It was another one of those Friday nights when my fears were getting the best of me. I felt like preaching the Gospel about as much as I felt like skydiving without a parachute.

I truly wish I could tell you that sowing into the local mission field every week is a sure-fire solution for becoming becoming a fearless super soldier for Christ – but this has simply not been my experience. Yes, God rewards our faithful witnessing with increased confidence in conversations, but the fluttery feelings of trepidation and insecurity just never seem to go away. So all I can do in those tough times is cling to Christ’s call and command to leave the ninety-nine to go after the one who is lost and remind myself again and again that (thankfully!) all my God asks of me is to be faithful.

Why Gospel preachers must pray

During our pre-witnessing prayer time, I received a strong sense from the Lord that I was going to encounter someone who professed to be a follower of Christ. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but I was certainly open to being used by God to share with whomever necessary.

We arrived at the International Food Expo in the heart of our hometown and the public park was buzzing with people. An evangelists’ dream! After giving out many Gospel tracts and sharing the true Gospel of Christ with a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses, we encountered two young ladies named Jennifer and Susan (names changed).

The Million Dollar Question

I passed each a million dollar bill tract and asked, “Has anyone ever asked you ‘the million dollar question’?” “No”, they responded. “It’s the single most important question of your entire life! Can I ask you?” “Sure”, they both said. “OK, here it is…”. I paused. “What do you believe happens after you die?” Jennifer quickly responded, “Well, I’m a Christian.” Both believed themselves to be good enough to be with God in heaven, until I lifted up the mirror of God’s law in front of them and they saw themselves in truth before Him.

After hearing the Good News about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, Jennifer confessed that she had been attending a church for about a year, but had since wandered away. That’s when I explained to her what God had revealed to me in prayer just an hour earlier and how He commands us to leave the ninety-nine to find the one…and she could very well be that one tonight! We both agreed that this encounter was no accident and she received my invitation to come to church with great joy.

I am very pleased to report that Jennifer did come to church that same Sunday and was powerfully impacted by the worship and preaching of God’s Word. Not surprisingly, she also committed to coming back again the next week.

Rejoice!

This encounter in evangelism reminds me of the parable of the lost sheep Christ shared in Luke 15. First, the man was compelled to leave the ninety-nine sheep to find the one that was lost. In our context, this is much like the Spirit of God compelling us to leave the church to go into the world to find His precious souls who are lost.

Christ also said that after the sheep was found, the man came home and called together his friends and neighbours and said to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” That’s why I share this story with you all as friends, neighbours, and brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s encourage one another to continue leaving the ninety-nine for the ones that are lost. And let’s rejoice that the lost are being found…in Jesus’ Name!

Witnessing lessons learned

The Lord has already taught me several valuable lessons through this particular Gospel glory story. First, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. Second, the qualities are in the seed, not the sower. But there is another very practical principle that can’t be missed, and it’s this: how we get people to church is typically how we keep people in church.

Jennifer was not lured to church by my eloquent wisdom or some shallow promise of an entertaining church service. If that were the case, then only by offering her more of the same will she keep coming on Sunday. However, I have to believe that Jennifer was moved to come to church by the Spirit of God after hearing the foolish preaching of His precious Gospel. Praise God! For now I can continue leaving the ninety-nine to go after another lost one with a clear conscience that Jennifer is not in my hands, but in the hands of The Great Shepherd Himself.

For His Glory,

Cory

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A weekend with Paul Washer

Homosexuality

Homosexuality. In one church extreme, it is seen as the ultimate sin. Not true. In another church extreme, homosexuals are encouraged to serve in the ministry. Wrong again. But we see both of these, and many other variations going on both inside and outside churches all over North America.

So if there really is something called Truth, then what’s the truth of this subject? What does the Bible really say, and how should that make the Church engage the culture on this hot topic? Are homosexuals born that way? If so, is there just condemnation for them or might there actually be hope even for those who supposedly have little choice in their sexuality? In this series we tell the truth about homosexuality.

Maximize your witness with your loved ones using our Producer’s Notes and Listener’s Resources for this series

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Your Prayer Pulse for July

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our prayer pulse for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

This month we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for the following TCC outreach events in July:

> Canada Day Outreach – July 1st

> Niagara Falls Local Mission – July 24th

> Christian Youth Worldview And Leadership (CYWAL) Conference – July 25th to 30th

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Continue keeping a pulse on our prayer needs

The XTM Toronto 2010 Local Missions Team

We set up our “salvation station” on Yonge and Dundas in downtown Toronto and we praise God that He allowed thousands of lost souls to receive Gospel tracts and hear the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ through the one-to-one witnessing and open air preaching of our local missions team.

Left: “Lazarus” lays it down to draw a crowd before Cory preaches open air

Watch video highlights from XTM Toronto 2010

TCC exists to unify the Church in the Gospel and help pastors equip all Christians under their care to be Christ’s witnesses. That’s why every Xstream Team Mission (XTM) is conducted in partnership with a qualified local church. Special thanks to Ryan Sinclair for joining us in the field and representing Morningstar Christian Church as our partner church for this event.

Here are a few testimonial tidbits from several first-time XTM attendees who joined us in TO:

Planting seeds in the Lord’s field with not only Cory and his team, but other evangelists, was the best day I think I ever had in my life. ~ John B.

The harvest is ready but the laborers are few. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Handing out tracts in downtown Toronto reminded me of the urgency of the Gospel. ~ Mike B.

Right: Mike (L) and John (R) give God thanks for a great day of Gospel outreach in downtown Toronto

May 15th 2010 is a day that will have a lasting effect on my life and Christian witness. God convicted me that I needed to be faithful in presenting the Gospel and praying for these individuals and leaving the rest up to him. ~ Duane C.

I’m not an eloquent speaker with the art of persuasion, but I do have the truth. In spite of me, God will use His truth to speak to people. All that He requires of me is to be faithful and obedient.” ~ Ange S.

Left: Ange takes the time to share the Good News with a fast-talking Torontonian

What a great day. The need is truly great in preparing the ground (prayer) and planting the seed (witnessing). I find it hard to explain, but say I believe it is “the joy of the Lord.” ~ Bill D.

Right: Bill listens to the spiritual views of a passerby before sharing the Gospel

Read full XTM Toronto 2010 testimonials

Check out the XTM Toronto 2010 Photo Album

Is God calling you to step out in faith to take your life and witness to the xstream? Then plan on joining the team for these other XTM teams of 2010:

XTM Canada Day

July 1st

London, ON

XTM Niagara Falls

July 24th

Niagara Falls, ON

XTM Barrie

August 13th and August 14th

Barrie, ON

XTM St. Thomas

September 25th

St. Thomas, ON

Click here to submit your application today

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Here Comes the Bride!

The Church. Who or what is the Bride of Christ and what is her purpose in the here and now? What is it about “going to church” that gets people so excited about inviting others to join them? Is a church a social club or a community program? Or is there something that makes those faithful Sunday morning worshipers really different than everyone else? Does the Church really need to entice people to visit? Join TCC as we take you on a humbling journey to discover the truth about God’s family.

Maximize your witness with your loved ones using our Producer’s Notes and Listener’s Resources for this series

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Experience Eight Episodes of TCC TV!

Eight exciting episodes of TCC TV are available online now!

Highlights of these encounters in everyday evangelism include: going with the Gospel Outreach “GO” Team of Harvest Bible Chapel London, fishing at farmers markets, storefront soul-winning, open air Gospel preaching on Good Friday, and more!

Remember: the clips are raw, the conversations are real…but TCC TV promises to help you experience what happens when we step out in faith to share our faith together for God’s glory.

Experience TCC TV now!

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Equipping the Saints

The Bible says that God gave evangelists to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Our Witnessing Workshops are designed to help Christ-followers leverage our experience in the local mission field to “normalize” sharing their faith in all their personal relationships and beyond.

This month TCC had the privilege of conducting life and witness training at two special venues:

Teen Challenge Farm

Teen Challenge (TC) is a 12-month, faith-based, residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The Cross Current has the privilege of facilitating the students at TC with hands-on life and witness training twice a year. The training this past month took place over two Wednesdays nights and we are very pleased to report that not only did four TC students join us for XTM Toronto, but several more are also scheduled to take the training to the streets of London with us as well.

All Ontario Youth Convention

Every year the All Ontario Youth Convention brings together over 800 youth from all over Ontario for a full four days of fun, excitement, and opportunity to learn more about God. This year Cory McKenna was invited onsite to share TCC’s new one-hour witnessing workshop. Believe it or not, it is possible to learn how to become a more biblical, confident, and effective seed sower in just sixty minutes! In fact, would you believe that this mission was accomplished in just fifty minutes?

More info on TCC Witnessing Workshops

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Our Prayer Pulse for June

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our prayer pulse for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

This month we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for the fruitfulness and protection of our families and ministry together throughout this busy season of weekly witnessing.

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs