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Touch Points - Dusty Roads
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Pocket Full of Quarters Trek 2009 – Give ‘em Heaven
Touch Points – Rocky Dusty Roads
By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady
I spent some of today walking the rocky dusty campground roads. My mission was to invite people to a Sunday morning worship service. The campground owner is a Christian and he welcomed Pocket Full of Change Ministries to hold a Sunday morning service. Now all I had to do was find people to attend.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Cheryle Touchton with Pocket Full of Change Ministries. I’m a Christian speaker, author, and missionary. I’d like to invite you to a Christian non-denominational worship service tomorrow morning at 9:00 in the room beside the cafe.”
I have to admit that this was not comfortable for me. I felt like a door-to-door sales person. I reminded myself that God is in management and I’m in sales but my sales self esteem plummeted as rejection soared. I knew what I looked like and wondered why anyone would even want to hear me speak. No matter what I do, when I’m in campgrounds, I can’t seem to manage to look what I think a professional speaker should look like. I felt like explaining, “Honest, I really do dress up better than this.”
Some people openly ignored me and others glared as they gave a cold thank you. The ones who were friendly and welcoming were mostly already Christians. No one committed to attending. One woman invited me to their Boy Scout Catholic Mass that night at 7:00. I absolutely committed to attending that.
In the course of my wanderings, I met a couple from Germany. “We’re here for 3 years. We don’t think much about church in Germany and there are not the opportunities you have here. My husband was Catholic and I was Protestant. We’re going to a Presbyterian church. It is nice.”
She went on to tell me she was considering becoming a Christian. I shared with her how to become a Christian and left her with a tract. We didn’t talk long because she was watching 5 little girls camping with her in celebration of her daughter’s 9th birthday party.
I met a couple from Michigan. “You sound like our former minister. She wrote books and talked the way you do,” the man reported.
“What is your church?” I asked.
“Unity or Unitarian as some call it,” he said. “Our pastor wrote over 100 books.”
“If I understand Unity, the people who attend are not necessarily Christian,” I said.
“No,” he agreed. “We have all types, even atheists. Our pastor was good about making everyone feel included.”
“The difference between my message and that of your minister is probably that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I have a simple definition of Christianity. May I share it?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said.
“A Christian is someone who believes in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, believes He is the one true God, has confessed their sins, and asked Jesus to be a part of their lives.”
“That about sums it up,” the man nodded.
“Are you a Christian?” I asked.
“I’m pretty open,” he said. “I believe in a Higher Power.”
“Are you in AA?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, surprised.
“I love 12 Step Programs,” I said. I went on to tell him my experience was that many AA members had problems with church. Many start out in the Unity church because it is not threatening but as they grow spiritually and emotionally, they leave to go to a church where they can study the Bible directly and seek Christ personally.
“Many do fall away,” he agreed. I left hoping that I had planted a seed.
While I walked, my shoes kept filling with sharp rocks. I wondered how many times Jesus had to stop to remove rocks from his shoes. My feet were filthy when I arrived back at Halleluiah. I looked at my shorts and realized I was still wearing part of breakfast. I’d had a shower this morning but you couldn’t tell.
Jesus didn’t have showers and traveled by foot or donkey. I wondered if people needed him to be clean to listen to his message. I also wondered if Jesus traveled with a dog. Since no one committed to coming to the worship service, I think my door-to-door sales skills need improvement. I guess we’ll see how many come on Sunday.
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.
This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road as a traveling missionary, send your tax deductible contribution to Pocket Full of Change Ministries, POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240 or go to the donate button on the home page of this website.
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