Dear praying friends,

My website has been “on the fritz” for the past few months, but thankfully it’s back up and running. So I’m going to try to post updates from the outstanding summer of ministry God gave us.

And since myself and just about everyone I know is REALLY SICK OF POLITICAL DEBATES, I thought it would be MUCH MORE EDIFYING to see how God used ordinary Christians to seek and save the Lost.

Despite all the discouraging stories in the news, God is still in the business of saving the Lost, and I’m so so glad!!!

I love love love LOVE Evening Beach Evangelism!

Please warm yourself up with this update on the outstanding things God did!

Lots and lots of people from around the world and all different ages gathered around and listened to the gospel message, many staying around afterwards for one-on-one discussions! We gave out thousands of gospel tracts! Very exciting!!!

Also, Beach Evangelism is a great place to train and build up the Church! We had Christians from a number of different local churches come out this summer to participate and hone their evangelism skills! (And find out that it’s not so terrifying after all.)

I’ll let the photos tell much of the story…

We cannot display this gallery

In addition to the people in the photos, some other people who stood out are:

• Kyle: Please pray for Kyle, a 17-year-old young man who told me that it makes sense to him that he’s sinned against God. I asked him when he’s going to repent and trust Jesus, and he said, “I need to do that right away.” Please pray that his faith is genuine, and they he will “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

• Linda: Linda approached me and Eric and told us that she had listened to us the week before, and drove all the way from Western Massachusetts to hear us again and talk to us. Wow! She shared with us that she is angry with God because her daughter (in her 20’s) had passed away. It actually sounds like her daughter was saved by the way Linda described her daughter’s faith and what she said about God! But it didn’t appear that Linda was saved. Eric and I were able to explain the gospel message to her and she allowed us to pray with her. By the end of the conversation, Linda said she wanted to attend a church that teaches the Bible accurately! Praise God! I wasn’t aware of any near her town, so I asked around, and found a great Church that came highly recommended. Linda and I communicated for weeks via text messages, and she shared photos of her deceased daughter, as well as her other children and grandchildren. She told me that she has asked God to forgive her heart and change her heart.

• Matthew and Leslie: It’s always tremendous to be able to encourage other Christians, and fun when we run into the same ones more than once. I recognized Matthew and Leslie from last summer (but I did forget their names. Whoops.) Matthew used to be a Jehovah’s Witness. We had a superb conversation building one another up last summer, and he was so happy to see us on the beach again this summer. He came right over for a hug and encouraging words! Praise God!

• Eli: Eli is a thoughtful Jewish 18-year-old. We had a great talk about why we all need a blood sacrifice, and only Jesus qualifies. He took a copy of my testimony, entitled, A Jew and His God.

• Jake: Jake is a high-schooler who came right up to me after my message and asked me if he could have a Bible. He told me he had been questioning recently. I gladly gave him a Bible and an evangelistic DVD!

• Steve: God sent the perfect person to talk with Steve, a paralyzed Christian man in a wheelchair. David, one of our volunteers, is one of the gentlest, sweetest men you’ll ever meet. He has strong gifts in encouragement, and he was able to give encouragement to Steve. Praise God!

• Alex and Emma: Sometimes people come and ask apologetic questions that are one their mind. It’s funny that they trust a stranger with these questions, but they do! This was the case with Alex and Emma, two teenagers who wanted to know if the Bible really teaches that Jesus was perfect. So we opened the Scriptures with them and showed them. We exhorted them to trust Christ, the Perfect One, and gave them gospel literature.

• Umburto: Umburto is a Portuguese man who spoke with us, but was hung up on whether miracles can really happen. We reasoned with him that if God can create everything out of nothing, then it’s not too hard for God to perform a miracle. Of course it’s always a miracle when the Holy Spirit makes someone alive in Christ, and that’s what we want for Umburto.

We love you and thank Jesus for you!

Thank you so much for your prayers, financial support, and notes of encouragement, without which we would not be able to reach the Lost for Jesus Christ!

Please contact us anytime and let us know how we can pray for you!

And please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be blessed by it!

For Christ and His gospel,

Mark, Shelby, Vivienne, Juliana, Caleb, and Gabriella

P.S. If you want to know what’s going on for beach ministry NEXT summer, please let me know and I’ll email you when I begin planning that out next year. Summer 2017 will be here faster than you think! You can also keep an eye out for http://beach.Luke-15.org, as I’ll post news there.