“Do you boys love God?” my pastor would ask us, getting us pumped up to go out witnessing. I was only a young Christian at that time, and he was a radical 59-year-old pastor. He would look at a group of five of us and ask, “You all got the fire to preach?”
“Yeah!” we would shout.
“So do I,” he would say.
We would go to a diner sometimes, and no sooner would he get in that door than he’d start crying, “Oh, Jesus, they’re all going to hell. Oh, Jesus! Oh, God!”
He would get out in the middle of the restaurant, lie on the floor and cry, “Jesus save them!” He would start yelling that, and that’s all I needed to get started. When I saw that, I’d stand up in a booth, and I’d cry, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!”
That’s all it took, boy. I would give that call and people would drop spoons and grits. Eggs would fly everywhere, but we’d continue to preach. We would preach up a storm, and then we’d get thrown out.
All five of us would do that. We had a great time. One of the boys who would come preaching with us was named Tommy. Now, Tommy loved God so much, but all he could say was, “That’s the truth.” That was all he ever said.
Pastor would be on the floor crying, I’d be shouting “Repent!” all over the place and Tommy would just back us up with, “That’s the truth.” Pretty soon Tommy would ask us to say something else so he could say his part again. And he would: “That’s the truth.”
One time we stopped at the post office, and Pastor said, “You all excuse me, boys. I’ve got to go in there and mail a letter.” We were all in the van with him on our way to preach at a youth meeting. So Pastor went into the post office, and we waited in the van. We waited and waited, until finally we realized that he was not coming back out. So we shut off the engine and went inside to see what had happened.
We all went in there, and sure enough, as soon as we got inside, we saw him lying on the post office floor. He was crying, “God! Jesus, help these people.”
God would touch his heart like that. He had a heart for souls.
He cried out to God for those people at the post office. The people in line must have been thinking, What is going on? When I walked in and saw Pastor on the floor, I joined right in. That’s all I needed. I cried, “Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Everyone suddenly stopped looking at Pastor and turned to see who this other guy was who was shouting like that. As soon as they saw me, I yelled, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand! You’re going to hellllllllllllll!”
You see, all I knew about was hell. I could only witness that far because God had just delivered me from hell. I didn’t know anything else but hell. That was it. I’d say, “You’re going to hell,” and Tommy would say, “That’s the truth.”
People at that post office must have been saying, “I’m going to mail this letter some other time, Jack. I’m outta here.”
We knew just enough about God to be dangerous, but we had made up our minds to use the information we had. We were determined not to know anything else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Everybody thought we were crazy, but that was all right. We got people saved just the same.
You don’t have to be a deacon or an elder in a church to get people saved. All you need to have is the fire of God inside you trying to get out. Then just let it out. It’ll get people saved!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”