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3 IMPORTANT LESSONS
FOR STREET PREACHING
I just recently found an old clip of me street preaching back in 2005 in Toronto Canada. I believe I was 20 years old and had only been street preaching for three years. I have learned a lot about street preaching since then. Here are some quick and simple lessons:
- How You Draw The Crowd Is How You Have To Keep The Crowd.
This is a very important lesson to learn. I was frustrated for years trying to draw a crowd with tricks and gimmicks only to have them walk away once I started preaching. I was lucky if I was able to draw a crowd of 10 people for as long as 10 minutes using different tricks and gimmicks like money trivia. Once I started preaching and the crowd would leave, I had to give away more money to draw in more people but would lose them also as soon as I started preaching again.
I remember one night of street preaching, I must have given away at least $50 in single dollar bills in money trivia, drawing crowds, and yet at the end of the night I had not really open-air preached to anybody because everyone who came for money would leave when the preaching started! The problem was that they didn’t come for preaching, they came for money!
When I studied the open air sermons of men of God in the Bible, I didn’t see them do any money trivia to draw a crowd. Instead I saw them boldly proclaiming the Word of God from start to finish. Doing things like money trivia on the street makes you a street performer, not a street preacher, as money trivia is not preaching.
I wanted to do things the way our Master Jesus Christ did and so I dropped the money trivia and various tricks and gimmicks and just started preaching the Word of God with the help of the Holy Spirit. What was great was that when I started drawing crowds just by straight preaching, people didn’t walk away because of the preaching. To the contrary, the preaching started drawing them in! So if you draw a crowd with free money give aways, you have to keep a crowd with free money give aways. But if you draw a crowd with preaching, you keep them with preaching!
- Open Air Preaching Should Be Lively And Dynamic, Not Scripted.
When you see the prophets and Apostles share Christ in the Bible, they never said the same things in the same way. Beware of scripted witnessing. When Jesus commissioned His apostles to preach the gospel, He gave them the Holy Spirit not a prewritten script. Some evangelism training focuses more on following a script than following the Spirit and that is a big problem.
- Be Lead of the Holy Spirit and Don’t Merely Mimic Other Preachers.
Every witness encounter in the Bible is different and unique. The same themes of sin, judgment, atonement, repentance, faith, etc. can be seen in the different open air sermons of the Bible, but no two sermons were identical. No two prophets or preachers in the Bible were identical. We are not supposed to be copy-cats and clones but individuals with our own God given personalities that are led by the Holy Spirit.
My ministry drastically changed for the better when I understood and implemented these three basic principles. It it my prayer that these simple lessons edify you as well.
You can watch this 11 year old street preaching clip here:
Toronto Street Preaching in 2005 with Jesse Morrell (age 20)
You’ll see in the clip that even though I did money trivia to draw a crowd, this was one of the rare occasions in which I was able to draw a crowd of maybe 10 people for 10 minutes. You’ll see in my more recent videos that it is possible to draw a crowd of hundreds of people for hours at a time with just straight fiery Bible preaching.
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ENCOURAGING MESSAGES
One sister told me she just witnessed out on the streets with a 22 year old from Iceland who started open air preaching because of our videos. You never know who is watching. Within 28 days YouTube Analytics said that One Million Minutes of our videos had been viewed!
I was in a mall in Winnipeg Canada recently and was approached by a local pastor. He asked, “Is your name Jesse?” I said, “Yes, it is.” He said, “Jesse Morrell?” “Yup, I’m the one.” He said, “THE Jesse Morrell? The street preacher?” At this point I thought it was funny. He said, “I watch you on YouTube” and gave me some encouraging words.
What’s funny is that in the mall I was watching my children play in the play area. My son was having some conflicts with another boy. At one point I had to yell, “Justice, STOP IT.” The local pastor said that at first he wasn’t sure if it was me but once he heard my voice like that, saying STOP IT, he knew it was me. haha.
Turned out it was our two sons who were having a little conflict. We talked a little more and he took a selfie, he said to “prove to my friends that I actually saw you in Winnipeg. Otherwise they would never believe me.”
Praise God that local pastors in Winnipeg are watching the YouTube videos!
Here are some encouraging emails, YouTube comments, and Facebook messages that I have received lately from around the world! It is encouraging to know that we are having an international impact for Christ!
CHANGING LIVES WITH THE GOSPEL
“Jesse,
Thanks for all that you do! I’m a Combat Veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Upon returning I was suffering from P.T.S.D., T.B.I. and a host of other injures. I turned to pills from the V.A. hospital when that didn’t work I went to Weed and Alcohol and became addicted. I searched for meaning of life everywhere reading everything but kept turning to the Bible when all else failed. God has blessed me so much so I started studying even more and saw the truth. I stumbled on to your page on YouTube one day and have never stopped watching. You have taught me so much that would have taken me years to get caught up on. Mind you I was never brought up in church. I grew up in the hood such as yourself. My hood was the San Carlos Apache Reservation. But during Christmas I’ve finally decided to make the change for me and my family I’m going to start walking the path God wants. Also thanks for the book How to Refute Atheism and Evolution as I’m in college and it’s everywhere and I get in many debates. I can’t believe how blind we all can be and how we have turned away from truth. I just wanted to write this to say thanks for what you do you and I believe you are making a change. Please continue to do what you do, your an inspiration and I’ll be praying for you. I also will start donating to your cause at the beginning of the year! Praise Jesus! God Bless!
Thanks,
SGT.”
“I’ve been really blessed by your videos. They played a huge part of me coming out of being a lukewarm Christian into a genuine Christian zealous to fear God and keep His commandments. I live in Florida, and I’m in college. I still live with my parents. I have had a conviction to go and open air, to cry aloud and spare not…”
“First off Jesse, I want to say thank you. I am 21 years old. And about 6 months ago i repented of my sins because of watching your preaching videos. It has been a real battle for me to battle against temptation of sin but, through the holy spirit and god I have prospered against it. My life has changed pretty drastically and I have done things through the holy spirit that I never thought I could do since I was a shy and fearful guy. I hope one day to preach the word like you one day. God bless.”
RAISING UP MORE STREET PREACHERS
I’m a young street preacher from Dublin, Ireland.
Thanks for your videos.
Keep it up”
“My name’s Mordecai, I’m 17 and I live in Baltimore, Maryland. Ever since I started watching your videos about 2 years ago I’ve been encouraged to witness and preach to my classmates at school. And just like the sergeant I’ve learned a lot of deep biblical and philosophical truths that would’ve taken me years to learn. What I learned from your videos, and other Street preachers videos, has helped to give me confidence when preaching to my friends. And I can honestly say that there is a difference in some of their lives because of the preaching you inspired me to do, thank God. Keep doing what you’re doing Brother Jesse because God is really using you to affect lives. Can’t wait to shake your hand one day.”
“i preach on the street every week around denver. jesse morrell has always been a major influence! ive watched hundreds of his videos”
“I’m praying for you brother. Thank you for your ministry. You have inspired me to preach the gospel in the open air. About three months ago I started open air preaching when I can. Several times at a truck stop that I minister at and my first public experience outside of a bar. It went well and I knew what to expect. Pray for me that I would be bold.”
MAKING A THEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCE
“North Carolina…I really enjoy your videos. You have inspired me. I am coming from a Calvinistic background whether it be 1 or 5 letters of Tulip. I realized something was not right as I progressed closer to 5. I bought a voicebooster ak38 25 watts portable voice amplifier.”
“Just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for your ministry and to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. I have been reading your book, The Natural Ability of Man, and I also wanted to express my appreciation to you for writing that book. It is an amazing work and it is so needed today with so much Gnostic heresy being taught in so many churches today. May God Bless and protect you and your family as you continue to choose to follow Him.
Thank You Jesse!!!
You are a GREAT blessing to me!!! God Bless, Ken”
Also, just recently, someone in the Netherlands ordered 22 of our books! Wow! Praise God we are having an impact in the Netherlands!
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It is because of the use of the internet that our ministry is having such an international impact. Here is a short and simple video exhortation I made in light of this:
Why Every Street Preacher Should YouTube! Evangelism Tip
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UPCOMING ITINERARY
January 8th: I am speaking at a Church in Topeka Kansas.
January 15th – 22nd: A preaching trip to Philadelphia and also the Inauguration.
February: Preaching on campuses in Texas.
March 2nd – 17th: I am teaching at a YWAM Discipleship Training School and School of Evangelism in Manila Philippines (30 hours of teaching).
I have some other tentative trips as well, like one to New York, and if you would like to invite me to preach in your area all it takes is a plane ticket and a couch to sleep on. I’m available to speak in your church or to witness with you out on the streets and campuses.
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THE MORRELL FAMILY
MISSIONARIES TO AMERICA
Will You Consider Giving $25, $50, or $100 a Month?
The Morrell Family is a missionary family to the United States, preaching the gospel in the open air to hundreds of thousands each year. We live by faith as God provides from the body of Christ through personal gifts. Will you consider being a monthly supporter or giving a one-time gift? Every little bit helps!
Paypal: Click Here
Physical Mail:
Jesse & Krista Morrell
P.O. Box 1527
Lindale TX, 75771
Special thanks in advance to our supporters. THE BATTLE IS ON! We couldn’t do it without you!
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Open Air Outreach Newsletters - Open Air Preaching Since 2002 