Ambassadors Acadamy
Ambassadors Acadamy in LA - WOW
17/November/2008 08:21 PM Filed in: Faith and God
Two Weeks ago Jane and I returned from LA where we attended The Ambassador’s Academy. The Academy was three and a half days of intensive and fast-paced training and street evangelism under the teaching and leadership of members of the Living Waters staff including Tony Miano, Ray Comfort, Mark Spence, Emeal Zwayne and Kirk Cameron. After attending the Deeper conference near Atlanta just two weeks prior, we were pumped to continue in our evangelism training. However that doesn’t mean we weren’t nervous. After the first day and a half of in class training we were to hit the streets, starting with Hollywood Boulevard (the walk of stars) in LA.
Fifty people were accepted for the weekend. Our team had 7 people all from varied walks of life and evangelism experience. One couple in our team was particularly inspiring. Dwayne and Mary Ann from Norther California are 71 years old. They have a desire to reach the lost and are willing to get out of their comfort zone and be “fools for Christ” to make it happen. Neither of them had done any type of street witnessing before, to say nothing of open air preaching. One girl had been soundly save from a new age background. One of the fellows in our group was a pastor. And Brenda from New England had an inspiring testimony. She had grown up in the church but was a false convert. She came to a saving faith through her husband’s witness. He had become a christian after finding a Gospel tract in a porta-john! Now they are on fire believers who have started their own ministry training others how to share their faith. They have taken their one day seminar to over 50 churches in New England in the last 2 years - and it all started with ONE gospel tract that led to many being saved.
This summer Jane and I had begun open air preaching using my juggling as a way to draw a crowd (see here). But we were definitely going to be challenged by learning to open air preach to the masses, (without a juggling draw) and even something as scary as “Stop light” preaching. In big cities, many people bunch up on the sidewalk for about 90 seconds while they wait for the light to say walk. You have about 60-90 seconds to get the message out! Jane did a great job - see the video below. We also got to street preach out side of the famous Grovman’s Chinese Theatre where many movie premiers are held. (see video below) We all had many great one on one encounters with people in which we were able to share the Law and the Gospel.
With Trish Ramos, from www.fishwithtrish.com
It was a delight to meet Ray Comfort. We got along great with me being naturally goofy as a performer and he being very down to earth and fun loving. He even let me open one of his sessions with a 5 minute juggling act to break the ice. We can’t say enough about a Ray. It was also a delight to meet Kirk Cameron. We had lunch with him and I told him that he inspired me, as a Christian Entertainer. It is hard to find mentors (for lack of a better word) in the entertainment field as a Christian. I read his recent autobiography, and then passed it along to another friend of mine who I thought might be able to relate who was a star on the television series Star Trek Voyager.
We were inspired to see how preaching open air can be effective even if you don’t have a “crowd.” Because a preacher’s voice can travel astonishingly far if you have the wind behind you. It may not look, or seam like people are listening, but God’s word will never be preached in vain. I once said that everyone needs to experience being a missionary and door to door salesman in their life. (Both events I’ve had the honour of doing). But now I must add open air preaching to the list. It’s not easy to explain the feeling of having everyone in the crowd walk away from you as you preach.
I’d like to encourage anyone who’s read this to think more seriously about evangelism. Maybe for you it’s as simple as inviting someone to church, or leaving one gospel tract somewhere. But in the worlds of Spurgeon...
"Brethren, do something; do something, do something! While societies and unions make constitutions, let us win souls. I pray you, be men of action all of you. Get to work and quit yourselves like men. Old Suvarov's idea of war is mine: `Forward and strike! No theory! Attack! Form a column! Charge bayonets! Plunge into the center of the enemy! Our one aim is to win souls; and this we are not to talk about, but do in the power of God!" - Charles Spurgeon
It was halloween the day we were on Hollywood Boulevard.
bob open air hollywood blvd
jane open air hollywood blvd
Fifty people were accepted for the weekend. Our team had 7 people all from varied walks of life and evangelism experience. One couple in our team was particularly inspiring. Dwayne and Mary Ann from Norther California are 71 years old. They have a desire to reach the lost and are willing to get out of their comfort zone and be “fools for Christ” to make it happen. Neither of them had done any type of street witnessing before, to say nothing of open air preaching. One girl had been soundly save from a new age background. One of the fellows in our group was a pastor. And Brenda from New England had an inspiring testimony. She had grown up in the church but was a false convert. She came to a saving faith through her husband’s witness. He had become a christian after finding a Gospel tract in a porta-john! Now they are on fire believers who have started their own ministry training others how to share their faith. They have taken their one day seminar to over 50 churches in New England in the last 2 years - and it all started with ONE gospel tract that led to many being saved.
This summer Jane and I had begun open air preaching using my juggling as a way to draw a crowd (see here). But we were definitely going to be challenged by learning to open air preach to the masses, (without a juggling draw) and even something as scary as “Stop light” preaching. In big cities, many people bunch up on the sidewalk for about 90 seconds while they wait for the light to say walk. You have about 60-90 seconds to get the message out! Jane did a great job - see the video below. We also got to street preach out side of the famous Grovman’s Chinese Theatre where many movie premiers are held. (see video below) We all had many great one on one encounters with people in which we were able to share the Law and the Gospel.
With Trish Ramos, from www.fishwithtrish.com
It was a delight to meet Ray Comfort. We got along great with me being naturally goofy as a performer and he being very down to earth and fun loving. He even let me open one of his sessions with a 5 minute juggling act to break the ice. We can’t say enough about a Ray. It was also a delight to meet Kirk Cameron. We had lunch with him and I told him that he inspired me, as a Christian Entertainer. It is hard to find mentors (for lack of a better word) in the entertainment field as a Christian. I read his recent autobiography, and then passed it along to another friend of mine who I thought might be able to relate who was a star on the television series Star Trek Voyager.
We were inspired to see how preaching open air can be effective even if you don’t have a “crowd.” Because a preacher’s voice can travel astonishingly far if you have the wind behind you. It may not look, or seam like people are listening, but God’s word will never be preached in vain. I once said that everyone needs to experience being a missionary and door to door salesman in their life. (Both events I’ve had the honour of doing). But now I must add open air preaching to the list. It’s not easy to explain the feeling of having everyone in the crowd walk away from you as you preach.
I’d like to encourage anyone who’s read this to think more seriously about evangelism. Maybe for you it’s as simple as inviting someone to church, or leaving one gospel tract somewhere. But in the worlds of Spurgeon...
"Brethren, do something; do something, do something! While societies and unions make constitutions, let us win souls. I pray you, be men of action all of you. Get to work and quit yourselves like men. Old Suvarov's idea of war is mine: `Forward and strike! No theory! Attack! Form a column! Charge bayonets! Plunge into the center of the enemy! Our one aim is to win souls; and this we are not to talk about, but do in the power of God!" - Charles Spurgeon
It was halloween the day we were on Hollywood Boulevard.
bob open air hollywood blvd
jane open air hollywood blvd
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