Hey everyone! Very recently, I had the privilege of going on a mission trip…but not in the conventional sense that you probably imagine…
You see, starting on Aug 6 – which happened to be my 40th birthday (!) – I had the awesome and unique opportunity to be part of a small team of 8 from my online Supernatural Bible School, through Welton Academy, to travel to Dallas, TX to do a weekend of ministry…in the thick of the Bible Belt…AT A PORN CONVENTION!
Yes, you read that correctly – I went and ministered to the lost, hurting, and broken…AT A PORN CONVENTION!
What does this look like, you might ask? Well, our small team from Welton Academy partnered with another established ministry, Eve’s Angels, which is based primarily in Chicago, and led by Anny Donewald. Since 2009, Anny and her team have been venturing into various places around the U.S. – within the very same realm that she herself was rescued from – to take the love of Jesus into places that, sadly, too few are willing to venture into…and yet, we are called to shine The Light in the darkness…which is what we did…
In partnership with Anny herself, we ventured to Dallas, TX, and set up an Eve’s Angels booth inside the actual Exxxotica adult entertainment convention. Exxxotica is, in fact, the largest adult entertainment convention in the U.S., and conducts a small national tour every year with multiple stops. While inside, we gave away free t-shirts and wristbands, and offered information on how both women and men within the sex industry could get help for when falling into hard times, dealing with abusive situations, needing prayer, or reaching a point where they decide that that industry was not what they thought it would be and want to get out, but feel stuck.
To summarize: we offered them unconditional love. We simply went inside, set up a booth, and loved on people, just like Jesus Himself would do if He walked the Earth today. We met with porn stars, dancers, media people, product vendors, and attendees alike…right where they were. We talked to them, shook their hands, made eye contact with them, genuinely took interest in whatever they shared with us, hugged them and loved on them, and prayed for them when they wanted it. We interfaced with all kinds of people: married couples who were having problems, industry workers, product vendors, etc. Some of us would even encourage groups of men to keep their eyes open for anything they saw within their spheres of influence that looked troubling (to which they were surprisingly receptive)…
and do you know what the craziest part is?
Practically everyone we engaged with beyond surface-level conversation told us how happy they were that we were there!!! Did you read that? PEOPLE WANT TO ENCOUNTER THE *REAL* JESUS!!! All we have to do is be willing to show them The Father’s Heart…
The hardest part about this trip, to be honest? Believe it or not, it was NOT the seemingly never-ending stream of visual stimulus all around me, with very scantily-clad women in a super-hedonistic environment that practically begs for your agreement. No, in regards to that, the only feelings I found myself dealing with were not ones of lust, but ones of great compassion for the people who chose that way of life, and no doubt find it empty and largely unfulfilling, though the faces they put on offer a thin veil to try and conceal it…
No…The one, and practically ONLY, difficult part of being in that environment? There were LOTS of loud, obnoxious, finger-pointing, judgmental, huge sign-wielding protestors picketing almost violently just outside the conference room doors. Every day of the conference, all day long…who dared to call themselves “Christians”, while offering absolutely ZERO evidence of the Father’s Love that God carries for ALL people in His Mighty Heart…which greatly broke mine…
There was none of that nonsense from us, though: no agenda to convert anyone, no condemnation, no shame, no “turn or burn” preaching at the top of our lungs, no trying to bully people into behavior modification…nope…just crazy radical love for them…the same kind of Love that The Father has for us!
Seriously, I lost count of the number of people who, when I told them that the picketers outside the doors were sadly misrepresenting God’s heart, and that He actually loves them, responded with gratitude and faces of joy…it’s amazing the doors that God will open when you represent Him RIGHTLY! I have learned that while we of course don’t condone or endorse people’s sinful choices, it is far more important for us to grasp what Romans 2:4 is trying to get us to understand: it is the GOODNESS AND KINDNESS OF GOD that convinces people to change their mind…and it is THIS that we need to show people, if we ever expect them to TASTE and SEE His goodness!
You see, friends, I believe that far too many of us Christians focus far too much on the sin that keeps the world around us sick. The problem is that in doing so, we obscure the very antidote to the poison: God’s Grace, and Heart, and Love, for EACH AND EVERY SINGLE PERSON living in this world that He created. See for yourself, open up your Bible to Romans 5:20, John 3:17, 2 Cor 5:18-19, and lots of other passages that, when read in right context, often tell a different story than the one we’ve been giving people for far too long…
Simple, right? 1 John 4:17 tells us that in this world, WE ARE LIKE JESUS! Yes, that is a very bold statement for Scripture to make, but it is there for a reason.
To say that this trip was nothing short of life-changing is a wild understatement! In just a few short days of saying “Yes!” to God, my life is forever changed, and so is my road forward. I came home completely transformed from who I was when I left, and that’s exactly how it should be. Most of all, I have discovered that my capacity to love has greatly increased, and I will truly never be the same!
Love and Blessings,
Chris
Chris is a 40-year old lover of Jesus, worshipper, lead guitarist, husband, father, and IT Network Engineer by day