You genuinely want to share the Gospel with the hurt, the broken, the lost, but you don’t even know where to start. How do you relate? Sound familiar? That’s how I felt the time I prayed for a Colombian drug lord. These steps worked for me, and I know they can for you too, druglord or not.
I was in Bogota, Colombia, which is way colder during winter than you would think. Bogota is one of the drug capitals of the world, and the street we went to, “El Bronx,” is the Drug Captial of Bogota, making this the Capital of the Drug Capital of the world.
Police can’t stop the crime so have decided to “contain it.” No one goes in, no one comes out. It is no man’s land in there, no laws, no morals, if you get taken in no one is coming in after you.
How do you even start to minister to these people? We found a method that not only works on Drug Lords, but I believe it will work on anyone on the earth.
1. Bring Hot Chocolate
Who doesn’t like hot chocolate? I’ll tell you who does like hot chocolate, Colombian Addicts and Drug Lords.
Our team joined with a local church that weekly goes to El Bronx and brings hot chocolate, bread, and the gospel. The response was overwhelming.
We stood at the mouth of the road, and yelled, “HOT CHOCOLATE” down the alley. Like a river, the most impoverished people I have ever seen came flooding out.
Men and women missing limbs dragged themselves out, addicts missing teeth and many their minds pulled themselves to the front of the road. Men putting lines of cocaine on their tables stopped what they were doing and came over.
We gave them hot chocolate and bread, and then just sat with them, loved them, and prayed for them.
In other words, we brought them a tangible gift of love, just to bless them, no strings attached. This is the law of hospitality, and in any culture, including America, when you bring a gift, just to love it breaks down walls.
Maybe you don’t have a druglord nearby, but what about that co-worker who is an atheist? Buy them coffee, lunch, something to show you are thinking of them, and just want to love.
I promise walls will begin to break down
2. Smile & Shake their hand…. Just Act Normal
Was I scared? Yes. Was I overwhelmed? Absolutely.
Being raised in a Christian home and a Christian school, I was afraid to cuss let alone minister to drug addicts on their home turf. How do you begin to do that?
I’m sure there are many ways, but what we did was just act normal.
Smile, introduce yourself.
Choose to not be afraid of sin.
When Jesus touched lepers he didn’t get sick, they got healed. Greater is he in me, then he who is in the world. Don’t be afraid of “sinful” people. Talk to them, love them, treat them like anyone you would meet.
One man, in particular, approached me and wanted to speak. His countenance was clean and he seemed very put together. Drinking his hot chocolate in the cold, he seemed very grateful, and through our translator, I began talking to him.
I asked him about his life, his family, where he was from. In other words, I was intentional about knowing him, just like I am to anyone I meet, drug addict, or not.
3. Share Your Story of Jesus
Ok so now you got their attention, they are drinking hot chocolate, eating bread, and talking with you. But what does this mean unless they hear of the love of Jesus?
I wasn’t a Bible scholar, an educated debater, a mature pastor or radical evangelist…..Where do you begin?
It’s Easy.
Just share your story.
He asked me in return where I was from, why I was here in Colombia, why someone like me came to the Bronx? I told him my testimony. How I am from California, San Diego, and how I knew about God my whole life, but never fully embraced him.
I explained how though I knew about God, I did not know Him, and that was the difference.
I was depressed and hated my life, but when I met Jesus personally, everything change. Now I am in Colombia to love people and tell them about Jesus, not the religion, but the man, the God.
He listened intently.
Coming from a Nation where Cathedrals are as numerous as Starbucks on every corner, he was familiar with religion but had never heard about how to know Jesus personally.
Many people can debate your theology. No one can argue your story.
If you don’t know what to “preach” then just share what Jesus has done for you. It will hit home much more than an argument will.
4. Focus on How Loved they are, Not the Pile of Drugs
Drugs everywhere.
Cocaine lines on the tables.
People with syringes in their arms.
These people are aware of how sinful they are. But you know what they don’t know a thing about?
How loved they are.
Rather than telling this man about his sin, how horrible he is for dealing drugs to people, how hot hell is for people like him, I chose a different route.
I told him how loved he was. How God had a plan for him and his family.
How he had a future.
I told him how if he would just turn to Jesus, and call on him to be saved, his life could change, his heart void could be filled, he could go to heaven.
I told him everything he could have access to in Jesus. How God was not a scolding deity ready to smite him, but rather a loving dad who would do anything to get to him.
Jesus literally loves him so much he said, “over my dead body” and gave it all, that’s how valuable he is.
He stood. Silent. Something was hitting.
5. Offer to Pray for Them
After sharing hot chocolate, treating him like a person, sharing my story and how much he loved, I did what many would not, I asked if I could pray for him, to bless him, his family, and his future.
He said yes.
Many people would say yes if we would just ask. So often we tell people about God and then walk away. But what if we took the extra few seconds to pray?
Miracles could happen.
With my hand holding his I prayed that this man would encounter the love of Jesus. That he would be blessed, and that his family would be safe.
He thanked me, shook my hand, and then walked back down into one of the most dangerous streets in the world.
That’s when my translator took a big exhale of relief.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“That man is one of the Most Dangerous drug lords in the entire region, and you just prayed for him.”
“I am so glad you didn’t tell me that before I prayed for him.”
I am so glad I didn’t see the Drug Lord sinner.
I saw the normal man, the father, the husband, the lost child Jesus gave everything for.
What if we stopped labeling people for their sin, and started looking through God’s eyes?
The world would be much different, and I would have a lot more people to drink hot chocolate with.
