What a wonderful week of ministry with First Baptist Church of Lewes, DE! Pastor Munro and Pastor Reddick are two wise and well-educated men who are still believing God to do something in their church and in their city. I was encouraged by their faith and their heart to follow the Lord’s will.
Recruiting went well and some of the teens in the church were pumped about inviting their friends. The team captains were able to invite several sports teams. I was able to invite the football team, part of the basketball team, and a portion of the local ROTC group.
The event was well-attended, bringing a total of 69 teens from the community. Though the competition was fierce, and the spirit high, the most exhilarating thing was what God did in hearts. The first night, a number of teens responded in the invitation. One young man told his counselor in the counseling room that he had already made the decision. the counselor assumed he had come back with questions on assurance, so he dealt with that and some verses on dealing with sin. The teen came to me for follow up questions. The counselor made sure to tell me he had been saved previous to his conversation with him. I asked, “So then, what are you depending on to get to heaven.” He said, “Jesus.” “Anything else?” “No.” “When did you start trusting Christ alone.” He didn’t even hesitate, “Right after you told the story about the guy who got hanged tonight.” Praise God for the conviction of the Spirit!! He trusted Christ before the invitation!!
Another junior higher refused to get saved in the counseling room. He kept saying, “I’m too young! I’m too young!” I challenged him that he was not too young to be saved and if he left without Christ and died, he would drop straight into Hell. He left with a heavy heart. Outside, he stood around, not wanting to go home. After a few minutes, he came back to his counselor and said, “I’m ready now” and trusted Christ! The counselor brought him to me for questions. While he was waiting to talk to me, I was following up with his little brother who was 7 years old and had been listening to the preaching from the back. He had so obviously understood the gospel and trusted Christ, everyone listening said later they were astounded by the clarity of the little boy’s answers. As I was turning to his older brother, I said, “Praise God that he wasn’t too young to get saved!”
Also that night, two teenage boys had been brought by their father, who had been invited by one of the teen girls in the youth group. The father listened from the back of the room as I preached the gospel. He raised his hand at the invitation along with his two teen boys. All three went back and trusted Christ. Praise God for saving an entire household! We were all amazed as we recalled that earlier that day in our team prayer meeting we had asked the Lord to save an entire family. Ten people were saved that first night.
The second night, God worked again. One young lady who had resisted The Lord the first night in the counseling room came back in the invitation again. Our team had specifically prayed that day for the Lord to convict her of her need to be saved. While the counselor was explaining the decision to make sure she understood, the young lady abruptly cut her off and said, “I’m ready.” She bowed her head and trusted Christ to save her! Nine more teens were saved the second night.
The final night, the weather was horrible. It was rainy and cold. At 5:40pm, the thought crossed my mind that if I were a teen, I wouldn’t come out. I saw the three or four teens who had showed up and told the Lord that I’d trust Him with what He’d give us. Before we started the competition, teens seemed to arrive in droves. God had delivered! That final night, six more teens were saved, totaling 25 saved for the week.
Though the week had its challenges, it was a week of encouragement and victories. We praise God for the work that He did!
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