Recap: Marshalltown Octemberfest 2025

Last Friday my wife, Lisa, and my friend, Nik, went to Marshalltown Octemberfest to share the gospel with those taking part in the festivities and meet up with Paul during the fall festival.

Paul hadn’t gotten there yet, so we took a walk around the entire complex to get our bearings. For the past several years, it’s been in a different spot, and this year with construction, it was held several blocks away from its original area. This year, it was apparent that the crowd was not the same. Very small compared to the past several years, but we managed to get into a few conversations with those in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Keegan

We went through the car show and checked out some of the automobiles people have restored. At this point it was slim-picking with the amount of people there, so I started handing out tracts to get into a conversation. That’s when I ran into Keegan, a young man who was genuinely interested in what I had to say, but didn’t know much about the Bible, or Christianity. I gave him a Beatles million-dollar bill and asked if he were to die today, would God allow him into His kingdom. He said yes. We went through the Ten Commandments, but he never took ownership of being a sinner. In fact, he kept justifying his position as not as bad as the next guy. He had gone to church in the past, but left because of hypocrites in the church. So I asked him, “Do hypocrites in hospitals keep you from going there when you need physical help?” He laughed and shook his head. “Then hypocrites shouldn’t stop you from going to a good Bible-believing and teaching church for spiritual help.”

Men, and women will always justify their own goodness (Proverbs 20:6) who do not know God. But we talked for a while. In the end, I could tell no one has ever discussed the gospel with him, nor went through the Ten Commandments as a mirror to show what “good” is. As we departed ways he said, “I’m really glad we had this talk and it’s definitely been on my mind. I have a lot to think about.” Along with the Beatles Million, I gave him the booklet, “The Seven C’s of History” by Answers in Genesis with a sticker on the back pointing to my website to contact me if needed. It’s a synopsis of the entire Bible and explains the highlights in a way someone who doesn’t know the Bible would understand.

Vivianna

One of the things I was trying to teach Nik was how to use his eyes, ears, nose, and other senses God gave him to pick up things in the shared space to get into a conversation with a lost person. One of the things we focused on was T-shirts.

One young man we met later wore a t-shirt that said, “Change Your Perspective.” He highlighted several t-shirts people were wearing, excitedly demonstrating how easily one could shift from the natural to the spiritual. At that moment, I spotted a teenage girl wearing a Beatles t-shirt. Eager to connect, I jumped forward and quickly joined her and her boyfriend, ready to share the Beatles Million we are giving out at the Paul McCartney concert on October 14th at the Casey’s Center.

As soon as I gave her the million, she instantly was elated with excitement.

“No way, this is amazing!” she yelled as she took the million.

“Are you really a Beatles fan? You do know that Paul McCartney is playing at the Casey’s Center on October 14th, right? We are passing these out there, and wanted to test them out here. That’s when I noticed your shirt.”

“Yes I am. I love the Beatles. I know everything about them, but I didn’t know he was touring. So cool.”

“Well, on the front of the million, there are thirteen easter-eggs about their music, and on the back is the million-dollar question: Will you go to heaven when you die? Have any thoughts about that?”

We talked for at least twenty minutes going through the Ten Commandments and explaining that they are a mirror to show us how sinful we really are. Like mirrors don’t cause our hair to be messy and the need to shave, but it reveals the need to do something about it; the mirror of God’s goodness found in the Commandments shows us we are sinners in need of a Savior. She was Catholic, so I asked her how a person gets to heaven. She honestly really didn’t know, but when I explained who Jesus was, the meaning of Christmas and Easter, she remembered why. The boyfriend was getting antsy, and for good reason, when she said they had to go, I pointed them to the websites on the back: NeedGod.com and LivingWaters.com. It was a great gospel presentation for Nik to watch and learn.

Jehovah’s Witness Cart Couple—Austin & Sarah

As we walked towards the event from the car, we passed by a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses with their cart of Watchtower and Awake magazines. Lisa wanted to go talk to them right away, but it’s important not to get distracted and get to the event as quickly as possible. I said, “If they’re still here when we leave we’ll talk with them.” And so they were.

I introduced myself to the couple and said that I’ve had Jehovah’s Witnesses at my house before, but they have never seemed to answer my questions. I was wondering if they were up for the challenge? They agreed, so I explained the “3 Minutes to Live” scenario and how I could receive eternal life. This is the perfect question to ask anyone and reveals what they really put their faith in to get to heaven. At first they looked at each other and there was silence for about a minute.

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Though difficult to remember the entire conversation, one thing that Sara the JW kept saying was that we made a lot of mistakes of the past, and to remember them all would be impossible. I finally said, “Sins are a violation against a holy God and His Law. Mistakes are leaving the caserolle in the oven for an extra 15 minutes or taking the wrong exit off the freeway. They’re not the same ballpark as committing adultery on your husband.” Even when we got into the Ten Commandments, they both agreed with us, and kept agreeing till it got super annoying because we were not using the same language, and not on the same team. It was obvious. Suprisingly, and not at the same time, refused to call breaking the Ten Commandments—sin.

Even toward the end when I mentioned Jesus, they were all nodding along, saying they believed that only through Him can our mistakes be wiped away. But when I asked them why they didn’t kick things off with that, the vibe shifted and suddenly it felt like their service-work was done.

Nik jumped in and said, “Back to the original question. You can share hope and the gospel in less than three minutes. Even in less than a minute. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” – Rom 10:10-13. Not only that but Jesus Himself said in John 3:16—For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever shall believe on Him will not perish, but have eternal life. But instead of having all these magazines that don’t give hope, why don’t you just put the Bible on the cart and get rid of all this other stuff?”

In the end, we parted ways, but it was wonderful for Nik and Lisa to engage with the JW cart people and bravely confront that darkness. We chatted animatedly throughout our ride home, and even when we arrived at our place, Nik was energized and eager to stay longer. He’s truly found his passion! My hope is that he continues to embrace this enthusiasm. Tonight was an incredible learning experience for him.