Jeremiah Cry and NCFIC evangelism conference.

Hi everyone.
This past week our family traveled to North Carolina for the evangelism conference: The Aggressive Power of the Christian Church, put on by Jeremiah Cry Ministries and The National Center for Family Integrated Churches.(NCFIC). The conference speakers were Scott Brown, Eric Ogea, Jeff Rose, Dave Griffin, Stephen Hopkins, Paul Carrington, and Jason Dohm.

On our way down to North Carolina our van spit out a spark plug. We were in Maryland when it happened and we made it to a hotel where they gave us the name of a car repair shop which we went to. In trying to fix the van we got a socket stuck in it. The nice thing about getting stuck there was it made the noise from the missing spark plug stop. We made it to the car repair shop in the van and they said that while we may get terrible gas mileage it was safe to drive so we got back on the road and made our way to North Carolina once again. Later the socket fell out of where it had been and Daddy could not put it back in. We were still able to drive the van though. God protected us and we made it to North Carolina safely even though our van was making loud noises. When we got there people had already called the car repair shop in North Carolina for us and were finding ways for us to get a vehicle to drive while our car was in the shop. The people at Hope Baptist Church were very generous and it was amazing to see the body of Christ help us so much in everything from housing to meals to vehicles. We were not the only one with car problems though. Stephen Hopkins had his bus break down and it took 10 hours to repair it. By the grace of God they were still able to make the trip so that Mr. Hopkins could speak.

Jeff Rose made it to speak at the conference although he had the flu and was not feeling well. There were jokes about him being like Lazarus raised from the dead. He felt terrible but he was able to preach every time he had been planned to speak and he even made it out to do evangelism on the street Saturday night. Steve Hopkins was also sick and Dave Griffin had also been sick. But by God's grace they all made it through their sicknesses and were able to preach. As Dave Griffin said, "it goes to show what frail men we are". Why did God choose us to be His servants except that He may show His awesome power through men who are helpless without Him. We were dead in our trespasses and sins but God showed us His great mercy may we glorify Him with our lives!

The conference was not focused on methods of evangelism but instead on the Gospel which is the reason for evangelism. We were commanded to preach Christ and Him crucified.The only reason for us to go out into the world is because of the Gospel. If we are well rooted in that and know how to defend it against opposition and have been transformed by the power of God, what can we do except to share that message with others? The more we realize how much Christ did for us the more we should want to go out and share that message with others. We do not need "cool" things to draw people in. What we need is more men who are faithful to bring the Gospel to the people in the open square. People need to hear the truth and we as Christians have been shown the truth of God. When people get out and start sharing the Gospel with the world amazing things happen. God is at work in His people and the church has an aggressive power. When God works hearts are changed and lives are transformed and no force of hell can stop His work.

One thing that Stephen Hopkins pointed out that I found interesting was in Genesis chapter one. God says that the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters and then God said let there be light and there was light. Mr. Hopkins was showing how this applies to Salvation. The Spirit of God works in your life and then God says let there be light, the true light being Jesus Christ and that is how people are saved. Yet another way how the entire Bible points ultimately to Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament Jesus Christ is concealed and in the New Testament Jesus Christ is revealed.

Jeff Rose was talking about how we must follow the heart of Christ our King. God has saved us and He has given us a new heart that is on fire for His Gospel, His kingdom and His glory. We m
ust be willing to take His Gospel behind enemy lines. The enemy lines are wherever the Kingdom of God challenges the darkness of this world. Are we willing to take the Gospel to the world who are at enmity with God?

Dave Griffin talked about the treasure that we have in jars of clay and how we focus on the frail jars of clay instead of the glorious treasure that is enclosed in them. We can be prideful and think that we are great but the truth is without Christ we were dead and even now the only reason we are alive is because of what Christ did and not by any works of our own. We are the jars of clay that are frail and weak, helpless by ourselves. God chose to save us because of His great mercy and He is the great treasure that is now inside us. We must not focus on ourselves but instead on Christ who is the glorious treasure that has been revealed to us, the undeserving wretches upon whom God chose to show His mercy. May we continue to focus on Christ and seek to glorify Him in our lives. Let us remember that we are are nothing but Christ is everything!

On Saturday night Daddy, Naomi and I went to Raleigh with about 30 other people to do some street evangelism. After just a little while it started down pouring where we were. We got to talk to a few people but we went to the "sobriety-optional" section of town and after a while Daddy was not feeling well so we ended up leaving after about 2 hours. Steve Hopkins went to the bus station and was preaching there. Mr. Hopkins amp is really big. It is a maybe 100 watt amp, hooked up to a bull horn with a wireless microphone. It is really nice and is a great tool to make it so that more people can hear the preaching. In Portland at the abortion mill we do not use amplification but we have a multiple story building in front of us and behind us so it works great to spread the preachers voice.

On Sunday we finally got to meet Patte Smith from the movie "Babies Are Murdered Here" Patte came to church with us on Sunday and it was great to finally get to meet her in person. While we have talked to her on the internet it is not the same as actually being able to sit down and talk face to face. I hope it will not be to long before we get to see her and her husband Scott again. Scott ministers the Gospel with School Master Ministries.

On our way back to Maine we stopped in Washington D.C. and spent a lot of the day at the zoo. We drove around and looked at some places and while we did not stop to preach our van is great at spreading the Gospel message to many people. We have signs on 4 of the windows and we use markers to put signs on the other windows.  If anyone is interested in getting signs for their vehicles Watchman Gospel Signs sells signs that take about 10 minuets to put on and they are only about 10 dollars a piece. If you want temporary signs that are easy to take on and off chalk markers work great. Having signs on the van is great and often serves as a conversation starter.

Prayer 
We will, Lord willing, be at the abortion mill tomorrow to plead for life and most importantly to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I may even get a few pictures this week that I can post.

Please be in prayer for our entire group and for everyone else around the country and around the world who will be out proclaiming Christ and His Gospel.

Patte Smith may be out in North Carolina. Please pray for safety and that the Gospel would be proclaimed unashamedly and with great boldness and passion.

Pray that God would grant people repentance and faith in His Son Jesus Christ who alone is able to save. Pray also that babies would be saved.

Please be praying for Paul Washer as he had a heart attack on Monday night. The paramedics lost him 3 times on the way to the hospital but were able to get him back and he is now in stable condition. Pray for him and his wife and 4 children that they would be comforted in this time. Also that God would spare brother Washer's life. That the family would be drawn closer to God and to each other and that this would serve to strengthen their faith in Christ.

4th of July outreach
If anyone is interested joining us for a outreach on the 4th of July we are considering putting together a float for our local parade and there will most likely be preaching and passing out tracts. Our town is about 2,300 people but on the 4th of July we can have 3-7,000 people on an average year with up to 10,000 people some years. If anyone in our area is interested we would greatly appreciate your presence. We could do the outreach by ourselves but I love the fellowship that you have with other Christians while doing evangelism.

With love in the Lord,
Virginia.