Houston outreach poster PDF for download
Coming up from the tunnels in Houston outreach
THE LAST DAY...
Praise God for what He did through a few people getting together with a willingness to take a public stand for Him!
Even those who saw us every day sensed this day was different. A Jehovah's Witness that I saw 3 times finally offered to give me contact information! One unbelieving man said to Ellen, "I think I need to talk to you because I have a feeling you may not be around much longer." I prayed with a woman the other day who was too upset to give me contact information because her 6 month old, Wilton, had a heart tumor and was being rushed into surgery. Today I saw her again. She said the Lord has been answering our prayers: the tests revealed that the tumor was benign. She gave us contact information today and thanked us, and said there are many, many people praying for Wilton.
The final totals for the Outreach (not including contacts received at our booth at the LCMS Convention) are as follows:
28,042 people received Gospel tracts;
202 people heard the Gospel with an opportunity to respond (including Jewish people, Muslims, a Pagan, Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, and many who were unsure of their faith and grateful that we reminded them of the Gospel);
7 Jewish believers in Jesus and 179 Gentile believers in Jesus asked to hear more about how they could be involved (local churches are contacting dozens of the Gentiles who are looking for church homes and we will be in touch with about 40 who asked for help in sharing with their Jewish friends); and
8 unbelieving Jewish people and 40 unbelieving Gentiles (so many of whom are from other countries) asked to hear more about Jesus!
We gave more than 80 people New Testaments and more than 50 people received the Gospel of John.
We prayed with scores of people who were in desperate need. And our smiles and cheerful greetings challenged believers and unbelievers alike to want to know more... hundreds of people went to our web site to see what we are all about.
We were very encouraged by the results of our calling of Jewish homes. Of the 47 Jewish people we talked with on the phone, 5 asked to receive information about Jesus. One of the ones who said no listened to the entire Gospel!
The participants have already started praying about inviting others to the Outreach in Chicago next summer. Will you pray about bringing a group from your congregation?
The participants have been keeping us informed as they have shared the Gospel at home, in their spheres of influence. One man admitted that if he had known what this was all about, he never would have come. In his words, he would have missed a life changing experience. One woman came this year after years of trying to overcome fears and feelings of inadequacy. She grew by leaps and bounds and, like every one of the participants, did an awesome job telling others about Jesus. What a joy it was to lead this group!
I am so grateful for your prayers and support. You really made a difference by allowing us to reach many with the Gospel!
7/16/2007
There was a drizzle here in the morning. It was a little cooler, although no less humid. I have attached a picture of Rose talking with a man in the tunnels this morning. I have also attached a picture of Ellen talking with a woman at the Medical Center.
The Lord brouoght lots of interesting people to us today, believers and unbelievers, Jewish and Gentile. Many people were deeply touched as we listened, prayed and shared the Gospel... like Anita, the woman in a wheelchair. When I approached her, she asked me to back off because she was in a lot of pain. When I asked her if I could pray, she said yes. After asking her if she was a believer, we prayed. She was very grateful and said you made me feel better. I asssured her that if she felt better, it was not from me!
I was very encouraged when I spoke with a family and prayed with Faith, a little girl who has a growth on a lymph node. The father is a pastor, and shared that since he confessed faith in 1989, I was the first person to ever ask him about his faith in public.
 
In the morning, I spoke with a woman who told me she was not a part of a congregation, but just worshipped with TV preachers. She is willing to receive our help in connecting to a congregation.
In the evening, I was blessed to talk with Gary and his wife and daughter. He is mormon, although his wife is not following any faith right now. They want to hear more about Christianity.
Perhaps most encouraging to me is to see someone like Rose overcome her fears and be used by the Lord to touch the hearts of so many with the Gospel. Rose was so afraid of this for so many years, and is simply having a blast watching the Holy Spirit touch hearts with the word thru her.
We have now given a total of 25,982 people Gospel tracts, and received information to follow up with 211 people: 6 Jewish believers, 5 unbelieving Jewish people, 33 unbelieving gentiles and 167 Gentile believers... many of whom are seeking church homes or who have asked us to help them reach their Jewish friends. We have shared the Gospel with 178 people (Ablaze).
Thank you for continuing to pray!
7/15/2007
This was a much needed day of rest for most. Kevin left yesterday. But on his way home he got a contact with an unbelieving Jewish woman and he gave two people New Covenants. The unbelieving Jewish woman was willing to begin reading the New Covenant he gave her and is willing to hear more. She was familiar with some of the Gospel through Christian friends, but is keeping her distance because she fears the reaction of her family. Still, she expressed interest in hearing more.
The other interaction started with a little girl. She asked to look at Kevin's New Covenant. Kevin asked her to ask her mom, who said OK. Because the little girl seemed to enjoy the Bible, Kevin asked her if she would like it. She said yes, and Kevin said she could if her mom said it would be OK, and her mom said yes!
Most of the group went to Pilgrim Lutheran church where Pastor Baurer's entire message was about hell... each of our people were moved and also couldn't remember ever hearing an entire message about hell. It was thorough, Scriptural and loaded with the Gospel!
I spoke at Epiphany Lutheran church in Northwest Houston. Many people there said they recieved gospel tracts from us at various times and places around Houston during the week! Many of their members have Jewish friends and were very grateful for our ministry. Several bought materials, many asked for help in reaching their Jewish friends, and almost all agreed to pray for us. In the Bible Class, when I opened it up to questions, one woman couldn't finish her question without bursting into tears as her husband is Jewish. Although he has allowed his children to go to their christian day school, he is still resisting the Gospel. There were many hearts that were touched by the urgency of reaching people like her husband. We will be helping her and many others.
We met at the convention center in the afternoon, and met several people who want to start reaching Jewish people in their communities. One man has a heart for reaching the Jewish people of Philadelphia. Lord willing, his prayers will be answered, and many in his area will begin to join together and pray and share with their Jewish friends as we come and encourage and equip and pray that the Lord will lead a missionary with a heart to serve there. It is one of the largest Jewish communities in the US.
In the evening, we went one more time to the Toyota Center. Our small team of four gave 1220 people Gospel tracts. Ellen and I spoke to Johan, an unbelieving man from Mexico, who is very close to confessing faith and willing to attend a small group Bible Study. And I was the second on our team (it is always a team effort) to talk with Eugene, born in Kiev of Jewish background. He is a Vegan and passionate about his cause, for ethical reasions. We had a lot of fun talking in between distributing our literature. Eugene is an engineer, and not religious at all. It was fascinating to hear him talk about his work. He refers to people who become Vegans after receiving his literature as 'converts'. We struck up a friendship and he received my story. I am sure that we will continue to stay in touch, especially as we share a desire for people to be more ethical and for the first amendment to be enforced so that there is freedom to engage with people, especially on college campuses.
We distributed just over 1200 tracts on our day off, so that our totals are now as follows: 25,137 have received Gospel tracts; 6 Jewish believers and 160 gentile believers have asked to hear more and for help and prayer in reaching their Jewish friends; 5 unbelieving Jewish people and 31 unbeleiving Gentiles have asked to hear more, and 161 people listened to the Gospel with an opportunity to respond. We have not had any new confessions of faith, but many people have reconfirmed what was a waning faith. Many who confessed faith but were not attending a church are now receiving follow up from local churches, and many (we have not been keeping accurate statistics) have received New Covenants or the Gospel of John.
Please continue to pray. We are so grateful for your prayers! Shalom!
At our booth at the LCMS Synodical convention
7/14/2007 - The LCMS Synodical Convention opens and we are there leading delegates in outreach:
Shalom!
Some raindrops, some technical glitches, and some worries about door to door on Shabbat all worked perfectly. We had a wonderful group from Point of Grace Lutheran Church in Pflugerville, TX that came out with us Saturday morning. They were a real encouragement to us and did a great job going door to door.
The rain never became a problem, and just helped cool the temperatures. We did just fine without a connection to Steve Cohen... we had a great devotion and had some good training. And the neighborhood is not nearly as Orthodox as I thought it might be. We were able to talk to many Jewish people and 5 households accepted New Testaments. We were able to give our literature about Yom Kippur and the once for all atonement of Jesus to many of the Jewish people we talked to. We were also able to get contacts from some Gentile Believers who want to hear more about how to reach their Jewish neighbors.
In the afternoon, we were able to attend the opening worship at the LCMS Convention and scurry across the street to give out 3500 gospel tracts at the Beyonce concert. I was able to talk with a Jewish man, Scott, from Toronto who asked for prayer for his health and success, and said he would read my testimony, but would not give contact information. Please pray for Scott's salvation.
Our totals for the Outreach are now 23,745 Gospel tracts, 4 Jewish believers, 5 unbelieving Jewish people, 152 Gentile Believers, and 34 unbelieving gentiles. We have also given out more than 50 Bibles, and another 50 of the Gospel of John. We went to almost 200 homes in a Jewish neighhborhood, and we called more than 120 Jewish households. Perhaps the most exciting fruit is that 14 people came out with us during the convention outreach and had a good experience!
Captions: Apple Outreach participants getting ready to process in to the convention; Edie and Dorel (from Point of Grace in Pflugerville) going foor to door in Meyerland.
7/13/2007
What a blast! 13 new people put on Apple witness shirts with "What do you think of Jesus?" emblazoned on the back for the first time and came out with us tonight! People as young as 14 and pastors and moms and college students came with us from cities all over the US. They all want to do it again at their congregations and invite others!
I told our group I had no idea how many people to expect. I told them I was praying so many would come, we would have logistic problems. And I warned them that after the training they had received, it was now their turn to be the trainers! God answered our prayers in a big way! And our group did a great job of leading people who have never done anything like this before. The total of 20 people with Apple shirst made sure that the One Message: Christ was all over downtown Houston!
It was hard logistically getting all of these people transported to downtown Houston and back, but they all had a wonderful experience. We pray that the training that was recorded will be a blessing to every congregation in the LCMS. Every delegate will get a copy of the DVD. When it is available, we will put it up on our web site.
Our totals continue to grow. After today, we have now given Gospel tracts to 20,197 people. Our Ablaze count is now 156 critical events. We now have 4 Jewish believers and 150 Gentile believers who want to help us (many with unbelieving Jewish friends) and 33 unbelieving Gentiles are now hearing more about Jesus, and soon we will be in touch with the 5 unbelieving Jewish people we met yesterday. So many other things have happened that are not reflected in these numbers. We have not been counting the dozens who have received New Testaments. We have prayed with hurting people dozens of times every day.
All of this has been possible because of your prayers and support! Thank you!
7/12/2007
All day today, but especially this afternoon, I prayed our group would have some Jewish conversations so we could get contacts from unbelieving Jewish people...
I had a brief conversation with a Jewish doctor at the medical center complex, and then we went to the Mall for dinner. On the way to the food court, a little girl, Joanna, saw our shirts and started beaming! One of the participants noticed, and began talking to her and her grandmother. It didn't take long before Kim was talking to each about Jesus. Then Joanna's mom came, and she gave us her name and address. She is married to a believer and open to hearing more.
Then, before we got to the food court, I noticed some Israelis at a booth. It wasn't long before two Israeli men gave us contact information! We did some calling from our hotel, and two Jewish people asked to receive New Testaments!
So a few of us have now given 18,582 people Gospel tracts. 120 Gentile Believers have asked to hear more from us, and many have asked for help in sharing the Gospel with their Jewish friends. 29 unbelieving gentiles have asked to hear more about Jesus, 3 Jewish believers want to hear about how they might pray and get more involved, and now 5 unbelieving Jewish people have asked to hear more about Jesus. We have shared the Gospel (Ablaze) with 131 people.
It is so encouraging for us to hear your responses and to hear from the people we are meeting that they are referring people to our web site... this little group is creating ripples that we hope will be used by the Holy Spirit to draw a number of Jewish people and gentiles to confess faith in Jesus!
Please pray for the next phase of our work as we offer training and outreach opportunities for the delegates at the LCMS convention. Our booth will be set up tomorrow, and the convention starts Saturday!
[I apologize for the tract that got in the way of the attached picture of Joe Miller talking to a homeless man at the Medical Center, with another woman reading a tract]
Shalom! - Alan Butterworth
07/11/2007
With the arrival of Rose today, we had the largest number of participants so far, 14 people. Tomorrow, we begin to shrink as Chad heads home.
We continue to encounter opposition from people that call themselves believers and from some of the authorities... which tells us the Gospel is getting out. This morning in the tunnels, one man told me he had been talking with the others in his office about us and he just wanted to ask a few questions. We are having an impact! There are few in downtown Houston or at the huge medical center who have not been asked about Jesus. Some said they sent the tracts to friends and relatives in other states. Please pray that these seeds will bear a harvest for the Lord!
We have given just under 16,000 people Gospel tracts. 25 unbelievers have asked to hear more about Jesus. 95 believers (including 3 Jewish believers) want to continue to hear from us so that they may pray for us, and so we may help them reach their unbelieving friends, Jewish or Gentile. One woman chided me because I haven't sent her an e-mail yet to help her reach her unbelieving Jewish friend. Many, many believers have asked us to help them find a church.
We have prayed with so many, like the elderly man this afternoon who was alone and carrying an IV, dispensing chemo for his lung cancer as we talked. When I asked him who he thought Jesus was, he said, "I used to be into that." I asked, "Wouldn't now be a good time to get back into Jesus?" He said yes. So I asked him if he understood that Jesus died for his sins... and he said yes. Then I asked if I could pray for him as we walked, and he said yes. I didn't ask where he was going, but he never stopped walking as we talked. Only the Lord knows how many days this man has left. But when I finished, he stopped, turned to me and said, "Thank you!" I look forward to seeing him in heaven!
The most significant fruit may be the precious participants as they labor, stretching themselves outside their comfort zone because they have a burden for those who are facing an eternity separated from Jesus. I am anxious to see what the Lord does with these people as they continue to dedicate their lives to reaching the lost.
Thank you for your prayers and the generous gifts that make this possible!
Alan Butterworth in Houston
07/10/2007
Part of our time is spent in training. While I [Steve Cohen] can not be in Houston due to my wife's illness, I am able to take part in the training sessions through internet connections. One of the participants asked for prayer over a serious issue, and we all were able to pray with him.
We are growing, both spiritually and in numbers. Yesterday we added
Manuel, a young man from Eritrea who has a wonderful smile and quickly
was close to the leader in how many people he was able to give Gospel
tracts! Today we will add another, Rose from Omaha.
As people are adjusting to the routine, our bodies are being challenged
and people are getting to know us. This means more people are openly
encouraging us, and more people are becoming more vocal in their
opposition to the Gospel. Your prayers are more important now than
ever.
Yesterday we were able to see a few more people pray
for needs that had our participants shedding tears with people in pain,
and many, many heard the Gospel!
We have now given Gospel tracts to 13,302 people. There will be muchfollow up...
many of the believers we are meeting have unbelieving Jewish friends. I saw one woman a
second time, and she was mildly disappointed that I had not contacted
her yet by e-mail! Many other believers are unchurched, looking for
church homes.
One story... in the tunnels, I shared with a man and as I asked how I
might pray, he said, he was a lawyer, praying about going to seminary!
I shared that I went thru that transition. I also asked if he might
know of anyone who might be able to offer a job to Amanual, who has a
business management degree. He said definitely and asked Amanual to
give him his card!
Thank you for your prayers.
Alan Butterworth
07/09/07
 Chad chats in Houston
 Alan speaks with a passerby in the Houston tunnels
 Ellen engages a woman in Houston
We are all praying the Lord will grant us rest this evening so we may be fresh tomorrow. Temperatures hovered around 100, and the day was long. We are all tired and a bit drained, but God is good!
Our two day totals: 8,800 people received Gospel tracts. We realized this morning we were not keeping Ablaze conversations. Todays recorded total was 48 ablaze conversations. We will keep track of them more completely from now on. The following people have asked for more information about how they may support us and work with us: 2 Jewish believers and 48 Gentile Believers. 15 unbelieving Gentiles have asked to hear more about Jesus.
Our entire team had a special afternoon at the Medical Center. We were able to share the Gospel with dozens of people, we ministered through prayer with a number of hurting people and we met dozens of believers who want us to help them reach their Jewish friends. The attached picture is Chad sharing with a believer with a neck brace at the medical center.
Tonight as we went door to door in an Orthodox neighborhood, one man wearing a yarmulke accepted a new testament. Many gentile believers in this neighborhood were very happy to see us... one lady offered to take the entire team to dinner. Several believers had not thought about sharing the Gospel with their neighbors, and are now praying about that. Some orthodox people listened to the Gospel!
Thank you for your prayers!
----------------
07/08/07
Shalom!
Our prayers for good weather were answered! Today we distributed 4,400 Gospel tracts, and received contact information from 8 Unbelieving Gentiles (including a man from Romania and an Oncologist from China), 18 Gentile Believers and one Jewish believer. Two of the Gentile believers asked for help in finding a church home, two are interested in participating in Outreach events (one may join us this week), and several asked us to help share the Gospel with their Jewish friends.
Now that we have all started to get in the swing, please pray for more people with whom we can share the Gospel, especially Jewish people. Prat too that if the sites have small numbers of people, that our team not be discouraged.
I have attached a picture of Edie Bourland and Amanda Buck, and a picture of Dan Haupt at the Astros game.
Thank you for your prayers. - ALAN BUTTERWORTH IN HOUSTON
07/07/07
It isn't the start we had hoped for, but Praise God, everyone arrived
safely and are eager to grow and reach out! We are already developing
a good team spirit.
We were all set to go out to the Astros game, and it POURED! Houston
has had a lot of rain. There is a lot more forecast, so please pray
for opportunities to share, for creativity if the rain continues and
for boldness.
We got one Gentile contact, a believer looking for a church home, and
we gave out about a dozen tracts. We pray that from these humble
beginnings, the Lord will use us mightily.
I have attached a picture... you might see the rain in the background
and the water on our clothes. Even the camera got water in it!
Pray that like the Song of Moses at Deut 32, the Lord's teaching will
fall like rain and His words descend like dew, like showers on new
grass, like abundant rain on tender plants, as we proclaim the name of
the Lord, the Rock our Redeemer, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus, the Messiah)!
Alan Butterworth
The group gathers in the rain to tell of Y'shua
Houston outreach poster PDF for download
Coming up from the tunnels in Houston outreach
THE LAST DAY...
Praise God for what He did through a few people getting together with a willingness to take a public stand for Him!
Even those who saw us every day sensed this day was different. A Jehovah's Witness that I saw 3 times finally offered to give me contact information! One unbelieving man said to Ellen, "I think I need to talk to you because I have a feeling you may not be around much longer." I prayed with a woman the other day who was too upset to give me contact information because her 6 month old, Wilton, had a heart tumor and was being rushed into surgery. Today I saw her again. She said the Lord has been answering our prayers: the tests revealed that the tumor was benign. She gave us contact information today and thanked us, and said there are many, many people praying for Wilton.
The final totals for the Outreach (not including contacts received at our booth at the LCMS Convention) are as follows:
28,042 people received Gospel tracts;
202 people heard the Gospel with an opportunity to respond (including Jewish people, Muslims, a Pagan, Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, and many who were unsure of their faith and grateful that we reminded them of the Gospel);
7 Jewish believers in Jesus and 179 Gentile believers in Jesus asked to hear more about how they could be involved (local churches are contacting dozens of the Gentiles who are looking for church homes and we will be in touch with about 40 who asked for help in sharing with their Jewish friends); and
8 unbelieving Jewish people and 40 unbelieving Gentiles (so many of whom are from other countries) asked to hear more about Jesus!
We gave more than 80 people New Testaments and more than 50 people received the Gospel of John.
We prayed with scores of people who were in desperate need. And our smiles and cheerful greetings challenged believers and unbelievers alike to want to know more... hundreds of people went to our web site to see what we are all about.
We were very encouraged by the results of our calling of Jewish homes. Of the 47 Jewish people we talked with on the phone, 5 asked to receive information about Jesus. One of the ones who said no listened to the entire Gospel!
The participants have already started praying about inviting others to the Outreach in Chicago next summer. Will you pray about bringing a group from your congregation?
The participants have been keeping us informed as they have shared the Gospel at home, in their spheres of influence. One man admitted that if he had known what this was all about, he never would have come. In his words, he would have missed a life changing experience. One woman came this year after years of trying to overcome fears and feelings of inadequacy. She grew by leaps and bounds and, like every one of the participants, did an awesome job telling others about Jesus. What a joy it was to lead this group!
I am so grateful for your prayers and support. You really made a difference by allowing us to reach many with the Gospel!
7/16/2007
There was a drizzle here in the morning. It was a little cooler, although no less humid. I have attached a picture of Rose talking with a man in the tunnels this morning. I have also attached a picture of Ellen talking with a woman at the Medical Center.
The Lord brouoght lots of interesting people to us today, believers and unbelievers, Jewish and Gentile. Many people were deeply touched as we listened, prayed and shared the Gospel... like Anita, the woman in a wheelchair. When I approached her, she asked me to back off because she was in a lot of pain. When I asked her if I could pray, she said yes. After asking her if she was a believer, we prayed. She was very grateful and said you made me feel better. I asssured her that if she felt better, it was not from me!
I was very encouraged when I spoke with a family and prayed with Faith, a little girl who has a growth on a lymph node. The father is a pastor, and shared that since he confessed faith in 1989, I was the first person to ever ask him about his faith in public.
In the morning, I spoke with a woman who told me she was not a part of a congregation, but just worshipped with TV preachers. She is willing to receive our help in connecting to a congregation.
In the evening, I was blessed to talk with Gary and his wife and daughter. He is mormon, although his wife is not following any faith right now. They want to hear more about Christianity.
Perhaps most encouraging to me is to see someone like Rose overcome her fears and be used by the Lord to touch the hearts of so many with the Gospel. Rose was so afraid of this for so many years, and is simply having a blast watching the Holy Spirit touch hearts with the word thru her.
We have now given a total of 25,982 people Gospel tracts, and received information to follow up with 211 people: 6 Jewish believers, 5 unbelieving Jewish people, 33 unbelieving gentiles and 167 Gentile believers... many of whom are seeking church homes or who have asked us to help them reach their Jewish friends. We have shared the Gospel with 178 people (Ablaze).
Thank you for continuing to pray!
7/15/2007
This was a much needed day of rest for most. Kevin left yesterday. But on his way home he got a contact with an unbelieving Jewish woman and he gave two people New Covenants. The unbelieving Jewish woman was willing to begin reading the New Covenant he gave her and is willing to hear more. She was familiar with some of the Gospel through Christian friends, but is keeping her distance because she fears the reaction of her family. Still, she expressed interest in hearing more.
The other interaction started with a little girl. She asked to look at Kevin's New Covenant. Kevin asked her to ask her mom, who said OK. Because the little girl seemed to enjoy the Bible, Kevin asked her if she would like it. She said yes, and Kevin said she could if her mom said it would be OK, and her mom said yes!
Most of the group went to Pilgrim Lutheran church where Pastor Baurer's entire message was about hell... each of our people were moved and also couldn't remember ever hearing an entire message about hell. It was thorough, Scriptural and loaded with the Gospel!
I spoke at Epiphany Lutheran church in Northwest Houston. Many people there said they recieved gospel tracts from us at various times and places around Houston during the week! Many of their members have Jewish friends and were very grateful for our ministry. Several bought materials, many asked for help in reaching their Jewish friends, and almost all agreed to pray for us. In the Bible Class, when I opened it up to questions, one woman couldn't finish her question without bursting into tears as her husband is Jewish. Although he has allowed his children to go to their christian day school, he is still resisting the Gospel. There were many hearts that were touched by the urgency of reaching people like her husband. We will be helping her and many others.
We met at the convention center in the afternoon, and met several people who want to start reaching Jewish people in their communities. One man has a heart for reaching the Jewish people of Philadelphia. Lord willing, his prayers will be answered, and many in his area will begin to join together and pray and share with their Jewish friends as we come and encourage and equip and pray that the Lord will lead a missionary with a heart to serve there. It is one of the largest Jewish communities in the US.
In the evening, we went one more time to the Toyota Center. Our small team of four gave 1220 people Gospel tracts. Ellen and I spoke to Johan, an unbelieving man from Mexico, who is very close to confessing faith and willing to attend a small group Bible Study. And I was the second on our team (it is always a team effort) to talk with Eugene, born in Kiev of Jewish background. He is a Vegan and passionate about his cause, for ethical reasions. We had a lot of fun talking in between distributing our literature. Eugene is an engineer, and not religious at all. It was fascinating to hear him talk about his work. He refers to people who become Vegans after receiving his literature as 'converts'. We struck up a friendship and he received my story. I am sure that we will continue to stay in touch, especially as we share a desire for people to be more ethical and for the first amendment to be enforced so that there is freedom to engage with people, especially on college campuses.
We distributed just over 1200 tracts on our day off, so that our totals are now as follows: 25,137 have received Gospel tracts; 6 Jewish believers and 160 gentile believers have asked to hear more and for help and prayer in reaching their Jewish friends; 5 unbelieving Jewish people and 31 unbeleiving Gentiles have asked to hear more, and 161 people listened to the Gospel with an opportunity to respond. We have not had any new confessions of faith, but many people have reconfirmed what was a waning faith. Many who confessed faith but were not attending a church are now receiving follow up from local churches, and many (we have not been keeping accurate statistics) have received New Covenants or the Gospel of John.
Please continue to pray. We are so grateful for your prayers! Shalom!
At our booth at the LCMS Synodical convention
7/14/2007 - The LCMS Synodical Convention opens and we are there leading delegates in outreach:
Shalom!
Some raindrops, some technical glitches, and some worries about door to door on Shabbat all worked perfectly. We had a wonderful group from Point of Grace Lutheran Church in Pflugerville, TX that came out with us Saturday morning. They were a real encouragement to us and did a great job going door to door.
The rain never became a problem, and just helped cool the temperatures. We did just fine without a connection to Steve Cohen... we had a great devotion and had some good training. And the neighborhood is not nearly as Orthodox as I thought it might be. We were able to talk to many Jewish people and 5 households accepted New Testaments. We were able to give our literature about Yom Kippur and the once for all atonement of Jesus to many of the Jewish people we talked to. We were also able to get contacts from some Gentile Believers who want to hear more about how to reach their Jewish neighbors.
In the afternoon, we were able to attend the opening worship at the LCMS Convention and scurry across the street to give out 3500 gospel tracts at the Beyonce concert. I was able to talk with a Jewish man, Scott, from Toronto who asked for prayer for his health and success, and said he would read my testimony, but would not give contact information. Please pray for Scott's salvation.
Our totals for the Outreach are now 23,745 Gospel tracts, 4 Jewish believers, 5 unbelieving Jewish people, 152 Gentile Believers, and 34 unbelieving gentiles. We have also given out more than 50 Bibles, and another 50 of the Gospel of John. We went to almost 200 homes in a Jewish neighhborhood, and we called more than 120 Jewish households. Perhaps the most exciting fruit is that 14 people came out with us during the convention outreach and had a good experience!
Captions: Apple Outreach participants getting ready to process in to the convention; Edie and Dorel (from Point of Grace in Pflugerville) going foor to door in Meyerland.
7/13/2007
What a blast! 13 new people put on Apple witness shirts with "What do you think of Jesus?" emblazoned on the back for the first time and came out with us tonight! People as young as 14 and pastors and moms and college students came with us from cities all over the US. They all want to do it again at their congregations and invite others!
I told our group I had no idea how many people to expect. I told them I was praying so many would come, we would have logistic problems. And I warned them that after the training they had received, it was now their turn to be the trainers! God answered our prayers in a big way! And our group did a great job of leading people who have never done anything like this before. The total of 20 people with Apple shirst made sure that the One Message: Christ was all over downtown Houston!
It was hard logistically getting all of these people transported to downtown Houston and back, but they all had a wonderful experience. We pray that the training that was recorded will be a blessing to every congregation in the LCMS. Every delegate will get a copy of the DVD. When it is available, we will put it up on our web site.
Our totals continue to grow. After today, we have now given Gospel tracts to 20,197 people. Our Ablaze count is now 156 critical events. We now have 4 Jewish believers and 150 Gentile believers who want to help us (many with unbelieving Jewish friends) and 33 unbelieving Gentiles are now hearing more about Jesus, and soon we will be in touch with the 5 unbelieving Jewish people we met yesterday. So many other things have happened that are not reflected in these numbers. We have not been counting the dozens who have received New Testaments. We have prayed with hurting people dozens of times every day.
All of this has been possible because of your prayers and support! Thank you!
7/12/2007
All day today, but especially this afternoon, I prayed our group would have some Jewish conversations so we could get contacts from unbelieving Jewish people...
I had a brief conversation with a Jewish doctor at the medical center complex, and then we went to the Mall for dinner. On the way to the food court, a little girl, Joanna, saw our shirts and started beaming! One of the participants noticed, and began talking to her and her grandmother. It didn't take long before Kim was talking to each about Jesus. Then Joanna's mom came, and she gave us her name and address. She is married to a believer and open to hearing more.
Then, before we got to the food court, I noticed some Israelis at a booth. It wasn't long before two Israeli men gave us contact information! We did some calling from our hotel, and two Jewish people asked to receive New Testaments!
So a few of us have now given 18,582 people Gospel tracts. 120 Gentile Believers have asked to hear more from us, and many have asked for help in sharing the Gospel with their Jewish friends. 29 unbelieving gentiles have asked to hear more about Jesus, 3 Jewish believers want to hear about how they might pray and get more involved, and now 5 unbelieving Jewish people have asked to hear more about Jesus. We have shared the Gospel (Ablaze) with 131 people.
It is so encouraging for us to hear your responses and to hear from the people we are meeting that they are referring people to our web site... this little group is creating ripples that we hope will be used by the Holy Spirit to draw a number of Jewish people and gentiles to confess faith in Jesus!
Please pray for the next phase of our work as we offer training and outreach opportunities for the delegates at the LCMS convention. Our booth will be set up tomorrow, and the convention starts Saturday!
[I apologize for the tract that got in the way of the attached picture of Joe Miller talking to a homeless man at the Medical Center, with another woman reading a tract]
Shalom! - Alan Butterworth
07/11/2007
With the arrival of Rose today, we had the largest number of participants so far, 14 people. Tomorrow, we begin to shrink as Chad heads home.
We continue to encounter opposition from people that call themselves believers and from some of the authorities... which tells us the Gospel is getting out. This morning in the tunnels, one man told me he had been talking with the others in his office about us and he just wanted to ask a few questions. We are having an impact! There are few in downtown Houston or at the huge medical center who have not been asked about Jesus. Some said they sent the tracts to friends and relatives in other states. Please pray that these seeds will bear a harvest for the Lord!
We have given just under 16,000 people Gospel tracts. 25 unbelievers have asked to hear more about Jesus. 95 believers (including 3 Jewish believers) want to continue to hear from us so that they may pray for us, and so we may help them reach their unbelieving friends, Jewish or Gentile. One woman chided me because I haven't sent her an e-mail yet to help her reach her unbelieving Jewish friend. Many, many believers have asked us to help them find a church.
We have prayed with so many, like the elderly man this afternoon who was alone and carrying an IV, dispensing chemo for his lung cancer as we talked. When I asked him who he thought Jesus was, he said, "I used to be into that." I asked, "Wouldn't now be a good time to get back into Jesus?" He said yes. So I asked him if he understood that Jesus died for his sins... and he said yes. Then I asked if I could pray for him as we walked, and he said yes. I didn't ask where he was going, but he never stopped walking as we talked. Only the Lord knows how many days this man has left. But when I finished, he stopped, turned to me and said, "Thank you!" I look forward to seeing him in heaven!
The most significant fruit may be the precious participants as they labor, stretching themselves outside their comfort zone because they have a burden for those who are facing an eternity separated from Jesus. I am anxious to see what the Lord does with these people as they continue to dedicate their lives to reaching the lost.
Thank you for your prayers and the generous gifts that make this possible!
Alan Butterworth in Houston
07/10/2007
Part of our time is spent in training. While I [Steve Cohen] can not be in Houston due to my wife's illness, I am able to take part in the training sessions through internet connections. One of the participants asked for prayer over a serious issue, and we all were able to pray with him.
We are growing, both spiritually and in numbers. Yesterday we added
Manuel, a young man from Eritrea who has a wonderful smile and quickly
was close to the leader in how many people he was able to give Gospel
tracts! Today we will add another, Rose from Omaha.
As people are adjusting to the routine, our bodies are being challenged
and people are getting to know us. This means more people are openly
encouraging us, and more people are becoming more vocal in their
opposition to the Gospel. Your prayers are more important now than
ever.
Yesterday we were able to see a few more people pray
for needs that had our participants shedding tears with people in pain,
and many, many heard the Gospel!
We have now given Gospel tracts to 13,302 people. There will be muchfollow up...
many of the believers we are meeting have unbelieving Jewish friends. I saw one woman a
second time, and she was mildly disappointed that I had not contacted
her yet by e-mail! Many other believers are unchurched, looking for
church homes.
One story... in the tunnels, I shared with a man and as I asked how I
might pray, he said, he was a lawyer, praying about going to seminary!
I shared that I went thru that transition. I also asked if he might
know of anyone who might be able to offer a job to Amanual, who has a
business management degree. He said definitely and asked Amanual to
give him his card!
Thank you for your prayers.
Alan Butterworth
07/09/07
Chad chats in Houston
Alan speaks with a passerby in the Houston tunnels
Ellen engages a woman in Houston
We are all praying the Lord will grant us rest this evening so we may be fresh tomorrow. Temperatures hovered around 100, and the day was long. We are all tired and a bit drained, but God is good!
Our two day totals: 8,800 people received Gospel tracts. We realized this morning we were not keeping Ablaze conversations. Todays recorded total was 48 ablaze conversations. We will keep track of them more completely from now on. The following people have asked for more information about how they may support us and work with us: 2 Jewish believers and 48 Gentile Believers. 15 unbelieving Gentiles have asked to hear more about Jesus.
Our entire team had a special afternoon at the Medical Center. We were able to share the Gospel with dozens of people, we ministered through prayer with a number of hurting people and we met dozens of believers who want us to help them reach their Jewish friends. The attached picture is Chad sharing with a believer with a neck brace at the medical center.
Tonight as we went door to door in an Orthodox neighborhood, one man wearing a yarmulke accepted a new testament. Many gentile believers in this neighborhood were very happy to see us... one lady offered to take the entire team to dinner. Several believers had not thought about sharing the Gospel with their neighbors, and are now praying about that. Some orthodox people listened to the Gospel!
Thank you for your prayers!
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07/08/07
Shalom!
Our prayers for good weather were answered! Today we distributed 4,400 Gospel tracts, and received contact information from 8 Unbelieving Gentiles (including a man from Romania and an Oncologist from China), 18 Gentile Believers and one Jewish believer. Two of the Gentile believers asked for help in finding a church home, two are interested in participating in Outreach events (one may join us this week), and several asked us to help share the Gospel with their Jewish friends.
Now that we have all started to get in the swing, please pray for more people with whom we can share the Gospel, especially Jewish people. Prat too that if the sites have small numbers of people, that our team not be discouraged.
I have attached a picture of Edie Bourland and Amanda Buck, and a picture of Dan Haupt at the Astros game.
Thank you for your prayers. - ALAN BUTTERWORTH IN HOUSTON
07/07/07
It isn't the start we had hoped for, but Praise God, everyone arrived
safely and are eager to grow and reach out! We are already developing
a good team spirit.
We were all set to go out to the Astros game, and it POURED! Houston
has had a lot of rain. There is a lot more forecast, so please pray
for opportunities to share, for creativity if the rain continues and
for boldness.
We got one Gentile contact, a believer looking for a church home, and
we gave out about a dozen tracts. We pray that from these humble
beginnings, the Lord will use us mightily.
I have attached a picture... you might see the rain in the background
and the water on our clothes. Even the camera got water in it!
Pray that like the Song of Moses at Deut 32, the Lord's teaching will
fall like rain and His words descend like dew, like showers on new
grass, like abundant rain on tender plants, as we proclaim the name of
the Lord, the Rock our Redeemer, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus, the Messiah)!
Alan Butterworth
The group gathers in the rain to tell of Y'shua
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