Carry His Name
Are you a missionary for Jesus?
On June 1st, 2014 my family and I moved to Huntington Beach for the sole purpose of telling people the gospel: Jesus is the Christ who died for our sins and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
We are not alone. A whole team of missionaries from Compass Bible Church are partnering with us on this adventure. 5 groups of family and friends have already moved up here. 5 more are on their way. Some members of our team have already lived here for years. They are like scouts sent ahead into the Promised Land. “God is with us,” they tell me. “We can win!”
It might sound funny to refer to Huntington Beach as a mission field because the city is familiar to so many, but the whole reason we moved here was the mission Jesus has given us.
After a month and a half of living here, we have not lost our missionary mindset!
Perhaps the most famous missionary in the history of the church is the apostle Paul. Here is what Jesus said about him.
Acts 9:15 – “…for he is a chosen instrument of mine to CARRY MY NAME before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”
I love the word picture of Paul carrying Jesus’ name. Like he was walking into town and raising a flag, hoisting the banner of the gospel and letting it wave for all to see. There he is: The Lord of heaven and earth who humbled himself to be born as a man. The Creator who became the creation. And he did it all for you, to pay the penalty for your sin on the cross. He died the death that you should have died and then rose again so you could have his life. JESUS. The name above all names. The only name by which we can be saved. This is exactly what we are praying will happen here in Huntington Beach. That he will use us to carry his name so many will raise their eyes and see him there at the right hand of God, shining in the light of his glory. That God will open eyes to see the goodness of his gospel and save many people!
Here are three things I have learned about the mission field of Huntington Beach:
The mission field of Huntington Beach is FULL OF SOULS!
This city is a happening place. Not only is there always something going at Surf City’s famous beaches and picturesque landmark of the pier, but also the Bella Terra shopping center is a busy place right off of the 405 freeway. (You have definitely seen the Buca Di Beppo if you have driven by!) But the heart of the city is the neighborhoods. Street after street of houses, many of them built decades ago when America was a different place. They are built close to each other as if neighbors would want to talk to each other. Like kids would go over to each other’s house to play and families would ride their bikes down the street. When I look at a map of the city all I see is a grid of souls. Every house I see, I wonder who lives there. As I drive by people on the street, I see them as spiritual beings. Every single one of them needs to know the name of Jesus. If they call on his name they will be saved!
The mission field of Huntington Beach is COMPETITIVE!
We are not the only ones trying to tell people about a Jesus around here. On our first two times going out street evangelizing, some of our team came across Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. If you don’t think these two groups are relevant today it’s because you haven’t been evangelizing lately. They think of Huntington Beach as a mission field too. They are out on the streets talking to people.
The sad reality is Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses do more to tell others about Jesus than most Christians do today.
For real, how many Christians do you know who think street evangelism is normal? When was the last time you went witnessing door to door? The truth is if someone came to your door to tell you about Jesus you would probably think it was a Mormon missionary with the tie and name tag. Second place would go to the nicely dressed Jehovah’s Witness maybe on a Saturday morning. And then third place would finally be… someone trying to sell you something.
We are not even on the list.
The Girl Scouts are better at reaching people than us!
Many Christians today don’t even think going door to door is a good way to tell people about Jesus. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses sure do. It is required. They are trained. They are more friendly than us. They have better websites than us. It’s like they are lifting up two more flags that say the name Jesus right next to ours. What are the people on the street supposed to think?
Mormons believe that Jesus was born the brother of Satan, that he was a man who became God. That’s not the Jesus the Bible tells us about! But they are telling everyone about him like that’s just who he is. Go to their website and they will try to convince you they are the true church. Chat with one of their 24/7 online missionaries and they will answer your questions personally.
Jehovah’s Witnesses will say Jesus is a god. A god, not THE God. They teach Jesus was created as the first being, and then he created everything else. When some of our team was talking to them they denied the deity of Jesus, but confused our group by also saying we should believe in him! They even pulled out their phone to show us a video and evangelize us back by telling us what the Bible really teaches!
The mission field of Huntington Beach NEEDS FREE ICE CREAM!
With all of this Christ confusion our team is left with a dilemma. The best way to talk to people is probably at their homes, but now there is such a bad stigma associated with door-to-door evangelism. How can we turn this into a positive situation where people want to talk to us?
The answer God gave us is an ice cream truck!
We thought if they heard the jingle of an ice cream truck driving down the street or pulling up to the park, families might want to come and check it out. God might use free ice cream to literally open doors for us to share the gospel of Jesus and invite our HB neighbors to church. We have purchased an ice cream truck and are getting it ready to go right now! Already we have been able to have some exciting conversations!
Next weekend, August 2nd & 3rd, we have a special commissioning service at Compass Bible Church where Pastor Mike Fabarez and the other pastors are going to officially send us out to plant a new church. After that we will begin evangelizing on the streets of Huntington Beach every day until Labor Day on September 1st.
Please pray God will use us to evangelize this city! Pray we will see people saved as a part of Compass HB even before we have our first service! I know many of you are praying and thank you very much!
And even if you can’t join us evangelizing here in HB, pray you will be a missionary for Jesus Christ right where you are. There is no better way to live!
Every city in America right now needs another flag to be raised for people to see. A banner of light that needs to shine over the darkness!
CARRY HIS NAME!
We are praying Pastor Bobby. Thanks for sharing, thanks for updating, thanks for spurring on and thanks for going! It is our honor to pray for the ppl of HB and your entire team. We can’t wait to get to the New Jerusalem and see all that God does through free ice cream. It reminds me of Luke 16:9 and using unrighteous mammon so that we can one day receive them into eternal dwellings! The Fabarez family continues to lift your up week after week.
Thank you so much for this update Pastor Bobby. Our family prays faithfully for CBC Huntington Beach and its mission.
Pastor Bobby, thank you for your teaching, this is amazingly written and encouraging. I will continue to pray for Compass HB.
I love what you wrote: Every city in America right now needs another flag to be raised for people to see. A banner of light that needs to be shine over the darkness.
I am a Missionary!!! Thank you, Jesus.
“And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
“1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Love these updates! Keep them coming!
Pastor Bobby, this PUMPS ME UP! I personally have been reflecting on my own calling as a missionary–right here in San Clemente as a new stay-at-home Mom! SO many people to come across. Your blog gives me ideas about how I can use my lot in life for the glory of God and the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Greg and I are praying for you and the team…
Awesome update Pastor Bobby! Praise God for his grace and blessings. Praying for Compass HB and all of my friends fron Costco in HB and FVALLEY that I have shared with over the 6 years I was in that area. Can’t wait to tell them to look for the ice cream truck. The harvest is definitely plentiful!
This is epic!! Ice cream truck evangelism?!? So encouraged by how dedicated yall are to reaching people there with the Gospel by any means possible! Will definitely keep praying for Compass HB & for The Lord to save many souls!
Thank you, Pastor Bobby, for this inspiring post! We are praying for all of you who have made a commitment to the H.B. ministry, and for HB souls to be saved. We are excited to join you for some Huntington Beach evangelizing!
Matthew 9:37-38
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”