RiverFest 2009

By Lynn Webb

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20, NASB).

Have you ever sung a hymn and found yourself singing it again and again but not really focusing and paying attention to the words of the song? Then one day - BAM! You’re singing that song and the Holy Spirit nails you. The words of the song and the Spirit overcome you to the point of tears, and for the first time in your life you really get the meaning of the song.

In much the same way I can say that about the Great Commission, especially those five words, Go therefore and make disciples. In being a soul-winner, I’ve discovered that it’s impossible for one person to win the whole world, and that the only way this can be done is to make disciples (soul-winners). Nothing thrills my heart more than to see someone born again, but next to that, I have to say that seeing someone I’ve mentored lead someone to Christ is equally exciting. As Christians I wonder if we are so outnumbered because we have lost sight of the importance of mentoring and making disciples. No matter how long we’ve been Christians, we have not arrived. Even pastors themselves need mentors. Let me encourage you to seek out someone to mentor you and help you in your walk with Christ. Imagine what would happen in our spiritual lives and our churches if each of us had a mentor and in turn mentored someone else.

On May 14-17 I was in Wichita, Kansas for the annual River Festival, where I joined other intentional community evangelism team members. We spent 12-hour days handing out Gospel tracts and engaging others in spiritual conversations. We had lots of wonderful contacts and conversations, and approximately 100 people prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior throughout the different outreach events that were held.

On Thursday evening, May 14, Debbie, Cathy, John Clawson and I left the church to hit the streets.  We were excited.  John and Cathy took one side of the street and Debbie and I took the other.  Instantly we started handing out tracts and engaging others in conversations.  The people we encountered were friendly and receptive.  We could feel the Holy Spirit going before us and prayers were instantly being answered from the weeks of prayerwalking prior to our arrival.  In fact, during the very first opportunity we had to share with a group of young Latinos, a 20-year- old man named Enrique allowed me to share the Gospel with him.  While talking with him, I learned that he was from Mexico and had lived in Wichita for about two months.  He had no church background and said he had no clue what it took for a person to go to heaven.  As I shared with him, he listened attentively and responded that he needed Jesus in his life and wished to be saved.  Right there on the sidewalk, within a stone’s throw of the church building, he gave his heart to Jesus.

On Saturday afternoon, May 16, the Douglas St. Bridge was packed with people walking back and forth to enjoy the festivities and events of the River Festival.  As I looked around and asked the Holy Spirit whom He would have me speak to next, I noticed people from many different ethnic groups, nations and backgrounds all around me.  I thought that truly God had brought the mission field to North America.  Cultural diversity of many forms was on this two-lane bridge.  As I looked down the river on either side, people lay on tarps or blankets to stake their claim on the events of the day.  Boats were racing up and down the river, jet skis were patrolling, bicycles were moving up and down the sidewalks, and children were playing and participating in the festivities.  On the left side of the river was a beautiful riverside landscape and downtown buildings, and on the right, the large Metropolitan Baptist Church and baseball stadium. 

As I looked down the river at the other overpass, bridge traffic flowed steadily. 

In that one brief moment I could see the many facets of this fast-paced world.  Everyone was certainly on a mission to be one place or another and to have fun. I glanced to the right side of the river, and under the bank in a nice shaded park stood dozens of teenagers.  Most of them were the Juggalos, a sect that bases their religious beliefs on a deck of cards.  Many of them had their faces painted as clowns and other cartoon characters, and many had body piercings and tattoos all over.  They were dressed in a variety of ways showing their individuality.  Most of these teens had nicknames, and I saw their leaders in the group.  They expressed themselves as a family, an inner circle that almost no one could get into.

We had many encounters with teens over the weekend - teenagers who had run away from home when they were 14 or younger, kids who had been abandoned by their parents who had been incarcerated or killed.  Most of these teens were heavy substance abusers and had been in and out of detention facilities and homeless shelters.  Most had dropped out of school. 

One 15-year-old girl named Gia informed me that she was living homeless because her dad had been evicted from their home,  and yet another teen and her boyfriend came to the church looking for someone to live up to the statement that God would help them.  They both were 18 and had been on their own since age 14. One girl, who was soon to be 18, was pregnant with her fourth child, three of whom she miscarried.  Her heart was hard as a brick, and one statement she made I haven’t forgotten.  She said that she is sick of Christians telling her about how much God cares, only to wake up every morning homeless, hungry, with nowhere to go, and without hope.  She stated that she had tried God and church, only to feel like she had been lied to. She felt like Christians are all talk with no action. My mind raced and my heart ached, looking for words to somehow convince her that God really does love and care for her. 

These were just a couple of the many encounters that I had with those at River Fest in Wichita, Kansas.  On this bridge standing in the midst of the crowds, I could not help but catch a glimpse of the world through the eyes of Jesus. 

Many scriptures come to mind. Luke 19:10 (NASB), "For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." 

Luke 10:2 (KJV), "Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” 

Roman 10:14 (KJV), "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" 

Oh, Father, that we may have more compassion for the lost, that our hearts would ache for them, that none should perish.  Oh, Heavenly Father, may we stand at the gates of hell as rescuers of all the weak, weary, and broken-hearted.  Oh, Father, that none of us who are saved by your marvelous grace and mercy would ever forget where you rescued us from, and that our hearts would stay broken for the lost.

One thing is certain, being on site is insight into the mission field, and one can see the need to live with urgency and engage others with the Gospel. Every day, every hour, every moment, live with urgency, because each moment could be our last. Each day we are silent, people die without knowing God.