Evangelism at Waterside PrideFest, June 30th, 2018
- hemadeusalive
- Jul 5, 2018
- 6 min read
This day was very hard. Very rarely does the knowledge that so many people in my own community are unsaved penetrate my unmoving heart, but this day it did with a great force. For those of you who are unaware, Pridefest is an annual event celebrating the LGBT community. Because of the many differing opinions on the LGBT community within the American Christian Church, I feel the need to address my viewpoint on homosexuality. I hold the view that all Scripture was breathed out by God and profitable for teaching (2 Timothy 3:16), and the Bible is pretty explicit in that homosexuality falls under sexual immorality and, therefore, is sin (Genesis 1:24, 19:11; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Judges 19:16-24; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-1; 1 Timothy 1:8-10; Jude 7). That being said, our main reason for going to Pridefest was NOT to say “God hates you because of your homosexuality”, but rather share the true gospel: that we are ultimately deserving of wrath because of our trespasses, but God, who is rich in mercy and love, sent His son to die a sinner’s death so that we may have eternal life with Him (Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:16).
I saw many people that I personally knew at Pridefest; family friends, people from high and middle school, even friends who used to go to my church. Having more than a surface level conversation was scary for me… I was holding on to my fleshly desire to be liked by man (Galatians 1:10). Yet, as the phrase goes, God made straight lines with crooked sticks. He worked through all of us that passed out tracts and water bottles.
Galal, Donna and Kenny, a man named Rick, Zach, Philip, Patrick, and I went down to Waterside this day. Galal set up his water cooler right outside the entrance of the festival. He passed out booklets about suicide and depression, because suicide rates in the LGBT community are notoriously high (links below). The rest of us walked around throughout the area, though not through the festival, to pass out tracts. A large crowd went out to Pridefest; I was told that it was twice as big as the year previous. This is both a praise and a reason for prayer– a praise because God provided many people for us to speak with and pass out tracts to, but a reason for prayer because so many were gathered to celebrate sin.
Many conversations were had on this day, only through the work of God. Most of them were amicable, and some of them were fruitful. Galal talked for a long time with several couples. He was able to walk through the Law and then the full gospel with one couple, and even gave them a Ray Comfort movie about suicide and depression(linked below). Afterwards, he told me about their reactions. One of the girls was excited, and said thank you for the tracts and that they would watch the movie when they got home. The other was also responsive to the tract, but became more silent as time went on. Galal said that this was God at work, and that He was convicting this young woman of her own sin. This is an amazing thing. Please pray.
Kenny and Donna both walked up and down the area, passing out tracts and talking to individuals. Kenny is a very bold individual, and was able to speak to several people about the gospel. He also was able to pray with a young homeless man, and went to look for him again after a while to talk more about his situation but could not find him. Donna had been praying with her daughter that they would see a young adult who used to go to their church but left when he came out as gay. Just after her daughter had texted her, asking if she had seen him, the Lord answered their prayers! Donna did indeed see him and, even more than that, had the opportunity to speak with him about his life and the Lord’s will for it. She asked what his thoughts were on being gay and God’s word (i.e. homosexuality is a sin). He said that he battles with it, between thinking that his desires are not sinful and knowing that God’s word is infallible. Please pray for this young man and his temptations, pray for his identity to be found only in Christ, and please pray for him to find his satisfaction not in earthly desires but in Christ.
Patrick stayed in one place for the majority of the time, talking to one couple. They came to Pridefest as allies, and they got really in depth about the Law. He asked them if they thought they were good people, and they said yes, that they were very environmentally conscious and that they volunteered amongst other good deeds. Then he asked them if they had broken any of the Ten Commandments. Instead of relenting to the fact that no one is good, they tried to circumvent and to procure instances in which sinful actions would be societally acceptable. These moral dilemmas include lying to prevent harm or stealing food for a family. It was a pretty passionate conversation, lasting at least half an hour. However, they left seemingly indifferent. Please pray for their hearts and that the Lord would show them that there is no one who is truly good except for the Father (Matthew 10:14).
Philip had one very notable conversation with a drag queen named Joe. He had just come out of the festival and was sitting at one of the park tables when Philip approached him. Philip shared the gospel and they stayed talking for about twenty minutes. One of the notable mindsets that Joe had was that God would send him to hell for being gay. This is a great false narrative that Christians have asserted on this minority group. God does in fact send people to hell for practicing homosexuality, and for every specific sin they commit, but the sin of homosexuality is just wrongly emphasized above all else. There should be no hierarchy of sin in the Christian community when we all openly admit to being unrighteousness sinner’s in need of a Savior. A righteous judge will judge accordingly, and God will either be glorified in His judgement or in the love and mercy that He has shown to those who believe in Him. Philip was able to communicate that. Please pray for Joe’s salvation!
Zach and I worked side by side for most of the day. We did not get to have any deeper conversations, but there was one situation that was notable. We were handing out tracts to a family of teenagers and their parents. One of the teenagers was LGBT, and it seemed as though the whole family was going to support her. I asked her and her sister if they knew if they would go to heaven when they died, and the girl said hell while her sister said she didn’t know. I asked her sister if she ever was concerned about what would happen when she died and she said that she was. Then their parents ushered them away. Please pray that God saves her, that she would read the tract she received and know Jesus to be her Savior. There was also another situation where a girl was overheating and I was able to give her a tract and some water, while making sure she was okay. Her friends were appreciative, and I am so overjoyed at being able to show hospitality and love to them through helping in that way. Please pray that God used that situation to reverse the narrative many people in the LGBT community have that Christians are hateful so that they too may one day come to know Jesus as their Savior.
Although the day was filled with amazing opportunities to share the gospel and many conversations, there were also tense moments. Such moments came in the form of loud laughing and joking about what we were doing, small angry offhand comments, and even one man throwing a tract back in my face. These reactions were nothing compared to what other Christians face in the world (death, deportation, etc.), and they were nothing compared to what members of the LGBT community have received from Christians (ex: Westboro Baptist boycotting a gay soldier’s funeral). We are very blessed to have these interactions with people, even when they are uncomfortable. As I said before, I feared man more than I feared God on this day and these reactions only magnified my sin. Please pray for my dirty and sinful heart– that I would grow bolder in sharing the Gospel, even in circumstances like this.
This day was difficult, but we are still commanded to share the Gospel. Praise be to God for all that He allowed to happen. Please pray for those we were able to speak with and for all of those that we handed tracts out to on this day.
Suicide Among LGBT Community (stats from LGBT community)
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