Parsippany Gospel Hall Gospel Outreach Report 2024

Submitted by David Valvano as requested.

History – and First Move (1989)

Originally the "Italian Gospel Hall" back in the 1930s, located in Orange, New Jersey, the believers relocated to Livingston, NJ in 1989.

The Second Move (2022)

It's never an easy task moving an entire assembly to another location. Much was to be considered since we had a rather large footprint in our Livingston location. Our yearly Vacation Bible School was approaching nearly 100 children, and conferences were well attended, but assembly (numerical) growth was stagnant.

Second Move Sign

With much prayer, our little assembly moved to a town in Northern New Jersey - Parsippany, in the fall of 2022 (located just 12 miles to the north of our previous location). Parsippany ranks high in the list of New Jersey towns in terms of population, with about 50,000 people. Parsippany's majority ethnicity/race is Asian, making up 45.6% of residents. Be mindful that New Jersey ranks #1 in population density by area, so we have a great opportunity to reach the lost just within our community.

We were able to purchase a building previously owned by a Christian Fellowship church group whose pastor was retiring. Through God's perfect timing, the building became available for purchase with two stipulations. First, the buyer had to believe in baptism by immersion; second, the buyer would also be in the practice of breaking bread each Lord's Day. In our present age, it's hard to fathom any non-assembly-type church mandating this! We could see the providence of the Lord working.  

Our new building in Parsippany

Fall Festival 

According to the town news brief - The Parsippany Fall Festival is a yearly event that celebrates the community, local businesses, and culture of Parsippany, New Jersey. The festival includes food, drinks, entertainment, and more. We 

Parsippany Gospel Hall Tent at Fall Festival

Opportunity knocks

This was a perfect opportunity to reach the community through gospel tracts, verses, and Bibles in multiple languages (Spanish, Hindi, English), plus invitations to the upcoming gospel series. 

New Jersey retail and grocery stores have been prohibited from selling or providing single-use plastic carryout bags. If you shop in our State, be sure to bring your own shopping bag. What better opportunity than to purchase hundreds of shopping bags (cloth) and hand them out during the fall festival! Each shopping bag had an exterior verse, and we placed some prepackaged gospel material inside each bag. We (easily) handed out over 600 bags over a 5-hour period. We also had some excellent conversations with individuals concerning their lost estate. 

Shopping bags with John 3:36 verse

Ideas - Some old, some new.

Leading up to the gospel series and Fall Festival, signs were placed in front of the building. Mailings and invitations were sent to the community —approximately 17,000. From experience, mailings never seem to have much of an impact in attracting individuals to gospel meetings. We know personal contacts are always the best way to get people out. A 4' x 6' banner of the same print as the invitation below was displayed on the front lawn of the hall in plain view from the street.

What other ways can we motivate family, friends and co-workers to attend? What if we hosted a dinner each night before the start of each meeting? It would take the drudgery out of having to come home from work, prepare a meal, clean up, and then leave for a gospel meeting. It seemed like a great idea, and it was!

Road signs set up in front of our building.

Each night, we served a different ethnic type of food. Monday – Italian, Tuesday – Cuban, Wednesday – American, Thursday - Indian, Friday – Chinese. Most of the food was catered but some home-cooked. The meal was brought hot and kept warm with Steros. Dessert was provided by the saints in the meeting or bought at a local Costco. 

The plus side of dinner was the conversation we could have beforehand, one-on-one with any newcomer. We could take the time to listen and ask questions to understand their spiritual background, issue or problems they may have in their lives.

We know the Lord ate with sinners, tax collectors, and His disciples. In Luke 19:5 — I wonder what the conversation the Lord had with Zacchaeus when He stayed at his house. Eating with publicans and sinners must have been high on the Lord's priority list. So much so that the Pharisees saw it and said to the Lord's disciples: "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" Eating seems to be an important part of evangelism.

Enjoying food and fellowship

First-timers / newcomers

The meal portion of the evening was not publicly advertised but was mentioned with all personal invitations. Any walk-ins off the street were invited back the next night along with an invitation to dinner. 

We did have a good amount (5 to 10 a night) of personal contacts attend, mostly family members, friends, neighbours and relatives. Someone once said, "If you feed them, they will come." A few walk-ins off the street attended via advertisements. After the Gospel meeting each night, dinner food was also available for any latecomers who might have missed the dinner hour.  

Joseph Baker preaching the Gospel

What we learned from the week (some suggestions)

• Be in prayer for those individuals God has placed on your heart.

• If possible – piggyback the gospel meetings with some other in-town event to maximize your invitation effort.

• Use the meal to get to know people and have good conversations with them about the Gospel.

• Keep the whole meeting (opening song, prayer, message) to < 45 minutes.

• Our dinner time was 6:00 pm-7:00 pm. Gospel from 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm (end time was flexible)

• Attention spans are short; keep the message to around 20-30 minutes.

• After the meeting, serve coffee/dessert and have that conversation, especially with those who may have missed dinner. 

• Be sure to get visitor's names and phone numbers – follow up. 

• Cater the meals – takes much of the burden off saints. There is still much to do with setup and cleanup anyway.

• Some people may not stay for dinner – ask if they would like to take some food home with them. 

Conclusion

We were very pleased with the turnout and the new faces we were able to meet. Let us pray that the gospel seed sown yields a great harvest.

"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

Anchorpoint Radio

 

This scripture can aptly apply to radio outreach where people are listening in the morning, afternoon, evening, and night. The Lord promises to bless His Word at one time or another, perhaps every time! The idea of no blessing isn’t an option in this verse! We would like to thank all who contribute to this ministry through their prayers, encouragement, and financial assistance. We appreciate the sustained commitment of the many assemblies that has made this outreach possible.

The radio work had its humble beginnings in southwestern Ontario where we lived in 2008. As we thought of the wealth of Bible messages we have heard through the years, the question was raised as to the possibility of making these wonderful messages available to the public using the medium of radio broadcasting. The exercise was primarily to reach souls with the gospel as well as occasional teaching for believers who may become regular listeners.

After approaching the local radio station in Kitchener, Ontario concerning a weekly broadcast, we were interested to hear that the radio manager had actually been saved through connections with an assembly Christian years before! He was very supportive of the program. Thus, the broadcast called "Anchorpoint" was first aired on March 6, 2008 with an initial potential listening audience of 500,000 in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

Our God has seen fit to expand the outreach from coast to coast across Canada and more recently to include the Caribbean Islands. The ten major broadcast areas are:

- the Vancouver Lower Mainland & northern Washington (KARI 550 AM)
- Southern Manitoba (CFRY 920 AM, CFAM 950 AM, CHSM 1250 AM, CJRB 1220 AM)
- Northern Manitoba (Arctic Radio CHTM, CJAR, CFAR - 102.9 FM and AM stations)
- Indigenous Communities in Manitoba (NCI FM – multiple frequencies)
- Parkland Region of Manitoba (CKDM 730 AM)
- Kitchener-Waterloo (FAITH 93.7 FM)
- Toronto & the GTA (Joy Radio 1250 AM)
- Maritimes CJLU (93.9 and 88.3 FM), CITA (105.1 FM, 107.3 FM, and 99.1 FM), and CIOG (91.3 FM, 92.5 FM) - Newfoundland & Labrador (Lighthouse 96.7 FM + multiple repeater stations across Canada including the NWT) - 23 Caribbean islands (Caribbean Radio Lighthouse 92.3 FM and 1160 AM)

This makes up about 75 radio frequencies and 3 satellite TV outputs covering a large population. People can also listen to the broadcasts live via the internet or listen to and download them from the Anchorpoint website or other podcast platforms.

We are grateful to the many brethren who have kindly allowed use of their recordings in this gospel outreach. The messages are carefully edited before they are broadcast to the public. They are also digitally enhanced and optimized to give radio quality output. The format usually follows the pattern of opening theme music, an introduction by the program host (Glen Todd of the Ottawa assembly), the message, and then closing comments and announcements. If time allows, a short selection by recording artist Ruth Hanna is included at the end of the broadcast. Free literature and copies of the messages are offered each week. Listeners are directed to the website for more information about the gospel, New Testament truth, the location of gospel halls (along with their websites and contact information), and announcements of special gospel events in their area.

In addition to proclaiming the gospel, Anchorpoint Radio has provided our collective assembly testimony a tremendous opportunity to increase assembly ‘visibility’, and to provide mass advertising of assembly meeting times and special events such as gospel series, children's programs, conferences, and community events.

We are so grateful for the opportunity of entering into the homes, cars, and computers of people, not only in our busiest cities, but also in remote, isolated, and underprivileged areas. Please continue to remember the radio work and to pray that many souls will be reached through broadcasting the Word of God over the air waves.

Recent St. John’s, Newfoundland Outreach Work

Having recently moved to a new location, the believers in St. John’s have been using many ways to reach out to our surrounding neighbourhood. A number of outreach activities have been tried:

Ukrainian outreach:

Many hundreds of Ukrainians have moved to St. John’s within the past two years. In order to meet some of them, we first offered them bus tours of the city. One of the believers associated with the assembly has a tour company. In the fall, we were able to schedule two bus tours and advertised them in a few Ukrainian Facebook groups. It was no problem filling the buses! After a very interesting trip to various sites, they returned to the hall for refreshments (we were still meeting in the old building). This gave us a core group which we were able to invite to subsequent events.

Our next event was a Christmas supper which started with a great meal followed by a carol sing (in English and Ukrainian), a short Christmas message, and gifts presented to each family. We had a second meal in February, featuring some Newfoundland dishes. Many came and brought friends and family, so our available contacts grew.

In the following spring, an ESL outreach for Ukrainians was started. The first location was at a technical college across from a hotel where many Ukrainians were being temporarily housed. The authorities at the college gave us a Tuesday night every week free of charge because it was for a charitable cause. Through our contacts and Facebook advertising we had no trouble filling our classes. It was called “One-on-One English” with the idea of keeping a low student-teacher ratio, so we never went over 10 per class (along with a teacher and three helpers). We held two classes each Tuesday night. Each week focused on a specific language target (common phrases, grammar, pronunciation, etc.) starting with a short English lesson followed by break-out groups of 1-3 to practice what they had just learned. This format worked well as the Ukrainians really valued both the teaching and the individual feedback they received. Many of them became regulars who attended classes for the entire semester.

Friendships were established, and help was given to find apartments, write their resumes, and help with job searches and appointments. We were able to use the classroom for two more semesters after which we moved the classes to our new building. Most of the students were working at that time, and had cars and apartments so were able to drive themselves to their classes.

In Christmas of 2023 we held a wreath-making activity. About 20 families attended and made beautiful Christmas wreaths. There were tables of crafts for children to keep busy as well. Afterwards, we enjoyed some Christmas baking and hot apple cider. They enjoyed it immensely and took home with them their own personal wreath which hopefully will be a reminder of this event for years to come.

The most important aspect of these events was friendship-making that extended beyond the event itself into practical help with their settlement into their new home. As a result, some of them came when there was a gospel series in the new hall. A Facebook group called “New Horizons” was developed for them which was another great way to maintain closeness and to make announcements of upcoming events.

Neighbourhood outreach:

Not long after settling into our new hall, we were approached by a local city councillor to use our parking lot as a gathering center for a neighbourhood cleanup event. Even a provincial MHA attended! We took this opportunity to provide water and snacks for those who attended, which led to a few more contacts being made. It was a great opportunity to show to the neighbourhood that we shared their community interests. Pictures of the event and thanks for our input were posted on their neighbourhood Facebook page.

Most recently, we had a barbeque in the parking lot of the hall along with a large clothing bank inside. This was again publicized on Facebook; one of the Facebook group administrators even made it an event for the area! In addition to the good food, we had a bouncy castle for kids, a kids activity center, basketball, and cotton candy. There was a number who came out from the community, and many went home with bags of clothing as well. It was a great time of becoming visible to the community and of “pulling together” as an assembly.

The first Wednesday in August of every year, there is a provincial holiday called “Regatta Day”. This is a day long event and involves several boat races on Quidi Vidi lake in St. John’s. Thousands of people attend the fair-like activities. Seeing this as another opportunity to make contacts, we’ve had a booth there (a small tent) for a couple of years where we distribute free cold water and give out a variety of items, including scripture balloons, texts, tracts, and Bibles. We have a Ukrainian section as well. There is also a kids’ area where there are games and activities for the children and a place for parents to sit for a while. A colouring contest last year was popular with the kids, and prizes were afterwards delivered to the homes of the “winners”. We are increasing our frontage to 25 feet this year and look forward to trying out new ideas.

During the summer months, we have our Sunday evening gospel service outside on the parking lot. A portable “open-air trailer” is used for this. A platform is presently being constructed for when the trailer is used elsewhere on the island.

We are looking into additional outreach ideas for the coming year – maybe a food bank or a kids’ day. Our new building has afforded us more opportunities to reach out to the city around us, and we look to the Lord for His blessing in reaching souls for Christ. 

When a Mormon Knocks on Your Door How Should You Respond?

 Micah Wilder was raised in a devout Mormon family. During his two years of missionary service, he met a Christian he hoped to convert to Mormonism. However, the Christian showed him kindness and spoke to him respectfully and non-confrontationally. Reflecting on his former life as a Mormon, he offers concrete ways to share the Gospel with a Mormon. You will find this short video very instructive.

I would also encourage you to watch the 17-minute version of Micah Wilder's testimony on our website www.heaven4sure.com.  Mormon Missionary Finds Christ

Gospel Verses in Transit Locations

Since 2021, the trustees of Eglinton Ave Gospel Hall have been investigating different opportunities for outreach with the Gospel. Around July 2022, we came to know that "Gospel Text Publishers"  have posted Gospel verses inside the transit buses in Mississauga. After praying and discussing, we approached Mississauga Transit (MiWay) to start a large campaign with Gospel verses inside the buses. We received approval and signed the contract. 

As we were encouraged by that exercise, we decided to approach other transit companies to see if they were ready to post the Gospel verses in different cities. The response was overwhelming. In a very short time, we had thousands of verses inside buses, on bus shelters, inside trains and train stations, and on billboards all across Mississauga, Toronto, Brampton, York Region (Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and the surroundings) and Durham region (Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa). 

See the photos for examples. On each posting was an offer for a free Bible by calling a phone number monitored by one of the brothers. We also listed an outreach website (heaven4sure.com). Millions of commuters were reading these verses every day and still are.

In the months after the start of this campaign, we received hundreds of phone calls. The nature of these calls covered a very broad spectrum. Very few of the calls were negative, and even some of the calls that began as negative turned positive and fruitful by the end. We received many requests for Bibles. 

In the beginning, we tried to hand over the Bibles personally but soon discovered that delivery was not practical. We decided to involve as many assemblies as possible in this ministry. All the assemblies we contacted were happy to help. We started directing every caller who was requesting a Bible to the assembly nearest to their approximate location. We asked them to stop by around the time of the Gospel meeting, and many of them happily attended the Gospel meetings at different assemblies. Some are still regularly coming out to meetings. One young lady was baptized and is in fellowship now with the saints in one of the assemblies. We received calls from people requesting prayer due to their difficult circumstances, and we made sure that they heard the Gospel first.

The postings started with 3 verses: John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, and John 14:6. Some calls were very interesting and encouraging. Christians would phone to tell us that they were encouraged and blessed by these verses. Some said that they decided to read the Bible more. 

One remarkable call was from a young lady, a college student. She said she was far from God but came to know a Christian boyfriend who helped her to start reading the scriptures. Her life was changed, but because she was from a ritualistic background, she had difficulty accepting that salvation is a free gift from God. She used to dispute with her boyfriend and say that salvation is valuable and should cost us a lot like any other valuable things we obtain. One day she had the same argument with her boyfriend and left him upset. She always thought she needed to do good works to be saved. She told us that she entered the bus and saw this verse in front of her eyes. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” She was in shock. She said I really felt that God was talking to me, and I submitted to the Truth of the Grace of God. She requested that we include Matthew 11:28 in any future campaign, so we did.

We had the opportunity to meet with some of the callers in person and share the Gospel with them. We appreciate the prayers of the saints. Some of the contracts are set to end in early 2024, and a few will run till the end of 2024. We are certainly happy with those who contacted us, but we also know that millions have read the Word of God and we will not know the full extent until we meet the Lord.

When Eglinton Ave Gospel Hall closed in 2021, there were feelings of loss felt by all. It is never a happy thing to see an assembly disappear. We all miss the happy fellowship we shared there with our brothers and sisters. When we closed, there was no real plan for how the funds from the sale of the building would be used. We only knew it was the Lord’s money. We could not have known how He would work.

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

From the ashes of Eglinton, we were given the beauty of the Gospel. Although we are still in the middle of the story, we can see how God has and is working. He used the testimony of Eglinton for many years to touch the hearts of people in the neighborhoods round about it. He used the assembly members from Eglinton to aid and support the various other assemblies that they have now joined. And He used the funds from the sale of the property to bring the Gospel to countless numbers of both saved and lost souls, that He might be glorified. We are thankful that the Lord was pleased to use us this way. If we were asked to give one key lesson that we learned from this experience, it’s the words of Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”.  When the Lord puts something in your heart, even if it sounds remotely possible, Just move ahead and leave it in His hands. 

Christmas and Easter Workshops in Schools

Several years ago, we were speaking to a school teacher who had responsibility for religious lessons. She lamented that science and history had all the fun subjects and that as far as she was concerned it was difficult to make the Bible interactive and fun. It was around Easter time and without giving it too much thought we made her an offer that if she could arrange for us to come into school for a day we would have something that would bring the Bible to life for all the classes.

Our first attempt was rather ‘home made’ but in the Lord’s goodness it was enough to get the idea started and it has grown to the point where along with a small team of helpers we have the privilege of presenting the Saviour to over 50 classes in Christmas and Easter workshops.

Ten years later some of the schools we have access to have changed, but we are grateful to the Lord that from that little start, several thousand young people and adults have heard about the central message of the Bible. We have also been able to adapt the material for use in halls and at community events – and using the materials in videos (see link at our website www.praiseandcrown.org) which was particularly useful during the pandemic.

What have we learnt? Be willing to think imaginatively about how to present the greatest message! Using good quality visuals (such as those available at www.eikonbibleart.com and www.freebibleimages.org ) is important to engage attention. We try not to take short cuts on the quality of materials and giveaways. Likewise, it has been essential to adapt for different age groups – from basic story books with toddlers up to teaching using Bibles with teens. One teacher remarked “I always look forward to the new twist you put on the same story” and each year we specifically plan so that there is something different to previous
occasions. We are now exploring options for adapting the unchanging material to take advantage of the technology with which youngsters are very familiar.

Informal Service At Local Nursing Home

Our experience has been an encouragement to the believers. 

It started during COVID at the invitation of the local nursing home. Actually the request  probably started from a few assembly believers at the facility. 

 

During the difficult months of COVID the restrictions were quite stringent, sometimes resulting in canceled visits. 

 

But complying to the protocol enabled the assembly to carry on the weekly effort. 

Prior to COVID another Christian group was involved with a Sunday meeting but due to COVID their meetings ended. Without intending to diminish the effort of the Christians who carried on this work for years, the interruption was an answer to prayer and through no prodding of our own the Lord opened the door. 

It commenced with 4 believers from the home joining in an informal service. The hour consists of some casual conversation and singing hymns and the sharing of a short scripture message. 

 

The original 4 faithfully attend barring any health issues. We are encouraged to see an increase in numbers since the onset. 

Although most of the residents are in failing health and their mental abilities are deteriorating, some of the regular attendees are in the home due to other reasons and their mental capacities are not affected.

 

I believe this effort could be initiated at most long-term care facilities in proximity to a local church especially if believers are  residents. 

 

The advantages are numerous

 

1. Fulfilling the spiritual needs of the believers

 

2. A gospel outreach

 

3.  Absolutely no cost involved

 

4. The staff support the effort(for the most part)

 

Report submitted by Theodore Chiasson, Baddeck, NS