There’s a chill in the air over the Great Lakes region, where churches are taking advantage of fall’s last stand to share the Gospel in the Great Outdoors.
Kevin Lingenfelter pastors Harvest Church International outside Plymouth, Illinois, about 100 miles south of the Quad Cities.
“Our church sits in a corn field,” said Kevin, who is also a bus driver, volunteer firefighter and reserve deputy for the local sheriff’s department. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere. But we can still be effective for evangelism.”
It’s that kind of attitude that landed Kevin in yet another community-oriented role. He’s one of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s 87 area coordinators for My Hope 2014 with Billy Graham.
The nationwide evangelistic outreach, which is also happening in Canada and the UK, gives churches and individual believers powerful tools to share with friends and neighbors who haven’t invited Jesus into their lives.
This year, around Billy Graham’s 96th birthday on Nov. 7, a new video called Heaven will be released, featuring a never-before-seen message from Mr. Graham. Last year, millions of people watched the My Hope video The Cross on Fox News and hundreds of local TV channels. More than a million watched the 30-minute program on DVD and streaming online.
The members of Kevin’s church in Illinois are continuing to reach people through the My Hope message as they wait for Heaven to be released.
A couple of weekends ago, they got together for a fall weenie roast. They had the wide-open space and the burn pit; they just needed a way to share the Gospel. So they dusted off their old projector, waited for it to get dark and showed The Cross on the outside wall of the church.
“I was watching one of our guests, and you could see the tears welling up in her eyes,” Kevin said. “She had all kinds of questions.”
By the end of the night, people were already talking about holding another event before the temperatures plummet. Kevin also sensed that he should show the My Hope video Defining Moments in church on Sunday to go with his message on the biblical queen, Esther, and her “defining moment.” Three people made decisions for Christ that day.
Meanwhile, about 60 miles east, in Lewistown, Illinois, a pastor friend of Kevin’s decided to hold an outdoor event at his church, complete with hayrides, a fire pit and a big screen TV borrowed from the local Rent-a-Center.
“They ended up having three people commit their lives to the Lord,” Kevin said.
When The Cross came to a close, one of the guests headed for his car, dug around for something and came back to speak with the pastor.
“He goes, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna need this anymore,’ and he handed him a bag of marijuana,” Kevin said.
“These videos are powerful, and it works,” said Don Matolyak, who served as a local pastor for three decades and is now BGEA’s regional My Hope coordinator for the Great Lakes area.
“I personally believe America’s in trouble, and there’s only one solution,” Don said. “It’s not in the White House or the state house or the mayor’s office. The only solution is the Gospel, and My Hope puts tools in local pastors’ hands that really do work.”
As he’s crisscrossed nine states from Minnesota to West Virginia, Don has seen an outpouring of creativity that matches the diversity of the region.
From harvest parties to New Year’s Eve events to My Hope showings planned during the Super Bowl halftime show, churches are praying about the best ways to reach people with the Gospel.
One church in Indiana is investigating putting together a My Hope kiosk at the local mall. Holiday shoppers could take a load off, check out one of the short videos and hopefully leave the mall with the ultimate Christmas gift—a relationship with Christ.
With so many ways to use My Hope, Kevin’s best advice for churches is to start praying about it now.
“This starts in prayer and ends in prayer,” he said. “And then I would highly recommend doing something.
“When we step out and do an outreach, God will meet us where we’re at. And especially if we’re praying about it, He’ll open up the doors.”
Start planning your My Hope event.
Order your free DVD copy of the new message, Heaven.
