Report from MissionFest ’17 in Houston

Mission Fest ’17 was held in Houston a week ago. This annual event provides opportunities for teenagers to proclaim the gospel. High school students from Wisconsin and Illinois spent their spring break to travel to Texas exercising their faith, receive training, and step out to proclaim the Good News.

Praise and Proclaim Ministries had the privilege to partner with congregations in the Houston area for Mission Fest 2015 and 2016. It was a joy to work with the pastors and provide training for the students. They learned our methodology and were immediately provided with an opportunity to put their training into action and go door-to-door to proclaim the gospel.

This year, Rev. Nathan Buege from Victory of the Lamb Lutheran Church in Katy, TX, was the lead trainer and received help from Rev. James Borgwardt (Fond du Lac, WI) and Jeff Uhlenbrauch (Crete, IL). Praise and Proclaim participated by continuing to provide the outreach tools and producing individual neighborhood maps for each participating congregation. We rejoice with how the Lord blessed the efforts of the organizers and the participants!

A total of twenty-two students from Illinois Lutheran High School, Winnebago Lutheran Academy, and Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School.

Rev. Nate Buege reported,

“One of the greatest joys of Mission Fest is to watch teenagers being able to learn how to proclaim the gospel, then step up with confidence to share the message of salvation with a lost soul. Even when people do not respond favorably to a gospel message, these kids boldly stand on their two feet and confidently go to the next door with great enthusiasm and expectation. Through Christ, they are looking people in the eye and proclaim the Word. We rejoice that the Lord provided wonderful opportunities to have extended conversations with people who asked questions and expressed interest. With the students who participated with our congregation, the Lord provided a total of 52 families to follow-up. Even though we rejoice over this blessing, it was more important that MissionFest provided an opportunity for these teenagers to receive a meaningful experience proclaiming the gospel that will have a life-long impact.”

Teenagers are terrific at sharing the gospel!

Teenager have the zeal, desire, and the courage to walk up to strangers and share a gospel message. And they are good at it! Praise and Proclaim has had the opportunity to train teenagers and it is a joy and a privilege to observe them gain confidence and receive a meaningful experience once they have received proper training.

In fact, teenagers are better than adults when going door-to-door to proclaim the gospel.  Here are three reasons why:

1. Teenagers are tireless and full of enthusiasm.
2. Teenagers don’t get down as easily as adults after meeting a series of people who express a lack of interest or not at home.
3. Because of their youth, teenagers typically receive more opportunities to proclaim the gospel than adults.

Here is a great example from what occurred last week during Mission Fest ’17.

Pastor Buege reported:

“A teenage girl and the pastor came to a door in Houston and a large, intimidating Hispanic man opened it. He had tattoos all over. I would have been intimidated at first glance, but this young girl started talking anyway with her wonderful sweet voice. She shared a brief gospel message while the man listened in silence. When she was done, the man politely told her that he would tell his wife that she stopped by.”

Most adults are impressed when a young teenage boy or girl has the gumption to knock on their door and talk about their Savior. It is something that adults do not see every day. As a result, they will typically listen politely and be far more inclined to listen carefully and consider the materials that are presented to them. The grumpiest looking man will soften when confronted with the courage of a teenage girl at their door, rather than respond poorly to an adult male who has rung his doorbell.

May the Lord bless the hundreds of gospel seeds that were planted in Houston. And thank you to the called workers and members at Victory of the Lamb (Katy), Abiding Word (Houston), and Abiding Faith (Pinehurst) who hosted them.