Evangelism Focus 11/26/10

The picture above is the preparation pile for operation Black Friday evangelism (ignore Mickey, he just happens to be part of the wall).

Just in case anyone is unfamiliar with Black Friday, it is the term used for the Friday after Thanksgiving. In the United States, it is the starting day of the Christmas shopping season. The term "Black Friday" refers to the period in which retailers are turning a profit or "in the black". To increase those profit chances, the retailers offer many special deals for the early bird. This year I heard about sales starting at midnight, 2 am, 3 am, 5 am and so on. Because of these sales, people will wait in long lines, sometimes for hours, in very cold temperatures (in Minnesota anyway) for a shot at a good deal.

My friend, Kim, and I decided to visit people waiting in line for the doors to open at Menard's (home repair store). Greg and I prepared bags ahead of time (using the supplies pictured above). Each bag contained a snack cake, gospel tract, and a personal note from us. We prepared 200 bags, and Kim and I easily distributed them all in about 20 minutes. This is the second year we've done this, and each year we learn a little bit more about how to do it better the next year.

I pray that God will use the gospel message to penetrate the hearts of those standing in line at Menard's this morning. May He be glorified through it!

I will end this post with the text from the message included in the bags this year:

Christmas is the season of giving!

Today, you stand in line waiting on the generosity of others. Today, we visit you because of the generosity of someone else.

We celebrate Christmas because over 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ showed great generosity toward all mankind when He (fully God ) came to this earth and took on human form (fully man). It is a gift beyond comprehension. The Bible speaks of this gift in the book of Philippians. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-10

We have provided for you today two things:

• A treat (to enjoy while you’re out and about starting your Christmas shopping)
• A gospel tract (our hope is that you will read the message in the tract and spend some time considering it today).

Merry Christmas and enjoy your day!

Postscript:

Paul at The Word Street Journal blog e-mailed me this new and improved picture of Mickey Mouse. Love it! Just had to share it with the rest of the blogging world. Thanks, Paul. Mickey has never looked better--always thought he needed something important in that hand.