RMCNews with Ted Williams – La Junta, Colorado … The Arkansas Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church in Rocky Ford, Colorado, participated in the annual Early Settlers Day in La Junta, Colorado, September 7. Thousands of people attend the day to honor the early settlers in the region, but the Arkansas Valley Church participated for the fifth year in a row to help people get to know Jesus.
“We were just mobbed there. I mean to tell you, it’s really something, and people are getting to the point where they start to look for us,” remarked Ted Williams, lead pastor at the Arkansas Valley Church.
The church set up a booth with the banner “Bible Giveaway, Prayer Table.” Around 200 Bibles were passed out to attendees at the event that day. The Bibles had been acquired at a significantly reduced price in a variety of types from a local bookstore that was closing. Williams recalls a few interactions with attendees that day.
“A Hispanic gentleman came by and said that he was trying to learn English and asked if we had a bilingual Bible. Of course we did! And an older lady was looking over at the booth like she was interested but kept walking around it. Finally, I addressed her and asked if we could just talk. She came over and started sharing with me about her grandson who had just had a stroke. He was recovering, but he couldn’t read. He was asking her if she could find him a large print Bible, because he thought maybe that would help his eyes focus better. She got a large print Bible, and we prayed together.”
Along with Bibles and Christian literature, 200 t-shirts with the phrase “Under the Influence of Jesus” and 1,800 customized water bottles were distributed. “The local girls’ softball team found out about the t-shirts and the whole team came by to get them. Then the boys’ baseball team came by, and they all got t-shirts. And then there were [elementary] school kids that came by and wanted the shirts. We’ve ordered 400 t-shirts for next year,” remarked Williams.
“You know, these things start conversations,” Williams continued. “That’s the whole idea; raise people’s awareness, bring them to the point where they’re ready to question what they know and what they think, and that they’re willing to say, ‘okay, yeah, sure. Pray with me.’”
Williams also recounted an issue with the customized water bottle order. He had placed an order for 40 cases, received 74 cases at pick-up, and was only invoiced for 20 cases. When he brought this discrepancy to the company’s attention, they said just to pay what was on the invoice. Williams thanked them for their “donation” and brought a set of Ellen G. White’s Conflict of Ages narrative-style Bible commentary series.
The booth also offers a raffle giveaway for the Conflict of Ages set to the event attendees. Seventy-two people entered the raffle not knowing that anyone who enters will receive a copy of the set: “We give them away free. We have a place for people to sign up, and they all think that only one person is going to win. [But] everyone is winning. Our purpose is to make sure every person who signs up wins,” commented Williams. “We’ve had people come by and say in loud voices, ‘I won that set of books last year. I’m reading those books. You should get those books, and you should read them!’”
Nineteen people assisted with the booth this year. One booth assistant was watching people walk by and wanted to get involved with distribution. By the end of the event, he had given away 50 bibles and 600 inspirational cards.
“It’s an interesting experience meeting people for Jesus and encouraging those to know him. It’s awesome,” concluded Williams. Preparations are already under way for next year’s booth.
—Ted Williams is lead pastor at the Arkansas Valley, Lamar, and Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Churches. Photos supplied.
