Tough Crowd

A group from Chilton County said a recent missions trip to Boston exposed them to how great the need is for people to hear about Jesus Christ, even here in America.

Eighty-seven youth and adults traveled to the Boston area June 21-July 4 for a missions trip that included youth sports camp, arts and crafts and other activities. The group made the trip as part of the State Board of Missions’ partnership between Alabama and the Northeast region.

But while any missions trip presents challenges, the missions team faced even greater obstacles than those that might occur in other parts of the country or world. Myrtle Littleton, volunteer youth coordinator with the Chilton Association, said an attitude of “secular humanism” exists in Boston — often characterized as one of the worst cities in America for witnessing.

“And they’ve gotten away from God,” Littleton said. “They don’t feel like they need God.”

While the Chilton Association is involved with missions trips each year, Littleton said the Boston effort proved particularly eye-opening for its young participants.

‘Eye-opening’ event

“Children who grow up in Alabama sometimes don’t realize how the rest of the world is,” she said. “Because they’ve grown up in the Bible Belt, they assume everyone is exposed to Jesus Christ.

“They were really shocked people didn’t know who Jesus Christ was and didn’t care,” Littleton added. She contrasted the situation with residents of the South who may not attend church, but are at least aware of Christ.

For one Alabama student, the rejection was troubling.

“They didn’t care,” said Jennifer Smith, 21, a member of Liberty Hill Baptist Church, Clanton. “They didn’t want anything to do with the church.”

Because of the turning away from God, Littleton said those Bostonians who are Christian are eager for missions teams to visit the city. The visit by the Chilton Association was co-sponsored by the Greater Boston Baptist Association.

“They’re just begging all over (for missions teams),” she said.

Littleton said the skepticism Bostonians feel about the gospel meant the missions team could not employ conventional methods for reaching people. “We did not do the traditional Bible class, because people would not come (if we did),” she said.

The team accomplished its goals through the sports clinics and other fun events for youth, with the hope their efforts would lead to professions of faith later.

“Our main purpose was not to win souls, even though that’s a part of it,” Littleton said. “Our main purpose was to let people know there was an evangelical church forming.”

Littleton said the group also realized success in ultimately sharing with some youth, especially those participating in the sports clinics.

“Lots of little boys came to learn how to play football,” she said. “Quite often, people would say, ‘Why are you here?’ And we got to share the gospel.”

Subtly winning souls

Littleton said the team’s eventual goal was winning souls, but noted it had to be done subtly. She said registration was required for participation in activities, which was seen as a “nonintimidating” way of getting names, addresses and telephone numbers for follow-ups.

While the message shared with the Boston youth cannot be ignored, Littleton said her students also received a blessing from the trip.

“I think its a greater or as great a gain,” she said. “We always have someone come back who feels the call to ministry.”

“It’s made me aware of how we need to work harder to reach people,” Smith said.