Evangelist says more time, effort should go into saving souls

If Christians truly wish to help save their neighbors' souls, they should put more time and effort into the task, said the Rev. David Ring, the featured speaker Wednesday night for the Hope for America crusade to a crowd of nearly 470 people.

Ring relayed a Bible story of four men who took a crippled friend to Jesus to be healed, but were unable to enter a building where their savior was inside. Ring said the men took their friend to the roof and lowered him through a hole in the ceiling, efforts that impressed Jesus.

"They took the time to take him to Jesus," Ring said. "People, if we are going to touch people's lives, we are going to have to take the time. If we are too busy to reach out to people, then we are just too busy."

Ring is a popular evangelical speaker who uses humor and personal stories of his struggles with cerebral palsy and discrimination to bring people closer to God and provide them with motivation.

Lighter approach

Kim Hornbeck, an usher at the event, said she liked Ring's approach to evangelism, which differs from the heavier tone taken by other speakers.

"It's lighter and with the humor he uses, we can all relate a little more to it," she said.

Ring was stillborn and did not breathe for several minutes until a nurse picked him up from a table and carried him to his mother. He accepted Jesus as his savior at 16 years old thanks to a persistent school friend, he said.

"I'm alive today physically because somebody took the time to save me, and I'm alive today spiritually because somebody took the time to save me," Ring said. "There are people all over Cape Girardeau tonight, dying on the vine. They're crying out for somebody to love them, somebody to save them. People, we've got to take the time."

The Hope for America crusade is sponsored by the Horizon Foundation, an organization founded by businessman Jerry Lipps. The group organized a similar crusade here in April and has held others in Du Quoin, Ill., and Paducah, Ky. Another crusade is planned for September 2003 in St. Charles, Mo.

Speakers for the remainder of the week include John Ed Mathison, a United Methodist minister, tonight, and youth speaker Ken Freeman on Friday.

Doors at the Show Me Center open at 6 p.m. and the service begins at 7 p.m. Admission and parking are free. For information about the crusade, call the Horizon Foundation at 339-4646.

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160