In a moment's time. I'm going to reveal to you just who this preacher is. But before I do that, I need to let you know, some kind of bad news for some crazy reason. Right at the end of the interview, Skype decide to chop the preachers head in half and I try to fix it, but there's no way around it. You'll see what I mean, but I'm sure it's not going to ruin the interview for you. One bit. You're going to really enjoy this a sit back, relax because we're about to take you out of
your comfort zone, real well. And well, thank you very much for joining me today. A ray went up. When I got the, the message from Jen. I was nearly as excited as when my wife said. Yes. So, this is question number one. And are you a good person? Yes, I'm incredibly are morally, perfect. Yeah. So, do you think the church is who don't actively do open air evangelism. Do you think that they possibly
might miss out a little bit? Well, if they want to reach the last, you know, open-air Avenger.
A just like 121 evangelism, but there's 100 people and if you're in a urine, our Lifeboat and you're trying to say people and you figured out a way to pull antennas time rather than one with just one hand, you could get an orange pulling 10 at once, take advantage of it. Paul said, If by all means, I might save some so open-air preaching as a wonderful way to reach the lost when I open air preach items down on a street corner and holler it passes by with a One of those flowerhorns.
What we do is we gather a crowd who willingly stand and listen to the gospel. And the way we do it is through giving away money, which is kind of strange, but it's like water running uphill. It's very unusual natural and so people come to see what's going on. So yeah, churches would grow with their grab hold of the Great Commission and actually see what it says. It says, go into all the world and preach the gospel.
To, Every Creature d.l. Moody said, Other set of thousand to work than do the work of a thousand and you can set a thousand to work by training them up on how to conquer their fears and how to open air preach in a way. That's not obnoxious. And that's the way I believe, we can reach the world. The same way, the apostles didn't book of Acts and d.l. Moody also said, let's love them into the Kingdom. So exactly what you say. We need to be Winsome when we do that.
So that was one of my other questions and so I don't want to fly to you in any way, but really, you've been a A big inspiration in my life. There's a Street Preacher. When me and my wife first got married, we didn't have a computer and we didn't have the internet. So I'd work in a school. As a classroom assistant, helping a young lad with autism. And then in my lunch break, I would go out to the school computers, and I'd literally just watch video after video of you doing.
You your open-air stuff. I found live streams and all these these different kinds of things. But see you, well, know, for doing the giving away money sort of things to draw a crowd. But you also had some other sorts of ways of getting a crowd. Would you like to share some of them over the years? Oh, look, I've tried every means me, Apostle. Paul said, by all means save some it probably didn't think
that people do what I did. But every needs, you know, we give away teddy bears at Christmas little stuff, be as to people who answer trivia and a friend of mine called from a place called Costco that sell wholesale stuff and he said there's a six-foot teddy bear here. Do you want us to buy? Buy it. Bring it back was so big. I couldn't fit into my car. But we dragged it along to Huntington Beach and it didn't get a crowd. And I've used many things to try
and get a crowd. I've had guys dress up as pallbearers where the corpse would put a corpse on the ground. Not a real corpse, a living person with a sheet over them or sometimes we get a dummy and light down and because there's nothing that attracts people, like a terrible accident. There's a next time. People go. What's going on over there. Don't look, it's horrible. Where Wilbur tractors and
nothing attracts like a funeral. So if you've got a corpse lying on the ground with a sheet over, it was six pallbearers, wearing sunglasses and that people come around and it's very easy to preach the gospel. When you start with death. So do you think there's an afterlife? So you have used the funeral many times and many different ways to reach the crowd, the getting the way money is just an answer to trivia in Alaska crowd.
How many of you know The capital of France rhymes with Aris and begins with P. That's a clue. And people say parents. See that's that you must be University student here. What's your name? Fred, Fred? That's right. Here's a dollar and you and it's fun. It makes people laugh and and then you say, Hey, sir, you've got it answering questions. Do you think you're a good person? This is. Yeah, really good. You want to go for five dollars? If you're a good person. I'll give you $5.
If not, I'll give you $5. Anyway, pin it with sport, jump up on the box up again. Crab listens, he's thrilled to be there. It's created Goodwill giving away money and and they hear the gospel and without compromise. So I suppose then out of all the people that you've interviewed and all the people that stepped upon the Box. Are there any that really sort of you've never been able to forget about and they've really sort of glued into your mind?
Well, I forget about everybody sometimes I see someone of interview and I've never seen that person before my life. It's probably because I do to us read day and just gets a blur after a while. Yeah. Yeah. When I'm on anyone's got a humble heart, it just endears me to them and you know what? I say to someone. What do you think happens after someone dies? And they say, oh, I don't know. I said, you think about it and they say, yeah, all the time. Are you afraid of dying? Yes.
And immediately I'm indeed that person because their honesty and they are the ones that I remember the ones that are the drink and the Spool like a drought and like a man of desert who's been giving him water. That's really thrilling. That's great. And I looked at the faces that you have on all of your thumbnails because we're interested by faces and you want to know more about it. And yeah, the very yeah. Hey pretty girl does wonders at 10. Yeah.
There's only one pretty girl. Is my wife. She's behind the camera. Yes. I agree with you and my wife. Hey, sweetheart, I will choke. I've been all of my Smokey in. Englishness now, so let's go back to open it for each. Anyway before we both get in trouble, and she's called Emma. Hi Ray, he is not. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, she's coming, Richard. Yeah, and anyway, so let's talk about. So we've got George Whitefield. We've got and we've got Charles Spurgeon.
We've got John Wesley. These guys, they preach to tens of thousands of people in the opener. In fact, George Whitefield, I believe it's in one of his biographies. It says he spoke to 80,000 people wonder, I mean, these are massive numbers. And we read that we think wow open-air preaching back then was really blessed but people might perhaps see the open air for each were talking about before the megaphone and and he's not
really engaging anyone. There's no winsomeness about him and they say does it still work today? What would your sort of response be to that Ray? Oh, yes, the average good open-air preaching to reach and it got open-air situation and reach more than the average Church thousand twelve months, you know, sometimes I've been open it preaching, a get a good English. Nicola and people pack around I preached open air and UCLA University number of years ago to about 200.
Young people stayed for two hours World fully. There was no need a rope around them and times like that. It just absolutely highlights in my life to reach so many people. We're not proselytizing in that sense. We just want to tell people how they can find everlasting life. So there's no, there's no task more noble than an open-air preaching. Reaching somebody.
People. And I think if there are pastors and people watching this, I think open-air preaching is the best tool ever to improve your preaching, because somebody's going to stick around. If you're dull. You've got it, you've got to win them Avenue, and you've got to keep them engaged. That's why that's, why you've got to be a little bit on the edge with open-air preaching. If you listen to me, do one-to-one. I say hello. How are you? And just sweet? Nice open-air preaching.
There's something different. There's a different Dynamic. Now if you don't do that. One of the great opening approaches that may be Tozer said, you're liable to be hit by an apple. If you try and be nice and you have been here, don't do it. He says just get on the edge and Jesus was on the edge every time you spoke. There was a division in the crowd. People yelled thing that they wanted to kill him.
The first sermon, he preached and lot of the wonderful truths we have in scripture as because someone in the open are called out something to him and he answered them, but we missed the passion when you read scriptures that must have been taking place. Jesus preached in the open here and tells himself was saved by an open-air preacher. A German man who couldn't speak English. Well, so, and you never know someone watching. It's now. Yeah, you could say could be the
next toes are listening. It's wonderful. Yeah, so can I just say something about pastors? If I can get past us together? That's what I'd say to them. I said, I can, I was in a prayer meeting many years ago and into church prayer meeting and I could guess. What person went to watch a church by how they prayed? If someone said father? I knew they went to John steals church because that's how John Steele prayed.
Father. And so we imitate our pastors because we hear them so much and if a pastor just preaches on Prophecy and sanctification and glorification and all the allocations and doesn't preach evangelism. He'll reproduce of his own kind. Mmm, without a concern for the loss. And so, if you want your people to be on, I forgot and see your church. Grow. Join a Racquetball Club.
Join a tennis club join something when you rub shoulders, with the ungodly and witness to people regularly and testify as a pastor, what happened from your pulpit and say, you know, I was playing golf last week and I met this atheist and he said such as I said to him and I share the cross 1, this is a thanks for sharing. They going to say one Pastor condescends to the lowly tasks
of evangelism. And you'll eventually reproduce of your own kind, your sheep will begin to have a Lambs because you're a Shepherd, strange metaphor. You're a shepherd and you're an example to the flock and what you do and so pastors, do that, get a, get a Zeal for the last that consumes you and your reproduce your own kind and your own flock. Now, I could really get us in
trouble. Now quoting Spurgeon, but he said, how can a man how can a pastor or a preacher say is called to preach indoors, but then refused to go Outdoors. We see, I mean, we look at Leonard Ravenhill, Paul Washer, many of the best preachers. We get indoors started out on the streets and still kept going out in the streets. I met Steve Lawson two years ago. I got to chat to him a little bit.
And again, he said he started out open-air preaching and but I've got tremendous respect for you Ray because you've kept doing it all the way through which is wonderful really. Well. I can't stop because I care about the Lost. Yeah, never. I got some weight open-air preaching. I'm going somewhere. I don't want. Go to say something. I don't want to say to people who don't want to hear it, but I can sit and watch an old black and white movie on Sunday afternoons, while people to go
to hell. How could I do that? And so the love of Christ, constrains me and helps me overcome my fears. So, yeah, I counted a privilege. I mean, I've spoken in the most glorious churches with a padded pews and great sound systems, and great. Honorariums are nice people and out to dinner afterwards, but give me an open-air day any day far. Rather open-air preach to unsaved people and go. Mashed potatoes, just down-to-earth and wonderful, and I'm going to stay with it and I hope I die.
Open your fridge. Yeah. Sorry, tell me then Suppose there is a young man who's watching this and he's thinking, you know, Ray Comforts really inspired me a lot. I would love to be an open-air preacher, but I'm kind of nervous. How do I get started? What advice would you give to
that person? Well, I'm nervous, every time, every every zaccheaus becomes a Goliath, whenever I get a witness one-to-one or open-air preach, but But I think Satan is the father of lies and his greatest light is to tell you, you can't do it to paralyze you with fear while you've got to do is do what David did. He ran at Goliath? He didn't stand there and go. Here are them and you got to do the same thing with your fears run at it. Don't wait. Don't think too?
Deeply overcome your fears in the way to do it. Is this an analogy I use is, could I have to get you to jump into a pond? That's filled with big chunks of ice. So cold that you die within three minutes. They know what side of your four-year-old, boy, four-year-old boy, found that pain is only three feet tall and it's four feet deep and he's drowning. What would you do?
You should jump in and say You would forget about the coldness, it forget about your flesh, should just jump in and save them because love does that the Bible says perfect love casts out all fear granted the Waters of personal evangelism, especially open-air preaching, icy, icy cold, but the way to overcome them as let love do its thing in your life. So if you've got a problem with fear, Don't Pray For Less fear. Pray for more love because that's the problem.
It's love that motivates me. It always Is love, that helps me to conquer my fears. Love for God, and love other people. And so love is incredibly powerful. Get a firefighter running in to save some person on a Butte burning building. What? Because he cares about them. That's why he's a firefighter. And so, he ignores his fears because he's not thinking about himself, but the other person and that's the key to reaching the lost.
But, yeah, so, just going back to the young person again, those suppose, the they don't have any friends who do open-air preaching. The church doesn't do it. How did they get? Started like what would be a? I'm going to tell you a little secret. I would father grow. Our father, go open-air preaching by myself, are rather go open it, preaching by myself and with someone else, why? Because I'm making an idiot of myself. Nobody knows me.
I can just walk off. But if I laugh at dry up or whatever with friends that have brought with me, that makes me feel like a fool. So, when I go up and I preaching, I did it for 12 years almost every day by myself, so, I'm kind of used to it, but I wouldn't wouldn't worry. If you have to go by yourself, and all you do is get a little soap box and stand on it and then just begin asking the trivia. And the second time you do,
it'll be harder than the first. And Surrey, just tell me then rumor has it that you are never call anywhere in public without having a few tracks on you. And you said, if anyone ever catches you out in public with you'll give them a thousand dollars. Is that true? Absolutely said it again and again and again and it can never happen. No one ever. I find me in public without a gospel tract because I've got John 3:16 and a sinner's prayer tattooed on my chest. Now. I'm just kidding.
I really do always carry tracks with me and that's because I can give them to strangers. And I've learned something very important about myself and that is I'm a coward and I will make provision for the flesh. Let's say, I got a, what's called a Home Depot store, where they sell in California and throughout the US men's stuff, like Hammers and stuff. Like that, I'll walk through that place with tracks and my pocket and this is what I'll say to myself.
Oh, that guy looked at me. Oh, he's gone. Never mind. I got out of it. So I had to realize that's what I'm like, so I actually take the tracks and have them in my hand when I go into that store. So when that guy looks at me and goes me or not, I scuse me, sir. You get a million dollar bill and he takes it like that good. No excuses. No provision for the flesh. What have you got any tracks? Sonya.
Now, do I dare test you? Yes, it has to be in public, but hang on let's say well technically. Yeah. Yeah. Has to be in public. But oh, yeah. Do you like a cowboy? You've got use a million-dollar bill? Well, it's actually glued to the inside of my phone. Yeah, that's cool. I didn't know if you'd have it on you, but I just remember, hearing you tell a story about one day.
Someone came to you and you're in the swimming bass and there's someone approaching said, give me a Thousand dollars and un and then pull them out. He sent shots, which yeah, they can parts of that Joe and that is that if I have a million dollars on me or gospel tract, the person who asked the question, I was MIA thousand dollars. I forgot to tell that part. Right? Okay. Well, typical evangelist always
trying to get money. So we're talking about the for about House of. If you like the Lord's blessed, Living Waters hundred million views. Yeah. That's right. 100 million or A hundred billion views, a hundred million views on the channel, your prophesied. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, not very good at math. Yeah. I'll just think for the evangelism. Yeah, and but yeah, so you've got this this vast Ministry. Many people expect her asking
for your time. You get in preaching engagements, all these different things. But the same time. You're a family, man. You've got a wife, you've got children, grandchildren, and how do you get that balance? And you've got Sam? Yes, you've got the gorgeous dog. But how do you how do you get that balance, right, you know because I've just got a newborn son and I just find myself seen the needs vast that the Titanic is going down.
Those people who are lost and I want to give as much as I can sir Ministry, but at the same time, I don't want to neglect my family responsibilities. Right? Well the key was made was to marry my kids off real quick and they're doing fine. Yeah. You saying, I hear what you're saying?
And so it's very important that you do not neglect, your responsibilities to wife and your child, you know, you can be a successful preacher, but you failed if you fail to take care of your family, so there has to be that balance and God will give you wisdom. You know, you say honey. I've spent the day with you. Would you mind if I go out for an hour and just give out tracks at a local mall or something like that? I want to go out and preach and and if she's a Godly wife, she'll sail.
Thanks for the time, you spent helping. And out and I'll be praying for you while you're out there. And I'm sure that what your wife will do that because she's gorgeous and she's a great camera woman. You know, I'm glad you're on the other side of the camera right now, Rea your to you too. Charlie for your own good. Suppose. One final thing. If I ever did, I'd love to do this.
But if I ever flew over to California to Huntington Beach, would I be able to preach alongside you in the open air? Would you? I would be absolutely. Honored. I got to tell you something. I checked out your YouTube channel before I did this and I was very impressed with your thumbnails with the titles for the views you're getting. And I think it's wonderful and you've got a great personality and I think I'd be honored. I'd sit at your feet, listen to you preach.
And let them know they are white. So come over and have a meal with us at the ministry, will give you a tour and then we'll go up and preaching together. I would love that. Really, there's a man called Vinny Commons. Train me is an opener for each. He started young and then really it s to U. Re I really wouldn't be here if it wasn't the Lord's really used here in my life. And I'm sure many lives. So remote. After we might have to get that
sorted out at some point. I'd really love to do that. And if you're watching this now at, leave it in the comment box if you'd like to see that Ray comfort and and Joker be preaching that be awesome. Yeah, if you'd like to see the full 45-minute interview I had with Ray Comfort, click this link now and if If you like to see what race face looks like, not just half but the full thing then do check out his YouTube channel here.