Frank has decided to write a book. He wants to call it "Just Do It." Too many times we know the calling God has for us, but we putter around, wondering how it's going to happen, if it's really what God is telling you to do, how it's going to happen, if you'll have enough help, how it's going to happen, if people will show up, where will you get the finances and the equipment, and........ did I mention how it's going to happen? Well, we just decided to JUST DO IT. So today we had our first Sunny Sunday Street Service. We met in the middle of the street, between 7th and 8th on Broad Street. There's a lovely shaded area with park benches and a water fountain complete with a confederate monument. Hosea came and did our music, my gosh he's super talented, and our friends Sam and Steve Jones and Pam and Frank Peterson (and their children) came down to help us launch our very first street service. The music was phenomenal! Hosea is the best male singer I have ever heard, and he can really play that guitar. Before we knew it, people were coming out of their apartment and coming to see what we were all about. We fed many, many people breakfast, and we had our very first visitor named Paige. She stayed for the entire service, start to finish. We had countless people stop by, but there seems to be a little trust issue among the poor down there, as well as the homeless, in regards to religious people. I have come to learn that many of these people have gone into area churches only to be rejected and unloved because they smell bad or aren't clean enough. These types of attitudes are wounding to people, and it's an area where the enemy can infiltrate their lives and bring them down continuously and before you know it, they associate a few snotty Christians with what God is really about. And He's really not that kind of God. So it's going to take some time to earn the trust of these people. But the really cool thing was that there were so many people who were sitting off on the other side of the street, still within listening distance, just trying to check us out. And then guess who showed up? "Lucifer!" And he had breakfast with us. He's really coming around. I can see God's love penetrating his heart. It's so cool to watch!
After about 20 minutes of the music playing, a police officer circled the area in his car like a shark. I was so nervous! When he got out of his patrol car and started walking towards us, Sam just started praying and praying Then he got closer and I thought, "Ok, I'll just let who ever is in charge of this talk to the officer." Then I realized....Frank was up there playing the sax with his eyes shut and totally oblivious to what was going on....which meant...it was all up to me! YIKES! So he came closer and as I went over to greet him, Sam was still praying, and I was about to pee my pants....then I greeted him and he said, "What church are ya'll with?" So I said, "Well, we aren't really with any church, we call ourselves A Church Without Walls, is it ok that we are here?" He said, "Well, we did get a complaint about loud music." So I said, "Ok, we can totally turn it down." Then he said, "No, don't." I was like Huh? He said,"These people down here NEED this." TOO COOL! YAY GOD!!!!! So we kept at it. Then Frank preached and his voice reached out to the depths of the alley ways and I know, I know, I know....that it was not in vain! God's Word does not return void! It WILL establish everything it sets out to accomplish. God totally rocks! And Jesus TOTALLY saves!
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