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Pilgrims
Covenant Church
Public Ministry Update
August
20, 2009
Dear
Friends,
Herein you
will find a summary of our ministry efforts since June 19. We have much
for which to thank the Lord! I do also want to thank each one who has
prayed for us and those who have also supported this work financially. To
save finances, I hope that you do not mind if this newsletter serves as
your thank you note this month. I hope also that this update will be a
blessing and encouragement for all of you.
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Giving
out copies of the Gospel of John at the farmers’ market. |
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A
number of us took turns holding signs and handing out tracts.
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Handing
out tracts. |
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Just
one corner of the farmers’ market. Three of our number are in
there giving out tracts. |
On June 20,
we gave out our gospel tract The
Value of Our Souls
at the Monroe Balloon Rally. Then on July 11, some of our church
members handed out that same tract at the Monticello Homecoming. In
both cases, a good number of salvation tracts were given out, for which we
thank the Lord and trust Him for the saving of souls. On July 25, we were
at the farmers' market on the Capitol Square in Madison where we
handed out over 1,000 of The Value of Our Souls tracts and also 36
Gospels of John. In the latter case, we did not actively attempt to
convince anyone to take the gospels, but simply made them available. So,
we trust that those who received one of the Gospels of John did indeed
want it. Of course, we also held our large Scripture signs. On August 1,
four PCC members handed out the gospel tract How Long Have I to Live?
at the Mount Horeb Mustard Days (yes, "Mustard Days"). One of our
men also held a Scripture sign. This went very well. A good number of
tracts were given out and, as usual, there was some one-on-one interaction
as well.
Then, on
Saturday, August 8, a number of us traveled 2-1/2 hours to Davenport, Iowa
to take a stand for the faith once delivered unto the saints and preach
the gospel outside the gates of Franklin Graham's "Rock the River"
event. (See "Franklin Graham's
'Rock'" and "Franklin Graham: Minister of Christ or Priest of
Baal?".) At
this event, thousands of predominantly young people were funneled through
two gates on the same side of the fenced-off Centennial Park along the
banks of the Mississippi River. We split up into four groups in order to
reach as many of the rock fans as possible. Early on, one of our teams
took up a station by the gate where the event volunteers entered and were
able to be a witness to hundreds of them, as well as putting our tracts
into the hands of many. Another team covered an area where fans streamed
across a railroad track that separated several parking lots from
Centennial Park, where Rock the River was held. A third team was set up
where cars were entering the huge main parking lot right in front of the
event. They were able to get out many tracts, not only giving them to the
occupants of the cars as they were lined up waiting to enter the lot, but
also to walkers approaching the event from other lots. Of course, all of
our teams also displayed signs and had much one-on-one interaction.
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Preaching to yet another church group. |
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We
engaged in much one-on-one witness. |
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Some
of us gathered together
shortly before leaving Rock the River. |
Finally,
the smallest team of all, consisting of yours truly and one of my
daughters, took our position in a spot where youth group after church
youth group walked past us. My partner handed out tracts as I held a sign
and preached to each group as they approached and as they walked away
toward the event gates. At one point, one of Franklin Graham's associates
came out to tell me that "I just want to say, thanks for your passion for
the Lord." Of course, this was nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to make
the Graham machine look as if they had the high ground. I was, after all,
holding a sign which said, "Franklin Graham is no friend of Christ and
neither is the pope! John 15:14." Strangely enough, the man did not want
to talk anymore when I asked him about Graham's spiritual fornication with
the Roman Catholic Church and the false gospel of Antichrist. (See
explanation in "Franklin Graham's
'Rock.'") In
his words, "I am not here to talk about any so-called Roman Catholic
gospel." Suffice it to say, he soon decided that he did not appreciate my "passion
for the Lord" after all.
Now, at
Rock the River we again saw the fruit of the rock and roll culture, with
the church youth groups showing much disdain and disrespect for this
minister as he preached from the word of God concerning the right worship
of the Lord and as he shared the gospel of Christ. And their older peers
outdid them. In fact, one middle-aged man made a show of wanting to
physically assault me, and why? Because I was preaching against his idol,
not arrogantly, not crudely, but plainly from the word of God. Others
among our number had similar experiences. But we also had some very good
conversations, especially with former Roman Catholics who, upon finding
out about Graham's promise to send Roman Catholic young people who "made a
decision" to local Roman Catholic churches, were very troubled.
When we
finally wrapped things up after five hours, we had given out thousands of
our tracts (The
Value of Our Souls
along with An
Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics),
talked to many people, preached to many, many more, and displayed our
signs to many thousands. As we were about to leave, a reporter for the Quad
City Times newspaper showed up and asked me for an interview. This is
from the resulting article:
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Sign
of protest: A dozen believers from Pilgrims Covenant Church,
Monroe, Wis., traveled about 2 1/2 hours to stage a peaceful
protest against the Rock the River Tour stop at Centennial Park.
One man held a sign that read "Rock the River Dishonors God."
"We
believe very strongly that this event dishonors God. It is trying
to win the lost of the world by using the world," the Rev. Ralph
Ovadal said as the bands played. "It is not rational and certainly
not biblical to claim that this noise is worshiping the Lord in
the beauty of holiness."
Those
members who gathered outside the gates with Ovadal believe in the
Gospel without embellishments and world-pleasing entertainment,
Ovadal said.
"I
have a concern as a pastor that Franklin Graham has yoked together
with the Roman Catholic Church, (which is) not a true church but
the false church," he said. |
We are very
thankful for that truthful and factual inclusion in the Quad City Times.
We went home feeling abundantly blessed by the privilege we had been given
to witness for the Lord at Rock the River, though the blasphemy and
deception of that event sorely tried our hearts and vexed our spirits.
May the
Lord bless each of us and all of you with an ever increasing gospel zeal
and love for the Lord, as well as a burning desire to contend for the
faith once delivered unto the saints.
Pastor
Ralph Ovadal
PCC Lit
Distribution Summary—June 19-August 20
The
following literature was distributed by PCC in the following places:
Heaven
or Hell?:
Janesville, Milwaukee, Mineral Point, Mount Horeb, West Allis, Wisconsin;
Pecatonica, Illinois. • How Long Have I to Live?: Brodhead,
Monroe, Monticello, Mount Horeb, Wiota, Woodford, Wisconsin. • The
Value of Our Souls:
Madison, Monroe, Monticello, Wisconsin; Davenport, Iowa. • An
Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics:
Mount Calvary, Wisconsin; Davenport, Iowa. • What
the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality:
Appleton, Beloit, Cooperstown, Fond du Lac, Janesville, Little Suamico,
Marinette, Mineral Point, Mishicot, Oconto, Poynette, Rhinelander, Suamico,
Sussex, Tisch Mills, Tomahawk, Valders, West Allis, Wisconsin; Loves Park,
Machesny Park, Tolono, Illinois; Dubuque, Iowa. • Homosexuality:
The Truth:
Johnson Creek, Mineral Point, Rhinelander, Stevens Point, Tomahawk,
Wisconsin.
PCC
supplied tracts free of charge to be given out by brethren at the
following event:
Pride Alive in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
PCC
supplied tracts at cost to be given out by brethren at the following
events: Pride
Parade and College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
PCC
provided quantities of literature free of charge to trusted brethren for
distribution in the following places: An
Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics
(Spanish): Kiel and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. • An Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics
(English): Viroqua, Wisconsin. • What the Bible Really Says about
Homosexuality: Milwaukee and Viroqua, Wisconsin. • Homosexuality:
The Truth: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. • Various tracts: Platteville,
Wisconsin.
PCC
provided our literature for cost for distribution in the following places:
Heaven or Hell?: Meridian, Mississippi; Addlestone, Surrey,
England. • The Value of Our Souls: Addlestone, Surrey, England.
• An Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics (English): Pawtucket, Rhode
Island; Cheyene, Wyoming. • What the Bible Really Says about
Homosexuality: Cheyene, Wyoming. • Various tracts: Omaha, Nebraska.
Franklin
Graham: Minister of Christ or Priest of Baal?
"And
they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and
lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." 1 Kings 18:28
Franklin Graham's "Rock"
"For
their rock is not as our Rock . . ." Deuteronomy
32:31
Click
here
for an order form for the items listed below.
Books/Booklets
Romanizing America through Illegal Immigration by
Pastor Ralph
Ovadal (booklet)—gift of $.75
More Than These: A Call for Reformation by
Pastor Ralph Ovadal (270
pages)—gift of $8.00—free
online!
NEW! The
Antichrist: A Biblical and Confessional View by Rev. David
Silversides (booklet)—gift of $2.50
Tracts
What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality—gift of $.06 each
Homosexuality: The Truth—gift of $.08 each
An Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics—gift of
$.07 each
SPANISH
An Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics—gift of
$.07
each
Heaven or Hell?
gospel tract—gift of $.06 each
NEW! The Value of Our Souls gospel tract—gift
of $.06 each
No Excuses! PCC's pro-life/gospel tract— gift of $.06 each
Subscriptions
Sermons—8 weeks on CD or tape for gift of $13
Heart of the Matter—8 weeks on CD or tape for gift of $13
Heart of the Matter/Sermon Combo—8 weeks on CD or tape for gift of $19
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