The Gospel & the Calendar

December 23, 2022

As we close out 2022, I'm thankful for the opportunities we have to proclaim the gospel and point people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in Marshalltown, we've organized a lot of gospel outreach around the calendar from September through January of the new year. We have:

• Octemberfest (late September)
• Halloween (here the trick-or-treating is always on October 31st)
• The Holiday Stroll (Saturday before Thanksgiving)
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas & New Years

Set up on Main Street with gospel tract candy bags

Close up-my pumpkins

I guess my approach has been to take advantage of the culture and redeem some of these as a way to get out the word of God. Halloween is a blatantly pagan holiday that our culture has taken and turned into a popular thrills & chills, dress up & candy giving & receiving event. I pray against the occult activity and demonic overtones while reaching out to my neighbors with the love of God and the gospel of Jesus. As you can see from the pictures, we don't hide our faith in Jesus: people know "what's up" when they come by.

Some new candy cane tracts this year

It's not for everyone. We have different skills and interests, and I'm good with all believers in Jesus using whatever creative way they can think of to reach the lost. We should encourage people to go for it & try ideas to evangelize while we have the strength, health, energy, and opportunity to do so. 

Mary & Sharon giving out hot chocolate and gospel tracts
inside the bookstore.

Frank & Bill: our fellow workers in Christ at The Holiday Stoll,
braving the cold out in front of the bookstore.

By the way, most of the Christmas holiday is pagan as well. I mean, it just is. Very little is organized around the reality that God fulfilled His promise in Genesis chapter 3 regarding the "seed of the woman", the promised Deliverer who would save us from our sins. I pray against the commercialism and greed, the misplaced hopes that possessions will make us happy, etc. I get it. But I will wish people a Merry Christmas while giving them a holiday-themed gospel tract, knowing that these little missionaries can get into their homes and speak to them about the things of Jesus when I cannot. "Give them the Reason for the Season."

12/21/22 downtown Marshalltown Iowa
looking west on Main Street

Some years things work out better than others. In the past we had a big group over for the Octemberfest outreach, but the last couple of years it's been just me and my light-up witnessing cross. The last 2 years we've had very mild weather for The Holiday Stroll, but this year is was 17 degrees without the wind chill. Most years I can get out on the corner by Walmart with witnessing crosses and free Bibles heading up to Christmas Eve, but right now is it -6 degrees Fahrenheit and feels like -30 with the wind chill, so no... not happening this year. That's okay. We plan and prepare and hope and then turn it over to our Almighty God for whatever He allows. And for whatever that is, we thank Him.

Thank you, Abba Father, for every opportunity and every soul we have tried to reach & bless with the hope we have in Jesus Christ. You are good, and we pray for those we've encountered in 2022 that they might come to know Jesus for who He is, the Savior of all who'll trust in Him. Amen.

Gospel Outreach on Halloween

We are praising God for the 300 gospel tract-candy bags that were handed out to trick-or-treaters on Thursday evening. As you can see from the snow in the picture below, it was cold this year, and that kept some folks from coming out, opting for indoor activities.

Set Up and Ready To Go!

So I got out my insulated Carhartt's and my old felt-pack boots, and set up at our "borrowed" home at 1108 Main Street. Basically, the same setup as last year, with the light-up "JESUS SAVES" witnessing cross that really stood out as the sun went down.

"One Way"

It was cold, but clear; the wind died down and it really wasn't that bad...I was colder 2 years ago when we tried this at our house, and I was sitting inside our garage.

 Please pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes, hearts, and minds of the children, parents, grandparents...whoever might get their hands on one of the gospel tracts we placed in the candy bags. We were not celebrating Halloween, after all, but rather using it as a way to get the gospel into the hands and homes of our neighbors here in Marshalltown.

Notes (above) put in the bags (below)

I personally don't believe God saves people against their will, and our job is not to save them, but to deliver the truth of the gospel and Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit's job is to bring conviction of sin and the need for the Savior, and then it is the lost person's job to either receive or reject the Savior. 

So pray that God would do everything possible to bring understanding of the gospel message, that they would see their need and see Jesus Christ as the Savior God sent into the world for sinful man;  that they would "think again" (repent) and turn to God for the forgiveness of their sins by trusting in Jesus alone as their Savior.

Also, pray for any believers who may get one of these tracts:

• That they would be encouraged in their walk with the Lord
• That they would live boldly for him, reaching out to the lost around them, rich in good works, and telling everyone about Jesus Christ and the gospel.

Looking east down Main Street-part of our mission field

Thank you to my church family at Solid Rock Bible Church for helping with getting the gospel tracts, candy, and helping make up some gospel tract-candy bags. A big thank you to Mary, who helped fill many of these bags starting back in September! Thanks also for praying for the people who live here in Marshalltown.

Solid Rock Bible Church family helping to make the gospel tract-candy bags

Maranatha!
Paul

By All Means

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ 24 years ago changed my perspective on a lot of things. One of them was the holiday of Halloween. The much anticipated & celebrated holiday was put into new focus, as I understood the dark history and ongoing relationship with pagan and the occult, especially from brothers and sisters in Christ who came out of heavy occult lifestyles. The day is a high sabbath for practicing witches, so the darkness is real, and present, and masked under the veneer of dressing up in costumes and going around in the evening asking for candy from the neighbors.


Because of this, I really wanted nothing to do with Halloween, and especially wanted to protect my children from its influence. So, on Halloween we kept the porch light off, the curtains closed, and prayed for the safety of all the children and adults who were out celebrating. 

My first attempt-October 31, 2017

My kids are grown up now and off living their lives. Halloween remains a dark holiday, but I have decided to redeem it for the purposed of getting the gospel message into the hands of children in my community (and their families). Two years ago, I got some Halloween-themed gospel tracts, put them in snack bags with candy, and waited for trick-or-treaters. Problem was, almost no one came. The street was empty. I had one car drive up and 2-3 kids ran up for candy, and that was it.

View of Main Street 2018

 A co-worker who lives on Main Street in Marshalltown told me that they had a ton of kids come by on Halloween, and suggested I set up at his neighbor's house that was for sale and currently unoccupied. These people happened to know about our little public ministry, and were excited to let us give out gospel tracts at their place. So, on October 31, 2018, I got home from work, got my stuff together and got set up just in time (see pictures right & below). And, my "set up" included my light-up "JESUS SAVES" cross!

My second attempt - October 31st, 2018

Mary & I had around 300 gospel tract candy bags prepared, but I ran out in around 45 minutes. And there were still hundreds of kids walking up and down Main Street! I had to quickly tear down, and as I drove home past all these children and parents still out and about, I thought, "Next year, we could do 1000 tract candy bags!"

And so as we rolled into 2019, I mentioned to my Pastor at Solid Rock Bible Church that we could reach a lot more of these kids, but that we needed to buy more tracts, more candy, and most important, we needed a place on Main Street to set up, since the house we used in 2018 was up for sale. When it sold, we started praying for a new location. I would drive to work down Main Street and when I pulled onto that street I would lift up this little prayer: "Oh Father, give us a place to give out gospel tracts this year!" 

150 gospel tract-candy bags ready to go!

 God has answered that prayer: my co-worker got into a conversation with the new owner of the home we used last year, and she was open to the idea of letting us use it again this year. I stopped by the other day to ask her directly, explaining what we did last year, and she gave us permission. With praise to the Lord, we've started on our goal of making 1000 gospel tract-candy bags. 

I still lift up prayer for protection from the adversary, for people out celebrating Halloween. And now, we also pray that God would use these gospel tract-candy bags to point children, their parents, and their families to the Jesus Christ: that they would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, and be given the gift of eternal life. Please join with us, and not for us only, but for many other Christians who are reaching out to the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ.