What Pepsi, Basketball and a Rodeo have in common?

My parents were part of four church planting initiatives in the course of their ministry in the Philippines. We'd move to a new town as complete strangers with the goal of spreading the Gospel. How do you start a church when you're a complete stranger, let alone a stick out of the crowd foreigner, and you have no idea whether anyone else in town has ever heard that Christ's death on the cross was a payment for their sin?

One of the methods my Dad used was to go to the Philippine equivalent of the local Sheetz, buy a Pepsi and strike up conversations. Multiple conversations led to a regular get together that transformed into a Bible study.

As a 6-foot tall, high-energy, competitive high school student, in a country that loves basketball, I would head to the closest cul-de-sac and play ball each afternoon with the men in town. I'd strike up conversations, explain what a guy like me was doing in their village instead of playing professional basketball (their assumption, not mine) and build relationships with them.

Pepsi and basketball ultimately led to a group of believers who gathered weekly and began sharing the Good News with their friends and family. The Rodeo wasn't much different. It was an opportunity for us to strike up conversations, explain why we would do such a thing like that and build relationships that otherwise may not have been established.

In my next post, I'll introduce you to Ms. Simpson and some others I was able to meet Sunday afternoon.