Stone the Preacher

This Saturday we’re going local to the Redondo Beach Pier. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool.

BUT ON SUNDAY… It’s Oscar time again! That’s right, we will be heading down to Hollywood Blvd. and Highland to preach to all the people who think they will get a glimpse of their favorite star (they won’t).

Wanna join us? Meet at Hope Chapel at 1PM to carpool.

Last year, Peter Johnson preached to the teeming throngs at the ripe old age of 16-years-old.

I preached also and gave a lame stand-up routine at the same time. See it here.

Next week: St. Patrick’s Day Parade

We have resumed our outreach to El Camino College where we meet the strangest people.

The young man below is taking an art class. And what he is holding up is, well, his idea of art; it’s a house where apparently, a mass murderer lives. A cemetery is in the front, a mound of human bones in the back.

What’s shocking is that this man calls himself a born again believer.

Now, can a Christian make morbidly shocking art? I suppose so, but I would ask: Does it glorify God? I’ll tell you more and show you his  other art (Warning! Graphically gross!) by clicking to read the rest. (more…)

Last year at the Golden Dragon Parade things went bad. Really bad. See the 1 minute video of the first humiliation. Can you guess what I did wrong?

Then when I preached to the grandstands at this very same parade, an angry man came down, stood in front of me, and started pinching my stomach. Gee, what made him so mad?

To read about the next two embarrassing moments you’ll have to click here.

I sure hope we have a better go of it when we head down there this Saturday. Want to join us? Here are the details: Meet at the Marine Avenue Metro Rail Station in Redondo Beach at 10:00 AM this Saturday, Feb. 20. Bring about $15.00 for fare and dinner together at a Chinese restaurant. And pray for favor!

This Saturday we will be celebrating Tet by going to Little Saigon in Westminster for the Vietnamese New Year Parade. Afterward, we’ll enjoy a Vietnamese lunch together. Meet at Hope Chapel at 7:30AM to carpool.

The lady pictured on the left was a then 103-year-old woman we met two years ago in the area. Her son-in-law explained that she tried to kill him with a knife. (Read about it here.) Maybe we’ll see her again this time around, and hopefully she has dealt with her anger issues.

This should be an interesting event on another level, too. According to the Orange County Register, a coalition of Vietnamese gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups will march down Little Saigon streets on Saturday – a first for the annual Tet Parade.

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If you’d like to stay local, there will be a short excursion to the Hermosa Beach Pier as well. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool.

Next week: The Chinese New Year
Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown!

We discovered a new place to preach when visiting Venice Beach: the Kush Clubhouse.

We are there to preach the gospel, not to make a statement about medical marijuana, though the term “medical” is highly doobie-ous. One of our evangelists asked the proprieters if he would be able to buy some hemp because his elbow hurt. They said yes. “How about a headache?” Yes again. (No he didn’t buy any.)

The guy pictured on the left is a street performer. No one bothered him when he spoke.

The guy being confronted below by two security guards from the pot house er, dispensary is one of our open air preachers delivering the message in front of the Clubhouse. For some reason, people get all worked up when the Word is delivered in front of this place. But it’s just what the (good) Doctor ordered.

Want to join us for some fun this Saturday? Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool.

The Redondo Beach Pier is generally a safe place to share your faith. We will be going there this Saturday, January 30. If you’d like to carpool, meet at Hope Chapel at noon; we’ll return by 4PM.

I say the Redondo Beach Pier is “generally a safe place” because, on occasion, there have been interesting incidents.

Mike, a former member of our evangelism team, had one of those incidents happen to him a couple of years ago. Here’s an excerpt from his story:

It was a Friday night and I went out alone to evangelize on the Redondo Beach Pier. I met another small group of believers and we went out together to share our faith. I gave a Gospel tract to a guy who had just come out of a bar. “What is this?” he asked.

“It’s from my church.”

“It’s about God?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Let me tell you something about God,” he said putting his face into mine, nose to nose. “I am God!” He started talking about how rough his life was. The more he described his past, the angrier he got.

Then he hit me right in the chest! Read the rest of the story by clicking here!

Now see a pastor get punched after talking about peace and love! Whew! Preaching the Gospel isn’t pretty… or easy!

Next week: Venice Beach!

If it isn’t pouring down rain we will be headed to Hollywood!

I read this interesting article from the L.A. Times about Spiderman, one of the many characters who panhandle for change in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, getting arrested. Click here to read it.

The schedule when heading to Tinseltown  goes something like this: Our first destination is always Pink’s World Famous Hot Dogs, where we preach to the hundred or so people standing in line. Next we head up to Hollywood Blvd. and set up shop in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater and preach to the people in the forecourt while handing out hundreds of Gospel tracts. We also do Stop Light preaching on the corners of Hollywood and Highland Blvds.

We pack up about 4:15, and time permitting, stop into IN N’ OUT Burgers and let Val Scott preach a mini sermon inside (he originated this technique). Next, we finish up at Pink’s again, where a brand new line o’ sinners is just waiting for an open air preacher to give them an eternal perspective.

Meet us at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool, or at Pink’s about 1:30, or Graumans about 2:00. If it’s raining, there is a Plan B.

Sharing Your Faith Without Fear,
our six week evangelism training class,
starts on Thursday, January 21.
Cost is only $10 and includes all materials.

This Saturday we will be headed to the Redondo Beach Pier to share our faith. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool.

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But on Monday…we’re going to another parade! Everyone loves a parade, and this one is very neighborly and lasts about three hours because it seems that everyone is in it. It’s the one and only Martin Luther King Jr. Parade!!! Meet at Hope Chapel on Monday at 7:30AM to carpool. If you’d like to meet us down there, we’ll be at the corners of Crenshaw Blvd. and MLK Jr. Blvd. at approx. 9:30 AM. Call my office and leave a message for further details: 310.374.4673 x. 121.

Last year I created an unexpected brouhaha in the Christian community because of a particular shirt I wore to the parade. I thought it was entirely appropriate for the neighborhood, but many brothers and sisters vehemently disagreed with me. Want to see the shirt? Ya sure? Please don’t get mad at me. (Click here to read the controversy.) I will not be wearing it this year because I have another plan…

Instead of a shirt, I ordered 50,000 special Presidential trillion dollar bill Gospel tracts with a special pro-life message in the corner.

In this troubled economy, everyone could use an extra trillion or two.

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Sharing Your Faith Without Fear, our six week evangelism training class, starts on Thursday, January 21. Cost is only $10 and includes all materials.

The world famous Santa Monica Pier is on the evangelism agenda for Saturday afternoon. If you’d like to be a part of this exciting event, meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool. This is the place where Kirk Cameron witnessed to some tough gang members (see below).

 Read about something exciting that happened a few years after this encounter by clicking here.

Coming up on Monday, January 18th:
The Martin Luther King Jr. Parade!

This Friday morning join us for the biggest evangelistic event of the year as over a million people watch this venerable parade.

Meet at the MetroRail station in Redondo Beach (2406 Marine Av., 5301 Marine Av.) at 5AM; we will leave promptly at 5:15 AM. The Day Pass   is only $5.00. Bring a backpack, water,snacks…an empty bladder (there are no restrooms on the rail), and layered clothing for the morning. We will eat lunch in Pasadena, returning between 3-4PM (but you are free to leave at any time). Fun for the entire family! If you live outside of the South Bay and want to meet us, call my secretary Barbara, at 310-374-4673 x140, and she’ll give you my cell phone number.

Click here to read about why I preached to the Porta-Potty lines at the 2008 parade.

***On Saturday January 3, we will be heading out to the 3rd St. Promenade to share our faith. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool.***

What? That’s right. The day after Christmas we will still be reminding people about what the season is really about since Kwanzaa is a fairly recent made up holiday, created by a Professor of Africana studies at Cal State Long Beach. This is from the founder, Maulana Karenga:

During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said that it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas, that Jesus was psychotic, and that Christianity was a white religion that Black people should shun.^[7][8] However, as Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so that practicing Christians would not be alienated, then stating in the 1997 Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture, “Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday.”^[9]

Tom Nance-Ulrich will be leading a team to this festival. Meet in front of Calvary Chapel South Bay’s Bookstore at 1PM, Saturday. Returning by 5PM.

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SAVE THE DATE: THE 4th ANNUAL TOURNAMENT OF ROSES PARADE IS ON JANUARY 1st!!! WE’LL BE GOING BY  METRO RAIL AT 5AM!

If you haven’t heard by now, the 3 day evangelism training offered by Way of the Master has been slashed in half to just $300.00—and that includes 4 nights in a classy hotel!

I will be leading teams in April, June and August, so maybe I’ll have a chance to meet you when you go!

For more info and registration, click here.

Read about what happened at the very first Academy by clicking here.

This Saturday we will be headed for Venice Beach. We start the day off by preaching to an outdoor beer garden where I once got splashed in the face by an appreciative patron. (See the video below.) Then we stroll down the walkway and witness and preach at will. Our new favorite place to preach is in front of the Cush house, a “medical” marijuana dispensary. Want to come? Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool, or meet us at the Rose Ave. parking lot about 1:15.

SAVE THE DATE: THE 4th ANNUAL TOURNAMENT OF ROSES PARADE IS ON JANUARY 1st!!! Read about what happened last year by clicking here.

This Saturday, the evangelism team will be heading to the Redondo Beach Pier again. This is the easiest place in the world to share your faith. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool.

*Click here to read about how one of of our evangelists got punched at the pier.

**And click here to read about why we were stopped by the police at the pier—and what we did about it.

**See how my two daughters were almost eaten by pagan pelicans at this pier by clicking here!

Hey! On second thought, maybe this isn’t the easiest place in the world to share our faith!

This Saturday we’ll be headed locally to the Redondo Beach Pier. Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool. But on Sunday, November 29, it’s…

THE HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE!

This will be great fun for the entire family! We will be taking the Metro Rail, so meet at the Redondo Beach Marine Ave. Station at 2:15. Or meet at the Hollywood and Highland Station between 4-4:30PM. The parade starts at 6PM. Want more info on the parade? Click here.

The photo below shows what happened last year. Read about it by clicking here.

In fact, when you read the article, it will give you a 12-step tutorial on how to share your faith at parades. Then you will be linked to 6 other parades, including a gay pride parade and an anti-war protest.

Join us this Saturday as we venture down to the Huntington Pier to witness with Ray Comfort. Carpool from Hope Chapel at noon, or meet us at the base of the Pier at about 1:30PM.

Now read about the time when an an atheist evangelist tried to share my preaching stool at the Huntington Pier, but I got the better of him….

MY FRIEND FRANK, THE ATHEIST PREACHING DUMMY

Atheist evangelists. Why? Can you think of anything more ridiculous than grown men standing around with signs proclaiming that God doesn’t exist? If He doesn’t exist, why even mention it? This sounds like something that would go over really well at a keg party, with half-snockered frat boys giving wedgies while inhaling from beer-bongs. Nope. These guys were middle-aged engineers, wasting their time under a brilliantly beautiful blue sky—a designer-less heaven, of course.

But I had a little fun with them, especially Frank “Millstone”, the clueless man who tried earnestly to convince my little girl that there was no Santa Clause, no Easter Bunny, and therefore, no God. Click here to read the rest of the story.

This Saturday, meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool to Santa Monica where we will be sharing our faith with the liberal rich. I’m sure we might even do some Stop Light preaching. This is the place where we filmed the instructional video below.

Now read this article from awhile back when one of our street preachers was surrounded by the law.

SURROUNDED BY THE POLICE

It was a simple excursion to the 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica. Little did we know that we would be found outside the law, violating a code that is reserved for the most scurrilous of scumbags…

The police had surrounded one of our evangelists. What could we do? I reflected on the words of Prophet/Rock Star Tom Petty: “I fought the law and the law won.” Read the rest by clicking here.

This Saturday we will be headed for Venice Beach where we start the day off by preaching to an outdoor beer garden (where I got splashed in the face one time. See the video here). Then we stroll down the walkway and witness and preach at will. It is a very strange and diverse crowd that we encounter there. Want to come? Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool, or meet us at the Rose Ave. parking lot about 1:15.

Now read a strange story I wrote in February of 2007 when I visited Venice Beach for the first time since I was 12-years-old, below.

VENICE BEACH IS STILL VERY WEIRD

I have lived in Southern California for over forty-seven years and have not been to Venice Beach since I was 12-years-old; it was a nude beach then, so I had very good reasons for visiting as a pre-teen. I had another very good reason for going last weekend: Evangelize the lost! And man, there were so many of them, all so very strange…

My entire family came out with the evangelism team this time and we broke the ice immediately by handing out a Million-dollar bill Gospel tract to this friendly fellow, who would not be misnamed if known as Mr. Venice.

I went looking for a place to set-up our open-air preaching dummy, “Eutychus’ Sis” while my wife Karen roller-skated off with our two little girls.

I helped out this poor man who was trying to earn an honest living…

…by giving him some cold, hard (phony) cash. I felt sorry for him because he needed a pot to boil water in. (Read the rest by clicking here!

We are going to “The Awakening” at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, this Saturday. It is an evangelism conference featuring Ray Comfort, Sean McDowell and others. Will you join us?

As a special bonus, Ray Comfort will be doing a mock funeral on the Huntington Pier featuring our preaching dummy, Eutychus’ Sis. (Who’s that? Why is she named so strangely? Click here.)

A mock funeral is exactly what it sounds like. A “dead person” lies under a sheet which attracts a crowd. Then Ray gives an evangelistic funeral message.

I wonder if Whitefield got his start this way.

Meet at Hope Chapel at 9:00AM. Or meet at 3800 S. Fairview St. Santa Ana, CA 92704. #714.979.4422. For more information click here! Returning by 6:00 pm.

Next week: Venice Beach!