Tulip Time Outreach 2019

Tony Ramsek sharing the gospel

 Once again, Tulip Time in Pella, Iowa May 2 - 4 was a huge success, and our numbers more than doubled from last year. With more evangelists on the streets, we were able to cover more ground and get alot more done.

Jon Niefert, who organized the event, provided us all with tracts that he created specifically for Tulip Time. With the addition to the tracts from last year, he also created a new tract which elaborated on how Pella got its name from the original city in the Holy Land.

Each morning was started with amazing teaching from Tony Ramsek of Answers in Genesis and Allen Atzbi of  Living Waters Ministries.  Their motivation, encouragement and tactics were invaluable along with a ton of free tracts, dvd's, and booklets for us to use. Their teaching and stories inspired us to get out there and share our faith. As they hit the streets they took others with them who were either new to evangelism or wanting to try different approaches.

Tony Didlo sharing Christ with
some teens

My mentor, Tony Didlo and I had a blast working together for most of the time spent. We joked around alot, and was like in the early stages of our ministry efforts when I first got saved. He is really challenging to work with because he tends to see witnessing opportunities before I do. One of my tactics on how to conquer fear is to "just do it". I know that I have less than 2 minutes after getting out of the car to give a person a tract, or I will start to feel the fear. Hesitation to fear is like wood to a fire. Literally, the first person I see, no matter who it is, has to get a tract. This sets the tone for the rest of the outreach, and is very important. The bad thing working with my mentor, Tony, is that he tends to see those opportunities before I do. I need to make myself ready, with tracts in hand before I even get out of the car.

As like last year, it was slow getting started. Since I am an introvert, I do not like crowds. They really drain my energy, and I get tired very easily. Because of this I want my conversations to be meaningful, so I opt for more one-on-one's than just passing out tracts. But this does not excuse me from sharing the gospel. I need to put my body into subjection, and force myself to overcome any and all obstacles to get the gospel to a lost world. One way I like to approach the situations and get me talking is to look for people who are trying to take selfies and are struggling trying to get the picture just right. They need help, and I am just the man for the job.

Jon Niefert, our team leader presenting the gospel

When I see a couple or group struggling, or I see someone in a group taking the pictures of others in the group, I will ask, "Would you all like a picture together?" Most of the time they are extremely thankful and start handing over their phones. The only times I get rejections is if they are worried about their phone, in which I will joke and say something like, "I'm big and slow. I think you could catch me pretty easily." It's even funnier when I say it to a group of elderly ladies and one is on crutches. I've gotten some pretty good laughs with that. I try to get a few good shots. Humor is great. Sometimes I walk closer as I'm zooming in and get really close to one person. As everyone laughs I'll ask if they are new to the neighborhood, or from around here hand them tract or a gospel of John and tell them it's a gift. Many times it leads into spiritual things, or they ask questions about the area like restaurants, nightlife, etc. If they don't stick around to talk, or have somewhere else to go, I don't push it. You not only shared the gospel, but was friendly, helpful, and it gets you talking to strangers. The friendlier you are, the more apt they are to read the material you gave them. The best part is that if you are at an event like Tulip Time, other people see what you are doing and want their picture taken as well, which opens up more conversations!

As the time went on it got easier, and I was able to have multiple conversations with other people. Prayer is important when you are looking for those individuals to talk to. There were times when I got "stiff-armed" alot, so I moved to a different area, or tried other approaches. Sometimes the best tactic is just sitting down somewhere and let the "fish" come to you. Just leave your line in the water and wait in the boat. The food court is a great way to sit with strangers, especially when it's very busy and nowhere to sit. Conversations need to take place or it's super awkward when your eating looking at each other and not saying anything. 

The weekend ended very well and everyone in the team was able to have several conversations. Coming to Pella is a great way to share the gospel with complete strangers. The training provided in the mornings really help inspire us to go out and give it our best. If you are wanting to get some training in evangelism, or want to find people in the Des Moines area to go with, don't hesitate to contact us. We would love to help.

Pella Tulip Time 2018

Three weeks ago, May 1st through 3rd was the 2018 Pella Tulip Time Festival in Pella, Iowa. It was an awesome event passing out tracts and witnessing to the locals, and people that traveled far to attend this annual gathering. This year was quite different and with Jon Niefert, our fearless Captain and new friend at the helm, he made it a year we will not forget.

Jon did an impressive job not only supplying the tracts, but also writing, designing, and printing tracts specific to the Pella Tulip Time Festival. One in particular talked about the founding of the town and the first church which was started by persecuted Christians from Holland seeking refuge in the new world. We also had a plethora of other tools to use like million dollar bills, DVD's, booklets, and CD's to share Christ with the people of Pella.

Our Guests and Friends

But Jon didn't stop there! He invited some very special guests to teach at the start of each day and give lessons on how to witness and share our faith. Not only did they speak, but they also went out with us at the festival to share Christ along side us, which was really awesome.

Tony Ramsek  

Tony has worked for Answers In Genesis since 1999 and leads numerous gospel outreaches for the ministry. This includes the annual evangelism outreach to the NEA convention for public school teachers. He is also the Information Technology (IT) Manager for the ministry. It is Tony's heart's desire to exalt Christ, equip the saints, and evangelize the lost. He also brought with him an assistant, Brandon Bailey to aid in the gospel efforts and was a key figure in helping us reach the lost at Pella. 

Allen Atzbi 

Allen in the General Manager at Living Waters as well as the Director of the Ambassador's Academy. He holds a Master of Theology Degree from International Seminary and served as a Youth Pastor for a decade. Allen has trained churches in evangelism and led weekly street witnessing teams for years.

Grace Mally

Grace is the Author of the book, Will Our Generation Speak? A Call To Be Bold with the Gospel, and is the Co-Author to Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. Her and her family have a ministry called, Tomorrow's Forefathers, which equips families to be strong in the Lord. Grace also enjoys arranging witnessing events in her home town, which has led to a ministry called, Bright Lights, focusng on encouaging young girls to be radiant in godliness, holiness, and their testimony. She also gave her newest book out to us that attended the training and witnessing event.

On The Streets

Without going into specifics, it was a fantastic couple of days. After the teaching every day we paired into teams of two and hit the streets to share Christ with people at the festival. We also were out passing out tracts to those who waited for the morning and afternoon parades. Since Pella was founded by persecuted Christians, you would think that it would be a huge waste of time to share with those who were possibly Christians. But we ran into MANY people from all over surrounding states to come and enjoy the day. I personally witnessed to those from Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and even Illinois.

We all carried tracts that Jon had specifically made for the event, and they were great tools to help start conversations. The crazy thing is that we gave out so much, that most of us were overlapping each other and offering tracts to the same persons.

While I was coming back from lunch, I ran into a Latter Day Saint (LDS) Mormon family who was there wearing badges.  I didn't know they were LDS until I gave them one of the Pella informational tracts and saw the name tag. I asked the older gentleman, "So what is the best thing about being an LDS Mormon? I have been studying it for years and was curious to what you thought." We had a nice long talk about grace, forgiveness of sin, and how no matter how many works they do, they will never be worthy enough to attain heaven on their own. We exchanged info and I was able to give them all a Joseph Smith million dollar bill I had purchased from a Utah ministry when I went to Utah for the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant. They agreed to read the tract if I agreed to watch one a video by one of their BYU Professors about grace. I kept my end of the bargain, but pray they keep theirs.

One of the best things about this trip was meeting new Evangelists, talking shop with them, and sharing ideas on reaching the lost for Christ. We talked to each other in our two-by-two pair-ups, and then when we got together at lunch and during the parades, we shared our testimonies in larger groups on how the Lord opened our hearts. The fellowship between us all was amazing and how we worked together even through our different backgrounds, denominations, and styles.

Even though I am an introvert, and don't like the crowds, I know that my unique gifts are required elsewhere, and not excusing me either to do extroverted evangelism like this. I would much rather do one on ones. But in reality, we all need to pass out tracts and open those doors so that we can. The entire event went well, and by the end all our energy was spent on gardening, tilling, and planting those seeds of the gospel.