There I was, standing outside a dark hotel near Detroit, Michigan. In front of me stood a police officer shining his flashlight into my eyes while behind him stood a group of heavily tattooed heavy metal rockers hoping he would take me into custody. Welcome to life on deputation. Well, hopefully that’s not your experience. But seriously, what got me into this predicament?
Let’s start at the beginning. When my wife and I began deputation, we looked forward with excitement and some trepidation to what was ahead. We started our travels from sea to shining sea, and God impressed on our hearts that it wasn’t enough to be a witness for Christ once we got to the mission field. We needed to be faithful now as His messengers. As we logged mile after mile, we started seeing God open all kinds of diverse and even unique opportunities. Here are some of the categories of opportunity God gave us and ways He might want to use you too.
1. Pit Stops
Believe it or not, with young children, we end up stopping often. Gas stations, restaurants, playgrounds, and parks all become God-given mission fields. Parks especially are a goldmine for casual conversations and opportunities to share some about Christ. We’ve met young moms who have fallen away from God, older men who have practically no knowledge of Christianity, and kids who are living in single parent homes. Gas stations and restaurants can be harder places to get into deep conversations, but they are still great places to bless the workers with a tip and a tract.
2. The Streets
Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there and see what God wants to do with you. When we’ve gotten out of our comfort zone and onto the streets, there was almost always at least one person who was willing to have a good conversation. A practical tip is to get an accountability partner to pray for you or even go with you. One of the many providential opportunities we had on the streets was in Northern California. I grabbed a teenage guy from the church we were visiting and went out to see if we could talk to people. After several dead ends, we eventually ran into two young guys at a mall who had nothing better to do than talk with two strangers. Forty-five minutes later we left them with some booklets to read, having given them a clear presentation of the Gospel. Then we met another kid at a skatepark and were able to encourage him as he had recently given his life to Christ. The streets also ended up being great places to connect with homeless people and show the love of Christ to those who are the outcasts of society, yet for whom Jesus died.
3. Sports/Gyms
One of the best soccer games I’ve ever had was on the road in Baltimore, Maryland—and it wasn’t because I played well! It was because sports provided an instant connection with people I would otherwise never have met and an open door to share Christ. How about gyms? Is it ok to get a gym membership on deputation? You’d better believe it! In fact, we found gym visits to open all kinds of opportunities with people cooling down after a workout or with people who are willing to give some technical advice. [Tip: The bigger they are, the more willing they are to show off and share their knowledge.]
4. Extended Family
An unexpected category of opportunities has been extended family. We’ve been able to talk about Jesus with unsaved aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews, and grandparents. In some cases, our families have been praying for these relatives for years or even decades. Now, because of deputation, we’ve had the opportunity to visit many of them, and our work as missionaries gives us a natural bridge to bring up the Gospel.
5. Muslims
A category near and dear to our hearts is opportunities with Muslims. Nowadays, you can find significant Muslim populations in Detroit, Washington DC, New York City, and just about every other large city in America. In fact, Muslims can be some of the easiest people with whom to start gospel conversations because they are often more than willing to talk about their faith. Don’t be afraid to engage them in conversation and show them the love of Christ.
6. Hotels
The two things you can almost always be sure to find at hotels are families in the pool and smokers outside at night. Occasionally, you might encounter something unexpected such as a group of Hispanic workers grilling out. Not only did I get to meet fellow believers and share Christ with some unbelievers, but I also enjoyed some free sausages!
And that brings me to a dark night in Detroit and a run-in with the police. It started when I noticed some people dressed in black sitting in the hotel lobby. They were playing a board game, vaping, and drinking vodka. I must say that I wasn’t full of boldness and excitement at the sight of these strangers. It took a good 20–30 minutes before I finally yielded to the Spirit and walked up to them in the lobby. After an hour or so, I was able to steer the conversation to the Gospel, and we had a really good chat. I asked if they had ever thought about death, and that’s when I learned their band was death metal (heavy metal focused on death, suffering, and destruction). After finishing up and saying goodbye, I thought it would be good to go outside and pray for them.
As I was walking around praying, I saw the band come out of the hotel and start pointing at me. I started to walk towards them, but they quickly hightailed it back toward the door. Just then, a policeman walked out of the hotel and with his light in my eyes, started grilling me about why I was outside near the band’s car. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that they would be suspicious of me but with the mixture of booze and late-night Detroit, it’s understandable there was some confusion. The policeman didn’t seem at all amused when I told him I had been praying and reading the Bible! After a long questioning which involved waking up my wife and checking into the “strange” habits of her husband, I was allowed to go back to bed on the condition that I didn’t leave the room. I admit that I’ve learned to be more aware of possible misunderstandings. I also believe that if there is anyone the devil wants to keep lost in sin, it’s a death metal rock band!
To be honest, in all these opportunities we have never felt super confident or comfortable. There have even been many golden opportunities we missed out of fear or timidity. But we’ve also learned that following the Spirit of God means that sometimes you just have to be extra friendly and go for it! Don’t be too introverted, too busy, or too tired to ask a friendly question to a mom at a park, join a group of guys playing soccer, make conversation at a gym, or even join a heavy metal group playing board games. If you are surrendered, praying, and willing to step out of your comfort zone, God is sure to open opportunities in all kinds of places with all kinds of people.