Faith Built Through a $20 Bill

Frequently, I think of sharing the gospel as only an act of obedience. I forget the joy offered to us as we proclaim the name of Christ. I love Jesus and it is so special that God has given us the freedom to share his name.

On Saturday night around 10:30pm, my roommate Selah and I drove home from spending time with our friends. We were pulling into the parking lot of our apartment complex when I turned and said “I think we should go evangelize in downtown Wilmington tonight”. Selah without hesitation said, “okay, let’s do it”. As we drove, we prayed and asked God to encounter people in Wilmington and to use us as ambassadors of his name. We got out of my car and entered the mob of mostly drunk individuals repping St. Patrick’s Day outfits, and waiting in long bar lines. We began walking the streets praying over people, listening to their stories, and asking them if they had heard of Jesus. We felt the presence of the Holy Spirit the entire night and received words from the Lord for girls we passed, bouncers checking ID’s, and groups of friends. We had the privilege of sitting on the ground next to individuals asking for money and laying hands on people who welcomed the idea of prayer over their life.

As we walked we came across a man holding a guitar playing music for tips. His tip jar was empty and he had a look of discouragement painted across his face. We began asking him about his night and shared that we were out because we believe Jesus is real. He told us pieces of his life story and opened up about his beliefs. Selah asked if she could pray over him and upon his acceptance she began to talk to God. She prayed specifically that God would bless his music career and that when we left someone would leave a $20 tip in his jar. She prayed that when he saw that tip he would know that God loves him and cares about him. I partnered with her in complete faith that God would send someone to leave a $20 tip after we left. We then said our goodbyes and continued walking. About 15 minutes later we had to pass by the man again. As we neared him, I told Selah “you should look in his tip jar to see if there is a $20”. She peered in and saw that there was only one bill and it was $20. When the musician saw us he broke into a huge grin and said “just minutes after you left someone came and dropped a $20 in my bucket. I had barely even begun playing.” He radiated joy. Selah and I cheered and praised Jesus with him. The rest of the night we were giddy as we had just experienced a deep increase of faith.

Saturday reminded me of several things. First, evangelism is so fun. Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation'”. It is an extremely humbling opportunity for God himself to invite us to share His name. Second, specific prayers get specific answers. I believe God loves opportunities to reveal himself because when he does he alone gets the praise. Selah listened to the voice of the Lord and prayed specifically for a $20 tip so that the musician would know God loved him. Then when God revealed his love by bringing someone along to leave that tip guess who got the praise? JESUS. Third, when God tells you to do something, trust him and do it. Selah and I were driving home, wearing sweatpants, talking about how we were excited we were to get into bed when the Holy Spirit prompted me to go evangelize downtown. There were a lot of reasons to ignore his prompting but instead, we got to experience an incredible night that built up our faith.

I want to encourage each of you that evangelism is something you can do right now in whatever city you live in. There are people everywhere in need of Jesus. I pray for an increase of boldness and faith that evangelism would not be something you save only for when a church is leading a group or when you’re on a mission trip. You are on a mission field right now wherever you live. Talk about Jesus at the grocery store, coffee shop, or bars downtown. I promise you will have the best time experiencing Jesus.

Grace