Valley Junction Farmers Market Update

Thursday night Tony, Joe, Gary and I went to the Valley Junction Farmers Market inspecting the fruit of those who claim to be Christian and those who needed to hear the gospel.  It was a pretty good night.  Joe and I teamed with Gary and Tony in the other group. 

When walking through the market it’s always hard to find people sitting around by themselves away from the music and crowds.  People are constantly on the move and in groups.  There are spots either side of the alleyways where there are benches to sit and talk with people.  Once in a while you can find people outside the market who want to get away for a little bit. 

It was a slow night at first, and after some initial contacts that didn’t go as planned, Joe and I were getting a bit discouraged.  We the proceeded to one of the alleyways were we found three Roman Catholic brothers from 12 to 16 years old.  I concentrated my focus on the oldest boy, who was pretty open to what I had to say.  I asked him what his percentages were in getting to heaven, to which he said 70%.  About the 30% looking at the 10 commandments, he knew he was guilty of breaking God’s law.  He didn’t seem concerned because he felt like his sins weren’t deserving of punishment.  While his brothers were listening we told him that the level of punishment increases when the sin is against someone of higher authority.  If you lie to your sister, it’s not as bad as lying to your mother, which she would ground you for a day or two.  Then again lying to a judge is a crime and is punishable by jail and fines.  But since God created the heavens, earth, everything we see (and don’t see), and is the ruler of all, the crime or sin is way more serious, and deserves the greatest punishment because there is no one greater than God.   Plus if God were to reward those with heaven for eternity, He should also punish others for eternity.  With that I think he started to understand.  We gave them the Biggest Question DVD’s and gospel of John to start them in bible reading. 

Tony and Gary had a great night too speaking to a group of young ladies about the gospel.  They said how people got into heaven was by good works and since they were good people.  After talking with them for several minutes, showing their sin using the 10 commandments as the mirror, they understood their sin, and the bad news.  But when showing them their sickness, they begged for the cure and REALLY wanted the gospel.  All the ladies said they were Christians all their lives and never heard anything like what Tony shared.  They all took home the Biggest Question DVD and said they were going to start reading the bible more carefully. 

It was a great night.  My encouragement comes from stories like these, warning those of what will come if they don’t repent of their sin and put their trust in Christ alone.  Seeing the eyes awaken brings joy, and it’s that joy that makes all the difficult things that happen in sharing our faith seem trite in comparison.  The Valley Junction Farmers Market will be going on all summer Thursday nights from 4-8pm with food, music, and evangelism opportunities.