University of Texas Outreach Ministry Report

By Francisco Nieves

09/3/2022

Beloved, we had a great time proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ yesterday to the thousands of fans who attended the first home game of the season for the University of Texas football team. 

I was joined by Tom McLaughlin, David Santisteban, and Kurt Simms to do some open-air preaching, tract distribution, and to engage fans in gospel conversations. Needless to say, it was a great start to a new season of ministry.

We arrived about two hours before kick-off time and set up at the corner of Trinity Ave and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (a natural choke point for fans entering the stadium). We left about an hour or so after the game had started. 

While there, I preached from Psalm 19, David preached from the parable of the sower, and Tom preached from 1 Corinthians 1. The fans reacted to our preaching in a number of different ways. Some encouraged us with high-fives or “keep up the good work” statements, while others wagged their heads or even screamed obscenities at us. In all of this God was glorified! 

During these three hours, we handed out hundreds of gospel tracts. We pray that the Lord will use some of these to bring people to Himself. We also had the privilege of engaging in several gospel conversations. In one memorable instance, two individuals approached Kurt with a microphone and some recording equipment and asked him if he would be willing to be interviewed for their podcast. Kurt of course agreed and took this opportunity to proclaim the gospel to them and to the listeners of that podcast. Praise God for that opportunity. 

In another instance, a black Hebrew Israelite approached us and started cussing at us. David took this opportunity to calm the man down and proclaim the gospel to him. We pray that God removes his heart of stone and gives him a heart of flesh. 

I had the opportunity to speak to a young man, who was in his early twenties, and who was clearly inebriated. Surprisingly, as I spoke to him, he was able to articulate certain parts of the gospel (repentance, faith, crucifixion, resurrection, etc.). I pleaded with him to turn from his sins and to trust in Christ. As we spoke, tears began to run down his face. Please pray for this young man!

Lastly, we had the opportunity to pray for one of the ticket scalpers that was hanging around the same area that we were in. He confessed to us that his marriage was in shambles and so we prayed for restoration. As we prayed for him, we proclaimed the gospel to him and asked him to be reconciled to God. Lord please hear our prayer!

Overall, it was a great day of ministry. God was greatly glorified through the preaching of His word. We ask that you please continue to pray for us as we continue to engage football fans.

https://sfoi.org/University-of-Texas