Introduction

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth . . . And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.’”
Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20

My mission consists of two primary components: 1) Evangelism, and 2) Discipleship.

Evangelism

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:14-17

No mission is valid without the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Many Americanchurches do not consider the United States (or North America) an unreached people group. While I understand the argument, I cannot disagree more. While there are more Christian churches in America than anywhere else in the world, the vast majority of people in the United States (including many who claim to be Christians) are utterly ignorant to the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Having spent the last seven years on the streets of this country and in other parts of the world, preaching the gospel, I can attest to the fact that most people I encounter, even those who have heard the gospel and recite parts of it, have no idea why Jesus came to Earth, died on the cross, and rose from the grave. Sadly, segments of the American church (word of faith, prosperity, cults like Mormonism, various seeker models) are responsible for the gospel ignorance of this country, as they present to people a gospel that is no gospel at all—one that is utterly inconsistent with the Word of God.

I have been a Christian for twenty-five years. During that time, only one Christian has approached me for the purpose of sharing the gospel with me, let alone to invite me to church (09-05-2012). Only once. The reality is that most Christians in the United States do not share the gospel with lost people, or even with the people they know and love.

While there are many, many good churches in the United States, for many churches “outreach” has become the occasional event in which the church invites people to come, instead of a way of life in which Christians obey the command to go—to go and proclaim the gospel to the world (Acts 1:8), making disciples of every nation (Matthew 28:18-20).

I share this to express the reality that there is much evangelistic work to be done in the United States, and not enough Christians actually doing the work. There are millions of people who need to hear the true, authentic, unvarnished gospel of Jesus Christ, right here, in my own backyard (Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County, California, and the United States). And this is the primary mission field to which I believe I have been called. I will seek to fulfill this missional calling through the proclamation of the gospel, both in the United States and abroad.

The evangelistic aspect of my mission will be accomplished in several different ways:

The open-air proclamation of the gospel. Open-air preaching is as old as the gospel itself. Jesus and the apostles were open-air preachers, as evidenced by the many accounts in the gospels and the Book of Acts (Matthew 5-7; Acts 17:22-34). In fact, the vast majority of their evangelism was accomplished through open-air preaching. Open-air preaching will always be relevant and timely, because the gospel is forever relevant and timely. It is important to note that gospel ministry, in all of its forms, has been counter-cultural and hated by the masses. A philosophy of ministry accepted and loved by the world is likely void of the gospel, for the Word of God testifies the world will hate Christians because of Christ (John 15:18).

Not only is open-air preaching biblically supported, but we also have the further validation of the practice, historically. Many of the church fathers, reformers, puritans, Whitefield, Wesley, Spurgeon, and evangelical leaders of yesterday and today have engaged in open-air preaching. And in each distinctive epoch, open-air preaching was not welcomed or warmly received by the unsaved masses. Yet our Lord and Savior continues to use the foolishness of preaching, even preaching in the open-air, to save some (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Carrying My Cross: http://www.crossencounters.us/2012/08/cross-encounters-interesting-morning-on.html

One-to-One Conversations: http://www.crossencounters.us/2012/04/offering-future-hope.html

Writing and Distributing Gospel Tracts: http://www.crossencounters.us/search/label/Gospel%20Tracts

The Prayer Stand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx_oWncvhco

Mall Evangelism Table: http://www.crossencounters.us/2012/04/mall-evangelism-week-1.html

California State University Northridge: http://www.crossencounters.us/2012/09/a-bust-stop-intolerant-jewish-woman-and.html

Cross Encounters Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cross-encounters

Abortion Clinic Ministry: http://www.crossencounters.us/2012/08/outside-abortuary-impressions-and-sounds.html; http://www.crossencounters.us/2012/08/outside-abortuary-50-abortions-today.html

“…Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” While the focus of my evangelistic efforts will be Southern California and the United States, my association with other like-minded biblical evangelists from around the world will afford me ongoing opportunities to preach the gospel in other parts of the world.