Christ revealed at unique events

By Martin Davis

As a missionary evangelist, I work through special events, such as the Rose Bowl Parade, to creatively share Christ with people in settings where crowds gather. But I always look for opportunities to build personal relationships because I also understand how important they are to receptivity for the gospel.

Recently I participated in the Wichita River Festival Outreach in Kansas. While doing street witnessing, I paused on a walkway with ICE (Intentional Community Evangelism) volunteer Walt Dejager. We watched as Darrel Davis talked to a group of young people on the river walk below us.

Juggalos are fans of a certain kind of punk rock who have formed themselves into a family, a closed community of young people who brand themselves with piercings and tattoos. I admired Darrel’s ability to relate to the Juggalos. Darrel is accepted by them. He’s spent a time over the years building a relationship them, and their rapport shows. From my vantage point, I felt like a mere onlooker to evangelism with this closed community because I didn’t have that kind of experience.

          

Beside us, a young woman spoke up. “I was down there last year,” she said softly. “I was one of them. That guy led me to Jesus. I turned my life around.”

Walt and I looked at each other. Here at our elbow was someone special, a person who could go where we could not.

“Do you feel comfortable enough now to start building a relationship with those you used to hang with and start taking them to church?” Walt asked.

She considered. “Do you think I ought to do that?"

We explained that if she was no longer tempted by their lifestyle, she could help reach Juggalos with the gospel. “It might just be God’s calling on your life.”

God placed that young woman in our path at just that moment not only as a call to her but as a reminder to me: God will faithfully prepare and send the right person to go places where I cannot. When a special event ends, God’s intervention in people’s lives continues.

Martin Davis is a North American missionary serving in California.