Duluth Air Show - 32,000 People Get The Gospel

WOW, what an experience this past weekend! We spent all day (9am-5pm) Saturday and Sunday out at the Duluth Air Show. It was estimated that over 32,000 people attended the two day event...and most, if not all, of them had to walk past our signs.

We arrived on Saturday having no clue what we were going to do, where we were going to go, and how it was going to all work out. We trusted in God, but still, that doesn't always mean things are going to go smoothly. We had a newcomer with us for Saturday, Lori. We met her the day before (actually we had spoken with her months ago on the streets) when we stood outside the DECC to confront people with an anti-abortion message with some other pro-lifers (that was intense, but another story for another time).

Josh and Lori station themselves at one point and I stationed myself a short distance from them. We were in the only funnel area that almost all spectators had to go through. It was a PRIME spot to share the Gospel.

It wasn't long before we got set up along Stebner road that the Air Show authorities approached me telling us we needed to move (they thought we were protesting the war/show). After the "officer" said his piece, I informed him that Stebner Rd. was a public road and that the general rule is that the public right-of-way is within 10ft. of the curb. He said they had a permit for the area and that the road was no longer public. I then let him know that I had documentation from the City Engineer, City Attorney, and Federal Court Cases showing that we indeed did have the right to be there. I escorted him to Josh who had the documents. After a few minutes and a discussion with the head of security, they understood our rights and left us alone. In fact, they stopped several times to ensure we were doing alright, not being hassled, and offered us water and sun-screen. It's pays to be prepared!

The amount of people was amazing. I had no idea this event was going to attract so many people. We didn't have many conversations (people were focused on getting into the event) but it was evident that the majority of the 32,000 people were reading the signs. We received thumbs up, "amens", "praise the Lord", and an occasional passer by wondering what "church" we were with. We also had several middle-fingers, head-shakes, and "get a life" types of things. I would say in the end I had 2 very good conversations with what I suspected to be unbelievers who were curious in our message. As usual, I talked about sin, judgment, and the righteousness found in Jesus Christ.

We were also able to pass about close to 100 tracts on Sunday as well. All we did was stand near the gated walkway and hold out our home-made tracts. We trusted the Holy Spirit would prompt someone to take them from us...and they did! We almost ran out!

We also met a few other believers who were a big encouragement to us. This type of ministry can get pretty mind-draining and seem to almost non-fruitful at times. However, God seems to bring a "great cloud of witnesses" to us just when we need them. I am so thankful to those believers who stop and talk to us, offering us prayer and encouragement. Hopefully we will be in contact with some of them in the near future, esp. those residing in the Twin Cities.

The "highlight" of the two days came on Saturday. Around 3pm the weather turned pretty nasty and a light mist turned into a down pour. The masses of people coming out was astounding. Very few people came prepared for such inclimate weather. they left the gated area in mass and they ALL had to filter right past us, often times being slowed down (or stopped)by vehicle traffic and foot-traffic congestion. They were "forced" to read our message, sometimes for a second or third time. To say we got SOAKED would be an understatement (Just a little FYI, I was soaked down to my underwear!!). It was worth it though, the Gospel was preached via our signs. Lori was a AWESOME for her first time out with us. She stayed the whole day, endured the rain, wind, and cold kept her focus. It was great to see others willing to sacrifice their comfort level (and physical comfort) for the sake of Jesus Christ.

One "picture" I will forever have in my mind is when a large group (probably a few hundred) were stopped by a line of cars coming out of the parking lot. All I could see were hundreds of people, many cars, rain all around me, and Josh's sign exalting the name of Christ within them all. The line of people extended for several hundred yards...hundreds of them! I wish many more could have seen it.

Praise be to God!!

Proverbs 24:25
But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.