(josh) The streets were calling again this weekend. We are now getting involved with a UPEI ministry called Christ On Campus. It is a nondenominational group with a heart for community in fellowship and service evangelism. It is great to be a part of something with so many young people who want to express their love for Jesus through participatory service.
Friday eve there was a get together on campus from 7p-11p, and after that we hit the streets downtown for some Gospel sharing. We originally planned to hold a free bbq but it was raining so we just went out anyways. I am not really a fan of evangelizing in the rain for a whole host of reasons, but by 2:30am a host of people had encountered a Jesus outside their current thought. There was great conversation, praying for people and the laying on of hands, bibles and information handed out, and (hopefully) connections made that will lead to further fellowship.
Last night five of us met at 10pm and headed down to the corner of Great George St/Richmond St right behind Province House. We set up a bbq and started cooking up burgers. The burgers were offered to any-and-all free of charge! The 'free' part was what interested most people, of course! The best part of the night was the five 20(ish) yr old skaters that came over and were talking to us for at least half an hour. One of them was an ethical vegetarian(!), so I got to hear his story and tell of my own journey to veganism. We talked about church and their opinions of it. They took literature, and a couple of them asked for New Testaments. We hope to break down walls (strongholds, really) that people have built between them and Jesus. The institutional church has been a place not the most accepting of many of the people we encounter on the streets, we want to show them another side of Christianity, a side hopefully more in tune with the spirit of the Gospel.
What is starting to happen at UPEI is grass roots. It is a beginning, but also a continuing, of the greatest story ever told.