street preaching
The Gospel was never meant to stay indoors. While we cherish the gathering of the saints on Sunday morning, the command of Christ is to "go."
Most of our neighbors in Western North Carolina will never walk into a church building. They do not know they are in danger. They do not know the structural defect of sin that threatens their lives. If we wait for them to come to us, we fail them.
So, Word of Grace Ministry goes to them.
From the sidewalks of Dillsboro to the downtown streets of Waynesville, we bring the message of the Cross into the open air. This is the work of the "highways and hedges." We go to those who are not looking for us, to bring them the news they do not yet know they need.
A Voice in the Marketplace
Our street preaching is not about anger; it is about urgency. It is the public declaration of the King’s message in the King’s world.
Often, immediately after our own church service concludes, Rev. Stephens and the team head out. We move from receiving the Word to delivering it. We stand in public squares, parks, and busy intersections to read Scripture and preach the Gospel.
We believe in the power of the spoken Word, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17). If no one speaks, no one hears. If no one hears, how can they believe?
A lighthouse is not built in a safe harbor; it is built where the waves are roughest.
We are committed to ministering in places where the culture is most opposed to Biblical truth. This includes a faithful presence at local Pride Parades and other secular gatherings.
We do not go to these events to start a fight. We go to offer a standard. In a culture that celebrates confusion, we hold up the clarity of God’s design. We offer the true Gospel to a crowd that is often told a lie. We hand out tracts, engage in conversation, and preach the hope of repentance and the promise of a new identity in Christ.
It is a hard task, but it is a necessary duty. We go because we love our neighbors too much to leave them in the dark.
Tract
We hand them a tract that might be read hours later in the quiet of their home.
Verse
We speak a verse that might stick in their mind for days, refusing to leave.
Warning
We offer a warning that might be the turning point of their entire life.
Seed
We sow the seed on the concrete, trusting God to break up the fallow ground.
