This story was originally published by Kentucky Today and was written by Mark Maynard.
Chris Joslin, a member of First Baptist Church in Owensboro, has found a unique approach to street evangelism through a tool called the Prayer Stand — a pop-up tent that facilitates conversations about faith and offers prayer in public spaces.
Unlike more confrontational street evangelists, Joslin’s method is gentle and conversational, beginning with a simple question: “Do you have any needs I can pray for?”
This approach often leads to deeper conversations about faith and the gospel. Even those who decline prayer are offered gospel tracts, which Joslin sees as a win in itself. For three years, he has used the Prayer Stand and eventually acquired the rights to manufacture and sell it. He assembles the stands himself.
“I see it as a witnessing tool,” Joslin said. “Even people who aren’t believers are not offended by prayer, and who doesn’t have a struggle somewhere? It’s an opportunity to engage them. I’ll walk with them as they come by and ask if I can pray for them about anything.”
With lots of festivals and outdoor events that have heavy foot traffic, Joslin has found the Prayer Stand has given him opportunities to share the gospel. He said during one event in Owensboro he handed out 40 gospel tracts, prayed with 18 people, and shared the gospel three times over a two-hour period.
“That’s high-percentage play,” he said. “It’s exciting, as a Christian, to be able to pursue people on their faith journey.”
It is not always an automatic positive response, he said.
“Sometimes you will get a ‘No, I’m good.’ And I’ll ask them if they will take some literature and hand them a tract,” he said. “If they take it, I consider that a win. There are those who do say they have got some things going on, and I’ll talk with them and let them share their concerns.”
Joslin said those who do communicate with him are prayed over immediately and then pursued as the conversation advances.
“I ask them to tell me more about [their] story,” he said. “Did they grow up with any kind of faith tradition? Let me share the gospel with you. Plant that seed. That’s what I love about it. It has been a total radical gamechanger for me.”
Kenny Rager, the pastor of 12 Stones Baptist Church in Elizabethtown, has used the Prayer Stand while on a mission trip to New York City and recently ordered one for his church plant in Elizabethtown.
“The church planter we worked with used one so I thought, if this works in New York City, surely it will work in Kentucky,” he said. “I am currently replanting a church, and I wanted another Prayer Stand. So, we ordered one, and when I saw it now came from Kentucky, I was shocked. Chris is the perfect person to own the rights because he believes and practices street evangelism regularly.”
Joslin said he has used the Prayer Stand for about three years and was given the rights by the man who designed it about a year ago.
Joslin moved to Owensboro from Nashville about 10 years ago to work with the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. However, while he loved the job in the music industry, Joslin prayed about how God wanted him to finish his career that is closely aligned with the kingdom.
Joslin said he knew that he had fallen off in the area of personal evangelism.
“I had a heart for personal evangelism,” he said. “Part of it was I was personally convicted because I wasn’t doing it. I thought, ‘Why am I not doing something about this?’ I started equipping myself and hanging out with people better than me. I launched back into personal evangelism and discovered Prayer Stand on a random video.”
Joslin said Prayer Stand gave him some of the boldness he had been missing. It helped him start the conversation with anyone who walked by him.
“It is a tool that might help some churches create a culture of evangelism,” he said. “There are a lot of great tools out there — Evangelist Explosion, Contagious Faith, Three Circles — are all super good, super effective. The thing I like about Prayer Stand, one thing that was a hurdle for me was how do you start the conversation? When I purchased Prayer Stand for myself, I was like a race car without a racetrack. I was so ready to engage people.”
Prayer Stand provided the racetrack for him, Joslin said. And he’s been off to the races ever since while praying and sharing the gospel on every corner.
“Prayer Stand helps get the reps in (to witnessing),” he said. “It all starts with a single question: Do you have any needs I can pray for you today? That’s all the training you have to have. It can help an individual or church create more of a culture (of evangelism). Be prayerful and intentional, ask that question, and have good gospel tracts. It has been transformational for me.”
Learn more about Prayer Stand at prayerstand.com or by emailing [email protected]
