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Arizona is a religious melting pot. Roman Catholics comprise the largest group in the state, followed by Mormons and then a host of Protestant denominations, including Southern Baptists. Native American religions are also prevalent (there are nineteen Indian reservations in Arizona) and Sedona is a haven for New Age mystics.
Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, served as the host of this year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. As in the past, The Criswell College, Dallas, sent a student mission team to evangelize the region. The students and I shared the gospel with street people, church members, Jews, Satanists, skeptics, homosexuals, cult members, and hundreds of other lost souls. Here are a few highlights of the trip.
June 11-14
We attended an Interfaith Evangelism-sponsored seminar in Tempe, where we learned how to share the gospel with Mormons, Scientologists and others trapped in cults. Two events are memorable. The first took place on Friday. We visited a Mormon Stake, which is a church building that houses several Mormon congregations. We were given a guided tour and met with Mormon elders, Stake and Mission Presidents and “sisters” (female missionaries) for a Q/A session. Several of our students shared the gospel and gave their testimonies. Albert Ruiz placed gospel tracts between the pages of library books and in nooks and crannies throughout the facility. Pray that God will lead the right people to find these and discover new life in Christ.
Second, we discovered that a Vampire convention was clandestinely being held in the same hotel as ours. One of the Interfaith conferees was able to speak to several vampires, known as Tin Hairs, about the blood of Christ.
June 15-19
We conducted an aggressive personal evangelism campaign to reach as many people as possible with the gospel. On Saturday, we attended a block party sponsored by Wellspring Baptist Church and used face-painting, balloons, gospel magic, tract distribution, and the EvangeCube to spread the good news. Todd and Sharon Palmer stood in the blazing 111 degree heat to explain to Patti, a faltering Catholic, how Jesus died on the cross and rose again to forgive sin and offer her eternal life. As the Holy Spirit moved on her heart, she called out to the Savior and surrendered her life to his control. Todd presented her with a New Testament and gave her name to Pastor Kelly Carr for follow-up.
Lorraine Leach, Veronica Davis and Albert were also successful in leading three others to Christ.
After church on Sunday, where we preached in two services and worked with the youth, we headed to the SBC convention at Civic Plaza. There we spent four afternoons witnessing to maintenance personnel, ushers, security guards, concession stand workers, protesters, indigents, news media, policemen, and tourists. The experience was a real eye-opener for our students. They were met with various reactions. For example, a parking lot attendant, after being handed a tract, threw it back in the student’s face. Others gladly received the message, and some even wanted tracts to pass out themselves.
On Monday, Wellspring Baptist launched its summer VBS. Our students set up equipment, coordinated recreation activities, helped with crafts, taught lessons, and prayed. After lunch, they headed downtown to witness in and around Civic Plaza. As LaDawn Brock and Gina Dower prayed, Lorraine shared the gospel with Bernice who was ready to commit her life to Christ, when suddenly her boss came over and interrupted the discussion. The next day, Lorraine tracked her down, but Bernice said she wanted to wait. Lorraine then teamed up with Veronica to lead a female security guard to Christ. On the last day of the VBS, Veronica, our balloon evangelist, gave a creative gospel presentation to the entire group of kids. Seven indicated a desire to give their lives to Christ by lifting their hands at invitation time.
Throughout the week, we had many positive contacts. Jeremy Hardy, Faridd Sierra, Albert Ruiz, and Scott Gray visited a mission called Cas
