preaching on the streets on campus

[julie89]

what is people's take on this?

i don't mean general preaching of the word in public...i mean...aggressive preaching...

people will stand on benches on my campus and scream things out at crowds of students, who scream things in response angrily, and the scream-fest gets really scary, so that i see other students who happen to be passing by literally RUN from the impromptu preachers in fear... :o

 

[Sound Silence]

They obviously are hurting the cause of God more than helping it.

Trust me, it's not good having people think of you as "the idiot with the big wooden cross" as they do one guy that shows up on our campus.

They only make Christians look pushy and psychotic.

 

[GrayJedi_Lightshade]

...look up "Brother Micah." ..I know as a Christian I'm not supposed to "hate" other men, but what I feel about this certain individual is certainly VERY close. He was at JMU recently, and I was practically infuriated at what I had seen just in the pictures I had seen.

I actually stumbled across this thread here. Ironically/coincidentally/just so happens that I have and still occasionally give messages out in a market plaza in downtown Fredericksburg, VA. The last one I gave was about having faith, and what it really means to have "faith" in anything at all. When I said even an atheist has faith to my audience (about 30 kids, aged from high school to early college), they chuckled. Granted..it is NERVE-WRACKING. You have to be compassionate, and you have to be real. Don't stand on a folding chair, talkin fire and brimstone...at all. Saw this one cat on a folding chair with a megaphone in downtown Richmond on a night where the art galleries were all on exhibition. I wanted to rush up, and swipe-kick it out from under him. He was giving the rest of us compassionate Christians a bad name. But..that would let others see how even Christian hate each other and oppress each other at times, so I didn't. lol.

It's ALL about tact. The biggest problem/mistake people make in terms of street preaching has to do with the attitude and mindset before they even open their mouth. The worst things have/can happen with the best of intentions. But intentions never concur with attitude. Both are each their own factor.

 

[ChevyRodeo]

what is people's take on this?

i don't mean general preaching of the word in public...i mean...aggressive preaching...

people will stand on benches on my campus and scream things out at crowds of students, who scream things in response angrily, and the scream-fest gets really scary, so that i see other students who happen to be passing by literally RUN from the impromptu preachers in fear... :o

its deteriorating to the credibility and seriousness of the religion because of how post modern mind will view it.

Christians should consider themselves businessmen, we are in the business of collecting souls for Jesus. We have to be appealing to the most amount of people possible while still having doctrine as our foundation.

 

[Tissue]

This sort of thing is pretty goofy.

 

[GrayJedi_Lightshade]

no, you just have to do it RIGHT. It's easy to do things wrong, but that doesn't mean there's not a right way to do it. John did it, Paul did it, and Jesus did it a ton. Why can't we?

 

[knowprayr]

Chevy Rodeo is Right! In Galatians 6, it states that we are to "restore the Spirit with Gentleness."

Normally when you minister to someone for the first time, you have no idea what they have been through, and it can be very dis-heartening to have someone being lude and agressive in your face
telling you that you're bad and you need to change.

However, I do commend the brother for walking in boldness, but pray God gives him insight and wisdom on how to proclaim the Gospel softer and not all...

 

[azlan88]

If any of you guys are interested in spreading the gospel on campus, I can offer some advice. My pastor said that the Holy Spirit usually does His work when we put ourselves in uncomfortable situations. So I recommend that you try a proven formula. Richard Wurmbrand would walk up to people on the street and ask them if he may talk to them about Jesus. He struck gold when he converted a police officer and her husband in one day! So why not walk up to the next Muslim woman you see and ask her if you may tell her about Jesus? It seems like there's lots of them to go around, and it's something that I'd like to try myself. Will you please pray that I have the courage to walk up to them and ask, and will you join me in the cause?

 

[Blazin Bones]

I'll pray for your bolness if you'll pray for mine.

(I'll really do it even if you don;t pray for mine.)

 

[azlan88]

Done.

 

[NoMoreSilence]

I believe in witnessing on the streets and on campus, telling others of God's love and what He has done for you and what He wants to do for them, but preaching at them only scares them away.
I have gone witnessing in crowded malls, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you don't preach at them.

 

[wackojacko1138]

Why should we be afraid to preach His word as passionately as possible? Why should one be ashamed of his faith in God? I've made it my mission this Lenten season to proclaim, as loudly as possible, God's Good News. "Faith is a private matter" is a lie perpetrated by enemies of God with the hope that they can stifle Him, but He will not be silenced, and neither will I. Yes, some of the unsaved will find it offensive, but isn't that a small price to pay for their (and our) eternal souls?

 

[GrayJedi_Lightshade]

Okay, faith is not supposed to be a completely private matter. agreed. But I think tact is extremely important. The fire and brimstone approach on the open street..just plain out doesn't work. It even p****s ME off.

Preaching straight out salvation and how humans damn themselves to hell has been overdone as it is. I would suggest talking about something else. Something..cool. Like faith itself. Tell people how having faith is beneficial, good, and awesome. Or talk about how Christ, in fact, took our place of punishment and how God now sees us as fellow/co-heirs to the throne. That might catch some ears. I'm sick of hearing people preach about the stuff you should avoid. Start preaching about stuff that we should NOT avoid.

I've said it before, but "Brother Micah" is a DESPICABLE example of a street preacher. I saw pics of this guy "preaching" at JMU. I didn't even see a video or hear his narcissistic voice, but just seeing how he talked and the captions of what was said absolutely appalled me. Perfect example of what NOT to do.

As said before, there are right ways to do things, and then.....there's the not-so-right way to do things. lol.

 

[frying-pan-addict]

Charles Spurgeon was a magnificent open air/street preacher and he strongly urged preachers who are going into ministry to spend a year or so open air preaching. Now, the handling of God's word is a very, oh, "sacred" matter. One ought not handle God's word in a way that blasphemes and brings disrepute or dishonor to the name of God. Those who do so are taking God's name in vain. Watch out!

 

[Love Of A Lamb<3]

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15 that was Jesus command to us all that believe and sure we should live by faith but not only by faith but faith with works and even in his word it says even the demons believe in him so we gotta have works tambien. It shows that we believe in him and come on why wouldn't we want to share the "Good News!" with people. I mean think about it what if someone never told you it would suck. I mean thats why His Word is called The Gospel cause its good news, but sure it shouldn't be forced on people because Jesus didn't preach that way but should be preached with Love. People have a bad view of preaching these days its really about how and what your preaching about. But we all need to tell everyone about Jesus no matter what because the people that we pass by thats thier blood on our hands if they die and go to hell. I'm not gonna lie I have'nt gone out there yet but I'm passionatly waiting for the chance. Those that have recieved their prayer language(tounges) go! I have'nt yet but I'm waiting on the Lord Because we need the Holy Spirit to guide us and put the words in our mouth and give us the courage. It's not by power nor by might but by his Spirit saith the Lord. We can choose to listen and obey or to make excuses and not obey. The choice is ours.

 

[Gideon]

Personally, I don't think any kind of street preaching is going to be helpful for the majority, because of the stigmas that go with it, not it's inherent goodness or badness. Why swim upstream when you can get out and walk? Where I live, it would be a terrible idea, just isn't part of the culture.

One thing I do thing we should do more is oppose those who are loudly and publicly spouting off heresies in the name of Christianity. In North American Culture, the loudest and most controversial voice gets heard, and represented as normative.

Okay, faith is not supposed to be a completely private matter. agreed. But I think tact is extremely important. The fire and brimstone approach on the open street..just plain out doesn't work. It even p****s ME off.

Fire and brimstone preaching only works if you believe in Calvinistic predestination. Because then the idea is to expose as many people as possible to the fear of God's all-encompassing power and mercy and those that are predestined to believe will and those who don't weren't meant to.

Those that have recieved their prayer language(tounges) go! I have'nt yet but I'm waiting on the Lord Because we need the Holy Spirit to guide us and put the words in our mouth and give us the courage. It's not by power nor by might but by his Spirit saith the Lord. We can choose to listen and obey or to make excuses and not obey. The choice is ours.

This may be an odd question, but what does tongues (as I understand Paul, a personal thing, not a communal one) have to do with weather you know enough about Christianity to share it? Might be because I was raised baptist, but if you're christian enough to love them as God does, you're christian enough to work miracles for sure. Jesus sent out his disciples to work miracles among the people LONG before they knew what you know, namely, what the good news of the messiah Christ Jesus actually IS.

 

[Love Of A Lamb<3]

Personally, I don't think any kind of street preaching is going to be helpful for the majority, because of the stigmas that go with it, not it's inherent goodness or badness. Why swim upstream when you can get out and walk? Where I live, it would be a terrible idea, just isn't part of the culture.

One thing I do thing we should do more is oppose those who are loudly and publicly spouting off heresies in the name of Christianity. In North American Culture, the loudest and most controversial voice gets heard, and represented as normative.

Okay, faith is not supposed to be a completely private matter. agreed. But I think tact is extremely important. The fire and brimstone approach on the open street..just plain out doesn't work. It even p****s ME off.

Fire and brimstone preaching only works if you believe in Calvinistic predestination. Because then the idea is to expose as many people as possible to the fear of God's all-encompassing power and mercy and those that are predestined to believe will and those who don't weren't meant to.

[quote="Love Of A Lamb<3":3vmz5axn] Those that have recieved their prayer language(tounges) go! I have'nt yet but I'm waiting on the Lord Because we need the Holy Spirit to guide us and put the words in our mouth and give us the courage. It's not by power nor by might but by his Spirit saith the Lord. We can choose to listen and obey or to make excuses and not obey. The choice is ours.

This may be an odd question, but what does tongues (as I understand Paul, a personal thing, not a communal one) have to do with weather you know enough about Christianity to share it? Might be because I was raised baptist, but if you're christian enough to love them as God does, you're christian enough to work miracles for sure. Jesus sent out his disciples to work miracles among the people LONG before they knew what you know, namely, what the good news of the messiah Christ Jesus actually IS.[/quote:3vmz5axn]

I would rather not argue on this subject, well rather not argue at all lol but to make things clear the Disciples went out when Jesus was here on earth before he died for our sins but he said that after he went home to the Father(God) he would send his comforter(Holy Spirit) and Tongues is one of the signs of Pentacost(When the Disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit) and he even told his Disciples before he went up to heaven to wait ACTS 1:4 ("for the promise of the Father"->HOLY SPIRIT). And we should know about Him before we go out and preach because why whould you go out and preach about someone you don't even know? (Look at 1 Peter 3:15- We gotta be prepared.) Thats why we have His Word and by hearing His Word we gain faith and we need faith in order for miracles to happen Plus without the Holy Spirit we can't make it without him because he is God and we shouldn't neglect him.




The Main thing I gotta say to everyone on here is that we are to follow Jesus and that means doing everything he did. We're not perfect(No one is) but Jesus is and he will help us to learn along the way Please know that I'm not trying to start anything just stating the facts. Jesus Loves you.