Peace and joy fill the faces of this couple after they both received Jesus as Lord during our monthly Saturday Outreach from Deep Passion.
We go out into our immediate community, identified to us as Green Pastures, seeking opportunities to co-minster with Holy Spirit: Salvation, Deliverance, Healing, Hope, Edification, Reconciliation & Communion.
Many others also received a touch from God in one or more of these areas!
Only a half block away from Deep Passion, we encountered a young man on the sidewalk….cold and hungry. We gave him a bag lunch & other useful items. Then, he was surprised with a warm hat & gloves, and he got to unwrap and put on a brand-new hoodie sweatshirt! His smile went from ear-to-ear! Paul and Cecilia then talked to him about Jesus, and told him how much he was loved by Jesus, and shared what Jesus had done in order that he could be with Him from now through eternity. On the sidewalk, this young man accepted Jesus as his Savior and then was led to partake in Holy Communion!
Over on the north side of Broad Street, others on our team were distributing more gift-wrapped hoodie sweatshirts and bag lunches, along with hand/toe/body warmers….& more wonderful things that had been donated this past week to Deep Passion by those wanted to help the “disadvantaged” we were going to serve on this cold 40 degree day. There, they prayed for a woman with pain in her back, a man with a strained back, a man with urinary issues, and a woman suffering from grief due to the death of her aunt. The Lord released tangible healing in a powerful way! All back pain disappeared! Joy & peace returned! Each felt His presence and healing power, praise God!
First thing in the morning during "The River", Paul Schutte encountered a homeless man on the sidewalk and invited him into Deep Passion. The man welcomed an opportunity to come in, sit and relax, and enjoy a free cup of coffee. After conversing with the volunteers, the man asked for prayer for a painful back that had plagued him for 4 years. Paul learned that while the man believed in God, he had not ever accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. So Paul led him to Christ; then he said his back no longer hurt!
A little while later, Paul encountered another young man. He was curious enough about Deep Passion to a take a detour from his destination and come in to talk with the volunteer team. After a bit conversation, he asked for prayer for his temper and his anger. He also said he had been seeking God, but was having a hard time finding Him. Paul, subsequently, lead this young man to Jesus with the sinner's prayer, as well!
Later, on Friday evening after Expressions of Worship concluded, Bob was cleaning up when a young man came in from The Camel (the bar/music venue next door). He was also curious about Deep Passion. He admitted to not being a "praying person" but asked for prayer, as he had just that very day lost his best friend and he needed help to deal with it. After praying with Bob, he also became a citizen of Heaven!
This testimony was relayed by one of the team members that left Deep Passion with Christmas cards, which included gift cards, to be given out to the needy along Broad Street.....
"We approached a woman at the bus stop to speak with her about the love of God and to offer prayer. As we mentioned the name of JESUS, she became very irate and asked us to leave. We continued to reach out to her with compassion. We told her that Jesus loved her and because of His love for her, we were out on His behalf to offer her a gift from Him and us at Deep Passion. We asked her if she would accept the gift from Jesus and she said yes. When she opened the Christmas card we had for her, she was excited to find the Subway gift card. As we continued to communicate with her with compassion, her countenance and attitude changed and she began to talk with each of us. As we were leaving she said "God bless you!" and smiled."
Within an hour and a half, our team of seven distributed 29 gifts cards, had the opportunity to pray with many, and had one salvation as a man gave his life to Jesus in the parking lot of the gas station directly across the street from our building.
Glory to God!