Rhyne, Brookelynn December 3, 2021
Servant Evangelism Report EVAN 101-001
Encounter 2
Prelude- Did you find out that the person you served was a non-believer?
The person I served was an unbeliever. They were very vocal about how they did not know Jesus, and had never been to Church or had
a church like experience. They mentioned that this wasn’t the first time someone approached them about the topic, but she had always
told them off before.
Part One- What were the circumstances surrounding your servant evangelism encounters?
Over Thanksgiving break, I had the pleasure of putting together baskets with my church home. These boxes were filled with goodies,
but also essential items, such as, hygienic products. The mission of my church was to deliver these baskets to inmates at local prisons in
the area. I was nervous to participate at first, because you never know what reaction someone will have, and with people in this
environment, I was overwhelmed. We had been packing the boxes all week, and that Saturday we planned to take them to the prisons.
I handed the basket to one woman, she was young, it seemed like she couldn’t have been older than 25. It was sad that her decisions
had brought her to this place. It was truly heartbreaking to see all of these women, who were so kind, in such a cruel place Ask if I could
sit with her, hesitantly she agreed. I asked her very basic questions at first, then I asked if she knew why I was there, and who I was
there with. She said “we had been told that a church was coming, but we had no other information than that. Whenever we are told
these things, it is all merit based, so if we didn’t have any negative marks, then we would be able to participate.” From the first few
moments of talking to her, I could immediately tell that she was very intelligent. I didn’t want to imagine what she was involved in. I saw
a sister in Christ, longing for hope, reaching out to be seen.
Part Two- What was the reaction of the unbeliever?
At first, she was very shy. She didn’t immediately open up about anything. She would give very surface level answers to many of the
questions that I asked. I began to ask a few questions that were more personal, and probably more difficult to answer. It took a
moment, but then she said, “I don’t know what it is, but something is telling me that I should be honest with you.” I then explained that
whatever she shared with me would be cherished information, and that she should only share what she feels is right or appropriate. I
didn’t want it to be forced. I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable, and feel that she was being made to open up. I wanted it to be very
transparent that what she would tell me would be her choice and no one else’s. She began to tell me about her life, and how she had
been a relationship, and fell into peer pressure and started using marijuana, and that eventually led to harder drugs. She knew that it
wasn’t something that she should have been doing, but she felt trapped. She felt like if she left her partner would do something about
it, and she didn’t want to find out what he would do. She explained that he had been physically, verbally, and sexually abusive, and
quite honestly she was just scared of him. She didn’t know how to get out. It wasn’t until she found out that she was pregnant that she
knew she had to leave in order to protect her daughter. She decided that she was going to move in with her mother, and one day while
he was at work, she packed what she could and left. A few hours later, her boyfriend, showed up at her moms house, very intoxicated.
He was making outlandish accusations about how she had stolen drugs and money from him. He then proceeded to call the police,
explained that she had stolen his car, which wasn’t false, because it was his car that he’d been allowing her to borrow, but police
couldn’t pick and choose sides, it was a fact. So she had been staying in jail, awaiting her court date. She said “everyone keeps telling
me to have hope, that you will overcome this, but I’ve never felt more hopeless in my life.” She then proceeded to ask, “What do you do
when you feel that all hope is lost?” I said without hesitation, “pray.” This is when she told me that she had never been to church, or
heard much about Jesus far from the other interactions similar to this that she has had. I didn’t have much time before I had to leave,
so I made sure she was aware that there was a copy of a bible in the basket, and I encouraged her to read the gospels. And if she liked
that, to move onto the stories of Jesus’ birth, because the Christmas season was coming. I then gave her my information so that if she
wanted to write or call, if she had any questions. I then let her know that I would be praying for her and her soon to be little girl. Lastly I
gave her an invite card, and said “keep onto this, and when and if you feel you can join us at church, I’d love to see you there.”
Part Three- How did you feel about this type of evangelism?
I really enjoyed this experience. My pastor always says that generosity opens doors for the Gospel. Although I didn’t get to talk to her
about the story of Jesus as much as I would have liked to, I hope she felt the Holy Spirit, and that she would seek out his hope in her
time of hopelessness. I am very passionate about prison ministry, because I feel that the prison system can sometimes fails the inmates,
and they don’t have as many opportunities for ministry and discipleship as they should. Most often the people in the prison system feel
a lot like the girl I met that day, hopeless. Being able to share with them the God to find all their hope in is something that everyone
deserves, even criminals. No one is ever to far gone for our God, and I feel they should have every opportunity to hear about the God of
love. I will be recommending this type of evangelism to others, because it is a ministry that needs more love and attention. This
experiences reiterated the fact that our God is a global God. One for the nations. He is a God that makes the impossible possible. There
is nothing that he can’t do, which includes bringing the furthest gone people back home in his loving arms.
