Hey Fam! I hope you’ve had a great week!
Last week, although we got hit with some weird weather, God still moved each night!
On Friday, I was with my son celebrating his 16th birthday, so Sofiya, Mike and the team got there to set up before me. When they got there, they were met with intense rain for over 30 minutes. By the time I got there, they had just gotten everything set up, and while we were praying, it started to sprinkle again! Thankfully though it was a short sprinkle, and afterwards the rain held off for the rest of the night.
Because of the rain, the crowds were small, but a good number of people still heard the gospel. Around 9, I was thinking we should wind things down and then up walks this couple. The woman came right up to us at the gift table, and as were talking, she told us that she had just taken a days long bus trip down here from Chicago and that she was not in a good place. She told us she was raised catholic but has been far away from God. She said that on the bus trip though, she had a moment where she was really afraid for her life and she prayed and asked God for help. Shortly after, her prayer was answered, and she said that was a huge sign to her. Seeing us just days later let her know that God was trying to reach her.
As we prayed for her, she had a powerful encounter with the Lord and was crying. I feel like it was a real turning point for her. We later ministered to her boyfriend, who was stronger in the faith, but still in need of a touch from the Lord. We talked to them for close to an hour and they both kept saying that it meant so much to them. Gotta love moments like that! Here’s a picture of them- Jesse and Tommy.
Big thanks to Amber, Cheryl, Dan, Diana, Jeff, Mike M and Thom for coming out and for persevering through the rain!
On Saturday, there was rain, thunder, and lightning all around the area so the crowds at Riverwalk were pretty slim. Thankfully though, we didn’t get rained on, so we were able to stay for the entire time. One really cool moment was when an 8-year-old girl came over to the gift table and asked Debbie what we were doing. As Debbie explained, she also shared the gospel with the girl and discovered that she had never received Jesus before. Debbie asked her if she wanted to “ask Jesus into her heart” and she did. When she got done praying the little girl even told Debbie “I can feel Him! He’s inside me now!”
How cool is that!?
Later, a woman came up and she put a lawn chair down and was listening to the worship. She was one of the only ones in the entire park at the time, so she really stood out. I went over and talked to her, and it turns out she works on the shaved ice truck in the parking lot, and she has heard us several times. She said she just recently got released from jail and was on probation, with an ankle bracelet and everything. She said that since she got out, she wanted to get closer to God by going to church, but her probation only allows her to go to work and nowhere else. She was so happy that we had been coming out to the park because she said it was like we brought church to her! What a cool way for God to answer her prayer!
Here’s one video of the worship. You can see the lady in the video and virtually nobody else! LOL!
Big thanks to April, Cheryl, Chuck, Dan, Debbie, Jackson, Lance, Paul, Daniel and Abagail, and Shirley for coming out despite the weather threats. And BIG thanks to Jesus for keeping us dry that night!
Unlike Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s weather was AMAZING. There were SO many people at the beach too, it was incredible. We had a smaller team than usual because of Mother’s Day, but we still saw some amazing moves of the Spirit.
In the very beginning, we met a woman at the unloading zone who had recently moved here and had been praying that God would open the door for her and her family to start evangelizing with a group. She was stunned to meet us and find out about what we are doing, and she wants to join us in the future. Super cool!
Then, my favorite moment of the night happened right after we got the service started. I did the intro, shared the gospel a little bit, and then told everyone that they can come for prayer at any time. As I finished, I saw a young boy walking towards the walkway, and I said hi to him. His dad was about 10 feet behind him, and he told me that when the boy heard me, he said “I have to go listen to him.” When I got done, the boy told his dad, “I have to go receive prayer.”
Turns out the parents are from Lake Wales (FL) and are believers, but they haven’t been to church in several years. The dad said the boy never accepted Christ into his heart, but they always prayed that he would. I explained to the boy that this was no small thing and that it meant full on repentance and surrender to God for life. He said that he wanted to do exactly that. So, right there at the walkway, this boy named Chance, while on a Mother’s Day weekend vacation to Siesta Beach, gave his life to Jesus and got filled with the Spirit. It was amazing!
Afterwards I prayed for the family, and the Lord gave me a word for them. He said that there had been significant division and turmoil in the family, but that God wanted to heal it. He said that Chance being reconciled to God was a sign of the greater reconciliation that He wanted to do in the family. The dad acknowledged that it was right on, and it was amazing to see God touch them all. We’re believing that it will be the seed of a family revival!
Here’s a pic of all of them:
The rest of the night was really beautiful too. Many came by for gifts and prayers, words of knowledge were flowing, and there was no pushback at all. There was also a man named Will who saw us and was so moved and inspired that he filmed a good portion of the service. He even told me that he was going to make a professional video with the footage to promote Jesus on social media. How cool is that! Just one of the many ways God multiplies the seeds we sow.
Here’s a video of the worship and you can see the filmmaker here too.
Big thanks to Amber, Deb, John, Mike M and Paul for making it out that night!
Another amazing testimony is that yesterday I was updating our financial records and I saw that in just the first 4.5 months of the year, we’ve done 64 outreaches and we’ve been able to give away nearly $5000 worth of bibles, books, tracts, waters and other gifts. Isn’t that crazy!? God has provided so much for this mission, it is remarkable!
One other cool announcement is that on Saturday I turn 17 years old in the Lord! I went to my encounter on May 19th, 2006, and it finished on May 21st. The whole weekend will be a celebration, so I hope I get to celebrate with you!
This weekend our schedule will be:
Friday at Bayfront Park (165) at 7pm
Saturday at Rossi Park (92) at 4pm
Sunday at Siesta Beach (269) at 3pm
Also, you can join us tonight in person at my home for prayer and fellowship, or you can join us through zoom for prayer by clicking here at 9pm- https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78071243666?pwd=bxnYjATv3r73M5B3QeIgOYNWcHQql5.1
Please pray and please come when you can!
Love and appreciate you SO much!
Chris