…Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
--- Luke 10:2 (RSV)
Honestly, the only reason I attended the
Evangelization Day was because my thirteen-year-old son wanted to go. Not only was it beastly hot but the idea of
knocking on doors and talking religion, when people are relaxing on a Saturday,
felt uncomfortable -- even scary. I likened
it to one of those Jehovah’s Witnesses who show up at my front door pretty
regularly.
Trevor and I were paired with Mike, a person experienced in door-to-door evangelism.
We were assigned to the odd-numbered houses on Prospect Avenue. How appropriate. I felt odd seeking new prospects for church. Mike was willing to do all of the talking at
each house. Fine with me!
Mike steps up to the door. (I take a few steps back.) Knock, knock. “Hi, I’m Mike, this is Lisa, and Trevor. We are from the church around the corner and are visiting the houses in the neighborhood
today to invite people to come to church.”
From there, we found out rather quickly about a person’s religious
views. Not a single door was slammed in
our faces, most people were somewhat friendly, and some even talked at
length. Maybe we were the only listening
ears they’d found recently, or perhaps they were bored. And then there was Lauren, who took a break
from cleaning her house to answer the door.
She considered herself open to a mixture of all religions and talked
with us while standing on her front stoop, smoking a cigarette. She declined any literature saying she’d just
throw it out and wanted to save trees.
At the last house we met Grace, age 80, whose church had been closed by the local diocese. Despite her expressed anger, she had kept the faith and now attended services elsewhere. We shared friendly
conversation and she handed us each a precious gift – ice-cold water to soothe
our scorched palates.
I cheered inwardly when time was up, partly due to the
emotional stress, partly because it was 92 degrees and partly because my legs
were tired from prolonged standing. Mike
deemed it a fruitful outing, especially considering one conversation with a woman who'd had a heart attack and welcomed a visit from our pastor.
Later in the afternoon came the summary email and I truly
was humbled and amazed. The teams had knocked on a total of 485
doors and made 197 contacts with 25 people marked for “follow-up” visits. One team had spoken with someone who now identified herself as a “pagan.” She’d had a good discussion with the team and,
before they left, tearfully came out onto the porch to join in praying the Lord's Prayer out loud!
It seems the fields of
the town were indeed white unto harvest and although I was a reluctant
laborer, I’m glad to have been a part of the effort.
Lord, thank you for the work of evangelization. Please bring to fruition the seeds that were planted. Amen.
