Our summer evangelism work at local fairs now spans three counties around our church.
We have people that come out from each county, and so there is an opportunity for everyone to get involved.
The beautiful thing about booths at fairs is that there is something for everyone to do, no matter your ability or spiritual maturity.
It is a great place to exercise each member working together in the body of Christ.
The only basic requirements are standing behind a table of free material and smiling. You don’t have to sell anything or ask anyone to sign up for something.
Can you fold tracts? Can you give it to someone? Can you fill in for someone so they can eat dinner? Can you blow up a balloon? Of course you can. Everyone plays a part.
This year we handed out over a thousand balloons! That’s a lot of hot air coming from a lot of blowers.
Balloons at the fair act as mobile advertisements for grace, because the gospel is printed on them, and also because people ask, “Where did you get the balloon?” Answer: “Over there, they are giving them out for free!” … just like salvation by Christ’s finished work.
The balloons spur conversations with the children, and the parents receive gospel tracts about what is printed on them. Success!
If you don’t feel comfortable conversing with strangers, you can talk with others in the booth. Working together strengthens your faith and unity with one another in ways that does not happen by sitting in the same pew at church.
When someone approaches, sometimes the best first thing to do is listen. Let them tell you what they believe. If you have ears, you can hear.
You might be surprised at how your knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ is needed by others. As much as is in you, you might want to tell them what you have learned from God’s word about salvation by grace through faith. This is called evangelism, preaching, or doing God’s will (1 Tim 2:4).
If you can’t find words in the moment, give a tract and let it do the speaking for you. Don’t leave anything on the table.
Many people are not looking for what you have, so you may need to give it to them. Download free tracts to print here, or pay us to print and ship them to you here.
Others return to our booth because they received something from us last year. One such young man explained that he came back looking for us because last year he was given material that did not align with his interests in other gods. After looking into it later he changed his mind about this God who would die for sinners. He was glad we were there again this year so he could talk to us.
Evangelism is a joy every year. Sometimes it takes a year. We will be there again next summer.
People are not looking for you, just like they are not looking for Jesus (Rom 3:11). You need to put yourself in places where people can see you. A good place to start is behind a table without walls between you and them.
Article Index Published: July 29, 2017
Last Modified: April 26, 2021