The Streets of Timaru

Ok so today we did something that I was extremely skeptical about: street evangelism. It’s basically where you go up to random people on the streets and start talking to them leading the conversation to God, what they believe about it, what you believe about it, etc. At first I was like are you kidding me? How ridiculous and forced is it for us to go up to these random people and speak to them about God. I was thinking that would be pretty much just be crazy, and that if you do that you’re one of those people who tries to force Christianity upon other people. We had someone who has done a lot of street ministry like this named Roy who came in and talked to us about it beforehand. He definitely changed my view of it. It is more so just going up to people and speaking to them in an easygoing way as you normally would and then integrating God into the conversation. Just to see what they believe and then share with them how God has impacted your life, and the truth of Jesus.

Of course most people still would probably think that sounds a little out there and forceful, but it isn’t unless you make it that way. How can I not share the incredible way God has worked and is working in my life, in my heart? How can I keep the most precious thing in my life to myself? I wish everyone could understand that God is the strength, love and redemption so many are desperately seeking in their lives. I wish people could understand it is so much more than a religion, or an opinion or a system. I wish people could understand it is not something just aimlessly believed, but that it is a living relationship. I can’t keep His truth all to myself.

A bunch of us went out and a lot of us had some really good conversations with people that really touched the hearts of some. We had a debriefing in which we talked about our 2 hour experience on the streets of Timaru. Some of us talked about the people we encountered who shared their doubts about God, their past hurtful encounters with other Christians and mix-matched beliefs regarding who Jesus truly was. A lot of us also talked about the people who just would dismiss you at the first note of God. Some people just run away from it at all costs, which can be understandable depending on their experiences. I was paired up with Adam and we pretty much got rejected a lot haha, but we didn’t really take it personally. They aren’t rejecting us really, they are rejecting God. Usually I feel like I would take something like that personally, but I feel like God enabled me in such a way that I did not. I feel like overall from the experience I learned to be more bold, people may reject you, but hey that’s to be expected as a Christian for the Bible itself makes this quite known to us.

Yet I find it so hard to understand how some refuse to acknowledge or search for God. If this is all there is in this life truly then how pitiful an existence is this? That one day you will perish, you remain non-existent forever and if you will be extremely lucky if someone 100 years after you’ve died might know who you were. If we don’t have God, we truly have nothing.

Fortunately God isn’t simply wishful thinking.