Larry Stamm Ministries

May Ministry Minute

A Two Thousand Year-Old Prayer

As believers in Jesus I would venture a guess we have all prayed the Lord’s Prayer on occasion, some of us on many an occasion. Yet I wonder if you realize there is another prayer Jesus commended His followers to pray - one that has had great impact upon your life and continues to impact the life of the Church to this very day.

In fact, this prayer intersects with the Great Commission and is relevant to our witness as God’s people.

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Matthew 9:35-38

I think it fascinating that you and I are actually an answer to this prayer – for we are part of the harvest - a reference to the great spiritual harvest of souls for salvation. As those first disciples of Jesus walked by faith, how could they know the ultimate impact of this prayer? Yet, 2000 years later, saints throughout the history of the church have prayed this prayer…and God is faithful!

Interestingly, we are not only part of the harvest, we are also the laborers. For those who become part of the harvest become laborers in the God’s field!

As we think about this prayer in light of our own lives, know your own evangelistic efforts are an answer to this prayer. As we pray for those to whom we’re witnessing, as we demonstrate God’s love in tangible ways, and as we proclaim the gospel message to them, we’re fulfilling our role as laborers. And as we pray for the witness of others, we are participating in the harvest! Yes, we are the subjects of and the participants in a 2000 year-old prayer – to God be the Glory!

An Invitation to our Prayer Breakfast

Speaking of prayer, we’ll be hosting our first ministry prayer breakfast in Saturday May 16th. If you live near East Tennessee, you’re invited to come enjoy a little Jewish nosh including lox & bagels, piping hot freshly roasted coffee, real Brooklyn-style egg creams and more during this special time of fellowship, worship, and prayer. We’ll be participating in that 2,000 year-old prayer, lifting up the witness of the Church and members of its body, and praying for the salvation of people. If you’d like to join us, click here to RSVP or click the RSVP button above. The Prayer Breakfast will take place from 9:30-11 am at Summit Leadership Foundation, 3104 Hanover Rd. in Johnson City.

Racetrack Evangelism

On April 17 & 18, I helped sow gospel seed during a NASCAR event at Bristol Motor Speedway.

As we were setting up the stage, a man named Steve wandered over in his motorized wheelchair to see what was happening. His camper was parked close to the stage. I went over - engaged him, and the conversation turned to spiritual matters. I was able to share the gospel with Steve and he even invited me over to his camper to meet his wife LaVeta! They were from Illinois. It turns out LaVeta was a believer and she was wanting Steve to once again attend church – they had years ago. Steve told me he couldn’t believe God would accept him for all the things he had done. I gave them a Daily Bread devotional and Steve was open to them reading it together. Please pray they would find a solid church, that Steve would come to believe it’s not what we do, but our trust in what Jesus has done for us, and that he would trust in Christ.

Upcoming Events

Jewish Roots of Christianity Seminar:
June 6th

Personal Evangelism Primer:
June 13th

These one day seminars are tremendous opportunities to better understand the gospel and grow your witness. To sign up for one or both of these one-day events or get more information, click here.

Please forward this email to someone you know who is interested in growing in confidence in witnessing!

If you would like to schedule one of our equipping events at your church, email
lsm@larrystamm.org. We're a national ministry!

Praise & Thanksgiving

* Thank God with us for the open door of opportunity to teach 4 days this summer at Doe River Gorge, a local Christian outdoors camp, where Larry will be teaching and sharing the gospel with many 14-18 year olds!

* Thank God with us for both safe and fruitful ministry during a busy schedule of church meetings in March and April, where Larry shared many Christ in the Passover presentations.

* Thank God with us for the evangelistic opportunities we had at Bristol Motor Speedway during the NASCAR event.

Prayer Requests

* Please pray for the salvation of Steve and Mike, people we ministered to at the race.

* In conjunction with our ministry prayer breakfast, please pray God would increase the evangelistic zeal in each of our lives and in the life of the Church here in East Tennessee or the part of the country where you reside.

* Please pray God would bless Larry’s ministry this month – as he shares the Christ in the Passover at a local Christian school May 7, and as he shares a devotional at the Christian Medical and Dental Association May 19.