Movie Theater Witnessing

I joined Jason and Jeremy at the movie theater this weekend to witness and I was thrilled to see a couple of police officers working security there. I knew one officer and suspected he was lost so I was hoping God would permit a witnessing encounter. He did in an incredible way.

I stood at the movie line and began to get a crowd by offering $1 for every trivia question the crowd got right. Those that didn't have any interest in staying, I gave them a tract as they walked into the theater. As the crowd was forming and I was about to preach the Gospel, the movie manager came outside. T.J. told me that I couldn't solicit outside the movie theater.

"I'm not soliciting."

T.J. - "Well you can't hand things out."

"Ok, I won't."

T.J. - "Well, you can only stand here if you are a paying customer."

"No problem T.J., I'll buy a movie ticket."

T.J. - "Well why would you do that."

By this time, two police officers joined our conversation and I politely told T.J. that I didn't want to cause any problems and I would gladly move to public property about 75 feet away.

I then asked T.J. (in front of the officers) where he thought he would go if he died. He proudly told me he would come to my house and he and the officer laughed. I then asked him if he was a good person and as I took him through the Good Person Test and told him the Gospel, T.J. got a very different expression on his face. When I concluded, I told T.J. that he had banned me from handing out items but would he permit me to give him something.

This once proud man humbly told me that I could and I gave him a tract and asked him to please consider what I had told him. Many people in the crowd and the officers heard our encounter. The officers were given a million dollar bill and I headed to public property.

Open Air At A Smoke Shop

What can I say. I'm in Oklahoma so it's sometimes hard to find a crowd. There is always one place where you can guarantee people in Oklahoma and that is at the Smoke Shop. In the summer, you find a number of cars with windows down, motorcycles, etc. with no place to go as they are in line for smokes.

So that is how it started: "Hi folks, I want to thank you for listening to me and what I am about to talk to you about is rarely thought about. In fact, most people spend more time thinking about their retirement or where to get a cigarette than they do about where they will spend eternity. How about you? Do you think about where you will go when you die. The Bible tells us that it is appointed for man to die and then there is judgement. God will judge us based on his Law so how will you do on that day?

Have you ever told a lie? If you have, that makes you a liar.
Have you ever stolen anything? If so, it makes you a thief.
Have you ever committed adultery? Jesus said that if you look at someone with lust you have committed adultery in your heart.

I'll stop there. I'll admit that I am guilty of all those and the Bible tells us that you are guilty as well. When you stand before God on Judgement day, you will be guilty and the sentence is hell.

That is bad news but there is good news. God does not want that to happen and over 2000 years ago he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ to Earth and he lived a sinless, perfect life and he was murdered on a cross. He died for our sins and he rose three days later. What a wonderful gift that was to you but it takes more than that.

We must repent of our sins, turn away from our sins and trust our life completely to Jesus Christ alone to save us. Please consider what i have told you today. It takes more than knowing about Jesus. It takes repentance of sins and trusting everything to Jesus. Thank you so much for your time."



Jason (above)did Open-Air for the first time in his home town. He did a great job as did Jeremy (below).

Filming With Line of Duty Films

I spent the last two days filming a training video with Line of Duty Films. Line of Duty is one of the largest producers of law enforcement training tapes and they visited our driving facility to film and eventually market two training tapes that deal with the roadway dangers facing law enforcement officers. As you can see above, the up to date vehicles had to be what attracted them to us.

Driving the van is Officer Steve Dickson, a supporter of Ten-Four Ministries and a participant in the Take Up The Shield Project. Steve purchased a case of Take Up The Shield books and provided them to several small towns where he grew up. He did this in memory of Fort Smith Police Officer Daniel Martinez that was killed in the line of duty in 2007.


I was able to spend most of the past two days with Rich and Ralph (above) with Line of Duty and they were a pleasure to be around. I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them through a great book designed for law enforcement, Take Up The Shield.

Route 66 Car Show

I spent last Saturday at one of the largest car shows in Oklahoma and we were blessed with some great witnessing encounters.


I started talking with Dustin (above) and he told me he "hoped" he went to Heaven. Dustin permitted us to speak with him for quite a while on the Law & Gospel and he truly seemed humbled by the Law.


We were pleased to see a ministry with a booth at the event.


As Jason and I were walking to the car, William (above) was getting out of his parent's car. William told us that he doesn't think about what happens when he dies because he just thinks about getting through each day. We were able to present the Law & Gospel to William.

Please join us in prayer that William, Dustin and the others that received the Law & Gospel Saturday will repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.

Inspiration In Hemet

I've been home for almost a week now from the Ambassadors' Academy and I still haven't come down from this event. I don't think I ever will. There is so much more I want to tell and while I know words can never express the experience that the Ambassadors' Academy is, I do hope you get some sense of what this event is.

One story I can't get out my head is a story told by Brett Coronado. Brett is an Associate Pastor at Calvary Chapel Hemet. Some time ago, he and his Pastor implemented Biblical Evangelism throughout the church. The Evangelism Team goes out numerous times each week and the training is required in some aspects of the church. What did this do to the Church Body?

The Church membership began to drop. In fact, it dropped dramatically. To date, the church has lost approximately 40% of it's membership. Can you imagine that. A church embracing the Great Commission in a Biblical fashion and the membership runs away?

Were the Wheat and Tares Separated - True & False Converts(Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43)? It is not my place to know anyone's Salvation but this story disturbed me to say the least. What about the churches you are in? Would the same thing happen? Maybe it would but the most impressive part of the story wasn't that the church made the decision to put Biblical Evangelism as a priority but it was the response of the Pastor when the membership started to leave.

There were salaries and benefits to pay, employees to be concerned about and other church activities that had to be funded. The Pastor did not hesitate. He said that if he had to, they would move to a smaller building or even to someone's house. Despite the actions of the membership, the true Gospel had to be preached and the Great Commission had to be fulfilled. Wow, what an inspiration.

You can view many of the Evangelism videos from the Calvary Chapel Evangelism Team Here.

Quote of the Week

“Repentance is at the heart of the gospel call. Unless we are preaching repentance we are not preaching the gospel our Lord has charged us to preach.”

John MacArthur

Ambassadors' Academy - Day 3

Day 3 of the Academy started like day 2. We met as a group and prayed for about 30 minutes and then got on a bus. We headed out to Huntington Beach and while everyone looked tired from the past 48 hours, there was much less apprehension on the face of the participants. Excitement was in the air and Tony "The Lawman" Miano kicked us off from the hotel with a thundering voice: "Lets Go Fishing!"


I had to go to California to meet a great Godly couple from Grove, Oklahoma (1 hour from me). They were both great in witnessing encounters. One of the incredible blessings of being at the Academy is to look around at any time and see scenes like the one above. Christians in every direction sharing their faith with others. This should be the scene in every town and city. Unfortunately it is not and like Living Waters often says: "We are trying to put ourselves out of a job". They one day hope that there would not be a need for the ministry because every Christian would be sharing the Law & Gospel with those that are perishing.


We had the privilege on this day to watch Ray Comfort Open-Air preach. It was incredible to watch as he engaged the crowd with humor and love while sharing the Law & Gospel over and over.

From the time we arrived at Huntington Beach at 10:00 am to the time we left at 4:00 pm, I watched as several people from the crowd followed us around. Many of them brought lawn chairs just to listen to the Gospel. To the Christian, the message never gets old. If you repent and turn away from your sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation you will be saved and Heaven will await you. If you choose not to do this and continue enjoying sin, the torment of hell awaits. We are saved by Grace and the choice is ours to make. Those that have truly made the choice to repent of their sin and trust in Jesus Christ love this message.

To others, this message is offensive. The message that there is only one way to Heaven - through Jesus Christ - and you must give everything up for Jesus....That includes sin.


I heard many comments from Hecklers this week that included statements such as: "There is no hell" - "God is love" - "God would never send people to hell".

Obviously there is a hell. Jesus himself spoke about it many times and while God is love he also is a holy and righteous God and sin must be punished. God does love and he sent his only Son to die a brutal death on the Cross for us. The gift of eternal life is free but we must take action to receive it. Unfortunately, many professing Christians have blinded themselves to the Bible and made up a False God to suit their lifestyle. While it would be a wonderful life to be a Christian, know you are going to Heaven and continue to live in any way you want, that is just not the truth. That is why the message of the Law & Gospel is offensive to the unbelievers and even those that claim to believe. They don't want to hear about a God that demands everything from them - including their sin.

The day was not over. Tune in later for what was to happen next.

Ambassadors' Academy - Day 2 Continued

Day 2 of the Ambassadors' Academy ended with a trip to Long Beach along with some great preaching.


The picture above depicts Leon Brown (Evangelism Team.com) open-air preaching to a group of kids going to their prom. It was an amazing display of boldness for Christ. Just as we arrived, a member of our team told Leon that a large group of kids were gathering. I walked with Leon towards the group and without hesitation he jumped on up and started preaching the Law & Gospel. Many of the kids started to yell at Leon but after a few minutes they listened and I could clearly see many of the kids listening very intently at Leon's message. Leon received applause when he concluded his presentation of the Gospel. Leon was a great inspiration to everyone.


I was especially proud of my wife during the academy. Prior to this day, she had never passed out a tract and on Day 2 of the Ambassadors' Academy she not only passed out numerous tracts but she preached in the open-air and above she is conducting her first one-to-one witnessing encounter.

There is still a day left and the blessings would continue to pour upon us.....

Ambassadors' Academy - Day 2

Today started with a visit to Living Waters and then to Hollywood where we had three locations to preach. As you can see above, Ray Comfort, Founder of Living Waters, graciously encouraged us during the trip to Hollywood Boulevard.

Mike (above) did a great job in his first open-air sermon. Chris - aka Superman - heard the Law & Gospel during this session.

Shauna is from Dallas and runs Just One Girl. What an incredible blessing to hear her preach for the first time and she brought the true Gospel like I have rarely heard before.

There is much more tell and it may take a few weeks to pass along everything I would like to. Be encouraged. There are able and ready evangelists leaving this academy each month coming back to your communities to preach the truth.

Ambassadors' Academy - Day 1

Most of the day was spent in the classroom as we had the pleasure of seeing members of the Living Waters Team instruct on various topics including courses on open-air preaching, tracts, transitioning conversations and an inspirational by Tony Miano titled "Don't Quit." Ray Comfort spent most of the day with the class and Kirk Cameron was very gracious with his time as he literally missed lunch in order to speak with all of the participants.



The actual time spent in class is just a small portion of the value in this training. Imagine meeting Christians from across the world that feel the same way you do about evangelism. Imagine getting to know individuals that deal with the same emotions and feelings that you do. All of a sudden, you aren't the only one that has this passion for the lost. You aren't the only one that can't get others to go witness with you. You aren't the only one with the fear of talking to others about Christ. The bond that is immediately felt is powerful and it is just Day 1. Imagine what the next two days will be like?

Ambassadors' Academy - Day 0

I travelled to Southern California today to participate in the second Ambassadors' Academy sponsored by Living Waters Ministry. Even though the training has not yet started, I am very impressed. From the moment you apply to the Academy, Tony Miano and the Living Waters Team is supporting you. I received phone calls and e-mails for approximately one month prior to the academy. My wife is also with me and she has been supported by not only our team leader, Leon Brown, but a lady mentor, Trish Ramos.

Our first stop was at Living Waters and then over to In-N-Out Burger just down the street from the ministry. I'm not used to employees standing in the drive through lane so I took the opportunity to give her a million dollar bill tract. She acted surprised by the tract but somehow I believe that most of the employees have been exposed to Living Waters tracts.

Upon arriving at the hotel we were greeted by Tony "The Lawman" Miano and Leon "Downtown" Brown. My wife is in the picture as well.

Tommorrow is the first day and we will have class with some of the finest evangelists of our time, including Ray Comfort. If this experience is anything like the experience thus far, we are all in for an incredible blessing.

Quote Of The Week

"God has not called the Church as an institution to farming, manufacturing or other such community development projects; He calls us to preach and teach all that Christ taught. We cannot stand by and let secondary ministries be substituted for the basic priorities of the Great Commission." K.P. Yohannan

Utah Struggles

I had the fortunate opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah this past week. I have been involved in emergency vehicle/pursuit training for over a decade and once in a while I get the opportunity to travel in that capacity. I would be shadowing members of the Utah Department of Public Safety for a few days to evaluate their training program. Before leaving I packed my usual array of books and tracts in hopes to give them out to the officers that I would meet. I had some additional plans on this trip. With the high Mormon Population and the large Temple located in Salt Lake City I had big plans. In fact, I told a few friends about those plans but as God would have it, His plans were different.

Let me first tell you about my plan (I kind of liked it). My schedule was tight but as soon as I stepped off the plane, I was going to head to the Salt Lake City Mormon Temple.

I was going to pass out a few Placebo Tracts to the visitors outside the Temple and see what conversations may be waiting for me. I was nervously anticipating my plan but as my plane landed I received a phone call that would eventually prevent me from visiting the Temple.

One of the individuals I needed to meet with while in town could only see me that evening. I missed an opportunity at the Temple but God would have other plans.

The Utah Department of Public Safety was gracious to give me a room for free at their academy. I knew what to expect and had plenty of experience staying in dorms but this room was different. I quickly noticed the two rooms, two televsions, two couches and a kitchen. Much to my surprise, I was given the room that belongs to the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety when he is in Salt Lake City.

What an incredible opportunity to be around future law enforcement officers in the State of Utah for two days. I left as many tracts and books behind as I could and the Commissioner will have a copy of Take Up The Shield when he visits his dorm room again.

One misconception I hear about those that proclaim the Gospel is that "they have a gift" for it or it is somehow easy. I know for a fact that some of the greatest evangelists of our time often struggle with the same issues that other Christians use to not share their faith. I struggled mightily in Utah.

I had an evening free so I went to a popular mall where hundreds were gathering. I sat in my car scared to death and so upset that I couldn't seem to stand up and proclaim the Gospel like I wanted to. God is so gracious and at the same time I was asking God to give me courage, I received the following e-mail:

"...You are blessed and you have the favor of God on you wherever you go and whatever you do. You are the salt and you are the light of this earth in Jesus Name amen."

While my struggles continued, I was able to spread some tracts around the mall. I flew home home the next day and while my struggles continued, God had something wonderful waiting for me on a plane from Denver to Tulsa. Come back in a day to hear that story........

John Piper On Prosperity

You can see more resources from John Piper's Ministry at Desiring God.

Quote of the Week

"This is a day when we have become very clever at developing techniques, a day when we are apt to be urging people to witness; and what usually happens? They witness for a while, and then they stop. Then they are exhorted to witness again, so they go a little further, then stop again. But why do they stop? Have you ever noticed in the Pauline epistles that Paul never urges Christians to witness nor has he anything to say about foreign missions? Nothing! How interesting! If you have to constantly be telling people to witness, something is wrong with them. If you always have to be pumping up people to get them interested in foreign missions, something is wrong with the people. What is Paul always doing? He is consistently bringing you to Christ and leaving you with Christ. When Christ is central in the heart of the man, what does the man want to do? He wants to tell others about Jesus, and he will do so effectively. Let Jesus Christ be central in the heart of a man, and he is going to be burdened and troubled because millions have never heard of Christ. It is going to disturb him and bring into action. What he needs is not more exhortation; he needs Christ. And the Christ within him who died for the world will speak through him to that lost world. Without true passion for Christ, nothing works consistently. It loses its power."

Joseph S. Carroll in "How to Worship Jesus Christ"

It's Just Not Comfortable

I had lunch with a dear friend yesterday and the subject of evangelism came up. He told me that just last week his Sunday School Class spoke in detail on the subject and at the end of the discussion they agreed that everyone has a different style of witnessing and that open-air preaching may be good for some but other methods may work for others.

I agreed with him and asked him what his method was.

"Well, I like to live my life a certain way and wait for people to ask me what makes me different."

That's interesting but what if no one asks you?

"Well, I'm not sure."

What if we walk out of the restaurant and see people walking towards a cliff. They are about to walk right off the cliff and die. Would you say something to them or would you wait for them to ask you about the deadly cliff?

"I would absolutely say something to them."

It is the same way with evangelism. If we don't say something to them, many will perish into hell. How we do that, whether it is open-air preaching, a tract, or one-to-one, I'm not sure matters but don't you think we should be saying something?

"It's just not comfortable for me to do it. It's not my comfort zone"

It really isn't mine or anyone else's either but Jesus didn't command us to wait and be asked, he commanded us to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature) - Mark 16:15. Wouldn't you agree that "preach" is not wait and be asked?

My friend was thinking and I could tell that this is something he had never heard before. I believe he hasn't. Our churches aren't exactly emphasizing evangelism in a Biblical way or even emphasizing evangelism.

May 15th - Peace Officers Memorial Day

Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day. It is a day this Country remembers our fallen officers from the past. It is a day we should all remember how fragile life is and how important it is to know God now.

Flags are supposed to be flown at half staff today. Sadly, I saw many in my community that weren't. Next year will not go by without a reminder in my community. I encourage you to do the same.


This is the day each year that our President speaks on the lawn of the Capital about the heroes that died the previous year. I took the above picture in 2006 when I attended this ceremony. Regardless of what you think about the President's politics, he is unbelievable in this ceremony. After he speaks, he spends hours with the families of fallen officers. The ceremony is actually stopped until he is done. He gives so much of himself and I watched in awe as he went to every family member and gave hugs, shook hands and took pictures. This is not the norm for this ceremony. I attended under a previous President and that did not happen.


Here is the President among the families as I watch.

It's Time To Get On The Bus

If I was given the pulpit this Sunday, I would walk up at 10:45 a.m. in front of the 200+ attendees in my home church and say this:

"I am so glad you came today. 150,000 people will die today in the world. Some will die in this community. Many of these souls are heading for hell and God has commanded us to plant his seeds of salvation. Today, this church will follow God's command and we are going to leave here as a group and witness to hundreds of people in this community. We will stop waiting for them to come into this nice building but we will go to them. Please walk outside and get on the buses waiting to take you to the lost. It will take an hour and you will be back here in time for lunch. I'll see you on the bus."

Would I see them on the bus? How many would you see from your church? It's time to get on the bus.

I Want To Find God

This is a great witnessing encounter courtesy of Trish Ramos with Fish With Trish. You will notice that in just a few minutes, the Law is shared along with sin, judgement day, hell, false converts, repentance and salvation. What a wonderful, Biblical sharing of the Gospel. You will notice that this young man did not get offended or upset. Why should he? He is being told a message that rarely is even spoken in our churches today. He is fortunate to get this message now.

National Police Week

On October 1, 1962, President Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 which designated May 15th each year as National Peace Officers Memorial Day, and the week containing May 15th as National Police Week. It was not until May 15,1982, that the first National Peace Officers' Memorial Day Service was held in Washington D.C,

Each year, thousands of peace officers converge on our Nation's Capital to honor the officers that have died in the previous year and years past. Currently there are 18,274 officers listed on the National Police Memorial.

I have attended these events in Washington D.C. two times and I can sincerely say that my career was changed. Throughout this week, I will be writing about my previous experiences and thoughts during these events. Today, I would like to share an e-mail I received from Tulsa Police Sergeant Stephanie Jackson just a few minutes ago. She is attending the events this year as the December 2007 National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund Officer Of the Month. Here are her thoughts from Day 1:


"I was truly moved to tears when I got off the plane there were over 15 honor guard members from different agencies forming a "U" around the exit ramp from the plane waiting for family members of fallen officers. They pinned the moms with the blue cop ribbons and then retrieved their luggage, loaded them in police cars and gave them a motorcycle escort to their next destination.

My husband made friends with a man behind us on the plane and when we arrived at baggage claim his wife was wearing a blue ribbon. They explained they lost their son in the line of duty. All I could do was cry and embrace them both and say thank you. No words can describe the emotional high from watching the honor guard officers serve those families and light up the cold rainy day with a sea of motorcycle and patrol unit lights. Everyone was just captivated and amazed. It was so many motorcycle units just coming and going from the airport.

This is an amazing experience and I haven't even really started the trip!"