I Was Saved at Three... Or Was I? (Should we Evangelize Children?)

Tweet

I've been taking a class on evangelism and missions. Because of this I've been thinking about evangelism a lot and particularly how it relates to children. Child evangelism is a subject that is close to my heart, and I think it'll make more sense if I tell you my story, err, testimony.

I grew up in a super Christian home. My mom tells me about how I was in church the first Sunday after I was born. She played the piano and my dad led the youth and music. We went to church every Sunday. Since the day of my birth I could count the Sundays I have not been in church on two hands (That's less than 10). I was presented with the Gospel at a very early age.

Ramen Noodles And Why The Sinner's Prayer Is Sending You To Hell

Tweet

I love ramen noodles, but I'm not so much a fan of the broth. Usually I cook up my noodles and then dump most of the broth out into the drain. Inevitably I dump a few noodles out with the broth, but of course I don't dump out all the noodles with the broth. That wouldn't make sense.

Recently I've seen a backlash against the "Sinner's prayer." Through a little research I've found that this denouncement isn't new. It has been going about in certain circles for a long time. It wasn't until the passed year or so that I really started seeing tweets, status updates, and blogs calling it out. I'm probably behind the curve on this, but as always I write about what is currently on my heart.

Oceanside Is Having a Christian Scare House. Is That Even Possible?

Tweet

Make this image your cover photo on Facebook, THANKS!

Halloween is definitely the holiday of broom riding witches and black cats. There are seriously some evil things that still happen on October 31st. My wife tells me that in years past, before we were married, they would have to hide their cats because they would get stolen and sacrificed. Seriously!

Scaremare 2011 by the Numbers (A Postmortem, If You Will)

Tweet

Only a few of the volunteer group

What a week! Scaremare was amazing. Just take a look at the numbers.

• 2 Workers Made Life Changing Decisions
• 2 Baptisms Scheduled for November
• 3 Nights
• 6.5 Was the Average Group Size (WHO IS THAT HALF PERSON!?)
• 6 Hours Touring
• 8 Salvations
• 15 Tours
• 35 Volunteers
• 91 Non-Oceansiders Toured Through Scaremare
• 500 Man-hours in Preparation

Numbers matter because people matter. Numbers are individuals. By the numbers this is one of the most successful events Oceanside Church has ever done. We were able to share the Gospel with more lost people in those three nights than we have probably been able to do for the rest of the year. Of those 91 people toured MANY of them did not know Christ.

Painting the Checkerboard Hallway

One of the most powerful parts of the whole experience was the camaraderie between all the volunteers. From set up to tear down everyone spent well over a week together. New friendships were sparked, inside jokes were made, and Christ was spoken into the lives of many workers who had abandoned Him long ago.

Emmie Gluing Newspaper to the Wall For Our Goose Bump Inducing Serial Killer Room

Truly, some of the greatest life change happened in the lives of those who worked in Scaremare. Every night we shared the gospel with ever person who volunteered. They listened and participated. Some made huge decisions, and all left closer to Christ than they came through our doors. That is success.

All these things can happen because of your support of time, prayer, and money. It would not be possible without your audacious vision for this little church in the middle of Mount Pleasant.

Using Halloween to Scare The "Hell" Out of People

Tweet

Why are clowns so scary??

Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching [them] from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Jude 1:22-23

I'm not cursing... if you're freaking out, calm down. I really just wanted you to click on the post. It worked! Thanks for the click. There is a point to my rather crass title.

Need a laugh? Here is a great montage of people being scared.

God has called us to reach out to those who are destined for eternal separation from God, and as Jude states, the fires of Hell. Hell isn't something people really like to hear about. Because of that in our culture many preachers don't like to preach about it or even say the word. Hell has to be preached about. If we don't warn people about it who will? No one.

Oceanside's main goal is to reach out to the lost. We desire for people to come to know Christ as their leader and forgiver. We work in all kinds of ways to help people make that decision: Block parties, Sunday services, small groups, podcasts, and street preaching (to name a few). This Halloween we're extending our reach and hosting, what many people might call, a haunted house.

Haunted really isn't the best term. It won't be full of ghosts, witches, or anything like that. But it will be a house filled with death. Death that is caused by sin. Suicide, drugs, prostitution, and serial killings are just a few of the themes.

So, what is the point? We're trying to remind people that this life will end, and we'll ask them if they're ready. The point of our, "Haunted house", for lack of a better term, will be to scare the Hell out of them and fill them with Christ. We're looking for people to be a part.

So how can you use this awesome opportunity to reach people for Christ? Well, I'm glad you asked.

We need:
Actors, Makeup artist, costumers, builders, crowd control, and counselors. It will be an awesome event for you to help at, please join in.

I DOUBT IT!!! What To Do When You Doubt Your Salvation.

Tweet

I had the privilege of speaking at Oceanside this past Sunday while Pastor Trey was out. You can head over to his blog to read about his time preaching at Common Ground Church.

This week we took a test. How did you do? I hope you passed. The test was on your salvation. Some people in the church, if you asked them would say, "Oh yeah, no doubt." Others would reply with a simple, "I don't know." And I'm sure some would say, "Nope."

There is no reason to doubt your salvation. Doubt is the absence of knowing. So if you know you're not a Christian you don't doubt. If you know you are a Christian you don't doubt. It's to those in the middle that I'm writing today.