Third Watch Ministries, NFP Bob & Ellen Bollow
P.O. Box 1283 December 11, 2023
Wheaton, IL 60187
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him” John 6:44
Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I hope you have been blessed this Fall with life and peace and now joy in the season of Christmas. I had a good semester on campus of sharing the Gospel, which I’ve been describing in the Results of the Work emails I send out. 87 students have prayed to receive Christ after I told them the Gospel this semester so far. A few more were close it seemed. But some really just have not come into the faith as I talk to them. I try to give them a last word or a book if they will take it, in the hope God will work with that. I have conversations of other kinds on campus and students can sometimes say things that give me pause. When it was yet summer, a student told me he did not believe in God. It came out this was because he believed in evolution. I suggested this belief structure could not be supported by science and many scientists were abandoning it as a satisfactory explanation in universities. He found that ridiculous and justified his beliefs by simply saying, “I went to High School.” His ride came and he left, refusing a booklet I offered him to read. He was frustrated and a bit angry and we talked only briefly, even for me and most of my conversations are brief. He never even did a survey. Hopefully God used something said to provoke a thought opening a door for the Word. There is an old saying, “You can’t push on a string.” But God can turn a staff into a snake and back again. I try to remember that in contact evangelism.
You might think evangelism is sales. But I’m not controlling the situation or the conversation. Evangelism is also different in that, if you were selling some object or intangible, you might discover the person you were speaking with clearly did not need what you were selling. Ya can’t sell a tank to the Amish. I am never speaking to anyone where that was true. But they have to decide. This may confound people if they read what I write about talking with people on campus. I say I am going out to “Look for the Elect.” [Matthew 24:31, Romans 8:33, 1Peter 1:2] I believe God is drawing people to Himself. [John 6:44] These are Biblical categories. On some level, people are free and “without excuse,” as Paul writes in Romans 1. So, this is understanding presently beyond our grasp as Søren Kierkegaard writes, “The fact that God could create free beings vis-à-vis of Himself is the cross which philosophy could not carry, but remained hanging from.”
Sometimes, because I’ve developed some skills at evangelistic conversation, I can throw a bit too much of myself into it (I’m not sure how else to say it). Then during one of the verses I’ve stated many thousands of times, I pray for God to work as I state it and let go of the reins (I should not have grabbed.) I have experiences where it seems someone has recently gone to church again or their family has brought them and “everyone else” is a Christian, something a guy named Alex recently told me. But then after talking with me, he decided to become a Christian. When first talking with him, he gave no evidence of having heard the Gospel where he was saved by faith in the Blood & Righteousness of Christ. I meet churched kids every week who seem to have never processed the Gospel before. But then some have and God brings them to a point of conviction they somehow haven’t had before. Maybe it was not their moment. They were not yet “ripe for harvest” until they came across me. They may attend a church we’d consider evangelical that does not preach the Gospel. I have visited churches and heard invitations, but the Gospel was never stated, though an offer of eternal life was. Or some connection with God was solicited in the sermon. In different years for Christmas Eve, I have attended two of the largest churches in my area where this problem occurred. During the service, some kind of offer for a relationship with God was given. The Gospel was never stated. Just the simple facts of sin, atonement—by the Cross—and His blood, then resurrection, were completely absent from the statements made. I have spoken with students who say, “I’ve prayed a prayer before like this.” I’ll ask them then if they understood it. More than once they said did not and prayed again, this time to receive Jesus. I went to a funeral a couple years back where two men spoke. One was a famous man who was the former pastor of one of the most well-known evangelical churches in the US. The other was a former professor of theology, now a pastor. Neither stated the Gospel. Both offered a relationship with God of some kind, not saying how that could happen. Sometimes a student who prays with me knows the details of Jesus’ death on the Cross and just never trusted the Blood and Righteousness of Christ to be saved. I will sometimes ask again (restating what I have just said of the Gospel), “Do you believe Jesus was God, died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you think that is a true story?” And if they say, “Yes,” I say, “And do you want to place your trust in that to be forgiven for your sins?” If they say, “Yes,” I encourage them to pray. They are always glad when they did.
These are the 87 students who prayed to receive Jesus after hearing the Gospel from me this past semester. (An * means they said they would pray later.) Alijah, Jordan, Ken, Kolton, Will, Alex, Kiya, Marshall, Ashlyn, Tony, Mitch, Toni, Maia, Nick, Gabby, Brandon, Jameson, Christ, Kate, Trevont, Ian, Kyra, Davon, Vincent, Ian, Andy, Ray, Shauna, Oscar, Chris, Ella, Ryssa, Tim, Kayla, Kendall, Janayah, Juan, Mia, Abrianna, Ayleen, Daniel, Braedon, Tessa, I’sis*,Marnita, Sno, Matt, Kathline, Brenda*, Brandon, Rebeca, Bao, Diego, James, Neeha, Justin, KB, Mariah, Ben, Simona, Joseph, Darion, Michael, Jimmy, Leo, Clare*, Cristina, Maritza, Pablo, Gabriel, Alissa, Christopher, Kadin, Emerson, Lexi, Caliah, Yami, Kailey, Alex, Jonathon, DiLo, Joseph, Rosa, Fernanda, Oliver, Joe, Atiba, Christian, Zach, Isaiah
Thanks for your prayers and support this year. In 2023, there were 157 students that prayed to receive Jesus.
We wish you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
In Him,
Bob & Ellen