The Worcester Common Ministry from BBC does evangelism in Downtown Worcester. Currently, between 4:00-6:00 PM on Saturdays, we meet at the Worcester Public Library (Main) and go witnessing in pairs, on the streets of Worcester around the Common. Earlier , there was evangelistic Bible teaching as part of Mozambique training. Between 12:30-4:00 PM, another church from Southbridge does preaching, Bible/Tract distribution, and evangelism on the Common. They minister from early April to early November with a loudspeaker (and permit) and welcome men who can preach the Word and evangelize. All are welcome to join each week and/or keep this ministry in prayer.

Luke 14:23 And the master said to the slave, “Go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel them to come in so that my house may be filled.”

In this parable from the book of Luke, Jesus was presenting the master of the house as giving a great feast and wanted his house to be filled with guests. Though many who were invited to the feast rejected the invitation there were others that the master of the feast was eager to have come to dine with him but they were not in close proximity. The “Highways” were raised roads that were used for people to travel on from one place to the other; the “Hedges” were made of thorns and were trimmed by poor laborers. In short, the servants were commanded to go away from those first invited to the ones who did not have the opportunity to hear about this great banquet, this includes the poor the maimed the lame and the blind. This ministry is geared to do just that, and we would like to invite you to come and see if God would use you to minister with us as we seek to glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Here at BBC we are eager to fulfill the great commission of going into all the world with the good news of Christ’s salvation. We realize that though, not all are called to be missionaries to other countries, we are all called to be lights in this world of darkness, to proclaim boldly the gospel of grace as His ambassadors and to seek those who are His chosen wherever they may reside. It is our privilege to honor our Savior by giving of ourselves to evangelize the lost.

WHAT DO WE DO?

1) On Saturday afternoons, we meet at the Worcester Public Library parking lot at 4:00 PM. (See map above) and break up into teams of two or three. We distribute tracts and have one-on-one opportunities to evangelize those who may never have a chance to hear the gospel (as more and more people have become unchurched in our society). We minister until 6:00 pm. by bringing the good news to the lost.

2) Each Saturday between April and October, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, another church under Gary George brings Open Air equipment, consisting of a PA system and a table for Bibles to the Worcester Common to evangelize. This brings the opportunity for us to proclaim Christ in preaching as well as the one-on-one interaction that we have as we distribute the Bibles and tracts to the lost. We are looking for others that would serve the Lord in preaching and singing.

One of the blessings of the Street Evangelism Ministry is to have the one-on-one contact with people who are un-churched. You would be surprised how many people have never heard the Good News that the Lord Jesus has to offer. The one-on-one interaction comes from a combination of the preaching, tract distribution, and the Bible table where someone hands out Bibles.

Many people do not have Bibles or they have translations that they cannot understand. We pass out a more modern version of the New Testament free of charge.

Ministry Tips for Street Witnessing

• Pray beforehand that:
  
  • God would use you to glorify His name.
  • God would save the lost through the ministry.
• Be ready with the Word of God
  
  • Have salvation Scriptures memorized or handy on a piece of paper. I suggest that you learn some of the scriptures from the 4 W’s listed below.
  • Bring a pocket Bible or a small Bible with you. Always include the resurrection in your presentation of the gospel.
• Dress appropriately
  
  • Women should not dress with short shorts or revealing clothing. Be dressed modestly.
  • Men should not be dressed in ripped clothes or immodestly. I suggest that you do not come over dressed in a suit or fancy clothing as it may erect a barrier between you and those who you want to reach.
• Be careful with your money
  • Leave your wallet or your purse in your car so that you will not have it with you.
  • If you bring money with you, I suggest that you do not give it to people who ask you for it as they typically use it for alcohol or drugs irrespective of the excuse given.
  • If they ask for money for food and you want to give them something, offer to buy them a hamburger at MacDonald’s or a coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Both are in the Worcester Center area.
• We do minister in groups of two or three. No Lone Rangers! Do not leave those who you go with, to either minister to someone, or to go with someone.
• Pray while you are ministering When the person you are with is witnessing to someone, pray that the Lord would open their eyes to the gospel while the other one is speaking. It is not good to be distracted by your surroundings.
• Tract distribution and a helpful hint on how to start a conversation: When you are passing out a tract to someone else tell them that the tract is about the Lord Jesus Christ and ask them if anyone has explained the good news to them before.
• Ministry in the Open Air Evangelism: If someone is listening to the preaching, do not disturb them. Wait until they are leaving.
• Distribution of New Testaments
  
  • The New Testaments are not given out as tracts. You need to see if someone is interested in your conversation with them.
  • Make sure that they don’t have one in their home that they could read.
  • If they do have a King James or Catholic Bible that they cannot understand, you can offer the easier to read version that we have.

WHY EVANGELIZE?

God has given to us the commandment and the wonderful opportunity to serve Him by evangelizing the lost. Below is a list of verses that exhort believers to be active in sharing their faith:

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tiding of good things!”

James 5:19-20 “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

The 4 W’s

The 4 W’s are a compilation of scriptures (though not exhaustive) to bring the truth of the gospel to bear upon the soul of the unconverted. The 4 W’s do not need to be given in this order but the sinner does need to be cognizant of them for true salvation. Why? If the sinner cannot see his need for the gospel how can he be saved?

God, the creator of mankind, in His infinite holiness, is offended by the works of the wicked. The sinner needs to understand that he is in a dreadful state before God and in danger of eternal destruction. The sinner needs to see what Christ has done to save sinners from their sin and the penalty of sin which is the suffering in hell for eternity. Now that he is awakened to Christ’s work, the sinner needs to have the hope of repentance presented to him.

Please use these scriptures in witnessing to the lost. And as you do, remember to pray for them, to care for them, to trust God for them and for His blessing upon your witness to them.

1) WHO GOD IS: (shows the standard)

Hab 1:13 “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong”
Psalms 139:3 “You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways”.
Revelation 19:11, 16 “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”...On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness,”
Colossians 1:16 ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
Hebrews 12:29 “for our God is a consuming fire.”
Mat 5:48 "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

2) WHO IS MAN: (shows the eternal problem)

Romans 1:20 “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse...”
Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good,”
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Isaiah 64:6 “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment”.
Genesis 6:5 “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Romans 3:20 “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
1Co 6:9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor

3) WHAT JESUS CHRIST DID: (shows THE solution)

Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins”.
Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”
1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”.
Joh 10:18 “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."
Joh 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

4) WHAT YOU MUST DO: (shows man’s responsibility)

Luke 13:3 "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Acts 17:30 "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”
Romans 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Luke 24:47 “…and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name”.
John 3:7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

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