After five years of witnessing at the Iowa State Fair, I (Heidi) thought the Texas State Fair would be a breeze. Boy, was I wrong! It was way hotter, and our Gospel booth was outside, not air-conditioned. I guess I’ve been spoiled in Iowa. The Texas Fair was definitely a different kind of event. It felt more like a rides and carnival place, which can be tricky when trying to share the gospel. I was only there for three days, while Tony and the rest of the team were there longer.
Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast! I loved meeting and working with other believers. But I noticed that the fairgoers were more likely to say “no” when we offered them the million-dollar bill tract. It seemed like they were more suspicious in Texas, more worried about being tricked. Maybe it’s because of the “Iowa nice” thing.
The huge need for the gospel and the training on how to share it really hit me, and I wish I had more time. We had a lot of chances to talk to people outside the booth too. Tony even got to do some open-air preaching! Did you know that Texas has 30 million people? I didn’t, and apparently, 2.5 million people went to the fair this year! That’s a lot of potential to reach people.
We met a new friend from the ICR Discovery Center in Dallas that came out to the fair to help share the gospel. We hit the streets of the fairgrounds and got into multiple Christ-centered conversations. One was with a Jehovah’s Witness! Tony was able to point him to the fact that Jesus accepted worship multiple times in the Scripture, such as John 20:28 when Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”. Here’s her testimony about the experience:
“At the Texas State Fair last month, my little brother and I had an incredible opportunity to refine our skills in sharing the gospel and put them into practice. From passing out Living Waters tracts to intentionally starting conversations with people, the two days that we were there were filled with unique experiences. We connected with a range of people – some Jehovah’s Witnesses, a few fellow believers, many who claimed to be believers but were not, and even those who rejected Christ completely. Through these encounters, I learned valuable lessons in being bold and confident and always striving to leave a positive impression.
My little brother recently came to faith this summer and has been excited about sharing the gospel. He was able to tag along, pray for those presenting and hearing the gospel, and even share his testimony with a few boys his age. This experience built his confidence, and he soon went out with Tony, listening intently and contributing by interceding for the lost souls. Meanwhile, I continued to learn more about effective evangelism, knowing when to listen, when to ask questions, and when to let someone go on their way.
One memorable conversation was with a Roman Catholic family who seemed to truly understand the gospel by the end of our conversation and walked away feeling convicted and hopeful in the Lord. The experience at the fair was both encouraging and educational. I urge every believer to step out in faith and be bold in sharing the gospel as we are commanded.
Evangelism isn’t as intimidating as it may seem, and I saw that firsthand this fall. We must serve faithfully by prayer and action. Soli Deo Gloria.”
One of the highlights at the fair for Tony was getting to minister God’s word and the gospel for an hour to a young man who was seeking after God. Tony encouraged him to read Romans and he replied something like, “For the first time I’m excited to read a book and I can’t even remember the last time I was excited to read any book!” At the end he said something like he’s had many conversations about God with Christians but every time he feels like they’re just rehearsing the same things that he already knows. He said this time he felt like everything was new.
The young man remarked, “This is what you do, right? But you’re really good. You made it really personal. I appreciate this talk so much.” It was such an example of how really listening and getting to know someone so you can minister the gospel to them is what is needed, not a simple salvation script that ends in a sinner’s prayer.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Reaching Roman Catholics With Grace series
Join us for an online Bible study lead by Tony, Monday nights starting November 4th. 8PM ET
You don’t have to commit to the full six weeks. Feel free to attend any of the sessions. Register free here. Or connect directly to the meeting here.
Billy Eilish Concert Gospel Outreach
We will be handing out tracts to concert goers before the concert on November 8th in Cincinnati from 5-7PM ET
Purple People Bridge Gospel Outreach
Friday Nov 22 6pm Downtown Cincinnati
Christmas Morning Homeless Gospel Outreach:
We will be handing out tracts to concert goers before several Winter Jam concerts in 2025 details forthcoming. if you aren’t local to Cincinnati, you should get a group together to canvas your local Winter Jam concert!
THE GOSPEL WENT FORTH WITH POWER AT COURT DAYS
Guess what? I had no idea there was such a massive street fair in Kentucky called Court Days! I thought it would be just a few closed streets with vendors selling stuff. But boy, was I wrong! There were blocks and blocks of people selling everything from guns to live turtles. It was a bit overwhelming, but we managed to find a good spot for the gospel booth. We gave away some Gospel-related resources, handed out million-dollar bills, and had some really deep conversations with people. They were super friendly and open to talking about Jesus.
Tony even had a few chats with folks who came back the next day to keep talking. And get this, we had a fellow Christian who came back to help us out in the booth! It was like a team effort! We even recorded a couple of interviews. One was with a Catholic guy selling bonsai trees (I ended up buying one!). And there were a few young men really open to the gospel. I was blown away (I’m from the West Coast) that a local church was allowed to have a worship service on the Court Days stage! It was a really successful outreach, and we hope to go back next year.
At Court Days, there was this guy, we’ll call Bart, who kept coming to talk with Tony. I didn’t catch much of what they said, but after over two hours of talking, I decided to join in. Bart seemed to have some bad experiences with Christians in the past and was pretty quick to judge all of them. He claimed to believe in God, but not the God of the Bible. I didn’t talk to him for long, but I tried to explain to him that Christianity is different from other religions because of something called “The Great Exchange.” You see, Jesus took our sins on the cross and gave us His righteousness.
Bart’s response was pretty surprising; he said, ‘I don’t want that.’ It made me think he was really angry with God. In a way, he was more honest than most atheists I’ve talked to. I think Ray Comfort once said, ‘A sinner wants a God like a thief wants a policeman.’ All things considered, I think Bart’s main problem is the same as all unbelievers: he didn’t want a higher standard than his own feelings, so he made up a God of his own imagination. This God would never disagree with him because it was really just himself.
We all need to be careful not to unintentionally create a God that would never challenge or disagree with us. Tony also talked with a young man named James who came back multiple days to continue to hear the truth. The Holy Spirit was so clearly working through this four-day gospel outreach. We all look forward to seeing God work again next year!
