School is back in session. Football practices are daily. The days are shorter. Summer is officially over. The Bible tells us to remember God and His work lest we forget. It’s a good habit to reflect on your God-given summer. How did you spend it? As a Gospel ministry, Fishermen’s Call would like to share with you how God used us this summer to call the Lost to repentance and faith in Jesus and to train the Called to reach the Lost. Christians from as far as Green Bay and Manitowoc gathered to serve and minister the Gospel in the Fond du Lac area.
Walleye Weekend
Walleye Weekend is a free, four-day festival featuring sporting events, national musical acts, fishing tournaments, and attractions for all ages. Walleye Weekend attracts over 100,000 visitors throughout the weekend of the festival. To draw a crowd, Fishermen’s Call used a signboard with intelligence questions to test the audience’s mind. Afterward, we would test their hearts with conscience-provoking questions eventually leading to the Gospel. Many attendees heard the Gospel with the use of the trivia signboard which had constant traffic. We also used gospel tracts as an ice breaker to talk to people about life and faith; like local teenagers Jorry, Gabriel, Cameron and Ty. This conversation first started out with a handful of teenage girls, then grew as the girls called for their guy friends to come over and hear what we had to say. When finished, they all walked away understanding God’s justice and righteousness as well as His mercy and grace.
Lifest
Lifest is a five day festival that promotes itself as “a party with a purpose.” This was an opportunity to clarify the Gospel to those who assume the Gospel like the churched, un-churched and de-churched. This event assured us that just because you host a Christian event does not mean that all attendees are Christian. After spending much time presenting the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” many of the youth responded with answers that were not biblical and lacked assurance.
One conversation spoke loudly to us: On Friday, a young girl, maybe 14 years old, stopped by our booth to take the Intelligence Test. As she spoke, we noticed a sense of depression about her. Soon it was revealed that the source of her burden was abuse from her brother. We asked how her relationship was with God and she replied “not good.” As we revealed the truth of the Gospel to her and showed her need to obey the Gospel command, we challenged her to get right with God before she laid her head on her pillow that night.
The following afternoon the same girl came back to our booth, this time with a different demeanor; a sense of peace. She confessed that last night she had turned to the Lord and put her trust in Him. Oh the joy to be an instrument in the hands of a sovereign God!
During Lifest, Fishermen’s Call were introduced to Christians who wanted to learn biblical evangelism or to be networked with other evangelists.
Fond du Lac County Fair
What a joy it was to minister to the people in our city for six days. Our Fishermen’s Call booth drew in numerous amounts of locals to have conversations on a spiritual level. The first conversation started out with the man very confident that he was a “good person.” After the mirror of God’s law exposed the man’s true condition of his heart, this man was left asking, “What must I do to be saved?” After a clear explanation of the Gospel, our response was not to “say this prayer,” but to do what the Bible says: to turn your back on sin, turn your heart to God and put your trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Not all conversations ended like the first one, but many were fruitful like the conversation with Carlie the atheist. Our dialogue with Carlie didn’t focus on the existence of God but rather examined the claims of Christianity and raised questions directed at her heart. It was a pleasant chat that left her understanding the Gospel, maybe even for the first time. Many Christians stepped out in faith and joined us in sowing seeds. Some of the Christians we met for the first time at Lifest, participated at the Fond du Lac County Fair.
What a blessing it was to minister the Gospel in the area where we live. Even more, how God used Believers from different cities, different denominations, and different churches to unite on the one Gospel for His glory and our joy. Thank you to all who support us by your prayers and labor. Soli Deo Gloria!