Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for us!
Our “NINE70” “HOLLA”ween outreach last night was a HUGE success! On the ‘darkest’ night of the year, we brought the light of Jesus to the heart of our city and it was shining bright!
The party scene on the weekends in Fort Collins is in “Old Town.” This year, Halloween in Old Town was vulgar and ‘dark.’
OUR GOAL
Our goal last night was to take the gospel right to the young people of our city who need it the most… we did! Some opened up, some cried, some got really mad, lots were touched and we got many of them home safely.
FREE CONCERT
We hit the streets with about 45 young people from nine70 around 9pm. We started the night by hosting a free two-hour, open air concert with a Christian rapper named ‘Chaz,’ right in the middle of Old Town. A steady shoulder to shoulder crowd of over 350 included celebrities like Sarah Palin with a baby, Jesus on a skateboard, a gorilla, three Jolly Green Giants, 8’ beer bottles, the “fruit of the loom” guys, a very realistic storm trooper, dozens of inappropriately dressed nursery rhyme characters, and hundreds that I am going to be trying very hard to forget.
POWERFUL TESTIMONY
After the first one-hour set, Jackie (one of the officers on our CSU student Organization) shared her testimony. It was powerful! One young lady in particular said, “I am not a Christian, but you really inspired me… I am going to take a serious look…”
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
The second set was a “straight up” gospel message and hip-hop style worship. On the fringe, long lines of hundreds who were waiting to get into the clubs were also a ‘captive’ audience. I heard one guy shout, “Quit singing those Jesus songs!!” There was tension in the air. It reminded me of the third chapter of John. We usually camp out on John 3:16 but a few verses later Jesus says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light… for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” There was no mistake, the Light was shining. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:21
HOLLA!
At midnight our vans started filling up and we stayed busy until almost 3am. We have people sign up for our free rides on a ‘waiting list’ like at a restaurant. The ones that really want a ride stay close, so again we had a crowd of about 50 milling around us for three hours. Our people just ‘hang out,’ give free food, warm drinks, etc… Invariably, curiosity kills the cat and someone asks, “Why are you doing this for free?” A door to a more serious conversation about God’s love opens and we step into it. Even if the door only stays open for a few seconds, for those standing nearby the answer is irresistible.
IN THE VAN
In the vans is where the action is. At the end of the night, most people have done what they came to do. For many, it wasn’t as satisfying as they had anticipated and they are starting to come back to reality. Our kindness opens a door, the ‘walls’ come down and lots of meaningful conversations follow. Even if only a couple people talk, a whole vanload gets to listen. One guy started crying and chose NOT to go home so that he could ride around again and finish talking about God.
My voice is hoarse from yelling out names. It was the longest, wildest night I have seen in a while…
THE GREAT COMMISSION
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gives us a special mandate. If you can hang with me, there is something I’d like to challenge you with. The imperative command of this whole statement, in the original Greek, rests on the main verb “make disciples.” The rest of the verbs are participles. In other words, the meaning of this text is: “Going (to the nations), make disciples…” It doesn’t “flow” as well, but it highlights something important.
Jesus isn’t saying that everyone has to quit their job and go to a foreign country to engage in fulfilling the Great Commission. He is recognizing that in our day to day lives, we are all ‘going’ into different places and areas of society. In the process of ‘going’ we are supposed to “make disciples!” In your family, on your job, among your friends, at the store, across the street, in a HOLLA van or anywhere God leads you “…make disciples.”
Thanks again for all your support! We love you!
Dustin Barrington
YWAM Catalyst
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GLOSSARY
NINE70 - A young adult ministry of about 150 at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado that we are serving by overseeing discipleship, outreach and leadership development.
HOLLA - The last Friday night of every month nine70 goes to “Old Town” where all hundreds of young adults go to party, get drunk and hook up. We offer free food and free rides home to people who have indulged too much to drive safely. During our van rides many of them open up and we get awesome opportunities to share the gospel and lead people to Jesus.
OLD TOWN - a blocked off walking mall of historic buildings that was the inspiration and model for ‘Downtown Disney’ at Walt Disney World in Florida. Unlike Disney, the real one is home to half a dozen bars and nightclubs (e.g. Zaidagos, Suite152, Lucky Joe’s, Copper Smiths, Washington’s, etc...)
