Ripe For The Harvest

Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35

What do these three things have in common?
A marriage license, a defense attorney, and a lost person

After moving back home to Houston in the 70’s, my parents failed to connect with a home church. The result was three children who weren’t raised in church as they had been.

Mom did her best, making sure her kids all heard and accepted the Gospel. But I would later realize that faith without a spiritual foundation is like the man who builds his house on the sand—eventually, your house is going to go SPLAT!

Thanks to me and my two brothers, there was a constant stream of “un-churched” teenagers passing through our home. Mom saw the opportunity God gave her; a field ripe for the harvest in her very own home. The Holy Spirit wouldn’t allow her to ignore these lost teens. She lovingly listened to their problems; befriended them and shared her faith. As a result, many came to a saving belief in Jesus Christ.

Fortunately Mom and Dad returned to church, ministering to countless youth over the years. Nevertheless, I can’t ignore the work God did through Mom all those years ago. Through her persistent, consistent obedience to the Holy Spirit, many raunchy, dirty, street savvy, teens heard about Jesus for the first time.

So what do a marriage license, a defense attorney, and a lost person all have in common? Simple—they all need a good witness.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

QUESTION:
What gives a fifteen year old kid the unabashed courage to witness to other teenagers?

These days, hearing stories of adults witnessing to their friends is rare. It’s even rarer still to hear about a group of kids that aren’t ashamed or afraid to share their faith with friends. We are blessed at First Baptist Porter to have a youth group full of kids who do just that.

Adoption of the F.A.I.T.H. witnessing program at FBC Porter has birthed a whole crop of young people ready, willing and capable of winning their friends to Christ.

“When we first started taking F.A.I.T.H., me, Johnathon, and Michael used the opinion poll on some kids at school. We questioned kids in the lunch room and even during class. It started out that we wanted to practice doing the F.A.I.T.H. outline, but then we realized it was a way we could actually witness to our friends. One kid even got saved.”
David 15

“I was riding the bus between campuses and I asked a girl if I could practice the F.A.I.T.H. outline on her. I asked her, the key question which is, in your personal opinion, what do you think it takes for a person to get to heaven? She said she didn’t believe in that and asked me to stop talking about it. A girl sitting in front of us begged me to keep talking. I went over the outline with her and she ended up praying for Jesus to come into her heart. It was easy.”
Casey 15

“The first time I witnessed to a kid at school I was nervous, but it wasn’t really hard. I used the opinion poll on my friend Tyler in Science class, and he ended up getting saved. I did it because I knew he wasn’t saved, and I didn’t want my friend to go to hell.”
Michael 15

So what is it that empowers these kids to witness?

ANSWER:
“You will receive power when the HOLY SPIRIT comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Don’t feel you have the power to witness? Don’t know where to begin? Don’t worry; according to the Bible it’s simple. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

David, Casey, and Michael have SPIRIT. How about you?