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RESOURCES FOR CHURCH MISSION TRIPS TO EVANGELIZE MORMONS

I’m a youth pastor who is helping to organize our church’s evangelism outreaches. We are looking at doing two large outreaches to Mormons this year. 

 

The first outreach we are planning is to Centennial Park, Arizona to a Mormon Fundamentalist Polygamous Colony.  This group is also right next to Colorado City, Arizona that is another polygamous group.  We want to reach out to these polygamists with the love of Christ and the Biblical Gospel.  Do you have any advice on how we can minister to such a hard situation or resources that could help equip us? We’re open to anything.  I was hoping to get some DVDs or good polygamous tracts in bulk to leave there in the community, and trust God to place them in the right hands. Later this summer, we are looking at going to the annual Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah and  the LDS Temple Square in Salt Lake City where we want to reach out to the regular LDS Mormons attending these events.  Is there anyone you can connect us with who can help us find logging for our group or provide training and encouragement for our mission’s teams?

 

OUR RESPONSE:

Dear Pastor,

We are excited to learn of the missions’ trips that your church group is planning to do to witness to Mormons with the truth and love of the REAL Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Do you have our DVD Training Seminar: LDS Questions: Answering Questions Your Mormon Friends Ask?  Your group would find this seminar helpful in not only answering the common arguments that Mormons raise against the truth of the Gospel, but answering the common objection that you will face on the streets—that of Mormons accusing you of “Mormon bashing” simply because you are exposing the lies of Mormonism with the truth of the Gospel.  Their accusations can be intimidating for an untrained Christian who is witnessing to Mormons for the first time. This DVD will encourage your group to stay strong in the face of opposition and to take the opportunity to turn these situation around with the truth of the Gospel.  You can view and print handouts for this DVD seminar free online at the following website link. 

• LDS QUESTIONS: ANSWERING QUESTIONS YOUR MORMON FRIENDS ASK
  

This DVD is also part of the PASTOR’S FREE DVD OFFER that we make available to churches worldwide. If you or your church would like to take advantage of these FREE DVDs for your church training sessions, see the following link for details.

• PASTOR'S LETTER - A FREE SEMINAR DVD OFFER FOR PASTORS
  

TRACTS AND TRAINING RESOURCES:

We have found that the best method to use in sharing the true Gospel of Grace with Mormons is to first break them with the law of Mormonism, because if you don’t take the time to show them how impossible it is for one to receive salvation in Mormonism, they will scoff at the Biblical “Gospel” as being “too easy.”  For suggestions on how to get through to Mormons with the true Gospel, see the following articles:

• HOW TO WITNESS EFFECTIVELY TO MORMONS - Breaking the LDS Authority Barrier: This is very important article for your church group to read because if you do not know the barriers that Mormons erect against Biblical Truth, you will not be able to break through to them in conversation.

• QUESTIONS FOR LDS ON THE IMPOSSIBLE GOSPEL OF MORMONISM — A Verse-by-Verse Presentation from LDS Scripture: This will be one of the most helpful tools your team can carry with them on the streets as they break Mormons with the LDS “gospel” law

• ANSWERING MORMON OBJECTIONS: A quick reference tool to overcome common Mormon arguments that you will face street witnessing

• TRACT: ARE YOU PREPARED TO MEET GOD?—A Simple Test for the Honest Latter-day Saint: A great tract to give to Mormons when you are sharing the Impossible Gospel of Mormonism with them. (www.4mormon.org)

• MORMON BUSINESS CARD TRACTS: These colorful tracts are the size of small business cards so they are less intimidating than the regular three-fold tracts that are normally given out by Christians witnessing to Mormons attending Temple Square and the Manti, UT pageant. Since these tracts are so small and are decorated with Mormon-looking images, we find that these tracts are the easiest to give to Mormons who otherwise would not read “anti-Mormon” literature. In one night on the streets of Manti, our team discovered that we could give out 3 to 4 times the number of these small card tracts than we could our three-fold “Are You Prepared to Meet God” tract.  So, you may want to have several hundred copies of these tracts for your evangelistic outreaches. (www.4mormon.org)

REACHING MORMON POLYGAMIST FUNDAMENTALISTS:

For advice on ministering to fundamentalists and polygamists, we highly recommend A Shield and Refuge Ministry. This is a Christian ministry that was born out of Living Hope Ministry’s video outreaches to Mormons. It will be important for you to get in contact with this ministry about your trip into the Polygamists communities because Mormon fundamentalists tend to be suspicious of people trying to spy on them and their lifestyle.  If you can talk with this ministry before your trip, they may be able to advise you on how to approach polygamists in a way that you won’t trigger their fears. A Shield and Refuge Ministry also provides excellent articles on their website that you can use when witnessing to polygamists. Visit their website at the following link and click on their “Topics and Articles” link:

• A SHIELD AND REFUGE MINISTRY - http://www.shieldandrefuge.org

You also asked about DVDs that you can purchase at a good rate to have available when you are witnessing to Mormons and polygamists.  We recommend the following videos. You can view these films free at the following links:

• LIFTING THE VEIL OF POLYGAMY
• JESUS CHRIST/JOSEPH SMITH
• DNA VS THE BOOK OF MORMON
• BIBLE VS BOOK OF MORMON

Keep in mind that many polygamists do not have TVs or DVD players, so if you plan to use any of the above DVDs with them, you will need to bring equipment into the community that would allow you to show the film.

MINISTRIES IN THE SALT LAKE CITY AREA:

There are many ministries to Mormons that we recommend in the Salt Lake City area for outreach at Temple Square. A few of the best ones are:

• MORMONISM RESEARCH MINISTRY - http://www.mrm.org
• THINK ABOUT ETERNITY, INC. - http://www.ThinkAboutEternity.org
• MORMON INFO - http://www.mormoninfo.org
• LIVING HOPE MINISTRIES - http://www.lhvm.org
• UTAH PARTNERSHIPS FOR CHRIST - http://www.upfc.org
• UTAH LIGHTHOUSE MINISTRY - http://www.utlm.org

PRIMARY MINISTRY CONTACT IN THE MANTI, UTAH AREA:

For the Manti, Utah Mormon Miracle Pageant Christian Outreach, you will need to get in touch with Tri-Grace Ministry and Ephraim Church of the Bible as these ministries will provide you with details on the various Christian outreach events during the Pageant.  Their locations are:

• Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ 380 S 400 E, Ephraim, UT 84627 ~ (435) 283-6141~ http://www.ephraimbible.org 
• Tri-Grace Ministry - Solid Rock Café ~ 96 E Center Street, Ephraim, UT 84627 ~ 435-283-0178 ~ http://www.trigrace.org

There are many hotels, parks, and RV/tent campgrounds that you can lodge at during the Pageant.  For an extensive list of the lodging available see the Mormon Miracle website at: http://www.mormonmiracle.org.  The closest Tent Campground and RV Park to the event is the Temple Hill Resort - http://www.templehillrv.com.  They often have discounted rates during their Manti Pageant season to help facilitate the cost for families attending the event.  So, if you decide to go with them, book early because they fill up quickly!

If you are bringing a large group of people, the cheapest place to stay is at the Manti City Park.  While showers are not available at the city park, toilets are and the cost is only about $5.00 per tent per night.  Most of the Christian church groups and youth groups that come from all over the United States say at the Manti City Park, so this is great place to meet other Christians who have come to witness at this event.  There are no reservations for camping at the Manti City park during the Pageant season, but if you have questions about their overnight accommodations, you can contact them at:

• Manti, Utah City Park ~200 North 300 West  ~ Manti, UT 84642 ~ 435-835-2401

While showers at the city park are not available, they can be taken at Snow College Activity Center in Ephraim (8 minutes north of Manti, UT). They are available during the week and Saturday afternoon for $1.00 per person at their Activity Center located at:

• Snow College  ~ 350 E Center ~ Ephraim, UT 84627 ~ 435-283-7039 ~ http://www.snow.edu

Another common option for camping and/or showers is Palisade State Park located 8 miles south of Manti, UT. Day use is a reasonable way to bring a group of people for showers.

• Palisade State Park  ~ 2200 Palisade Road ~ Sterling, Utah 84665 ~ (435) 835-7275 ~ http://www.utah.com/stateparks/palisade.htm

May God bless you efforts to reach out to Mormons with the love and truth of the real Gospel of Jesus Christ!