God’s perfect timing evident in latest evangelism church partnership

When Southwestern students partnered with Hallmark Baptist Church for the latest evangelism partnership, they did not know what to expect that day. Would people be open to a Gospel conversation? Would people even open their doors? Like any evangelism effort, however, students and church members trusted that God would work in each interaction. When teams dispersed throughout the neighborhoods, they found that many divine appointments awaited them.

Recalling many of these “God-appointed” meetings, Tyler Martin, outreach pastor at Hallmark Baptist Church, celebrates the number of people they met who expressed the perfect timing of the team’s arrival. Many people had already professed faith in Christ but were in difficult seasons of life and in need of prayer and encouragement. One woman had recently suffered the loss of a family member, another man needed prayer for difficult circumstances, and another man explained that he had prayed just that morning for guidance in finding a church home. During each encounter, teams prayed for specific needs, encouraged with Scripture, and connected individuals with a local church.

“It was great to see the hand of God in these events,” Martin says. “Several students remarked how great it was to go out and clearly see how God worked.”

God later led a team to meet a young man from a Muslim background. He was very receptive but had lots of questions. Although these questions were difficult, Master of Arts student Lola Payne says she and her teammates were still able to conduct a fruitful conversation. “The Holy Spirit guided us, just as I prayed that morning, because sometimes I get very anxious when I am doing door-to-door evangelism,” she says.

At another home, bachelor’s student Ariel Youngbird says an interaction with a woman reminded her of the importance of unity and support in evangelism. After initiating a conversation with the woman, Youngbird says she struggled to remember passages that would best address the woman’s concerns and questions.

Her teammates quickly jumped into the conversation to remind her of the forgotten verses. Youngbird regained her confidence and continued with her Gospel presentation, sharing her own testimony of salvation.

“I personally learned how important it is to share Christ with a team and how you can work together to share Christ,” Youngbird says. “I saw the Lord use the unity that we have in Christ to bind together our group so that we could share Christ with the lost.”