Hope Takes to the Streets of Tucson — Winter 2013

Our summer outreach effort produced an outstanding harvest. Dozens responded to altar calls and many came to church simply because the Gospel was delivered to them. Our “all hands on deck” summer strategy consists of drive-by outreaches (Tuesday night concerts/videos wherever we can find a crowd moving by), harvest outreaches (Saturday park concerts, block parties, etc.), weekly pass outs, street preaching, and most importantly the saints of God witnessing. We’re blessed by the new faces with us as we look forward to a new year in Jesus.

Every year we lead into the Fall by hosting a Youth Convergence. This year’s guest speaker was Clement Okusi from Croydon London, England. In addition to bringing some powerful messages he teamed up with Pastor Warner for an intensive Q &A session with hundreds of teens. It was astonishing how many different ways questions about love, sex, and dating can be asked. A nerve was exposed for sure. We’ll continue to make the Convergence a regular event as long as it’s relevant to the spiritual needs of young people.

Most recently, we staged a Halloween Rock-U-Drama called “Before Twilight, Death with Benefits.” The idea was tabled for a couple of years because we couldn’t figure out a way to save Dracula or an emo-lusty teenage vampire. Finally we decided to send a group of Twilight wannabes to Hotel Transylvania and it all kind of came together. After all the grappling, the Twilight theme actually turned out to be an advertizing bonanza. There were wrap-around lines every night. The best part is, however, after a run of six shows over 80 souls responded to an invitation to receive Jesus.

We thank God for a vision that reminds us that the Gospel must be proclaimed in order to be good news.