Last weekend I got to join some friends from Warsaw, and we hit the streets of Skoczów, Poland for evangelism. Skoczów is about 17km (or about 10 miles) from Ciesyzn, and it was great to support their efforts. I really loved to watch my friends preach the gospel, sing original music, and reach out to the people in the town. Poland, which is predominantly Catholic, was somewhat preserved from the bombardment of the American gospel due to the iron curtain. The iron curtain kept many things out, good and bad. So having a group of young people preaching the gospel in the streets, is not necessarily a phenomenon, but it isn't as common as it is in the U.S. In the U.S., this is a fairly old technique, and at times may work. It's just that America has been saturated with this type of evangelism since the 1700's, and it doesn't really work for 21st century Americans. Even though the people in Skoczów may have seen this before, it was probably a shock that it was happening in their sleepy little town. People were walking about eating lody (ice cream), carrying their groceries, or walking with friends. The people who did stop to listen were approached, and even prayed for. I watched as some people really allowed these young adults to speak into their lives, or even pray for them.
I was asked to preach, and I had some interesting things happen. First I played a song I wrote called, "Breaking Through the Crowd." It was an instant crowd drawing technique, because I was American. My song was actually Christian, but it sounded as American as can be. That was great, because people in Poland really like America, and they probably didn't understand what I was singing. I bet these people were like, "what is this American girl doing in our town? It's interesting that these group of young people are preaching, but an American?" Then when I finished up, I began to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, and not the gospel of dying and going to heaven. I spoke on living and not dying, and how God wants to do you good! I addressed the issues of what happened with the war, and with communism. How they were free, but on the inside they needed real freedom. The only one who could truly free them was Jesus, and he was ready to do it now (teraz)! During my sermon I had some random guy try to interrupt me, he was distracted by our security guy, and I kept preaching. Then I noticed on the edge of the square, the police were talking with Pastor Roman, the one in charge of this event. He had all the legal stuff in place (I believe), and was dealing with that distraction. I kept preaching. Then someone was either messing with the sound, or (Bill Gilpin would love this) the sound demons started to manifest. The sound went off completely, my interpreter (Gabby) and I kept preaching. I didn't miss a beat, I began yelling like I was at a George Whitefield revival service. My interpreter followed my lead, and we kept preaching. As soon as the sound kicked back on I finished, and began to look for the softest person on the street I could find.
I had seen this 23 year old guy sitting on a bench, and he was the there the entire time listening. He had on dark sunglasses, and headphones. I could tell he wasn't listening to music, he was listening to what we were saying. I normally don't prefer to single guys out without another guy, but I didn't have time to go there. I grabbed my friend Natalia T., and explained what I felt we needed to do. I felt on the inside we needed to pray for him. So we walked over there, and began to talk with him. I didn't use any religious words, but treated him like a human being. Jesus did the same thing when he spoke with the woman at the well (John 4). I introduced myself, and began to ask questions about him. He told me his name, that he was from Skoczów, and that he used to go to church. He got hurt in church, and you know the rest. His heart was very soft, and he was touched by what had been spoken. I asked if we could pray for him, and he said yes. He took off his sunglasses, and stared me down. I took off my sunglasses, and stared right back. Then I began to pray with power, and watched God begin to touch this young man. I prayed over his finances, his family, and asked God to fill him with life. I don't think he was expecting in a million years for this to happen in his life. I didn't lay a finger on him, but was very careful in every aspect. I invited him to come visit either Pastor Roman's church, or ours in Ciesyzn. He was very open, and he was very touched.
Not only did I get a chance to meet this young man, but I also got a chance to meet several youth girls who happened to be walking about. Being an American in Poland is paying off in a great way, because it's natural for them to open the door to the conversation. "What are you doing in Poland?" Basically, you're not in Paris, Rome, or London...why here? That my friends is an easy open door for anyone looking to share some good news. I shared why I was in Poland, how much I love all things Polish, and how great it was to meet them. These girls had fun talking with us, and walked away pretty happy. It was a win win sort of day, as we all worked together pushing towards the same goal: touching lives!
I'm really proud of these guys from Warsaw, who are being sent out all over Poland to do these outreach events. They're not even doing it for themselves, nor for their own church. They sacrificed their time to support other Churches of Glory, and they did it wilth an excellent spirit. They were there early, they were organized, and they worked in unity. There was a good anointing on the event, and it went without a hitch. Yes, opposition was trying to do its thing, but nothing came of it. The group from Warsaw left town later that day, leaving a trail of goodness behind them. I walked away learning a lot about what can be done in the region I'm in. It may seem like the people are hard, due to the old Polish religion. However, I saw that people were open, and there is a harvest available.
Here are a few keys I have learned for effective evangelism that
work in the U.S., and in Poland.
- Use as few religious words as possible
- Make the most of every opportunity
- No one can refute your testimony
- Pray in advance for discernment, and ask to be led by the Holy Spirit
- Pray against opposition, and ask for uninterrupted opportunities with people
- Have testimonies in the back of your head
- Be ready for anything (pray, sing, preach, speak, healing...whatever)
- You're always in season...no matter what
- At the end of the day, they are people, just strike up a conversion, and be real
- Meet people where they are at, don't be churchy...be a real person.
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