“Ordained-ary Opportunities!”
By Steve Cohen, Missionary, Apple of His Eye, St. Louis
Before I began my full-time missionary career in 1976, I was a volunteer with Jews For Jesus in Tacoma, Washington. I made a couple of trips to the San Francisco area to meet with Moishe Rosen and the staff. During one of those meetings, I was told that the mission organization had nothing to give to me except an opportunity to take an ordinary situation and turn it into an extra-ordinary opportunity to tell the Gospel. Perhaps we could coin these as “ordained-ary” opportunities.
Background
In the early days, it was more difficult to respond quickly by creating new broadsides. Text had to be developed, an art treatment given, then negatives and printing plates made and finally to the press for printing and folding. If all was in sync, it could be done in a few days – but usually the lead-time needed was longer.
My biggest frustration was that I lacked the abilities to do the art, so I was reluctant to try developing new broadsides. More generic broadsides were used for many events, but the offshoot was a lower “take rate” and a higher “drop rate”.
One day I was hosted by a doctor in Ft. Wayne Indiana. He had a new Apple computer with a Mac Paint program on it. I was fascinated by it and all of a sudden a new world opened up. I did not have to have an artist around, but could start to fashion my own broadsides using the fonts and clip art available.
Through trial and error, I found a formula that worked for me. I would divide the tract into six panels. The front page panel would be the “hook” framing the issue in the genre of the subject at hand – sports, food, you name it, it could be used. The next two panels restated the subject in the genre of the front panel using some graphics to illustrate. The inside third panel contained the transition from secular to spiritual. The next panel would present the Gospel statement and the back panel would serve as the invitation to interact by giving contact information including web site and e-mail.
With the advent of machines like a Risograph, we could dispense with the need for making negatives and plates and take a created document right to “print” through a direct computer connection (following proofreading of course!).
These tools of technology allow us to craft specialty tracts for singular events that are on target and done quickly. The one we did for the World Series Celebration took about 45 minutes to craft. Since they are printed 4 up on an 11 x17 sheet of paper, they only took about 30 minutes of “press time” and another 40 minutes to cut and fold.
Opportunities all around us
Most communities host annual events that are repeated each year. We have tailored some broadsides just for those events and know we can use them year after year. Special events take a little more creativity and preparation.
The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals baseball team limped into the playoffs this year. Though they have been there many times, this year they were the underdogs. Added to the uniqueness of the year was the opening of their brand new baseball stadium, the third edition of Busch Stadium. We were there for opening day and many of the sold-out games – each hosting over 40,000 fans – to distribute our broadsides.
Once they made the payoffs, the community wide interest took a big leap. First came the best out of five series with the San Diego Padres, then the best of seven series with the New York Mets which they won in dramatic fashion vaulting them into the World Series.
The new stadium is situated in downtown St. Louis bounded by public sidewalks with easy access to the Metro-link light rail system, too.
We invited those who had the interest and time to come and join us and gather by the stadium two hours prior to the time of the first pitch. Knowing that there would be rallies before each post-season game, we arrived three hours prior to the games.
After prayer, we would position ourselves “in the stream” of traffic so as to not block the sidewalk but still be able to reach those who would pass us by. Some of our volunteers have asked if we needed to have permits to distribute our literature. A few years ago I created our special permit for them – a laminated copy of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
Weather Permitting
We had several volunteers join us during the outreach and the victory parade following their successful campaign. Overall, we distributed 18,000+ broadsides. One game was rained out, and that was an educated guess on my part to not go that evening. The reward for not going was having my son, Micha, join us for the last game of the season here. He was in town for a visit with our grandchildren.
We received some negative comments from people who felt that a baseball game was not the right place to speak about Jesus. But those negative comments were far fewer than some of the positive ones we received from people who saw the shirts emblazoned with “What do you think of Jesus?” on the back.
Walt Hicks, 76 years young, and the evangelism trainer at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church joined us one evening. He noticed a dramatic change of interest in fans as the time drew closer to the start of the game. “At first people were relaxed and received them well. But the closer to game time, the more rushed they became, and it seemed like I was distributing poison to them.”
The colder weather did affect the take rate as temperatures dropped into the low 40’s causing people to hurry to get inside the stadium. Volunteer Andy Ascher was right by the stadium and found it more difficult to get into conversations that others did who were further away.
I even received an e-mail from Andrew Barron with Jews For Jesus in Toronto asking to use the broadside in Detroit, four hours from Toronto, should there be another game. I modified the broadside using their address and forwarded it to him for their use. Unfortunately there was no game 6 back in Detroit, so perhaps we will have to wait until next year.
Micha worked with me to write the victory celebration broadside which we pre-printed in anticipation that the team would win. When they did, we went to the office and cut and folded them so that we could be ready the next day to join the throngs at the parade.
The victory parade held on Sunday attracted over 250,000 into downtown St. Louis. Because it was on a Sunday, many of our volunteers were not available due to their own family and church demands. Still, we did get to go and distribute about 3,800 broadsides on a bight, sunny day.
This is not about baseball!
The most frequently asked question by fans was, “What is it?” My response was, “It is not about baseball, it is about the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.” The gathering of large crowds is, for the sake of the Gospel, a tremendous opportunity to go out and tell the Good News.
I am constantly reminding myself and others that broadsiding is primarily a pre-evangelistic activity. We are looking to expand our circle of contacts with whom we can cultivate intentional relationships for the express and transparent purpose of considering Jesus as the Messiah. Those who do give us their names and addresses have in effect granted a green light to expand the dialogue. Those who do not yet, we pray that they might come to a point in their life when they would be willing to reason through the scriptures and decide for themselves rather than have the decision made for them by others who are not in the know.
What about you?
Sure the World Series is over this year, and maybe you do not have an event that gathers 40,000 fans a one time. But what about an art show, a boat show, a Thanksgiving Day Parade, a July 4th gathering, going to people's homes and distribute tracks to them instead of getting candy, “track or treating” at Halloween, going to a Jewish Book Festival or a Hanukkah menorah lighting, or a college sporting event – or just hanging out where people like to gather to see and be seen. There are as many creative ways to meet and greet people as you can think of – and it all can be for the advancement of the Kingdom.
If you would like help in writing a broadside, contact me at: [email protected]
Steve Cohen