Preaching and Law Enforcement

Immediately upon leaving the bus, the ‘pusher’ Steve Sanchez demonstrated an open air technique known by him as free speaking. This is where you pick a corner and you begin to preach a message to those who are passing by.

After Steve did it with no incident, I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, Steve had done such a good job, the storeowner contacted security.

We were trained by Steve to keep on preaching even when people tried to block us off. We were given a primer on how to deal with security vs. how to deal with law enforcement officers. This training didn’t make me feel any better about being surrounded, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, I pressed on.

They simply wanted to tell me that my voice was too loud, that it was carrying across the street, and to tone it down a little. They were very polite and encouraged us to keep it up. In fact, later in the day they stopped to hear a second message! We were polite and respectful, and that gave us an edge in being able to get the word out. Part of our training encouraged us to be polite and to thank the officers for what they do. This goes a LONG way in being able to preach the Gospel when the armed security feels respected, and is even in defense of your right to preach.

~ by pastorboy on April 29, 2008.