Syracuse Mission Trip to Christ Is King Baptist Church

What a tremendous week I was able to experience. I would like to say that it was an absolute joy to work with Jon Speed this week. He was gracious, kind, encouraging, and I am so thankful to know a brother who gets it. We hiked together, prayed together, shared the gospel together, open-air preached together, and worshiped the living God together. I would go anywhere with Jon to preach the gospel. He truly understands the necessity of taking the gospel to the world and beseeching sinners to repent and believe in Jesus.

I would also like to offer a word of praise to the men who went with me. These men left families, jobs, and responsibilities in order to walk alongside their pastor for the sake of the gospel. We laughed, passed out tracts, preached, did one-on-one soul winning, prayed, worshiped, and encouraged each other. These men carried my amplifier, brought me coffee, were attentive to my preaching, and were some of the greatest servants that I have ever worked with. We never had one negative issue amongst us and there was absolutely NO drama. It was like a little taste of heaven to simply walk with these brothers for the cause of Christ. I am one truly blest pastor.  

I am tired as I am sitting on this plane making my way home. What a week that I have experienced. I have seen tremendous sights in the mountains, enjoyed remarkably cool weather, enjoyed running up a mountain twice, ate good food, and met people from all over the world (shared with a man who spoke Arabic, a man who was from Greece and spoke Greek fluently, talked to people from Canada, and had a wonderful conversation with a lady from Madagascar).

However, I have also experienced the tension of shining the light into the darkness. I have been cussed, mocked, screamed at, made fun of, ignored, told that I was unloving, told that I was prideful, told that I should not use the Bible so much, told not to talk about other religions, and to a certain degree I was lightly assaulted (a lady grabbed by amplifier and turned it face down to try to make me quit preaching). I have also experienced the joy of seeing people encouraged by the gospel, open to the gospel, and thinking about the gospel that was shared. I also saw the extreme hatred of the abortionist (his name is Mark and I ask that you pray for his conversion) and was reminded of just how hardened people can be. I saw a church encouraged by the gospel and some who only tolerated the gospel. I preached eight times in four days, passed out numerous gospel tracts, and had countless conversations about the gospel. It was a privilege, an honor, and I am so thankful to be allowed to work for such a great King. “He is the King of the world and He has commanded me to preach and preaching is my business”.