Gone Fishin'
(for men)

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations..."
If you know your Bible, then you probably recognize this as the first part of the Great Commission, given to the disciples by Jesus in Matthew 28:19. This verse didn't apply just to the disciples of the early church, or just to going and discipling different nations. It can be as simple as merely sharing the Gospel with a classmate, a coworker, or a stranger you happen to pass on the street. In the past week or so, I have been blessed with multiple opportunities to follow this command in real situations.
For me, this all began, or at least began to grow larger, in attending the Way of the Master evangelism course at my church, which both gave encouraging tips for evangelism and provides tracts and resources for starting a conversation with a stranger. The interesting thing about these tracts is that many of them are 'ice-breakers', or gospel tracts with a unique gimmick attached to make it look appealing to an unsaved person who might happen to receive it. For example, I've seen a small pamphlet of the world's funniest one-liners, with a gospel message contained several pages in, and a pair of curved cards, one pink and one blue, which are meant to create an optical illusion and collectively relate the important message on the back. Then there's my personal favorite, the million dollar bill, which, with the appearance of money, is sure to attract many people.
I've had small experience with some of these before, but this past week, I wanted to try something new. My school hosted an annual event known as "Mix-It-Up-Day", when students are encouraged to meet new people, talk to other students they don't know, and sit apart from their normal crowd at lunch. When I heard about this, knowing that the course I had taken encourages sharing the gospel with strangers, I thought, "What an amazing opportunity to witness." So I prayed about the idea, trying to seek God's direction above my own, and then ordered three packs of million dollar bill tracts from the Way of the Master website, in hopes to give one to everyone at lunch.
And I did, for the most part. There were some who initially refused my offer of a million dollars, perhaps knowing what it was or maybe just not caring at all for fake money, but most everyone in my lunch period did receive one, and as I gave them out I encouraged the recipients to read them and really think about the message. Most likely not everyone did read them--I heard rumors the next day about a few students trying to use the tracts in school vending machines. However, I did receive some feedback from people who had clearly read it; some from fellow Christians who were glad to have seen such a thing, and some from people who were clearly unsaved, a few who blatantly rejected and insulted God, and who really, really need prayer and salvation. Hopefully the Lord will use me to continue to reach these few in the days to come.
Note: Just to clarify for the above story, I don't mean to sound like the hero of this expedition. I have been used to do these things, but Jesus deserves all the credit. Without Him I would have no reason to evangelize, nor the ability to do so. I mean, look at me; I'm naturally an introvert. None of this ever could have been done without the Lord's power. With that in mind, I shall proceed to relate the next event.
This past Saturday, my youth group got together for an event which had been anticipated and, I must admit, somewhat feared by many of us, myself included. We all traveled to a bus stop in downtown Lynchburg and set up a few tables, serving free hot cocoa, various candy and other goods, and most importantly, the message of salvation from sin and eternal life in Jesus. Many people came by, and we made an effort to share the gospel with each one we met. Armed with the incentive of free stuff and a handful of tracts (I still had a few million dollars left over), I set out to see how God would use me during this time.
The first man I talked to was, thankfully, receptive to my message. I presented him with the gospel message shown on the back of the bill tract, explaining that all have sinned and that we all need Jesus' forgiveness to resuce us from death. Sadly, though he was polite and attentive, his mind was closed to the truth; he reminded me of how many different religions existed in the world, and seemed to say that one couldn't be sure which one to follow. Though he seemed to have a fairly decent knowledge of the Bible, he said he had read parts of the Qu'ran and other such books as well, and seemed to see the Bible as a product of man rather than God. In short, he missed the point that Jesus is the way, meaning the only way. He had a bus to catch before the conversation progressed much further, and is probably still in need of prayer.
Another man I talked to (as I later realized, I neglected to learn any of their names, and thus cannot refer to them any more specifically than I do now) was less talkative and gave me a shorter conversation. His theology seemed correct and he agreed in word with everything I said; seeing as I only met him very briefly, I had no way of knowing whether his life reflected these words or not. He and many others shall be prayed for, just in case.
Sadly, I did do one thing which, though I may never learn the result of it, was likely to have turned out to be a mistake. At one point an apparently homeless woman approached me asking for some change or a few dollars. Fighting against my selfish instinct and hoping to be able to give unto "the least of these" (see Matthew 25:40), I somewhat reluctantly relinquished the only real, non-tract bill I had on me at the time--a twenty. This was met by great rejoicing from the woman and also by me being approached by two other men, with similar requests. "We're homeless too.", one of them said. "Can I have some money?" As I had just given up my only cash, I was forced to say no to these two other men, which earned me some disappointed glares and a few choice words. One of them told me that the woman was an alcoholic and would spend all the money on beer, without sharing any money with her 'friends'. Though I wouldn't have been surprised if these men were alcoholics as well, I realized that what they said was probably true and that I had probably made a great mistake. All I can do now is pray fervently for the trio and not let myself get discouraged. To summarize what my youth pastor probably would and has often said to situations like this, "Don't get discouraged and condemn yourself when you mess up. Satan will try to get you down and make you feel unworthy of serving God, but just get right back up and keep serving God anyway." Though it may have been a foolish move on my part, I trust God to bless good intentions, and try to trust in Romans 8:28, which says, "All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose."
For the most part, these evangelistic endeavors have been a great encouragement to me, and hopefully to many others. After these instances I feel more comfortable in getting out of my comfort zone and sharing with a stranger who would probably otherwise be doomed to hell. Though I'm certainly not perfect and probably not quite to the point I should be, I intend to keep working and keep serving God. If anyone has similar stories, I'd certainly like to hear them--and if not, why don't you go make some today?