The First Step Is A Doozy - Open Air Preaching For First Time

It was May 23, 2009. The Farmers Market downtown Des Moines, IA...memorial day weekend. One of the busiest weekends of the market. This place was packed to the gills. I was nervous already to be down there. I don't do well in crowds...especially here at the market. But, I was determined to go. I have got to conquer this fear, and prayed the Lord would guide me. Paul was on his way to meet me down there and we were planning on doing some one-on-one witnessing and gave me a call. He asked me how busy it was, and I told him it was the busiest I have ever seen it. So he replied..."good, I'll bring my ladder. I'm almost there so look for a spot where we can do open-air and see you soon."...click

Well at that moment panic set in. You know the kind when you can't breathe, your heart starts racing, you loose color in your face and the only thing you want to do is find the nearest trashcan to throw up in. I prayed and then texted many people to pray, and then called my pastor who was at the men's prayer meeting. Looking for a spot was hard at the market. The place is lined with booths, and at every corner was full of music. Walking around I found an open area you can park a semi...so I know the Lord wanted us to do it. At that moment, Paul arrived.

Paul went up first while I passed out tracts not trying to think about going up next, and people were not taking my tracts. It was really disheartening...and it started to get to me. When Paul got done and said "my friend Frank has something to say", I knew I couldn't back out. It was time for me to do the thing God has been trying to get me to do for years.

The first step on that ladder was the longest step I ever taken. I really never prepared for what I would say, and fumbled for my Gideon New Testament trying to get to the Gospel of John and praying as I'm looking. Tony got there just before I went, and I was comforted that he could be there. My hands started to lock up from fear, I lost color, and couldn't feel my nose. The same thing happened to me when I went parasailing for the first time. I kept thinking "Lord don't let me pass out." Looking around and praying for the words, I opened my mouth and started to speak.

I don't know what I really said...good thing for the video. When I got off the ladder something amazing happened. It was totally the opposite feeling I thought I would have. I thought I would be so on-fire and full of energy, but I was the most humbling experiece I ever had. I had absolutely no energy. I felt like I just got beaten by a baseball bat. It's an experience that everyone who shares their faith should experience. If I felt like that, then why should I want you to do it? It kept me in the exact place I needed to be...dependant on the Holy Spirit, and the sufficiancy of Jesus Christ. There is no way I could have done it on my own. Even though I lost color, couldn't feel my nose, and my hands locked up...I still was able to get the words out. And that's all that really mattered.

So, I did it...but guess what? I have to keep on doing it. It's not just a matter of doing it once, but keep on keeping on. Whenever the Lord gives you the opportunity. The next weekend we all went there again...to the same spot I experienced the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This time it was a little easier and a little less fearful. It provoked more people to come and see if we would preach again. People from my church came out to witness it. It's comforting. People stopped to talk with us, and to hear what we have to say. But Paul brought up a good point. "When you open-air preach, you are leading thousands of people to Christ. It's up to them if they want to receive the offer or not". That is what drives us. Our desire to glorify and worship God in reaching out to those who don't know Christ...and to grab those who are headed for eternal suffering in a lake of fire with the net of the gospel.

I am currently working on an upcoming blog post on how my friends and I conquer fear biblically. It's not the absence of fear that we pray for, but the conquering of it. All of us have fear at some point. Realizing where it comes from is the first step.

Right now we are living in grace within "Amerika", and say that very loosely. But our rights are soon vanishing away. Just that week in California a pastor and his wife were holding a bible study in their home and was ordered to stop or face strict fines by San Diego County officials. But we need to grab hold of our rights and use them while we still have them. So as Jesus said in Mark 16:15 - "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation". (NASB)