Taking It To The Streets

This month I have been part of a small group that got the chance to do street evangelism in a nearby city called Craiova. I wanted to write about my experience to give y’all an idea of where I started and where I am now…here we goooo

My Previous Experiences With Street Evangelism

We called them “the napkin people.” My freshman year these people who worked at a local church would patrol the dining halls and look for people to approach. They would whip out a napkin and draw a diagram of the gospel. Is this bad? No.

My problem was the people who approached me and my friends didn’t seem to care about actually getting to know us. I remember getting this vibe that this lady had already assumed I didn’t know anything about the gospel or Jesus, and just claimed to be a Christian…but she was wrong. I felt like she was just checking off her to-do list and didn’t care to know my heart at all.

My First Time Doing Street Evangelism 

A small group in my squad got to travel to a big city nearby and stay for the weekend. When we arrived, we were told that we would be doing street evangelism. AHHH. That is scary for me. But I prayed and trusted that Jesus would meet me in my weakness and fear. (spoiler alert: he did)

[Here is a pic of some of our street crew and a couple of the translators before we went out into Craiova for the first time]

I ended up meeting two Romanian girls on the street. We didn’t immediately ask them their religious beliefs, but we were honest about who we were. We told them that we were missionaries supporting churches along our travels, and they decided to be friends with us! We got to hang out with them several times that weekend and again the next weekend! As we got to know them more we got to learn their beliefs and we got to talk about our beliefs. And guess what…they had different beliefs than us.

How My Perspective Has Changed

So, have the two girls we met been saved? No. Did we give up on them and move onto people who are more willing to accept Christianity? NO! We care about them and love them as people. In loving them, we of course want them to know Jesus. But just like Jesus gave them free-will, we have to give them that too. We pray for their hearts and our conversations, but ultimately it’s up to the Holy Spirit to work in their lives.

Street evangelism has become one of my favorite ministries because I get to meet people from different countries who live lives soooo different than mine! I get to learn from them and we have open conversations about our beliefs. Also I get to talk about how good Jesus has been to me! 

[Pic: our new friends took us on a picnic in one of the biggest parks in Europe!] 

Why It’s Worth It Even When I “Fail”

As I was writing this, I felt worried about not having some crazy-miracle-story about how I did street evangelism and TEN people were saved and I baptized someone in the nearby fountain!! Would it be amazing if that happened? Yes. Did it happen? No. But I saw so much fruit from this experience.

First, after we were done for the day I felt SO MUCH JOY! It was like Jesus was sooo proud of me and he just poured down joy onto me.

Second, this country is heavily influenced by the Orthodox Church – a very traditional, ritualistic religion. We have heard from many people that they often come into contact with people who claim to be Christians who are close-minded and judgmental and don’t care to know people who won’t agree with their beliefs. 

Even though I can’t confidently say these two girls are “saved,” I know that we got to show them what the true love of Christ is like. We were honest with them and got to tell them who Jesus is, but we didn’t condemn them. We invited them into our lives and our hearts, and are trusting the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

What I’m Carrying With Me

It is not my job to save people, that job belongs to Jesus. It is my job to tell people who Jesus is. An equally important job is to love those people the way Jesus does. I think some people forget that second part. Other people forget the first part. When we can weave together our love for the lost people and our desire for them to know Jesus and his goodness…we are doing exactly what Jesus has asked us to do! (Matthew 28 and Mark 12)

I am praying that the body of Christ in every nation on earth will grow in boldness and gentleness in sharing the gospel (including me)! I am also praying that God would guide me deeper into trust in Him, and growing in the gift of evangelism. 

Love y’all, 

Em

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