It was the last day of Ambassador’s Academy 2025 and we had just pulled into the parking lot of the Santa Monica Pier. I was already nervous from the day before, but my nervousness doesn’t come from a fear of people, but for a fear that I will not be understood and my words are not clear. Our team grabbed our bags, our open-air preaching flip charts, and headed up the long, steep road to the top of the pier.
Once up there, the area was pretty full, but there was one spot that was decent for us to set up the flip chart, but the spot we really wanted was where a young lady was singing for tips. She had a beautiful voice and worth listening to. One of our team members, Sylvie, boldly walked up to her and gave her a gospel tract and started a conversation with her. She was already a Christian, and understood what we wanted to do. So, not only was she willing to give up her spot, but Silvie paid for her entire day and gave her the money she would have made singing! Wow…how awesome is that!
Mark Spence Started With Us
As we were getting our new spot together, Mark Spence of Living Waters Ministries came to see how we were doing. Since we were all a little nervous and a much larger crowd than the previous day, Mark decided to go first and give us a taste of what preaching in the open air should look like. It went very well and he was a great example to us all, even though feeling under the weather.
This Guy Had a “Beef” With Something I Said
I decided to preach when Mark was finished. I took the mic and strapped the amplifier around my head. I started with thanking veterans in the crowd for the ability to get up and use the free speech that they fought for. At my 20 year High School reunion, I had a friend tell me that he disagreed with my beliefs, but was happy that I used my free speech that he fought for in the Marines so that I had the freedom to do it.
As I was sharing the gospel and the reality of hell, my team wasn’t paying attention and having their own conversations, a guy, maybe homeless, ran up to me from behind and assulted me…with a cheeseburger. As I felt it hit me in the back, I turned around and this man was yelling threats at me to shut my mouth. The conversation went something like this:
“You shut your mouth! Shut up! Go, get out of here! Shut your mouth!
“Sir, I’m not leaving, but what is it that you have a problem with?” I said with as much of a soft tone as I could mustard [pun intended].
“You shut up about hell. My mother died of cancer, and now she’s in hell. Go. Play some music. Sing. I don’t care, but no speak of hell anymore!”
I lowered my microphone so no one could hear, “Sir, I don’t know if your mother is in hell. If she is, that would be terrible. But, if she is, maybe she is crying out to God to send me to you so that you can respond to this message so you don’t have to go there.” I was starting to have compassion for this guy. I could see the pain on his face as he was really conflicted and I could tell he was teetering on punching my lights out.
As he stared me down and walking back and forth pretty aggitated, he yelled, “Play some music, just one song. Sing, please, but no hell. You talk about hell one more time, you’re going to see how crazy this nig–r is!”
At that moment, I had two choices: stop preaching or keep going. I chose to keep going and tried to get the guy on the stool so we could talk in front of everyone. I wanted people to see I cared about his future and to keep an eye on him. I waited for my team to help, but I didn’t want to turn my back on him either. I was dissapointed that the training didn’t involve how to protect the preacher and what to do when these things happen. Eventually, he left frustrated, and so was I. I really wanted to have a conversation, but it’s tough when someone is either unreasonable or “unable to reason” (if you know where I’m coming from).
Stay Tuned for More from Ambassador’s Academy
In the next few weeks, I will be sharing more about my time at Living Water’s Ambassador’s Academy, a transformative experience that will no doubt impact my evangelism efforts. Throughout my time there, I encountered not only inspiring people but also a wealth of knowledge to bring back to my church. I’ll delve into the personal things about my trip that I took home in my heart, including the moments of profound reflection and growth that shaped my outlook on life. I have many ministry ideas to share and He has given me a heart to reach the lukewarm and those who think they have everything, but are going to hell. Stay tuned as I take you with me though this journey.
Pens & Wrenches 
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