OAC of Baltimore-Washington

Paul — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:41:22 +0000

Picture of snow in Maryland at the staff conference. Praise God it stopped snowing.

College ministry begins…even through the snow

Paul — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:38:13 +0000

The picture above was taken during our staff confernce and it displayed the power God has to change our plans to serve His purpose. Now that the snow has stopped I want to praise God that we are gearing up to get back out on the college campus again in the next week or so. I really enjoyed the college ministry last fall and we saw the impact that it made on the lives of the students that stopped and listened to the gospel being preached. Our winter ministry was primarily indoors this year and we had alot of planning to do this winter because of the annual staff conference that was held in Maryland this year (Feb 3-8). I enjoyed the staff conference and meeting the new staff interns that came on board this year but, I am called to preach in the open air and this is where my passion is at, so I am excited to be able to get back outside even if it will be alittle cold. Please pray that as we begin to get out on the college campus again that God will bring those students before us as we preach that need to hear the gospel message and that we may be able to join in the work that God is going to do through the Holy Spirit.

Rainy day at Temple…

Paul — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:29:03 +0000

On October the 28th we drove to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, to share the love of Jesus and to preach the gospel message on the Campus of Temple. When I woke up that morning it was raining and overcast so it did not appear that we were going to be able to preach that day. I received a phone call from Paul and he asked what I thought. I had looked at the weather forecast earlier that morning and around 1:00 the percentage of precipitation was to drop down to 20%. We had planned to go to Temple for a couple of weeks to share in preaching the gospel with Joe Toy and Mark Johnson a couple of our colleagues. So Paul and I decided to head off to Temple and see what God would have us do. We thought if God wants us to preach He will stop the rain. After about a 2 hour drive we arrived at Joe’s house. We had Mark with us because we stopped at his house along the way and got in his car then proceeded to Philly. It was still raining when we got out off the van and headed towards campus. In fact it seemed to be raining a little harder than it had earlier. Although, it was still raining we continued to the campus and put the sketch board under an overhang by the Library. We waited for about a half hour and the rain did stop, praise God. We were able to preach three messages and many students stopped and entered into conversations with us about the existence of God and also about the gospel. I spoke to one young man named Prince and we had a great conversation for about 25 minutes. He stated he was seeking the truth and I pray that God uses some of the things we talked about to reveal the truth of the gospel to Prince. Many other counseling sessions took place and I thank God for allowing us to preach to the students of Temple University on a raining day. So, I learned that God will stop the rain if He wants His Word preached to individuals at specific locations. “Go and let the rain stop you” or not it is under God’s control. Pray for the students of Temple University that God will work in their hearts.

Montgomery College students interested in discussion

Paul — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:13:40 +0000

Yesterday Paul and I went to Montgomery college and preached the gospel We had many discussions with students regaurding the existence of God. We explained sin and why and how it came into the world and why sinners need a Savior. We explained that through Jesus Christ they have their sins forgiven. Many students stopped and listened to the conversations and many of the students had questions that Paul and I answered. Many of the answers that we gave were not what the students wanted to hear yet, we spoke the truth in Love and by the power of God we pray many will turn their lives over to Christ. This is the third time this fall that we have preached on Montogery College campus and we are building relationships with many of the students. Many of the Christian students encouraged us and asked if we would be coming back. It has been a blessing to be able to visit this campus a number of times and has shown to be very benifical in the lives of some of the students.

College students back in class

Paul — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:44:11 +0000

On Monday September the 14th Paul and I went to Montgomery College to kick off the beginning of our fall ministry to the college students. Mark Johnson, a fellow evangelist and a co-laborer for the gospel, accompained us to Montgomery college and assisted us. We arrived at the campus around 10:30a.m. and then went in to set-up. It was a beautiful sunny day and many students stopped to hear the preaching of the gospel. Well, I should say many students stopped to discuss and argue against the existence of God. I do want to praise God for the number of students that were able to hear a clear presentation of the gospel and the many questions that were posed. Paul was able to make many of the students stop and wrestle with the question of “why do I need to hear what these guys are preaching”. Mark and I were able to have one on one conversation while Paul was engaging the crowd and answering objections. I want to let everyone know that it was very encouraging to preach on a college campus and see so many students interact with us and with each other. I have only been on a few colleges but, it has been very surprising to see how the students who are believers will come alongside of us and help us by interacting with their peers. Overall it was a great day of ministry and I am sure that God’s will was accomplished.

New office space

Paul — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:17:44 +0000

Today the Maryland/D.C. branch opened a new office located in Glendale. We are very glad that this new office space has been established because it will enable us to operate out of two different offices. We currently have an office in Baltimore and now the new space in Glendale which will help us in the branch to have more unity. The initial meeting that we had today was very encouraging. We spent some time today praying for our nation, our political leaders, and our President. At such a critical point in our nation with the many changes that are being implemented by our government we as evangelist for this area we feel that it is very important to keep our nation and its leaders in our prayers. I realize that all of the things that are occurring in these days are still under God’s control and He does have a plan for our country. As I end this brief update I would ask that each of you would take the time today and pray for our country and pray that our leaders. Pray that they would come to the realization that God can not continue to bless America until we begin to honor God again.

Revision

Paul — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:21:44 +0000

I was informed that in the post from yesterday that I wrote some information that was not technically correct. I would like to amend that now so that anyone who reads this blog will have completely correct and accurate information. I wrote that Jim Duffecy told Paul ” Go and let the rain stop you”. Jim did in fact said this as a philosophy for preaching but, he did not specifically say it to Paul. This is a motto that we try to operate under here in Washington. So I want to apologize for the mis-information and let you know that all of the information posted at this site will be verified in the future to ensure it is correct because we want to Glorify God in all we post on this blog.

Blast from the past “advice that won’t fail”

Paul — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:24:44 +0000

This morning when I looked out my window it was overcast and rainy. Paul and I were planning to go to Lexington Market in Baltimore to preach and then we were going to come to the office and hold a kids meeting with our other partner, Tom Fox. At first it appeared that we were not going to be able to preach because of the weather but, we decided to go and as Jim Duffecy always said “let the rain stop you if it will”. I had actually never heard this philosophy until I came down to the Washington/Baltimore office this summer and Paul told me that is what Jim had told him many years ago. So off to Baltimore we headed and as we drove and talked the sky seemed to be getting clearer. We arrived at Lexington Market and saw that if was not raining and decided to preach a message. We set-up and then I began to preach. At first I was thinking to myself there is no one listening except for Paul. Then two people stopped and listened for a few minutes and one of them left. I do not want you to think that numbers are to main reason we preach because they are not. If only one person were to hear the gospel message and believe in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross it would all be worth it. Now back to the story…. After the one person left it was only me, a lady, and Paul. But, then something occurred I turned to paint on the board and I was just starting to preach the Good news and when I turned back around there were 10 to 12 people standing listening. Praise the Lord. I completed the message and was able to hand out several tracts at the end of the message and did have a five minute conversation with a gentleman that said he was a believer but, he was not attending church currently. I explained to him that he needed to get involved with a good Bible believing church and get into fellowship with other Christians. He agreed and said it was good talking to me and left. As I sit in the office looking back at this brief meeting and this one encounter I can honestly say that I count it all gain. The reason I say that is because if I made an impact on that man’s life and he takes the word that was given to him and applies it to his life then I will see this man again. Maybe not hear on earth but, in Heaven and he may come up to me and say “I remember the time you spoke to me in Lexington Market and it changed my life.” I want this blog post to encourage all of you to proclaim Christ whenever possible because it can make a huge difference to someone.

Annapolis outreach sharing the gospel

Paul — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:51:56 +0000

The outreach on August 7th was a great sucess. We were able to preach the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to many people tonight. Then the best part of the evening occurred when Clinton told me the one of the young ladies that he was counseling after the message that Greg preached gave her life to the Lord. Praise God! It is wonderful to see fruit from this ministry. Many times we go out and preach the gospel and get no response or are faced with much confrontation and arguements so it is incredible to see God work in the heart of a young person and to know that God allowed us to be a tool in this victory for the kingdom of God. I want to also thank each of the guys and girls that came out to support us and that prayed for us because your prayers have been answered with a salvation this evening. To God be the glory.

Paul — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:22:29 +0000