Just Another Feather in the Cap

I never have been fond of handing out tracks. It's not in my gifting to do it properly. I have a homeless friend who is on our Night Strike team and this guy can hand out tracks. It's almost like an anointing on him to pass these out and speak to people about Jesus. When I try it, I usually get pelted by an old woman wielding her purse as a weapon. Tracks just aren't my means of evangelism. I have also seen tracks misused more often than being used effectively.

We have had many teams spin off their own street ministry after attending Night Strike. Which is very cool because it means they get what we're doing. It's simple to do street ministry and we equip those people to launch their own efforts. One night I was on the streets and I saw a ministry team that was spun off from a Night Strike event. I was excited and spoke with the man leading his team. We need more people on the streets ministering period! This is a horrible economy and there are more homeless showing up in the streets and doorways.

This gentleman told me how excited he was that his team was doing great. Which is great news! Then he told me he had four people in one sidewalk camp receive Jesus. He pointed over to the camp and I recognized it. It was a camp where everyone was ALREADY saved. The people in this particular camp had grown up in church. One was a beautiful choir member. The people in the camp were just being polite to the youngsters passing out tracks. Now was the will of the Father brought to the camp on this evening? I know this minister didn't like the fact I was not out to have every person we encountered accept Christ through Night Strike ministry. So he decided to do it on his team. If you're objective on the streets is to save the already saved, what did you miss at the encounter? What did the Father send you to accomplish in the first place? What was the divine encounter that was missed? Having to feel you need to convert everyone you meet is a “feather in the cap” mentality. It doesn't work. And I know over time this minister will figure this out by talking to the homeless. The people at this camp, and many homeless are already saved. Don't mistake their spirituality for their earthly disposition.

Having someone recite the salvation prayer with you doesn't tear down their strongholds. Remember, God gave Adam and Eve free will to rebel against God. Having someone come by and witness to Adam and Eve and having them recite the salvation prayer wouldn't have changed their condition any. They already knew God, and just because Adam and Eve now found themselves homeless after being banished from the garden, they weren't any less loved in God's eyes. They were just dealing with the consequences of their actions. Many scenarios could have been played out with Adam and Eve. They had free will. They could have chosen to stay and not rebel. What if Adam had chosen to just leave the garden and be homeless on his own accord? Just as many homeless choose to be homeless in their own lifestyle. That would certainly have been a plausible scenario. It makes no sense to us. But Adam could have known God and chose to be homeless - and yet, still love God. Similarly, many of our homeless friends know and love Jesus. They allow us into their lives when we come to pray. We would love to see them made whole and leave the street life forever, but they're still working things out inside themselves and fighting strongholds of addiction, among other things.

When we stop by to see our friends on the streets, we step into their lives and their pain and pray with them and love them. Our pre-saved friends may not want us to pray for them. However, they would like us to sit down and listen to what is going on in their lives. The Father like's listening to their problems and letting them know He is listening. That's the mission our Father sends us out on these nights, to love all His children, whether saved or pre-saved.

Using tracks with pre-believers can also put up a wall. If you don't know how to work without tracks and an agenda what will you use? Witches, atheist, buddhists, and satanists? How would you talk to them? What is the Fathers will for them? Stand in front of them and explain your track and see how long that conversation lasts. The door will be instantly closed.

We as believers must have the maturity to know that the heavenly Father can handle his own encounters. He sets them up. We do have end of the evening testimonies at Night Strike of people who came to Christ by a powerful encounter set up by the Father that loves them. Many times it was just by being on hand and providing a simple need for them. Then an encounter just happens. It was the heavenly Father who set up the encounter and orchestrated it.We don't count the encounter as McDonald's counts the number of burgers served. It's all about the person God placed in front of you at the time of ministry and what the Father wants to say to them at their place in life at that moment.

My Father in heaven is extremely patient. I have no agenda when I go on the streets to be an ambassador for my Father in heaven. God invented time and He lives outside of it. He knows how to chase a son or a daughter. When the time comes for pre-believer to make the change to being a justified spirit we're their or someone else is. The goal isn't for us to add another feather to our cap for souls saved. Our mission is to be available when any situation arises so the Father may use us in an encounter with His children. We have seen some incredible eternal changes in people. Many of these encounters took years. And many saved souls went on unnoticed by us, because we were a part of the change, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit led them to their knees before Jesus in a dark alley some where.

When a heart is changed by the conviction of the Holy Spirit it is powerful. It may require just one encounter or hundreds of encounters by sons and daughters to get a person to this place of repentance. And the change is powerful and permanent. When a person is spoon fed salvation, rarely are the results long lasting. Mainly, because it was brought about by man's will and agenda and void of God's. Although, the intention was good, and an earthly feather was put in your cap, the vine did not grow.