"Our Church Picnic"

A Church Without Walls 7-7-12

Revival In the Streets of Norfolk

Have you been praying for revival in the land? Well God is answering your prayers. Listen to what’s happening on the streets of Norfolk, Virginia, and praise God with us.

A Church Without Walls met this Saturday night to minister to the homeless of Norfolk. Jimmy was going to cook hamburgers and hotdogs and bring them out to the streets. I really don’t like pre-cooked hamburgers and hotdogs though, so I suggested that we go one step further and bring a grill and have a cookout right there on the streets.

As always seems to be the case, God provided exactly what we needed for a real family cookout. We don’t have a pickup truck so I knew we couldn’t take my grill, but Jimmy had a gas grill that folds down and could fit in the back of his minivan. Praise God!

What a picnic feast we shared last night, fresh grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, macaroni salad, baked beans, watermelon, and a lot of stuff to drink. It was over 100 degrees yesterday and these folks were thirsty!

Testimonies from The Street 

Remember two of our homeless friends, Brian and Alan? Well those two men were baptized last week. God didn’t just take them to a shelter to get them off the streets, He called them to Himself and made them completely new creations in Christ! Children of God. God is moving in the land!

We were told that our friend Bernard had confronted 2 men who were looking to hurt one of the street ladies a few nights ago. They left the woman and chased Bernard, who we heard is now in hiding. Here is a homeless man who is tangibly showing that he loves his neighbor as himself. God even has people on the streets protecting and ministering to others. We gathered together with a large group of street folks, thanked God for Bernard and prayed for him as a group.

Michael came to the cookout hungry… in more ways than one. Before he got in line for food he tracked us down and inquired as to where he might get a study Bible. He wants to be able to defend his faith, and there can be a lot to defend out on the streets. Here is another tangible evidence of God’s mighty hand at work on the streets of Norfolk. People are seeking His face, desiring His word, even in the midst of extreme difficulty. Jimmy promised Michael a study Bible next week.

God is moving and it is a glorious thing to behold.

Preaching The Word

God is so good! We step out and He produces fruit right in front of our eyes. As a result our faith is built, the Kingdom of God is built, and the name of Jesus is preached to a hungry people.

Jimmy preached from John 15 this week:

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

                                                                                             John 15:8 (NIV)

I leave you with a simple question: Are you bearing much fruit, showing yourself to be His disciple?