San Clemente, CA | Taking Jesus to the Streets (and Beaches) [Video]
After having the opportunity to see gospel movements in person in other parts of the world, everyday disciple-maker John Gash and members of his team, OC Underground, wanted to see a movement happen in Orange County. During one of their 24-hour prayer gatherings, John was drawn to a couple of young guys he’d never seen before. He learned they’d just recently begun to follow Jesus after lives of drinking and smoking pot. John also discovered they were friends with his grandson, Ryder, and attended the same college. John invited all three of these young adults to his house for further conversation, and it led to doing a Disciple-Making Cohort together. Full of enthusiasm, the guys brought their friends, and a group of 12 college-age students went through the training together with John.
With John’s blessing, 10 of them raised funds, got passports, and purchased tickets to Germany to participate in what God was doing on the other side of the ocean.
At that point, the young adult crew heard John talking about a trip to Germany to see the Discovery Bible Studies with Novo’s Global Partner there. They wanted in! With John’s blessing, 10 of them raised funds, got passports, and purchased tickets to Germany to participate in what God was doing on the other side of the ocean. They had no idea that the leaders of Novo Germany, Eddy and Ruth Luft, would change their itinerary to include participating in a huge Young Adult outreach event in Munich. The American team joined with 500 German young adults, learning how to share the gospel and proclaiming the truth of Jesus on the streets. They prayer-walked, worshipped in public places, and talked to people on the streets about Jesus. For a lot of them, it was the first time they had ever shared the gospel from start to finish or actually led someone to Christ.
They returned to California with a Holy Spirit fire inside, wanting to see the same thing happen in Orange County, and a small team of young adults from Germany travelled to Southern California to help. For several weeks, they shared the gospel one-on-one with people on the beach, spoke truth through chalk art, hosted gatherings, and even led an outreach event at the San Clemente Pier beach. These conversations led to relationships, which fed into a growing week-night Bible study. That study grew from no people at the start of the summer to 80 people by the fall! And they’ve now baptized about 10 new believers. The group is all young adults, aged 18-23, who come to fellowship, share life, and read the Bible together. Emboldened in their faith, they’re inviting other young adults to join from their own missional spaces—workplaces, gyms, schools, and neighborhoods. The original two guys John started mentoring are leaders in the group and wondering about a possible calling to full-time ministry.
