I was with my friend and fellow evangelist Cory one Thursday afternoon in the North Seattle area. The Lord had put on my heart to revisit a park that Cory and I used to frequent to do evangelism. We went there, had lunch, and began walking around looking for people we could engage in conversation. The first few conversations didn’t go too far, and Cory suggested we sit on a bench for a bit. As I looked over my shoulder, I was drawn to a large cement patio area with wooden seating about 100 yards away. There were a couple of people sitting there and I felt like the Lord wanted us to head that way.
We walked that direction, and I wasn’t too sure whom we would talk to. But Cory soon struck up a conversation with a woman “A” who was sitting there. ‘A” was friendly and clearly wanted to talk. She had an European accent and fairly early on we learned she came from Europe years before. She spoke a lot about the problems she had encountered living in the United States. She felt that the system to create equality among different races had led to unqualified people working jobs and poor customer service. At one point, I told her she was a ‘reformer,’ one who was meant to bring change to the problems she had encountered.
We listened to “A” for a long time before sharing much ourselves. Clearly she just needed to vent. I was impressed by her English communication skills, in spite of her accent. She also clearly felt deeply about what she shared and it was thought provoking for us to hear.
Eventually, Cory brought up spiritual issues and she acknowledged the spiritual world behind the physical world. Yet she was hesitant to receive prayer from us so we didn’t push. Yet our conversation continued. She admitted having poor experiences with Christians in the past. I shared with her that not everyone who calls themselves a ‘Christian’ really is one. I also shared that Christians are in process and sometimes we do not live out of the Holy Spirit the way we should but react selfishly in our flesh. That seemed to make sense to her and I could tell she appreciated our honesty.
She also recalled a story from her days in Europe where someone died trying to help someone else out. It was hard for her to fathom how a good God could allow something unfair like that. I talked about how there are a lot of things we don’t understand but God doesn’t actually owe us anything, yet chooses to have mercy on us. Cory shared about how Jesus himself suffered in the flesh and understands our suffering. He went on to share how Jesus came to serve and that was much different than other religions. He didn’t just demand to be served but actually served people himself. Cory then shared his story of radical conversation, weaving in a gospel presentation. I briefly shared mine as well.
Then ‘A’ asked about supernatural experiences. We each shared some things we had experienced and she began to share things she had experienced as well. It was as if our conversation unlocked her heart to recall things that God was doing in her life over the years directly and through Christians to try and get her attention. She even shared a time when she spoke the name of Jesus over someone who was struggling to sleep and they were able to sleep. Amazing!
At that point, we had probably talked with her for about 1 hr and 15 minutes. Cory gave her a church card and she graciously received it. I gave her pocket testament that included a gospel of John and a gospel track. She was very thankful for both! We encouraged her to meet Jesus so she could be in God’s hand and be part of the difference the world needed, helping others.
It was amazing to see the power of listening and how it allowed “A” to feel safe and process. She did not feel like a couple of Christians had an agenda. She felt loved on and cared for. I believe God used Cory and I to help soften her heart and allow her to process her objections and hurts so they could be removed to enable her to see Jesus! That is the ministry of reconciliation that we have been given! Pray that “A” can fully surrender to the love of Jesus Christ and hear His voice, know Him and make Him known and walk fully in her God-given destiny!
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