up their bit on the mic. People in the crowd used their phones to call friends to come and join the excitement.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ”Ephesians 1:7-9
Walter shares the gospel with a young couple on Mill Avenue
As we began setting our materials up for the night, a group of four people approached me, wanting to do the IQ test. Intrigued, five other girls also walked over to listen in. I selected a gentleman to take the IQ test and he read the words with confidence. The sentences read ” Paris in the the Spring, Bird in the the hand, and once in a a lifetime.” However, 98% of people do not realize the double words, at first glace. The group laughed after I pointed out the double words, ” Now its so obvious!” one man said. “Exactly. Sometimes there is clear evidence right in front of our faces, but we choose to believe our own perceptions. Jesus died, rose from the dead and appeared to eye witnesses, and some STILL did not believe” I told the group. “Wow. that’s a crazy analogy. That makes so much sense. God is real!” another gentleman announced. I was able to talk to the mesmerized man about the gospel. He expressed that he was “suppose” to be a catholic, but that he learned more about God in two minuets he spoke to me, then his whole life.  He had never read his bible, followed God, or took anything Christians said seriously. He thanked me and expressed excitement to read his bible.
Me(Emily) asking a group some trivia questions.
As Lisiapproached a few gentlemen with tracks they inquired with her to make an appearance on their website. Their site involves something regarding unity of religion. Meaning, they take bits and pieces of several religions and call the compilement truth. They asked Lisi, if they could interview her on what she personally believed. She shared with them her testimony and the gospel, all on camera. They said they would definitely put her footage online. Apparently the website is quite popular as well so hopefully many people view Lisi’s interview.
Before leaving to witness on Friday evening we prayed specifically for women who had been abused in any sort of way. We prayed that while out on Mill, we would encounter a woman of that nature and that God would heal her:) Within the first five minuets of arriving on Mill Avenue myself and Mia met a woman named *Sara(name changed for confidentiality of the individual). Sara described a sickening story of 10+ years of physical and sexual abuse , by various male family members. We were able to share with Sara that God saw the sin that was committed against her. He weeps for that sin. Her transgressors will have to face God one day and give an account for the evils they committed( Acts 17:31). Sin does not go unseen by God. She was familiar with the gospel already, but we were able to refresh and encourage her regarding the good news( Mark 1:15… and hundreds of other verses!:) We prayed with the young woman for healing, and she was able to humbly pray that she could forgive her abusers.
This past Friday we headed down to First Friday’s, in downtown Phoenix. First Fridays is a self guided, out door art walk; to be precise its the largest outdoor art walk in the nation:). Our night began as three teenage boys walked up to some of our trivia/and IQ test posters, to try their luck. They all failed miserably[lol] which gave me a great chance to speak to them about how our perceptions fool us, at times. Perhaps you are reading this today and you are confident that there is no God. Or perhaps you believe you are with out a doubt going to Heaven based on your good life and the things you have done. Scripture reveals to us that our heart deceives us and at times… we miss the obvious. We miss facts that linger in front of our faces. The only way we can get into Heaven is through Jesus, Christ(Acts 4:12). Jesus Christ accomplished everything on the cross!( Here is a great sermon by Mark Driscoll on that concept, if anyone is interested. I strongly recommend it!). All that to say Marcus was able to share the gospel with the three teenagers and they ended up sticking around the entire night(about 3 hours), listening to the preachers and talking one on one with some other people that were with us.
Dante preaching from the rocks
Since it seemed to be a success last First Friday’s, we decided to preach from the rocks again(see images to the left & below). Do to the randomness of someone with a microphone on top of a rock, a crowd was formed each time a new speaker went up, throughout the course of the night. Dante, preached for the FIRST TIME, open air! He presented the gospel in a very clear manner and after was able to speak to several people one to one regarding the things he had said. Through the guys open air presentation and Jennifer’s reading of scripture, three different people approached me for prayer. Thankfully, I was able to pray over them and break down their misconceptions of the gospel and who Jesus is and is not!
Evangie crew, as well a few people we witnessed to on Mill Avenue
When you were a child, you didn’t necessarily need that talk from your Mother or your kindergarten teacher about “lieing is bad,” did you? Your heart/conscience already told you it was wrong. It just didn’t feel right. You didn’t need government authorities to tell you you couldn’t end someones life because you got upset or angry. However, at some point in our life( usually early on) we find a hole in the system. We realize we can do something that requires punishment and get away with it. You do not need a preacher or Christian to tell you the difference between right or wrong but perhaps you may need a reminder of God’s perfect standard. Our sin will find us out; don’t hide your sin from God. he is all knowing. Confess it to him, turn from that sin and allow Him to cleanse you. Be encouraged, while you were yet a sinner, Jesus Christ willingly laid his life down for you.
Jonathan shares testimony, with marijuana prop
Jonathan began the night preaching on Mill Avenue, with an interesting prop. While Jonathan told his testimony via mic, he held in his hand what looked like a 2
We had a heafty number of people come out evangelising on  Mill Avenue this past Friday night; including Jonathan, Walter, Micheal, Eddie, David, Scotty, Vocab, Marcus, Phil, and me(Emily):) [Team is seeking much needed evangie women, to witness to all the ladies out there! Join us:)] The night was truly filled with blessing after blessing. We received many contacts of people interested in attending church or bible study in the near future.There was a lot of grace while the “preachers,” were on the mic, as far as not getting interrupted and no one too upset by the message.
Walter began the night by preaching on the mic. As always, he used a clever analogy. He spoke about the eyes of Jesus being undefiled. Jesus does not grade on a  curve! He demands perfection to enter the Kingdom of God. Being that he is the only perfect one, we must turn to him and not to ourselves! At this time Micheal Grecco met an x- Associate Pastor who had been yearning for some time, to get his life back on track. Tonight would be his night! After speaking with Micheal for a good hour, he seemed to commit his life fresh to the Lord!
Eddie and Vocab conversing with individuals on Mill Avenue
Myself, and Jonathan; ready with our tracts and trivia:)
A few of us were able to get onto ASU to do a little outreach during this past week. In general many people were open to conversing and learning about the gospel. We spoke to a diverse number of people. Some, who had at one time of their life professed Christ, yet had fallen away from the faith. Others, included Mormons, Muslims and one man who was Hindu. The personalities types included those who were indifferent, seeking out truth, crying out for justice or yearning to be accepted. For the most part our time consisted of handed out gospel tracts and one to one conversations. However, Walter and Jonathan both did take part in a little open air.
Ephrem, Walter and Jonathan, sharing the gospel.
Ephrem entered into a great conversation with a man who professed to be a Mormon. Eventually both Jonathan, and Walter got involved in the conversation. The three men tried to show the man, through love, patience, and boldness how Mormonism presents a false gospel. Here’s why…A Mormon may often use the word Salvation and describe Jesus as their Savior. However, Mormonism presents a different Jesus. And a different definition of the word “salvation.” Mormons believe that they must empty themselves completely of sin, become completely perfect and then and only then will they meet the requirements to go to Heaven. However, the true gospel of Jesus Christ(through the bible) states that we can never be perfect. Only one was perfect, JESUS CHRIST! So, yes we are to forsake our sins and turn to Christ as the bible commands of us. However, we are to trust in Christ’ perfect, not our own self righteousness, because that does not exist. Every privilege in Mormonism is conditioned on their worthiness through their perfection and performance, rather then the work of Christ. We wouldn’t get into the other funky doctrines that they have.
Man converses with Jonathan as on lookers try to make sense of what he was talking about.
Love was certainly in the air this past Friday night on  Mill avenue; as sets of couples
This picture pretty much summed up their personalities.
walked by, hand in hand for Valentienes weekend. Our night began as a Valentinesless man  walked up to us, making several wildly inappropriate comments, to the women of the evangie team. After his attention was diverted away from the females, he began shouting bits and pieces of various scriptures into the mic, talking about his heart attack/surgery and interrupting anyone who asked a question or wanted to speak via the question mic. He was not angry, or yelling at us, he just wanting to be heard.  Nonetheless, Jonathan tried to stay focused on the  mic, adhering to the man with respect, while trying to continue his message, as others were listening. Out friend Eddie, from Roosevelt community came out witnessing with us and  was eventually able to divert the man’s attention over to him. He sat down and spoke with the man for quite a while. Thanks to Eddie, the night was able to get much more productive! Marcus, Phil and Jennifer came by just in time to see the tale end of the humorous show, the shouting man was putting on. (more…)
Here’s what most people don’t get: It’s actually a diss to call Jesus a “good teacher.” It’s kind of like calling the Pacific Ocean a “puddle.” Or saying Mount Everest is “a hill.” Or saying that the sun is “warm.”
Jesus was no doubt an incredible teacher in addition to his unparalleled diversity of perfections as the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. However, to simply view Jesus as a good teacher is to misrepresent him. He is the eternal son of God who became a man to reveal the ultimate glory (importance and weightiness) of God to His own creation, and to destroy Satan, Sin, and Death without destroying us. When Jesus taught, people didn’t just think He was a good teacher, they were absolutely astonished. They marveled at Him. When Jesus taught, thousands of people crowded around Him, straining to hear and see Him. He wasn’t just smart and funny; he was perfect.
If ever there was a celebrity, it was Jesus. That is not to say everyone agreed with Him- He confronted and/or offended just about everyone who heard Him. He ticked off every single political group of His day. He undermined the authority of the doctrinaire religious leaders and exposed the hypocrisy of the wealthy elite. He made the religious experts look like fools. He won the hearts of the poor and the disenfranchised. He healed the sick and defended the weak. He demonstrated His divinity and supernatural powers by many great miracles, culminating in the resurrection that proved He was both Lord and Christ.
Jesus was “the talk of the town.” He would have been on all the tabloids, Oprah, Maury, The Daly Show, The Today Show, Larry King, Meet the Press, etc. When people saw the miracles that Jesus performed and believed in Him, they were never the same again. How could they be? He was the promised messiah, the fulfillment of Torah in human form. People longed to be like Jesus, because His righteousness was qualitatively superior to all. He caused people to thirst for righteousness in ways that all the patriarchs and prophets could not. As image bearers of God, we hate injustice and iniquity, yet it scandalizes us when we detect it within our hearts. To be cleansed by our maker Himself is the only vindication that ultimately matters. Only Jesus can give us that desire to be sanctified through the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus earned the right to redeem us to Himself. He has washed us with his blood.
Jesus demands that you worship Him. Responding to Jesus with anything less than extravagant worship is proof that you don’t get it and you still think He’s just a “good teacher.”
Thanks for checking us out! urbanevangie is a group of Christians from the Tempe/Phoenix/Scottsdale area. We evangelize unbelieving Arizonians in order that they may to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and connect them to a local church. Leave a comment and let us know you stopped by!
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“Be wise now, therefore, O ye who would succeed in declaring your Master's message among the multitude, and use your voices as common sense would dictate.”
