Luke 10:2 Ministries

Thanksgiving is here. It is a time in this country when we celebrate giving thanks to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, for all the blessings which he has bestowed upon us.  I am told that schools now are telling students that the Puritans gave thanks to the Indians, not to God.  Schools are omiting the most important fact about this wonderful holiday and that is that God needs to be honored for all the blessings that He gives us. But, if you tell students something enough times, and over a long enough period of time, they will believe anything to be true. Even that there is no God or that there are many ways to heaven.

The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Psalm 14:1

Some students are being told that it is extreme to believe in the God of the Bible and that Christians show hate by sharing the Gospel with others, telling them there is only one way to go to heaven.  Students are told to be tolerant but they don’t seem to want to tolerate Christianity when it comes to repentance and faith in the only God that can save them on Judgment Day. They don’t like it when they are told to stop sinning and living in their wickedness as a response to the love of Christ and the mercy that He has poured out by being the sacrificial Lamb of God for our sins.  What a mighty God we serve. One that can save us from hell and from sin.  It is so sad to even hear professing “Christians” saying that they will always be addicted to pornography, drunkenness, fornication, lying, laciviousness, greed, pride, pot smoking, heavy metal satanic music, etc., when in fact there is a way that has been freely offered by God, to be made free from the bondage of sin. How precious is that joy and that personal relationship that each of us can have with the Creator of the universe who spoke his creation into existence, making everything in six literal days and then resting on the seventh.  He is Sovereign and Just.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.  Let us give thanks for the mercies that are new everyday, and rejoice always.  May He bless you and may His name be lifted on high.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.  2 Cor 5:11

I thank God for all of you and I thank God for all that He has blessed us with as believers in Jesus Christ.  This truly is a time of thanks!  I thank the Lord that He allows us to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the lost so that the captives can be set free.  I believe this nation has become quite complacent with its faith in Jesus.  But I believe that He wants to revive us and get us back to that relationship that we once had with Him.  I believe that this nation is slipping further and further from the Christian foundations in which it was built.  But I also believe that God is still in the business of mercifully pardoning, saving souls, and making people new in Christ.

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Isaiah 29:13

Are we thankful enough to share the Gospel with those that we love the most?  If we are so thank-full than I believe we should be willing to share God’s love with all that we encounter.  Family is the hardest to share with. It is easier to share the Gospel with a stranger. But we should challenge ourselves and take the opportunity to tell someone, even a family member, the wonderful Good News during this Thanksgiving season.  Surely if we are thankful for the love of Jesus in our lives, then we should be willing to share it with others.  Let’s tell them about being born again and how God has set you on that straight and narrow path!

Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Haggai 1:5

Tell them about your once love for sin and how you now hate it and won’t go back by the power of God.  Tell them about that cross and how Jesus gave up his life as a sacrifice for sinners commanding them to repent and put their absolute trust in Him.  And tell them in love, that a due punishment does await those who do not respond to what God has done. There is rejoicing in heaven for just one sinner that comes to repentance and puts their faith in Christ Jesus.  May the Lord be blessed during this Thanksgiving season.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jn 3:16

On a different note I have to point out that the Lord has been using the Gospel to really impact  these campuses we have been preaching on.  Praise the Lord!  Lots of conviction, questions, soul searching, and encouragement to the saints have been some of the amazing fruits of our family sharing this Good News with these lost souls on the these campuses and in the streets.  We made it through the east, midwest, west, and now we are on the west coast.  It appears as though we will make it into California this school year which will be a real blessing.  Last year we just had too many campuses leading up to California, so Christmas break had already started prior to us arriving.  Next week we should be starting the week at U Cal Berkeley on Monday and from there we will just wait on the Lord as to where to go.

After leaving South Dakota we headed for Lincoln, NE where we met up with the Wissman boys.  They come from a family of thirteen children! Their family travels around the country singing in churches and preaching the Gospel.  We heard them while we were in Pennsylvania at Rehoboth Christian Fellowship in Allensville, PA.  The way that the family harmonizes each song and shares about Jesus, repentance, and faith is wonderful.  The youngest is only three years old and she sang right along with the rest of the family.  Most of the family members play instruments as well.  So when we met these boys in their home town in Nebraska, it was a blessing to have them go to the campus with me and sow some seeds.  While preaching, I noticed them handing out tracts and witnessing to the university students.  We had a very cordial meeting that day, which, when it happens, is somewhat of a relief.  Quiet meetings are always appreciated.  The students were raising their hands prior to asking questions and were respectful and polite when opposing my responses.  I even got to meet the son of an attorney friend of mine who is a Christian.  He goes to school there and it was a delight to meet the next generation of a Christian brother coming up and walking out his faith.

We have really had the opportunity to put the travel trailer to the test in winter conditions this year.  This RV that we have can be used in all weather conditions including almost two feet of Colorado snow.  The snow accumulated in about two days and melted just about as fast.  I spent early mornings and evenings shoveling and sweeping the snow off of and around the RV.  We did get to go skiing for a couple of days so that was a blessing for sure.  Driving the RV in snowy mountainous conditions is not something that I would recommend anybody to aspire in doing.  It is difficult and treacherous.  The campus at the University of Colorado in Boulder (CU) and Colorado State University in Fort Collins (CSU) didn’t even flinch at this nasty October weather.  Classes were in full swing and so were the students and their objections, questions, and support.  I had thought that students wouldn’t want to stand around in the cold and wind, but just the opposite is true.  At the University of Colorado, I stayed until 6:00 pm and probably could have stayed later! But after six hours of preaching, singing, handing out tracts, and even praying with one student at the end, I was exhausted. Both of these campuses have very good free speech policies so I could basically just preach to my heart’s delight which was a joy.  At CSU, quite a large crowd gathered and very predictably one of the biggest discussions we had was on the age of the earth, evilution,  and the possibility of there being many ways to God, other than the precious blood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  The students want us all to “coexist”, but they want to exist without Christians.  It was argued that Christians are naive and misinformed.  I explained that I know what being misinformed is all about. I was misinformed for 40 years!  Now I can proclaim the Truth in love and pray that the Lord will give increase as He promises in His Holy Scriptures.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Mark 8:36

University of Wyoming in Laramie was another wonderful campus to preach on.  There is a registration policy normally to do free speech, but by the grace of God I was able to have the registration process waved and I was allowed to preach without going through the normal operating procedures.  I went two days and met a kind brother there named Sam Martin who witnesses and preaches on the campus. The days I was there he was right there also in the trenches answering questions and doing follow up while I preached. It was a real blessing to have him there sowing seeds.  On the second day, a nice sized crowd of students and faculty gathered and one of the loudest most foul-mouthed hecklers I have ever met helped gather the crowd. Hecklers usually don’t know it, but when they are loud, obnoxious, and confrontational,it helps to get people interested in the meeting.  This man was no exception and I actually had to caution him that if he was going to be as loud as he was for any length of time, that he had better start speaking from his diaphragm muscle or else he was going to hurt his voice if he kept up the volume from his throat.  I also added that he must have gone to heckler’s school because he was doing an excellent job.  Unfortunately, he used many filthy words which I asked him to please not do. At one point, I just sat down and listened to him as he ranted and raved.  Many students came up to me afterwards and thanked me for coming to this campus and even a professor came up to me and thanked me.  He said that from his classroom he could hear me clearly for two days singing and preaching and said that he was blessed to hear the Gospel being preached on their campus.  I cried when he told me this. Sometimes I wonder if anybody at these schools loves Jesus.  I wonder if anybody l trusts in Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.  So for this professor to encourage me, was a real lift.

In Cheyenne, WY we worshipped at a church with some believers where we had gone to last year.  It was a blessing to see them all again. Craig and Diane Baumann had us over for supper as well which also blessed us.  They have 10 precious children. This is a church that sings hymns angelically and in perfect harmony.  And very slow singing so I could actually sing my part in harmony with the other baratones.  The message was powerful.  Ken Lowry preached on repentance and to not let the tear of repentance leave your eyes.  Wow, I love getting fed when I go to church.

The University of Utah, as some of you may remember, was extremely difficult for me last year because it is where I went to college as a ski racer just off the ranks of being an athlete on the U.S. Ski Team.  This year would prove to be no exception, but the Lord really helped and gave me the strength to share the Gospel with the power that only the Holy Ghost can give.  As I entered the campus I went directly to the offices of the ski team.  Fortunately they are in the same location as they were 25 years ago.  I asked the secretary if I could speak with any of the coaches and she was kind enough to inform the one that was in the office that I was there.  He was the assistant coach and came out to the lobby and was excited to have me visiting, but was on the phone with Europe and asked me if I could return later.  I explained that I was busy as well and didn’t think I would have time later but very briefly shared God News with him and gave him three Gospel tracts.  He thanked me and had to go back to his office.  As I left,t he secretary who had overheard the entire conversation made it a point to say thank you to me.  I left the building and as I walked towards the lower campus where I would continue the day in sharing the Gospel. I cried out to the Lord in thanks for allowing me to sow some seeds in an area that has quite hard soil.  Also the fact that the secretary thanked me was very encouraging.  I ended up not preaching, but witnessing one on one for the rest of the day and handing out tracts.  The students I spoke with all thanked me for telling them the truth about Jesus Christ and what the Bible says about judgment day and salvation through Christ alone!  Praise the Lord.

We drove from Salt Lake City on to Idaho and stayed with the True’s for 12 days. It was wonderful spending time with them again as we did last year. We had some sweet times of fellowship together and we were able to go to the last few days of the revival meetings they were having at their church. I was also able to preach at Boise State University, fly to Dublin, Ireland for 5 days, and back to Idaho again. Lisa and William had a great time at the True’s during my short trip overseas. Will enjoyed homeschooling alongside Kent’s younger siblings. Before I left for Ireland, I preached at Boise State University two times – once during the day, and then Kent and I went back to the campus one evening. This was the first time for me preaching at a college campus at night! There are plenty of students attending night classes, so it is very worthwhile.  We met up with another brother, TJ O’Brien and his wife, that evening. It was a fruitful night and a blessing preaching, witnessing, and handing out tracts on that campus.

So Pat Necerato asked me to accompany him to Ireland for a project that he is working on to document open air preaching.  It was a time of preaching, witnessing, and interviewing. Additionally, we attended a couple of sessions at the Sermonindex revival conference.  I was truly blessed and encouraged to be a part of these interviews and hear these men pour their hearts out while elaborating and explaining their passion to proclaim the Gospel in the open air.  Ireland is a spiritually dark place if you haven’t heard.  Some of the photos below might describe Ireland better than I can put into words…here are also some photos from our recent U.S. travels:

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out… Acts 3:19a

After having returned from Ireland, I was burdened to go back to Boise State University and share some more Good News with the students.  So I went one more time during the day, and then Kent, his bro Andrew, and William and I went back during night classes. These boys were witnessing machines! It helps so much to have laborers out there with me.  In total, I was able to preach at Boise State four times.  During one of the days, I had set up the little refreshment station with some books that Mark Cahill provided for me to hand out to students, some lollipops, Gospel tracts, and my traveling case that has some real eye catching bumper stickers on it.  I couldn’t have been preaching for more than twenty minutes or so and no crowd had gathered yet.  A professor named Dr. Louis “Somethingorother” walked up and asked if he could interview me with a recording device, regarding young earth and my Biblical beliefs that the earth is approximately 6,000 years old and that there was a catasrophic flood that covered the entire earth as a judgment from God.  He must have heard from students from the week before that I had been asked my position on this because I hadn’t even brought it up in the message I was preaching on this particular day.  He recorded our conversation and amazingly the Lord really gave me the words to share with this man.  I got to quote Scripture, give testimony, answer his questions, and debate. His arguments regarding genome, common ancestry, etc, was like watching a man in battle with an unloaded gun.I really like the man and we ended up parting on very cordial notes.  There was a young girl who was there listening and tried to jump into the converstation at times. He seemed to know her but I can only assume that.  What happend later on was just too funny.  I preached for five hours and at one point I took out a sign that says “evolution is a lie”. This same girl had been there for most of the meeting and walked up to the bench I was standing on, grabbed my evilution sign while it leaned against the bench, and walked calmly away with it. I asked her to return it and, as the crowd watched her walk away, she simply didn’t care that she was stealing in broad daylight.  This is the third “evolution is a lie” sign that I have had stolen from me. I guess people either really love it or hate it depending on how you look at it.  On one of the evenings there at Boise, a young woman in the crowd explained that she is a youth pastor and that she thinks that what I am doing is really wrong.  After some discussion we discovered that she believes that even Muslims are going to heaven and that the Jesus they believe in with Islam is the same Jesus Christ of the Bible.  I explained that as a teacher, the Bible says she will be under a stricter judgment (James 3:1).  She became very upset at that point.  There were a couple of people in the crowd who became very sympathetic to her.  Actually, I was sympathetic too.  I was sorry to see her so upset. I do pray that she will consider those Scripture.  There is a broad path being taught and the idea that we don’t need our sins forgiven and that we don’t need to turn from our sins at all. But of course as true believers we know that this is not the case and that it is a narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14).  Well, otherwise this campus is one of the most respectful campuses that I have been privileged to preach on.  Students have genuine questions and have a real desire to hear what the Bible says about God.  Many of the students thanked me and asked me not to leave.  I told them that by the grace of God I would return next year…

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.  Acts 7:54

Following Boise State, we spent two days at University of Washington in Seattle. Even in the pouring rain the students gathered to hear the Gospel.  The first day I preached outside of the student union building. It was a grassy area with other religious booths set up.  No big crowd gathered, but the main heckler was a jewish man that told me I have a comic book understanding of the Bible.  We ended up having a nice heated discussion regarding the God of the Bible being Elohim – three in one. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  But that was really it for the first day, other than a couple of great 1-2-1’s and a couple hundred tracts were handed out.

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58:1

The second day, however, the location changed.  I went to Red Square in the middle of campus.  I tried to lift my voice like a trumpet proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ across an enormous brick area. I sang and preached and many students gathered on this second day.  I was utterly amazed that, even though it was raining cats and dogs, the students stayed outside – most without raincoats or umbrellas!  We had some great discussions on the inerrency of the Holy Bible, catholicism, homosexuality, the atonement of Christ, and true repentance.  It was a great day and many students heard the Gospel. While in Seattle, we stayed in the church parking lot of the Covenant Presbyterian Church for three days.  The brothers there were so kind to take us in and willing to let us park our RV there. It was flat and safe and really that is all we need for parking.

At Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR, Randy and Roger from a local church (where I was able to preach this last Lord’s day!) joined me along with a few of their children.  They joined me last year as well.  It is a real encouragement to see pastors preach in the open air.  Both of these men have such a loving and calm demeaner about them and the students responded really well to them.  At a couple of different points, we had a nice sized crowd of some really interested students.  The policeman that I had met last year was willing to take a tract from one of the children, so I thought that was a real blessing.  We were able to stay with Roger and his wife and their 5 children in their driveway again this year. We enjoyed wonderful fellowship together.

Portland State University was absolutely one of the darkest campuses I remember preaching on last year.  This year it didn’t seem quite so bad.  Perhaps it was because a young Russian named Victor came up while I was preaching and reached out to borrow my Bible.  I thought that either he wanted to abuse it or hopefully use it.  Well, he ended up using it and empowered by the Holy Ghost he preached quite eloquently to the students who were extremely confrontational and hostile.  A couple of hecklers were very angry and foul-mouthed and Victor just took it in stride.  One man that claimed to be a Christian was using extremely filthy words and was saying things that I wouldn’t repeat.  But he helped the crowd gather and get larger.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  Rom 8:28

In the last hour or so, there were several Muslim students that sat right in the front row of the benches that are stationed at this stage-like student area.  They did not like it when I told them that Jesus Christ is God. But the Gospel was preached and I believe God was glorified.  After I finished preaching,  three young men came up to me and thanked me for being on this city campus. We prayed together and I rejoiced to know that not only were they encouraging us, but one of the young men remembered me from last year. Another of the young men regularly shares the Gospel by publicly proclaiming it in the open air.  What a genuine blessing to meet these young soldiers for Christ.

This just in from Pat Necerato:

Brother Shawn,
I want to say thank you for your prayers for our ministry at the abortion
clinic. During our last visit, we spoke to two women.

The first was “Natalia.” She is 20 years old and was going in for an
abortion. We spoke to her and learned that she already had two children and
was 3 months pregnant.

We learned her mother had been praying for her. We shared the gospel with
her and presented her scriptures regarding her unborn child.

She began to cry and felt remorse for what she was about to do. We
immediately called “Emily” who is a sister in the Lord (there were no other
women with us.) Emily spoke to her and after about 15 minutes on the phone,
she decided not to go forward with the abortion and got on the bus and left.

About 5 minutes later, we had a similar situation. A woman decided not to go
in. We of course shared the gospel with her as well and pray they will both
repent and believe.

Please continue to pray as God leads us to this planned parenthood each
Thursday am.

In Christ,
Pat

Encouragement from Saints:

Dear Shawn Holes,

I am a current Freshman at Oregon State University.  I want to thank you for the powerful speech you gave today outside of our library.  I am a very strong believer, and sometimes the ideas that a secular university puts on a student are very overwhelming.  It made me very happy to see someone willing to argue and defend Christianity the way you did.  You have given me the courage to talk to my fellow hall mates about Christ.  Thank you so much for all you have done, you truly are a blessing.

And one more:

Sir, I wanted to thank you for coming to my school today.  Our campus is truly a Godless community.  I am amazed at how hostile the students get when they hear the truth.  The Bible predicts that though, so probably shouldn’t be a surprise.

Also here is a video from Darrel Rundus giving away $20,000.  Beth Morris from Ohio won by naming all ten commandments in a row in less than 20 seconds!

Thank you sincerely for your continued prayers and financial support.  Really, we cannot do this type of ministry without you. May the Lord bless you as you go and serve your King.  We love you all dearly.

Shawn Holes and family

We are preparing today to head to University of Nebraska in Lincoln to share some Good News.  Today we rest and prepare.  Lord willing we may be in Colorado by next week.  The Lord is pressing a very busy schedule into our calendar and it is joy to serve our King sharing the Truth to young people on college campuses.  I have been having to drive four to six hours daily to preach for the last few days and it is quite tiresome coupled with the cold weather and preaching.  The temperatures are ranging in the low forties right now and even though it looks like winter is just around the corner, we are pressing on.  Weather has not deterred the students for the last couple of weeks.  We have preached in freezing rain, snow, and sun but the students continue to gather.  I have had many conversations with students after preaching about their walk with God. Many are burdened over their sin and others are encouraged by us coming to their campus and preaching the Gospel open air.  We have also run into opposition from students, campus ministers, and administration, however, we continue to share.  Some of the campuses seem so dark and spiritually dead. So many students have been raised with little or no parental supervision and guidance.  So many students are just throwing their lives away to the devil and are proud of their wickedness.  Many do not want God in their lives and hate us for even telling them about His grace and mercy.  Please pray for souls to be saved and God to be glorified as we continue on.

btw, check out Lisa’s notes if you get a chance.  I pray that it is an encouragement to you.

Minnesota seemed to have a strong Muslim influence on the campuses that we visited.  The Muslims that I preached to and spoke with are so offended when I explain to them about Jesus being God.  Muslims are trying to be good enough to get to heaven so using the law while witnessing is not a problem. The problem arises when we claim Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven. Additionally, Muslims will not accept that the Bible is inerrant and often times point out that with all the English versions in print that there are no accurate translations…

While having preached with Pastor John Chisham on many occasions in the past including NYC, MN and SD last year and also FL, we joined forces again in MN and SD this year.  He is a bold witness reaching out to college students at Southwestern State University in Marshall MN, pastors a church, and does open air preaching.

The sun came out while we preached in Vermillion and many of the students stayed for hours to listen to Good News.  On the second day at the Vermillion campus, we had not intended to preach. Pastor Jon Lane and a brother Ivan joined me on the campus.  All we had hoped to do was hand out Gospel tracts.  The Lord would not have it that way, He instead had a professor let his class out to hear the preaching and ask questions.  Jon and Ivan went in for a little lunch and as he left me all I was doing was handing out tracts, but when he returned there was a crowd listening to to Gospel!  Praise the Lord.

On the third day, John Chisham joined me at South Dakota State University in Brookings. At one point, there was much opposition.  A young Asian woman that spoke broken English walked up to me and looked me in the eyes and said,” The Holy Spirit is giving you the words to speak.  He is directing you and shodding your feet.  Allow me to pray for you!”  Wow, did she pray.  I looked up after the prayer and had so much strength I could weep just thinking about how precious it as for her to pray for me.

Here is a note I received from a young man at a campus I preached on…

Hello Shawn,

You probably will be reading this amongst a bunch of hate mail……hopefully you’ve been getting hate mail; it indicates that you are doing something right!  I’ve always wondered what would happen if you turned the lights on in a bar, I guess people would get upset and leave.  You demonstrated that well today.  You shown light on our campus and people got angry and left.  Its sad how we pray to the lord of the harvest to send out workers but then get angry when our prayers get answered.  You are an answer to my prayers, you aren’t the type of person I envisioned would come and preach the gospel, but that just goes to show how awesome our God is!  I was standing there in awe of how christians (ones that I’ve respected while in college) were so angry with you.  Christians who have lovingly encouraged me to read the Bible I saw today were angry with you.  It’s ironic how one person responded that they can’t remember the last time they read their bible when I asked, yet they were angry with you.  I will be finishing reading the bible for my first time at the end of this year.  I’ve got a book called For the Love of God by D.A Carson which leads you through the old testament once and new testament twice.  I highly recommend that you not only just tell people to read the Bible but encourage them to get the book by D.A. Carson to lead them through it.  After reading the bible nearly everyday this year I have begun to see that the Gospel is offensive to those who are dying.  Jeremiah and the prophets were disliked because they spoke the truth, instead of humbleness and repentence, israel displayed anger and resentment.  The gospel is gracious to those being saved.

I was suspicious of you at first but when you boasted in you iniquities I knew you were legit….Paul boasted to the Galations of his iniquities when he was criticized for boasting.  You acknowledged that your sins were great…..hallelujah!  What does that say about our God?  You reminded me today of how great our GOD is!

As you pray for our campus, pray that we don’t remain idle.  When David sinned with Bathsheba it started because he was suppose to have gone to war, but he stayed in Jerusalem.  Then he saw Bathsheba…..and so on.  The fact that he remained idle is what led up to his sin.  I think that’s what has happened on this campus.  We have so many nice Christian groups, but few of them have a leader that is willing to offend someone for the sake of the gospel.  We are leading nice christian groups but are still “idle”.  We teach the love of God, the grace of God, even the ten commandments, but yet we can never fear the Lord because there’s nothing that we teach about him that is to be feared.  Prov1:7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  With out proper fear we are just fools that know a bunch of facts.  John 8:31 says “if you obey my teaching, you really are my disciples.  You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  First we must obey, THEN we will know the truth…..its human nature to want to know and then do.  It’s no wonder why we are given the Holy Spirit…to crush our human desires!  Two years ago our college pastor whom I consider to be my rabbi said “if you’re not reading the Bible and you call yourself a Christian, SHAME ON YOU!”  God is so gracious!  I finally realized that God’s gonna show grace in the way He wants it to be and we will never see it (or see it very little) if we only look for it in the way we want to receive it.

I’ll be praying for you and your work and that you don’t get thrown into a well.  I graduate in december and am looking into graduate school but I need God to confirm it by shutting the door or opening up another.  I sometimes wonder if I could do more for Gods kingdom if I wouldn’t continue school, but I haven’t found a wife or have a family to support so its so convenient right now to stay in school.  Remember to pray for me and Gods guidance for my future.  Thanks so much for being bold for the Gospel….there is no greater love.  I will praise Jesus for you and your life.

And here is another note from a student:

Shawn,

Hi! I hope you’re doing well.

Thanks for coming to (name of campus withheld to protect to student) campus and sharing the gospel. I’m sorry I was critical and proud when I asked you questions. (Even if I didn’t appear that way, I know I was some of the time.)

You were a great example of courage and self-control under fire, and you definitely got people talking–whether they liked you or not! Thank you for your time and your kindness to those who had questions. Both will go a long way.

Stay warm and may God bless you!

And here is another note from a student:

Hi,

I just wanted to write you and kind of say thank you in a way. I am a born again believer too.. and the last six months or so I drifted away from God and His ways.I feel like this was God at work in my life. When I got into the conversation with you at first I was defensive and wanted to argue with you, but as soon as I heard what you were saying I agree with what you were saying. The feeling I got from listening to you was warmth, I felt like I was back in My Fathers arms again. I just wanted to thank you for relighting that fire inside of me. I may not agree with your approach of sharing the gospel, but you are speaking truth, which is great! I have been praying for you through out the day and the students that you got a chance to talk to. I pray that God will give you the words and wisdom, and that the students would have an open heart to what God wants them to hear. Thanks so much!! I just want this email to be an encouraging email and an email that glorifies God!!! God bless.

and one more:

Hi Shawn,

I was on campus yesterday and briefly saw you on campus around noon.  I wasn’t so much listening to your message (as I came to know Christ back when I was in college in 1990), but was watching the crowd.  I’m sure you had your hands full with the number of close-minded people who wanted to argue with you.  But I was watching the people who were listening, really listening.  As I walked away (had to get to work) I was led to pray for the people there, but particularly for a guy who was sitting on a bicycle about halfway back through the crowd.  I’m not sure who he was or why I needed to pray for him, but I did.  I believe God was using you to speak directly to him.

I also felt God was leading me to tell you this:
You are making a difference.  What you do is hard work, work that not everyone is willing or equipped to do.  While you are going to meet a lot of resistence, please do not ever give up or lose heart.  Because while you most likely won’t see immediate results of people coming to Christ right there in the middle of campus, you are doing the huge step of planting the seed.  A seed that will nurture and grow in God’s time.

Thank you for all you do.  Stay strong in the Lord.

As I write this, we have just completed a wonderful week of visiting and staying with my folks in a suburb in Chicago, Illinois.  It was beautiful. I did get the opportunity to hand out tracts and preach throughout the week, so that was surely a bonus.  We got to see my brother Brad and his daughter Christa, my 73 year old mother who has a great career as a hospice nurse and took some days off to spend with Lisa, Will, and myself, and my brother Todd who is a stay at home son, taking care of my dear father who has Alzheimers.  He is 82 years old and doesn’t know his surroundings nor does he recognize people, including his wife, (my mom) of 53 years.  He is a shell of the man he once was and it is painful to see him fade away with this disease.  My mother and my brother Todd continue to care for his needs and really who knows how much longer he will live.  We had some laughs and great meals together.  It was a much needed time to slow down a bit and just relax.  We were able to stay in the Walmart parking lot with our RV the entire time we stayed and that was a real blessing.  It was flat, and quiet. And looking out our windows was a pond, which Lisa liked.

You know, that question, “when will I die?”, continued to pound at me while we visited my parents for the week.  I talk about death daily while going out and witnessing, but it was even more profoundly impacting me this last week with the condition of my sweet Dad.  I could die in my sleep, or while driving my car, while eating, or even while preaching.  It could happen at any time.  Additionally I now think, what am I going to do with the time that God has given me?  I heard a man talking to some young people at church during a children’s message and wouldn’t you know it, he was asking them about what they are going to do with the time that God has given them.  We all have the same amount in terms of minutes in a day.  But really, what are we going to do with that precious time?  Will we build up our kingdom on this earth? Will we be lazy or self centered with our time?  Will we esteem others better than ourselves with our time?  Will we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with our time?  What will we do with our time?  Time is ticking away and it surely cannot be slowed down or taken back.  In fact, now that I am 47 years old I have to truly declare that time seems to be going faster and faster all the time!  So, really, who knows how much longer any of us will live. But what are we doing with the time that God has given us.  I suppose to a certain extent we all live as though we have a million more tomorrows.  I suppose we all live as though we have plenty of time.  But I really wonder how many of us are truly right with God.  Will God say to you on that day when we face Him in all His glory, “well done good and faithful servant?  Or, will He say to you, “away from me you doer of iniquity, I never knew you?”  You can either bow your knee now in brokenness and belief, or bow you knee later in judgment and condemnation.  Please don’t waste your time on this earth.  Please don’t squander your life away for worldly pleasures!  You have one life to live, what will you do with it?   Will you live as though you have a million tomorrows on earth and selfishly and proudly live for yourself?  Or, will you live for the King of Kings?  The name that is above all names, Jesus Christ, the Messiah who came to take away the sins of the world.  What will you do?  Are you ready to meet your maker?  Are you justifying your sin and playing russian roulette with your eternity?  Are you ready to die?  Here’s a GREAT question to ask: Are you looking forward to Judgment Day? If you are in Christ, you can look forward to that day! Eternity lasts a really long time…the Bible says you will spend it in either one of two places and God has a place ready for you in either heaven or in hell.  “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. What will you do?

I am about to go out today and preach at Mankato State University here in southern Minnesota in freezing temperatures and…it is snowing.  The rest of the week doesn’t look like it will be much warmer.  And next week we pray we will be in South Dakota and again, it is cold weather.  I just pray that the Gospel will go forth.  I am praying for a great awakening on these campuses and in this country.  I pray that if we encounter cultural christians that they will become broken before the Lord and they will be born again by His grace.  I am praying for the Holy Spirit to move in a measurable and tangible way.  Lord, may you be glorified, for you deserve all the glory, and all the praise, and all the honor.  Let us praise His Holy Name and exalt Him. I pray for revival.

Schedule for the next two weeks looks something like this, Lord willing:

Monday Mankato MN

Tuesday Marshall MN

Wednesday Winona MN

Thursday St. Cloud MN

Friday U of MN

Saturday streets of Minneapolis

Monday Vermillion SD

Tuesday Vermillion SD

Wednesday Brookings SD

Thursday Sioux Falls SD

Friday Lincoln NE

Here is a brief update of some of the campuses that I visited over the last couple of weeks.  Most of the campuses I have preached on lately I have gone to by myself.  I have to be surrendered to our Lord in prayer and trust that He will not only bring the people to hear, but also allow me in love to share this Good News.  He protects me and directs me.  I just preached at Northern Illinois University where one man spit a huge gob of spit on me.  The crowd even objected when the man did this.  It was down right dirty. One young Catholic man stayed almost the entire time and at the end he said that I never shared about Jesus!  Well, I said that is just not true.  In fact as I go to these campuses I record what I say because so many false claims are made about what I have said.  I explained to this young man that if he wanted he could contact my email and I would download the 5 ½ hours of preaching to him and he could listen for himself as to how many times I actually shared the Good News of Christ, His precious blood, the forgiveness, the joy, the absolute surrender that he commands.  I haven’t heard from him though. Strangely many times I am confronted in lies and when I have evidence to prove the contrary to what people are saying, then all those falsehoods are seemingly no longer such strong arguments. So, I record messages and often times record by video as well.

At Buffalo University in Western NY state, I met up with a wonderful Christian student of which I met last year.  His name is Lijo.  He was there almost the entire day while I preached, witnessing and handing out tracts.  At one point a student that was there listening for quite some time approached me and said, “I GET IT!”  I get it.  It is absolutely wonderful to see students understand the Gospel on a not only mental level but also on a spiritual level.  What a blessing.   Many students stuck around at the end of the day and asked really great questions.  I preached on this campus in front of the student union building where a walking bridge crosses from one building to the next.  The crowd in front and behind was hostile and angry at times but twice as I preached I noticed that a real calm a quite attentive crowd was gathered above in the enclosed walking bridge overhead.  You never really know who might be listening.  Recently on one campus, I heard a shout from one of the dorm rooms close to where I was preaching.  The student yelled, “shut up nobody is listening to you!”  Hmmm, I thought, this student is listening to me otherwise they wouldn’t tell me to shut up.

Cortland State was an exciting campus to preach on mostly because I had been preaching for quite some time and a police officer came over to me and asked if I had permission to preach.  I replied that no I didn’t but I didn’t believe that it should be necessary for me to get any type of permit.  She asked if I would at least go and tell the administration that I was there, so I did so.  I met up with a man in administration that appeared to be very opposed to me being there and he explained some of the policies of the campus.  At any rate, he wasn’t very supportive it seemed, but I went out and continued to preach. A nice sized crowd gathered. My throat was getting very dry and I was thirsty and wouldn’t you know it, that same man that seemed so opposed to me came out with a bottle of water and set it at my feet.  I was very humbled and thankful for that, mostly because it came from this man.  I guess you never really know who is and isn’t listening, or supportive, or thankful… but I do know that we must press on.  It seems like lots of questions are coming up lately that have to do with sex. Young people have so many questions and so few answers.  If a preacher wanted, he could dwell on these discussions for hours and hours, but in reality we need to go to the root of the problem and that is the wickedness of man.  Our hearts are corrupt.  WE ARE NOT GOOD.  We need new hearts and new thoughts and new desires.  Lasciviousness is rampant here in the U.S. but so is wicked heart disease (and frankly, so is foul mouth disease).  We can treat the symptoms or we can treat the cause.  We need to treat the cause!  Man’s sin is hated by God.  He is giving us a way to be forgiven, and He demands a response.  We must obey Him when He commands all men everywhere to repent and to trust in Jesus.  God can make us born again but we must respond in repentance and faith.  Frankly, I don’t meet a lot of people that want to respond to the Good News in the way that the Bible commands us to.  Christianity is NOT an “attach this Christian religion to your already sinful life” system or program.  God wants us to be broken before Him and be willing to lay our lives down for Him.  His love is so immense and broad.  It is a deep love that compares to nothing this earth can offer.  The joy in knowing Him and believing Him is indescribable.  I thank the Lord for his kindness and mercy.  I thank Him for allowing me, a sinner, to die to myself and carry my cross daily.  Amazing grace! Thank you, Lord.  I pray more people can know Him! I pray for revival on campuses here in the United States.

As I walked up to preach on a rainy cool day at Northern Illinois University, I saw a man in the middle of the courtyard handing out Gospel tracts and witnessing boldly to students as they were walking from class to class.  We had a conversation prior to me beginning to preach, and he became very concerned to hear that I was going to be lifting up my voice to preach the Gospel.  I explained that I had come to this campus to have possibly hundreds of people hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Well, as I preached from 11 a.m. to almost 5 p.m., I could see him in the midst speaking to individuals in the crowd and sharing!  God, as always, brought people to hear the Good News.  Hundreds!  It was a great day.  I even thanked the crowd that stood there most of the day in spite of the rain and cold weather.  One young man that professed to be an atheist came back after having gone to class with a muffin and a nice hot drink for me!  His name was JP.  There were so many questions and lots of opposition.  Later the young man that I met that was witnessing to students when I walked up actually called and apologized for thinking that what I was doing was not going to be “effective”.  He was so humble and kind and eager to serve Jesus Christ.  What a nice thing for him to do by contacting me.  I know that Lord is using this young man and I hope to meet him again as souls will be saved from his bold witness.

Rehoboth Christian Fellowship in Pennsylvania is the church that gave us the motorhome last year. They invited me to preach there a couple of Sundays ago.  I preached on prayer and exhorted the brethren to be on their knees and used many historical and biblical references to encourage these wonderful saints during this Lord’s day message.  This church has been so kind to us and supportive and I am humbled by their amazing hospitality and support.  It is beautiful to worship with these brothers who are so broken before God and display His grace in their lives through their family lives and willingness to reach out to sinners.  Pennsylvania is a beautiful state to drive through.  It is in many ways like going back in time, so to speak.  Farms that are a couple hundred years old, rolling hills, winding roads, Amish folks driving horse drawn buggies…

University of Cincinnati was a wonderful campus to preach on – great acoustics and extremely large crowds.  The students are pretty used to preachers visiting their campus, but still want more it seemed.  Huge crowds gathered as I preached on this campus for two days preaching the wickedness of man, the holiness of God, and the love of Jesus Christ.  A film crew was there, and as it is at most colleges I was interviewed by one of the reporters.  He seemed curious that I don’t seem to be too concerned while the students push and spit and shout obscenities at me.  I explained that by the grace of God, I am allowed to share this message and the people’s response does not affect what I say or how I share it. I do not have to “earn” the right to speak to these people.  The right was established when Christ poured out His blood for us on the Cross and commanded us to tell all the world.  I am not making the students stay, but thankfully, hundreds choose to stay and listen. I believe the Lord is protecting me and is giving me discernment as I preach.  I explained to the reporter that I just trust the Lord! At one point on this campus I thought “wow, this crowd is getting enormous!”  I was thinking this while only looking forward.  I turned to look around to see if I had some room to move around, and as I turned I was stunned to see all the people standing and sitting listening to the Gospel of Jesus Christ behind me as well.  When I see large crowds like this, I try to make sure that I share the Gospel message as often as possible so they will hear the truth before leaving.  In a day on a campus I would estimate that the Gospel is shared at least twenty times to hundreds of people. Sometimes I will hear students say that they have already heard this and that I need to stop repeating myself!  At least I know they are listening.

Sinclair University is a college in downtown Dayton, Ohio that evidently overreacted quite a bit to a group of preachers last spring.  I had no idea prior to going to the campus to preach with a good brother named Judah Marx that three young preachers were arrested and one of them was even tackled in the process of these arrests by a police officer for preaching the Gospel!  Most of the charges were dropped from these arrests it turns out, but a couple still remain and will soon be hopefully resolved.  So I got to this campus prior to Judah arriving and began to preach and not having any idea of the arrests from last year.  It was so interesting.  People were looking at me like they were looking at a ghost.  They seemed shocked, but I kept preaching… a police officer approached me and tried to explain what the policies were that I was breaking but contradicted himself several times.  I listened intently but really felt bad for him.  He was trying so hard to be official and intimidating.  I obeyed what he asked me to do and went inside the administration building and registered with the administration but afterwards asked him if I could go back out and preach and he said yes.  So it was very strange but good that we all got our way. Judah evidently will go back to this campus several times in the future, Lord willing, and so he was thankful that we ended up getting the green light to share Good News.  At the end of the day while wrapping things up I had a wonderful conversation with a young girl who is getting baptized in a couple of weeks. She was really excited, but in conversation she said that her pastor knew that she is fornicating with a young man, and he is still going to baptize her. I asked her why she wasn’t willing to be born again,  She said, “I have been born again four times.”  I explained to her that you cannot be born again, again, again, again. Jesus only said that you must be born again!  Well, too many sins were being admitted to while we talked about her walk with her so called Saviour Jesus Christ.  This young girl is being told that she was on her way to heaven by her pastor but in reality she is on the highway to HELL unless she repents and is born again.  Sad, but this is really a message that is central to the theme that is rampant in the American church.  Easy believe-ism is the mantra and the drums of time are beating while sinner after sinner will stand before the just judge of the universe when they die to the surprise that their eternity will be spent in HELL.  I confronted this young girl in love and brought her through the Scriptures.  After we finished, she thanked me for everything we talked about.  A young man listened as we talked so I pray that he will get saved as well.  At one point though, he admitted that he looks at porn, has sex outside of marriage, he lies, he smokes pot, he is a thief because he downloads internet music and doesn’t pay for it, and he gets drunk, etc… He also said that he is a Christian.  I leave all of this in the Lord’s hands. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed”. John 8:36

May the Lord bless you as you read your Bible and pray.  I pray that you can boldly share the Good News of Christ with someone in your life today.  I pray that that person you share with will turn from their sins and trust Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.  Please continue to pray for our family as we travel to campuses.  The Lord has provided for all our needs but as usual we are trusting that He will burden your hearts with continuing to support us financially as we serve our King.