Gay Pride Recaps

We had a great team of people show up for Atlanta Gay Pride Event. We are going to post stories and recaps here...Stay tune:

Standing in our vendor booth at the Atlanta Gay Pride Festival caused a commotion of compassion.  Rarely, was there a minute that went by that we were not able to give a white bracelet to the attenders that simply said, "We're Sorry" and pink bracelets that said, "It's True, He does."   The first, begged the question, "Sorry for what?"  For Craig and I, this last stop on the Jesus Loves You This I Know book tour, offered us an opportunity to apologize to the gay community for the way many Christians, Evangelicals, and Fundamentalist have made the gay community their punching bag over the last three decades.  The second reiterated the truth that we have shared is more than a cliche, "Jesus Loves You."
 
Beyond the vendor area and along the parade route, we were able to hand out more than 1000 bottles of water wrapped with the aged old truth, Jesus Loves You This I Know.  In the midst of such a diverse culture, we realized that the traction our book has found created the opportunity for a new conversation that starts with spirituality rather than sexuality.
 
The book is an easy read to take back the message of Jesus that has been high-jacked by zealots and hate mongers who claim to be God's spoke persons.  At Atlanta Pride, we had hundreds of conversations, one person at a time, that helped close the gap that has created polarizing propaganda on both sides.  For us, its simple, Jesus' love is available for anyone.  

Jason and Craig
 

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I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity y'all gave us by setting this whole thing up. I didn't get to see you, Craig or Jason before I left the parade today otherwise I would have thanked y'all in person. Although I know we ran out of waters and bracelets really quickly, I really think that we got the chance to touch a lot of people's lives. I didn't get to have too many long talks with people, but the people that my new friend, Brooke, and I got to talk to were very receptive to us and the simple message we brought. We had one group of guys that really appreciated what we were doing. They thanked us repeatedly for being different than all of the other groups that came through talking about Jesus, and for spreading the message that He loved them. I was so excited to just be a part of this. It makes me want to do more. I think I might look into doing one of those weekend trips with you guys. Anyway, I hope you guys will come back to Atlanta soon and let me know when you do because I'd love to serve again sometime. Thanks for everything! -Stephanie

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I am still undone by the encounters that I had and the prayers I have continued to pray for each person I met.  This sums it up for me:

I know that whatever God does will remain forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.  God does it so that men will revere Him.  (Ecclesiastes 3:14)

Michelle

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Upon returning from Atlanta Pride Convention, I am still unwinding and replaying the events that happened in my mind.  The Christian community as a whole has really shunned those who call this lifestyle their own.  We wanted to go with a message of love and forgiveness, rather than hate and condemnation.  If we really believe what Romans 8 says, that there is no condemnation in Christ, then we need to spread that message. 

I was taken aback by the gratefulness the parade attenders had for us.  They were so appreciative of us taking the time to show up and let them know that they are loved.  That there is a God that cares for them.  That there are a people who follow Christ and want them to have a bottle of water when they are thirsty. 

We need to continue to take steps in this direction.  To let those who have been outcasted know that it doesn't have to be that way.  We want to love people right where they are, with no strings attached. 

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Thanks for everything. I had a great time at Pride being able to spread the love of Jesus with the LGBTQ community of my city. It meant so much to me. Overall, I think we didn't have near enough bottles of water, which means that the mission was accomplished, and I'm so thankful for that. I would have liked to have had more unity and awareness of the other volunteers. I think it would be beneficial, if y'all do this again, to have a recap/debrief afterward, especially because we were all coming from different churches/groups. Otherwise, it was awesome and a great experience.
 
I did have one amazing encounter I'd like to share: I was standing about 20 yards down from the group of "Christians" yelling that Jesus hates the homosexuals and telling them they were going to hell. A friend and I were trying to hand out water bottles, but there were many people passing or ignoring us when they saw the "Jesus" on the bottle. I had struck up a general conversation with a group of men next to me in between handing out bottles sporadically. He finally saw that I was handing out bottles that said "Jesus Loves You," pointed at it and said he was confused because I seemed so friendly. I replied, "the only reason you're confused is because of the what the people are yelling at the corner." He asked me what I meant, and I said that contrary to what they were yelling, I/we believed that the love of Jesus is for all people and readily available for anyone that seeks it.He looked shocked and wide-eyed and said "Wow. THANK you SO much." I also made a point to apologize for any ill treatment that he had received from the church in the past and assured him that is not representative of who Jesus is. The conversation continued a little more and he asked me what church I went to and continued to be so grateful. He made the comment to us, "I can tell you really mean what you say, and it's different. I can see the honesty in your eyes." We then proceeded to end the conversation and I started handing out water bottles more. A couple seconds later all the guys in his group were asking for the water saying they wanted the Holy Water. Then they asked me if I could change it into wine because they couldn't get across the street to the open bar, haha. We joked around about it a little, and then we ran out of bottles and moved on.
 
The people picked up and started grabbing the bottles saying they wanted the "Jesus water" and were for the most part very receptive. Only 2 small hostile encounters, but nothing horrible. Honestly, I did not even expect to have this type of positive encounter with anyone, and I was so blessed to be able to express the love of Christ, even if it was to one person. There was a seed planted, and now I pray God will nourish it and grow it in his heart. Who knows how this experience could affect him. I know it definitely impacted me.
 
Thanks again for everything!
 
Brooke

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Great experience and time.  Wished there was more water.
 
I think my favorite thing to see was when I would offer water and people would figure out what was on the bottle and reject it, because I hadn't gained their trust and then to see the same person with it later because they realized we were truely there to love them and our goals were simple- Love with no strings attached.
 
Much of the time after the water, I spent around the bullhorn people.  Telling those standing around them- that the true message of Christ is His Love for us, and that I apologize for anytime someone has told them differently.
 
One very flamboyant guy dressed in a horrible excuse for drag, I felt like I need to go out from my corner to hand him water.  He said, "Do you want to pray with me..."
-"of course" I said.
then he began, "Dear God, I pray that this man is here not to condemn or hate and that you don't look kindly on that....is that true"  and with full confidence I could say it was.  I was impressed with his cleverness, regardless if he meant it, I think he realized that was true of us and of me for the time being.
 
Hope this encourages you guys to continue on...
You've always got a spot if you need to stay.