“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” – Romans 10:14 (ESV)
There are people in downtown Gilbert tonight who will die without Christ. Not because God isn’t willing. Not because Jesus didn’t pay the price. But because no one will tell them.
This is the uncomfortable truth we must face: eternal destinies hang in the balance while we debate whether we have time. While we scroll through another hour of social media, someone walks past our church building who has never heard that Jesus died in their place. While we binge another series, a soul slips into another day of spiritual darkness, completely outside the sphere of Christian influence, unfamiliar with even the basics of the Gospel.
The Streets Are Still a Harvest Field
East Valley International Church has planted a flag in downtown Gilbert every other Friday evening at 8 p.m. Our Street Evangelism Ministry isn’t a social club or a feel-good activity—it’s a mission field where we step into the public square with a life-or-death message. We walk the streets asking the question that cuts through every pretense: “Are you good enough to go to heaven?”
Jesus didn’t wait for people to come to the synagogue. He preached on hillsides, in marketplaces, by the sea—anywhere people gathered (Matthew 5:1-2, John 7:37). Paul “reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17 ESV). Peter stood before a crowd in Jerusalem and saw 3,000 souls saved in a single day (Acts 2:14-41).
The streets have always been a harvest field. The question is whether we’ll join the laborers.
“But I’m Too Busy…”
Let’s be honest. You are busy. We all are. We all live in the tyranny of the urgent, where every hour is spoken for and every margin is consumed. But here’s the uncomfortable reality: we make time for what we truly value.
You’ll rearrange your entire week for a vacation. You’ll lose sleep for a playoff game. You’ll drive across town for a restaurant you’ve been wanting to try. But two hours a month to share the Gospel with the lost? Suddenly, we’re too busy.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” – Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)
The Once A Month Evangelism Team asks for just one evening per month—a couple of hours every 30 days. If you can’t find two hours in 720 to reach the lost, perhaps the issue isn’t your schedule. Perhaps it’s your priorities.
The Relational and the Relentless
Street evangelism isn’t about ambushing strangers with religious jargon or racking up conversions like spiritual scalps. It’s about being both relational and relentless—just like Jesus.
Christ never hesitated to turn a conversation from water to Living Water, from bread to the Bread of Life, from the earthly to the heavenly. He met people’s needs while engaging them at the deepest level. He was immensely relational yet undeniably relentless in His mission.
When we step onto those streets, we’re not performing a duty—we’re entering sacred encounters. We listen like friends. We ask questions. We treat each person as an eternal soul created in God’s image. We’re flexible in our presentation because we’re not reciting a script; we’re introducing people to a Person.
“And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'” – Matthew 4:19 (ESV)
Yes, we hand out tracts. Yes, we explain the Gospel clearly. But we also invite people to church, because discipleship isn’t a solitary journey. It requires the whole body—pastors, elders, deacons, congregants, worship, and teaching. Jesus didn’t call us merely to make converts; He called us to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
Does It Actually Work?
Here’s the sobering truth: thousands have trusted Christ through street evangelism over the years, but very few have been integrated into local churches. Not because we didn’t try, but because strangers who meet us once on a street corner rarely become part of our ongoing fellowship.
So why do it?
Because Romans 10:13 makes no preconditions: “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'” (ESV). If someone genuinely believes in Christ on that street corner, they truly receive the gift of eternal life. Their eternity changes in an instant, even if we never see them again.
And sometimes—just sometimes—Philip gets invited into the Ethiopian eunuch’s chariot (Acts 8:26-40). Sometimes the stranger becomes a brother. Sometimes the one-time encounter becomes a lifelong discipleship relationship.
But none of that happens if Philip never runs up to the chariot in the first place.
Making disciples after salvation is crucial because it fulfills Jesus’ Great Commission, ensures new believers grow in maturity and faith, and is the primary method for spreading the Christian message. Discipleship helps new converts develop a strong foundation, build community, and become equipped to live out their faith and lead others to Christ.
Going is the initial stage in making disciples. It is a command, not a suggestion. On a practical level, this means that we must take initiative, that we must be intentional about going out to make disciples. We may go nearby or we may go to the ends of the earth, but we must go.
Your Life Is Also a Testimony
The printed Bible is powerful, but your life is also a living epistle. When people encounter you on those streets, they’re not just hearing words—they’re watching to see if those words have transformed you.
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
Your peace in the chaos. Your joy despite circumstances. Your genuine concern for a stranger’s eternal soul. These are the things that authenticate the message. People are drawn not just to our words but to the Source those words point to—Jesus Himself.
The World Is Waiting
There’s a strange phenomenon in modern Christianity: we believe the Gospel is the most important message in human history, yet we live as though it can wait. We affirm that people without Christ face eternal separation from God, yet we don’t urgently seek opportunities to warn them.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10 (ESV)
If Jesus came to seek the lost, shouldn’t His followers do the same? If the angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7), shouldn’t we be willing to spend two hours a month creating opportunities for that rejoicing?
The Challenge
So here it is—no sugarcoating, no guilt manipulation, just a straightforward challenge:
Will you commit to joining the Once A Month Evangelism Team?
Not once a week. Not every Friday. Just once a month. One evening out of 30 days. Two hours out of 720. A single Friday night every other month to step outside your comfort zone and into the mission field that Jesus never stopped walking in.
Downtown Gilbert awaits. There are people there who will never hear the Gospel unless someone tells them. Some conversations will never happen unless you show up. There are eternal destinies that hang in the balance while we decide whether convenience or conviction will win.
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…'” – Matthew 28:18-19 (ESV)
This isn’t a suggestion. It’s the Great Commission. And it applies to every follower of Christ—not just pastors, not just the “gifted” evangelists, but every believer who has tasted the grace of God and knows others need it desperately.
What’s Your Excuse?
I know what you’re thinking. “I’m not good at evangelism.” Neither was Moses, and God used him to lead a nation. “I don’t know what to say.” Neither did Jeremiah, and God put words in his mouth (Jeremiah 1:6-9). “I’m afraid.” So was Gideon, and God called him a mighty warrior (Judges 6:12).
God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called. And if you’re a Christian, you’re called.
The Once A Month Evangelism Team isn’t asking you to be Billy Graham. We’re asking you to show up, be willing, and let God use you. He’ll do the rest.
The Streets Are Calling
In a world where distractions multiply and time slips through our fingers faster than ever, East Valley International Church calls you to something far greater than your calendar—eternal purpose. Our Street Evangelism Ministry meets in the heart of downtown Gilbert every other Friday at 8 p.m., and it’s not merely an outing; it’s a mission field where souls hang in the balance.
Yes, life is full. Schedules are tight. Comfort often wins. But the Gospel is too urgent to leave to someone else’s conviction.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” – Romans 1:16 (ESV)
Imagine what could happen if you gave just one evening a month to walk, pray, and speak Christ’s hope into the noise of a city that has forgotten its need for Him. Will you rise above convenience, join the Once A Month Evangelism Team, and give those few hours to eternal impact?
The Gospel won’t preach itself. The streets won’t evangelize themselves. The lost won’t save themselves.
But you—you could be the one God uses to change everything for someone on one Divinely appointed evening.
What’s stopping you?
To join the Once A Month Evangelism Team or learn more about East Valley International Church’s Street Evangelism Ministry, contact Alex Aquino or show up downtown Gilbert on our next scheduled event on Friday at 8 p.m. No special training required. Just a willing heart and two hours to spare.
The harvest is plentiful. The laborers are few. Will you be one?