How a Fellow Today Reader Spends His Summers

Every spring and summer, John Lee walks the neighborhoods near Court Street Baptist Church in Auburn, Maine.

He and others from the church walk in pairs, handing out Today devotionals and other Christian literature as they share their faith with people on the street.

Printed copies of Today are a common sight Auburn and its neighboring city, Lewiston, as they're delivered to several churches and businesses in the area. John receives one of the largest orders in the area.

“The devotionals are a great conversation starter,” John says. “When we walk on the streets, we say we’re Christians and that we’re handing out devotionals. As they look it over, we begin to talk about where they stand in their faith.”

As a result of this ministry, John has a growing list of people who want to receive the Today devotional from him regularly.

“It’s almost like having a paper route,” John laughed, “some people even chastise me when I get it to them late.”

Reaching Those Who Are “Down and Out”

This is John’s sixth year leading the street evangelism team with Court Street, which walks these neighborhoods every other Saturday, March through September.

“A lot of the city streets are well-populated on Saturday afternoons,” said John. “Many of the people are down and out because of drugs and prostitution, but those who want to talk to us are ready to make a change in their life.”

Some of the conversations can last hours, while others just a few seconds.

“In cases when people are more dismissive, we simply say, ‘Know that Jesus loves you dearly, and have a good day,’” John said.

Three Generations

Last year, John came across three generations working together on a house—a grandfather, his adult son, and a boy who was about seven. All three were interested in learning more about the Christian faith.

For John, the success of this street evangelism is something he’s been passionate about for the last 40 years. He himself first accepted Christ into his heart through a similar encounter with someone on the streets. Since then, he’s become an ordained minister in the Baptist church and has been passionately sharing his faith.

By God’s grace, about 100 people have accepted Christ during or as a result of these conversations. Some have accepted John’s invitation to attend church, while others he has not heard from again.

“We always ask God to bring the people who he wants us to talk to,” John said, “and most of the time, we can see that he has done just that.”

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