SFOI 1000

Evangelist: Kevin Tallaksen

Nittany Lions Stadium

Date: December 21, 2024

Great time at Penn State’s college football playoff game today. A nice 25 degree (13 degree wind chill) day - a perfect one to share the Word of God!

People are so open and needing to hear Jesus - are you sharing it with them?

Here are some stories - great conversations and even opportunities for future partnership.

Jim and friend- believed in relative morality and truth so we talked through the reality of absolute truth and went through the gospel of Jesus. There was a hesitancy to believe due to perceived lack of evidence and just not seeing the importance of it (distractions). I was able to share about repentance and belief and the eternal ramifications. They also took a tract and said they had a lot to think about.

Tanner - thought 75% of people were good but when defining it according to God’s definition of good, he also thought we were created good. We went through the law, Jesus and repentance/belief. He claimed to believe in Jesus but said he gets distracted in life. I was able to challenge him about whether he KNOWS Jesus. There seemed to be a gap there and admits that he really doesn’t read the Bible so he committed to start doing that and it seemed like a very fruitful conversation.

Chase- Christian student who seemed to truly understand the gospel and actually leads a Christian group on campus. We are hoping to join/partner with them in the future!

Jewish student- stopped by the preaching and was asking what he could do since he didn’t believe in Jesus. He stopped and we talked for a few so he heard the gospel!

John - stopped by the preaching and said that he would go to heaven because he was good enough. I was able to share the gospel and life through repentance and belief, not works. He seemed to be more understanding at the end, pray for his salvation.

Multiple other conversations and stories during preaching- I was able to stand on a rock in the middle of thousands walking by (see first two pictures). I was able to preach through 2 Peter 3, Luke 15, John 3, Ephesians 2 and 1 Corinthians 1. I preached for over 45 minutes straight. Sometimes street preaching may not be the most effective but people were very intent and even responding with questions and comments actively.



#pennstate #pennstatefootball #CFBPlayoff #gospel #evangelism

Date: October 5, 2024

Evangelists: Kevin and Joe

We had a smaller team today due to other events / commitments in the area, but the preaching brought multiple people over for conversation and during the game, we had incredible times to talk to multiple people for 30+ minutes about the gospel. Here are a couple conversations:

Max - hardcore Catholic who did not think that anyone could properly believe Jesus outside the Catholic Church (a bit ironic) and threw out the tract as he walked away.

Bud - came up to Kevin while preaching to encourage him but during this his granddaughter went up to Joe to talk which was short, but a good conversation as she had some doubts about God

Meredith - middle aged woman, drunk, came and did the good person quiz. She insisted it was 100% and that she was perfect. We shared the gospel and she realized most were bad but still not her. She took a gospel tract and they filmed the conversation so more will hear the gospel :)

Caleb and Tyler - incredible conversation (we will post the video of conversation), mainly Caleb impacted

Tyler - Christian guy from CRU : he thanked us for what we are doing and we got his contact information with the hope that some people from CRU could join us or help in discipleship

Parker - 2 girls who thought the “common good” was the final judge. We reasoned with her but she was not too reasonable, she heard the gospel and took a tract though.

William- Christian who was also very encouraging as well. We prayed over him and encouraged him as well.

Zack - he was drunk 2 weeks ago and was trying to distract in a conversation then, but didn’t even remember it! I had a reasonable conversation this time, but he was resistant to the idea that God judges sin, but rather forgives everyone. He was not too happy but he took a tract at the end even after scoffing.

Jake - Christian college student who wanted prayer for resistance of temptation, does not really share the gospel with everyone so we also encouraged that.

3 guys - struggled with the idea that there is more to the gospel than just being confirmed. He heard the gospel and seemed to understand more by the end.

Date: September 28, 2024

Evangelists: Kevin Tallaksen, Sean, Josh, Derek, Max

We handed out ~500 tracts, did some preaching, but people kept coming up for conversations that were very fruitful! We got some conversations on video as well.

Nor – We were walking towards the tailgate lot and she stopped us and asked if she could talk with us. She took the % of good people survey and thought 75% were good, but agreed in the end that God has to judge. We went through the law and gospel, she thought we just needed to be good enough for God to love us. I shared Eph 2:8-10, repentance, and other scripture and she said “that sounds amazing!”. I asked her what hindered her believing in God and she said it was people and institutions failing her and being hypocritical. I encouraged her that she had to separate and look at GOD to determine who God is and to read the Bible. She said she would read the gospel of John and seemed like she was impacted.

Drew – catholic background, thought he that there is something after life, but not sure. He said he only had 1 minute, but ended up staying for over 10 minutes. He thought he was going to heaven possibly, but not convinced. We went through the gospel and he took a gospel of John!
Sebastian – We talked about the % of people are good and he was agnostic. He did not believe in absolute morality or truth so we talked through that. He had to go fairly quick, but he heard the gospel and he took a tract and said he would think about what we had said.

Michael - mocked the survey signs, definitely was not open to video so I thought the conversation would go quite short, but it ended up being one of the best conversations! We went through the law and he was agreeable to it and he sort of knew about Jesus, but he had no idea what repentance was or how to follow Jesus. He said he had not heard this message before and it sounded very different than his catholic upbringing. I asked him what would hold him back from following Jesus and he said that he would lose friends and family members. He seemed really genuine and impacted. He took a gospel of John and we were able to pray for him.

Daniel – We got this conversation on video as well. He was atheist and did think about the things of God quite a bit and had genuine questions, more than most professing atheists. We talked for quite a while and his main issues with God was 1) how could God allow suffering? And 2) he needs evidence to believe in God. We talked through a lot of issues and he heard the gospel and even took a gospel of John. He was not “convinced” but he heard a lot of truth!

Harrison – He did a video with us and he thought that the purpose of life was to be kind to others. We agreed that it was impossible to be perfect and also that God was the ultimate judge. We went through the law and he was a bit hesitant about hell but seemed to agree eventually. We went through the gospel and he listened, but he had to leave with his friends. Interestingly, he said that he needed prayer at the end for a lot of anxiety he was having so we were able to talk through that and pray with him as well.

Payton – I shared with him a tract and I said that it was a little something to read about God. He said he loved God so I asked “do you KNOW God?” – He said he was Presbyterian, of course. I asked him what that meant and he was not sure. We went through the law showing we don’t KNOW God since we have been separated from Him and we went briefly through the gospel. He admitted that he is not following Jesus so I warned him that we all need to repent & believe in Jesus. I knew it would be brief since he had to get in the game, but he heard the gospel and he took a gospel of John.

Daniel – he came up and said he used to do what we did before, but now he is agnostic. I asked him how he came to that conclusion and to share his story so he went on explaining a ton of things that happened, mostly related to specific people, institutions or beliefs. I then asked him… “did God ever fail you” He answered no and didn’t have an answer from that. I shared that if God never failed him, why turn your back on God? It got him thinking and he did bring up some things he didn’t agree about Scripture being inerrant but could not give any specific examples. The conversation really got him thinking and we were able to pray and share contact information with him as well.

David – catholic guy in his 50’s – he actually knew the gospel as we went through it for 10 minutes. We asked if the Bible and an institution contradicted, which would be true? He said that it would be the Bible and he commented how he does not like the current pope. We shared how the core doctrines of the catholic church and even many protestant churches now conflict with the Bible – we need to not sacrifice truth. He seemed like he was thinking and impacted and it ended really well with him taking a gospel of John and thanking us.

Date: September 21, 2024

Penn State Football Game

*We had 6 evangelists (2 youth primarily handing out tracts) before the game and some stayed for the majority of the game. The game was a blowout so there was a steady flow of people leaving during the game.

We first started by the tailgate area handing out tracts and doing video interviews. We then went to the gate to do preaching and tracts along with some conversations. We then were on the campus itself doing conversations and tracts as students left the stadium.

Dalton & brother – 2 brothers, Irish catholic, a little tipsy and believed that they were saved through good works. We went through the law and gospel and they seemed to track well but were hung up on does sin actually cause judgment. It ended after a few minutes but they took gospels of John and thanked us for talking to them.

John- practicing catholic, knew a decent amount of scripture, etc. He was adamant it was through good works that we are saved. I went through the law and gospel and he seemed to agree, but he said that you also have to keep being good. We went through Eph 2:8-10 and I also said, “wouldn’t it be prideful to go to God on judgment day and say I deserve to be here because of what I did? Then why did Jesus have to die?” – he seemed to be impacted at some level. He also thought the institution should be trusted over the Bible and I brought up recent heretical pope quotes and he did not really have an answer. He took a gospel of John and said he would read it, so we will see what God does!

Albert – Came to talk as a result of preaching, he came in joking a bit but was respectful. He thought he had to be good enough to go to heaven and he “wasn’t there yet” – we shared the gospel, he probably was a bit tipsy, and he took a gospel of John which he put in his pocket.

Jared – Came as a result of the preaching - very slightly tipsy but very coherent and a decently long conversation. He came over saying “what you are saying is true” – he believed it but then he said that he is not living it. His parents seem like solid, biblical Christians but he has strayed in college. I asked him WHY he is living a life of partying and his only explanation was his friends – he didn’t even enjoy it that much. I challenged him really it comes down to what is worth more? His friends or Jesus? I showed him through Scripture that he can’t serve both. I shared my testimony how I followed Jesus and ended up “losing” most of my friends. I challenged him to not wait, he needs to draw a line in the sand and decide who he would serve – talk openly with his friends how he wants to follow Jesus now. Pray for him! 

Marc & Andrew – Came up saying they “love Jesus” but as we went through scriptures for a couple minutes, they admitted that they were not following Jesus. They thought they just need to be good enough for God and they said the “only” things they were doing is having sex with their girlfriends and drinking. They did not think it was that bad but after sharing some scripture, they realized that it WAS sin. They then asked “what do we do then?” – we went through the gospel and the COST of following Jesus but also the WORTH of following Jesus. They took gospels of John, I challenged them to be the LEADER of the relationship and talk to their girlfriends that they want to follow Jesus and do it the right way. I was able to pray over them and they thanked us greatly, pray that they take action on their new convictions.

Tamara – Came up for the % of good people sign – she seemed to mostly understand / believe the law & gospel but she flinched at the idea of hell. I asked her if she got involved in any church or fellowship here on campus since she is from Virginia. She said she has not and does not really plan to. She said nothing could take her faith in Jesus away and reads the Bible herself. She said she does not have any Christian friends but that is okay. I challenged her that the Bible itself does talk about the importance / need of fellowshipping with other believers and the dangers of trying to do it herself. She listened respectfully but it did not seem like it hit home. Unfortunately, I have seen this many times and it does not end well, often times believing that ALL faiths lead to God due to their relationships with their unsaved friends.

James – Christian on campus, already plugged in to a church. He seemed really solid and I was able to pray for him and encouraged him to be on mission on campus while he is here. Good connection and I invited him to join us some time.

Jace – Student claimed that he was a former Christian in the process of converting to Islam, he was holding a Koran. He could not stay too long but he said that he was converting due to the complexity of the trinity and he liked Islam’s view better. I reasoned with him in Scripture about the deity of Jesus, the trinity, etc. Some of the things I said he responded with “I had never thought about that before”. I also talked about the complete difference between Christianity & Islam and how it is a totally different God that they are trying to portray. I offered to meet with him again and gave him my contact info. He thanked me for the conversation before he had to go since his friend kept calling him.

David – did a recorded interview with us, he is from Bensalem, PA visiting for the weekend. He ended up staying to talk for about an hour despite all of his friends leaving. He had ancestors in the Masons and right now he said he believed God exists but not sure who He is. David had done psychedelics and had some clear symptoms of demonization (voices, dreams, experiences, etc) that he admitted to. He kept getting hung up on the fact that Jesus was the exclusive Way, that Jesus was God and that the Bible is true. We reasoned back and forth for an hour and at the end, he realized that God IS pursuing him, he just needs to open the door. He needs to pray to Jesus to be saved from all of the mental things he is facing from the spiritual darkness. I got his phone number and we plan to meet again on October 5. Pray for him, God is working!

Date: September 7, 2024

Penn State Football Evangelism Outreach

7 evangelists (4 pictured) and 4 of them were first time evangelists from our local church. We believe that street / campus evangelism is a great training ground for people to not only share the gospel there, but to learn how to relationally share the gospel in every day life.

Hundreds of tracts went out, preaching as thousands walked by, and had many divine appointment conversations that we saw God move in people’s hearts right before us.

Grateful for all those praying for us and the support from Sports Fan Outreach International.