Sept. 8, 2026
Yesterday was a fruitful day of street ministry. We had many opportunities to minister to many people throughout the day. We used different strategies to meet people where they’re at and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We started in the park, reaching people one at a time. We didn’t wait for people to come to us. We went to them, listened to their stories, shared the gospel, prayed, and looked for ways to help.
We met a woman who shared her testimony of how the Lord had met her while she was in jail. She said she’d come to a point where she didn’t want to live on the streets anymore, and she’d found a program that could help her move forward. We lifted her up in prayer, encouraged her in the Lord, and reminded her that God had not forgotten her.
At the same time, we ministered to a young man who needed help finding a recovery program. We provided him detailed information about Adult & Teen Challenge, showed him the website and contact information, and stayed with him as he began making calls. We wanted not just to inform him about potential sources of help but to actively assist him in taking those initial steps toward recovery and be properly discipled.
We gave him a Bible and discovered that he needed reading glasses to read the text. Because of the generous donations of churches and individuals who support this ministry, we were able to carry and distribute reading glasses to people on the streets who need them. Something as simple as a pair of reading glasses can provide someone the ability to read the Word of God and other materials that may help them move forward.
We felt it was time to move to another location; when we got there, we noticed a woman digging through the garbage.
We were able to pray with her, provide food and socks. We shared the gospel with her and a bible. She told us that she was tired of living on the streets and had been out there far too long. She had originally come from Oklahoma and had eventually found herself on the streets.
We encouraged her to receive help for addiction-related struggles.
She told us about a group of people staying in a nearby park who needed ministry. We found the park and began meeting the people there. We shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ, prayed with people, handed out several Bibles, and spent time listening and encouraging them.
One of the lessons we continue to learn in street ministry is that consistency matters.
Over time, people begin to recognize you. Trust begins to develop. Someone who wasn’t ready to talk about recovery one week may be ready the next. Someone who wasn’t interested in hearing the Gospel may eventually begin asking questions. Someone who wouldn’t accept prayer may later come looking for you and ask you to pray.
We plant the seed. Someone else waters. But God gives the increase.
“I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”
—1 Corinthians 3:6
Yesterday reminded us again that effective street ministry involves both proclamation and presence. We preach Christ, but we also listen. We pray, but we also help people make phone calls. We distribute Bibles, but sometimes we also need to provide the reading glasses that allow someone to read one. We offer food and resources while helping people connect with organizations equipped to provide longer-term assistance.
Most importantly, we follow where the Holy Spirit leads.
A person we stopped to minister to ultimately pointed us toward an entire group of people who needed ministry—and that encounter may have opened a new weekly outreach location.
The Lord is benevolent, and the harvest is plentiful.
Please continue praying for Cross Harvest as we return to these streets each week. Pray that doors open, relationships form, those struggling with addiction find recovery, the homeless receive help, and people encounter Jesus Christ for hope and new life.
To God be all the glory!
