Head-dibs

What a wonderful day!  35,000 people were expected downtown last Saturday and a couple thousand "plus" had an opportunity to hear or read the gospel through tracts, open air preaching and one-on-one conversations.  Here is just one video sample of the first two hours (or so) of the day:

We had an incredible day during the St. Pat's in Five Points Festival. The parade started at 10:00 and a few hundred gospel tracts were distributed. The pre-parade crowd heard some open air preaching on God's love, then we went to the park for some one-on-one conversation. After more open air preaching at another gate, we headed back to the main gate where over 600 gospel tracts were distributed in less than half an hour. Here are some videos of the day:

"What does the gospel say about homosexuals?" I was just finishing a conversation with a doctor at the Fountain in Five Points when I noticed two young ladies and a young man walking up to the Fountain. Though I was shaking hands and closing off my conversation with the doctor, I could not take my eyes off the girls and the guy for some reason, and one girl would not take her eyes off me. They sat down very close to us and I could almost feel a gravitational pull toward them. I pulled out three Million Dollar Bill tracts from my pocket and offered them to the girls and the guy. One girl only looked at it and would not take it. She told me so. The other girl took one, and so did the guy. Just as sure as I felt drawn toward them, I quickly felt pushed away. I told them to read the back because there was an important message they should pay close attention to and I sort of drifted back toward the street where I met another young man who stopped to talk when I offered him a Milli...

Last night was a different night for us in Five Points. Tim and I went downtown early to see what night life is like earlier in the evening. We usually meet the later crowd. We made our way to Starbucks, where Bill sat playing chess with friend. Bill is the most unique person I've ever met. The last time we talked was nearly a year ago, and not only was it the strangest conversation I've ever had (I could not even BEGIN to reconstruct it much less explain it), but his beard and his baseball hat reminded me quickly who he was. When we walked through the door, he turned to see who was coming through the door and he greeted me as if we met yesterday. After exchanging some small talk, I told him, "Thank you for your kindness in remembering me." "Oh," he said, "It's not so much that I remember you, but it's easy to tell you are a Christian." "How so?" I wondered. "Bulging pockets. You give yourself away, carrying all that ...

I stood near the fountain in Five Points watching the crowd drunkenly sway to the band playing though Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." Joe and Tim and I were milling around, trying to talk to people who were a little less drunk in order to give them the good news of God's love through the cross. While I had a number of good tracts, Joe had a pocket full of Trick or Treat Million Dollar Bills--I took a few from him and went conversation-hunting. No sooner had I gotten the tracts in my hand, I saw a young lady approach the fountain from one of the side streets, admiring the work of the pumpkin-carvers who left their creations along the fountain wall. I approached, held out the Trick or Treat Million Dollar Bill to her. "Did you get one of these?" I asked as she lit her cigarette. "Oh, cool!" she said, taking it from me. "Happy Halloween!" I wished her, as she admired the bill, folded it and stuck it in her pocket. The bandana around he...

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"--because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. (Acts 17:16-18)

Wednesday of last week began a new turn of events in the lives of the Wilson family. Wednesday night my mother fell and broke her knee-cap in two. She was unable to leave the emergency room due to her overall weak upper body, high blood sugar and high blood pressure, so she was admitted to the hospital and await surgery, which occurred on Friday. A long stay over the weekend ended with her being transferred to an assisted living facility where she will now stay for what seems to be permanently. I was anticipating getting back into a "normal" routine, so we had Bible study and prayer on Saturday in preparation for an evening in Five Points. As soon as we got downtown, my cell phone rang with a call that delivered me back to the hospital where my wife and I stayed until 2:30 a.m. with my mother--her blood sugar was sky-high again. I did not make our evangelism outing, but Tim and Joe went anyway. What follows is Tim's report--since he wrote it, he gave me permission to post...

This last Saturday, we were able to explore a different avenue of ministry--the Calvary Chapel Lexington team went to Five Points! There was scheduled a "festival" in Five Points, but it was not well attended, as other events in Five Points usually are. The truth of the matter was that it was an event to bring people down to the local shops, a "savings event." Shops along the 600 block had "games" along the sidewalk, to draw people in from the malls and back into the downtown area. I expected at least a small crowd, but hardly anyone came downtown. The guy in the dunking booty really got off fairly easy. Many of the shops are not your standard fare--probably because the Five Points area is the University of South Carolina's "party central." Beside an overabundance of sleazy bars, there are a few specialty shops. Among the few traditional clothing stores one can find a bakery that specializes in making dog treats, a cigar and wine store, and a...

This is the fountain at Five Points. These are the bikers who got Gospels and tracts and heard the good news at the Fountain at Five Points. These are the team-members who pray and give Gospels and tracts and share the good news at the Fountain in Five Points. This is the team with the Fountain of Life who go with Gospels and tracts to share the good news with people at the Fountain in Five Points.

Here are a few videos I took of St. Pat's in Five Points in downtown Columbia, South Carolina: Video #1 Video #2 Video #3 Video #4 Video #5

A thought woke me in my sleeping hours last night. The Five Points Association, Inc . of Columbia, SC is anticipating 40,000 people to party this weekend in at the St. Pat’s in Five Points festival (10,000 more than last year). There are approximately 661 places of worship in Columbia alone (not counting Lexington or West Columbia.) Assuming that at least 450 of those places of worship are evangelical, with a combined membership average of 300 (I’m really shooting in the dark here), that represents 135,000 people. If each one of those 135,000 people told at least one person in Five Points about Jesus, they could still reach another 2 people NOT at the party before the day was over . . .

The streets of Five Points in downtown Columbia, S.C. will be covered in all things green for the annual "St. Pat's in Five Points" festival on Saturday, March 15, 2008. This means that hundreds of people will be gathering to hear the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ! Just look at what they already did to the Fountain! Anyone with a burden for this lost and dying world interested in an evangelistic outreach, get in touch with me soon so we can organize. St. Patrick's Day Evangelism Surveys are here for the printing if you are in to doing your own thing. Don't worry. I'll have the rest of yesterday's blog posted later.

You really want to watch the video down below . . . but first, some context: Spring Break began Friday, and our evangelism team (being College and Seminary students of Columbia International University) already scattered to the far reaches of wherever-it-is-they-come-from. I’ve been burdened all week for meeting one specific person (some day I would like to devote one entire blog to him) and really did not want to miss going down, even without the team. So my lovely wife, Leslie, accompanied me to the green fountain of Five Points. We made our way to Starbucks for coffee where I spied this older man standing at the counter, doing nothing, actually. I greeted him, and noticing the small bags hanging off his shoulder, thought him to be an out-of-town visitor. Not only was he from out of town, but since he left the Navy (where he’d was “bitten by the travel-bug”) he spent the last 50 years traveling the world. He listed a recent visit to China, Tibet and a few South American countries whe...

“ One of the two who heard John and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is, being translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus . " (John 1:40-42) I’ve already related here one conversation with three rather rebellious young ladies. That is how my portion of our ministry ended last Friday night, a far cry from where it began. And here's how it began. We got to the Fountain in Five Points a little late (but right on time on God’s clock). I have been building a small “library” of material to give away, items that cover issues people bring up in conversations. I would like to either send people off with something to read about a matter that concerns them, or attract people by the material. When we get to the Fountain, I arrange my stuff on the wall with some Open Air material as well. When we got set up, there was not much foot traffic, so some team members were lo ok...

Of course the title is a pun on Dr. Seuss’ famous “Horton Hears a Who,” and because the movie is coming out this summer is of no consequence. I met someone Friday night who would rather hold to fairy tales than embrace the true and living God. [Derek, you will like this one] Toward the end of our evening in Five Points (I will relate other conversations later) I found three young ladies sitting on the back side of the fountain. I noticed they had been there a while, as if they were waiting on someone, but they never moved. I thought I would go ahead and see what would come of an evangelistic conversation. I never thought things would turn out they way the did. When I look back on the event, I keep seeing that scene from the 1963 Ray Harryhausen movie, “Jason and the Argonauts” where the harpies swoop down on the old man to steal his food . . . the screeching and the clawing . . . I approached the girls with a couple of magic tricks that would serve for my springboard, so I asked (to pr...

Here are some reports of the greatness of God! Debriefing report #1 Debriefing report #2 Debriefing report #3 Debriefing report #4 Debriefing report #5

Bear with me as I learn to use my new tool--I CAN TAKE VIDEO NOW! Here are some vids from the other night (sorry they are so dark--they do not look that way on other players). At least you are able to get a small taste of what happens at Five Points: Report on an evangelism encounter: A Praise report!

How wonderful it was to return to the street after missing a couple of weeks (one, to illness and another to Thanksgiving). Nick was not able to lead the team, so we met and prayed about my stepping in for the week. Our training time started off rather small, but by prayer and worship time, we had a dozen people. One change we have enjoyed in our training time is that, instead of watching a video or taking in yet another lesson, we’ve been walking our way through the book of Acts. When we started a few weeks ago, we were listening to chapters 1-4 being read in the ESV. The next week we listed to chapters 5-8. This week we did not have the CD, but why not do it the old way? We read chapters 9-12 out loud together then shared some thoughts as we took in the sounds and sights of God’s Spirit at work in the early church. What a wonderful reminder that this is not our work, but His work being done through obedient servants. When we go down to Five Points, the people there are not exactly lo...

In case you were wondering what happened to the “Five Points Fridays” posts, I have a good explanation. Two weeks ago I did not go out because I had stayed up all night the night before and was just too plain tired to go down to Five Points after working all day. A small team went regardless, and we praise the LORD for all He is doing. This reminds me. When I post these reports, I can only best tell the stories I am directly connected with. While there are as many as 20 team-members who go out doing evangelism, I cannot report everyone’s story. They are strongly encouraged to do their own journaling and/or blogging, but what I give you here is just a small slice of what God is doing. Last weeks “Five Points Fridays” post simply never got written, 'till now. It was clear and very cold. We left CIU with about 13 people, but so many more showed up I think I remember counting almost 24 people total. Since it was so cold it was hard to get people to stop and talk, so my team stayed at S...

“We are not here to play, to dream, to drift; we have hard work to do, and loads to lift. Shun not the struggle; face it—’tis God’s gift.” (Maltbie D. Babcock) “Followers of Christ are also His soldiers—called to do battle with the forces of Satan and evil. Victories are never won while resting in the barracks.” [ 1] Last Friday we had a Gideon’s Army go down to Five Points, 12 as opposed to the usual 20 or so. I want to highlight the fact that what I report here are primarily conversations and experiences I have with people. I cannot report for or on behalf of the entire group—I wish I could, but can’t. So you just get one set of stories out of a team’s worth. This was a strange week. First, it was the last Friday before the end of the State Fair, so many people were there instead of at party-central. This includes those who normally go down evangelistic purposes. Some of our team had volunteered to work the WMHK booth, so they were at the Fair doing face-painting and sharing the go...