Randy Shepherd

This is Robbie Dilmore from The Christian Car Guy and Kingdom Pursuit, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build a kingdom. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it and share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

Thanks for listening and for choosing the Truth Network Podcast. A lot of folks are like, well, I'm not a Billy Graham. I'm not a D.L.

Moody. I'm no Randy Shepard. I'm going to leave that to him. But that's not how it works in the kingdom, right?

Exactly right. The Bible says to go into all the world and share the gospel and we shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon us and we shall be witnesses in our Jerusalem, our Judea, and our Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. So it's an honor and a privilege to be a part of what God's doing. Mr. Crossfire Ministries, you've got some amazing camps coming up in the summer.

And by the way, it's not too early ever to get kind of that in your queue. Moms and dads, grandmoms, grandpops, you've got a kid that wants to learn the best basketball ever. But they also want to hear the good news of Christ. How many kids, I've heard you've had a few dozen kids come through that camp over the years. Randy, give us some numbers on that. It's been a God thing.

It started out as just a dream in the summer of 1990. And the Lord has brought through 25,000 boys and girls ages six to 18. And each one of them are important, Stu. We've had one guy that went on to play in the NBA a lot that have went into ministry.

Some that have just went into the business world and coaching and different aspects of life. But it's a God thing. Jamie and I give the Lord the glory. We try to teach all the basketball they can learn. More importantly, we're sharing Jesus Christ with them every day. Those that don't know the Lord, inviting them to come to Christ.

Those that do know the Lord, trying to disciple them in the ways of the Lord. That's so cool. So people that pray for, that financially support Crossfire Ministries, Randy, basically they're sowing in to a ministry that, I mean, I can't even keep up with you. You're all over Facebook, you're all over social media, Instagram. And I'm seeing pictures of you with this college team, this Division I team, this NBA player.

You're sharing Christ. Why is that so important? Because a lot of people that get a platform with Kobe, who had the tragic accident, but even before that you got to meet them. All these NBA guys.

Michael Jordan, who you kind of grew up with at the same time. A lot of folks just kind of gawk over those guys. Like, oh, you signed my t-shirt. Sign my arm. Sign my forehead. I can't believe I'm with you.

And they just kind of gawk. But you're sharing the gospel with these people. You're taking some risk there. Can you talk about why that's so important and why that's been a real big deal in your ministry? Yes. Two of the mentors that I had in my life, Dr. Billy Klein, who's in heaven now, and Dr. Adrian Rogers, who's in heaven, were soul winners. And you only go as far as your pastor goes. Your dad was a soul winner.

You saw that. So you became a soul winner. So it's a calling from the Lord. But your role models, if they aren't soul winners, then you probably are not going to be. And one time we had the chance to meet with Dr. Graham a couple years before he passed, and he gave me two statistics, Stu, that just hang on my mind every day. One is he believed that 60% of those in churches on Sunday are church-gens. They've never truly repented of their sin and put their faith in Christ. And secondly, he believed that 95% of Christians will never lead a soul to Christ. And you're not going to lead a soul to Christ unless you're sharing the gospel. And it's the gospel that does the work. It's the power of the gospel unto salvation. So we must share. It's not a choice.

It's a mandate. And for so long in my life, Stu, I didn't share, and I regret that. And God gave me a burden for the lost when I had an injury my junior year at UNC Asheville on a basketball scholarship. From that, he called me to ministry, and then he gave me a burden for the lost. And I'm just trying to be faithful.

I fall short every day. But if you don't share, then you don't see anybody come to the Lord. So we must share and plant those seeds of the gospel every day. There's so many creative ways to share the gospel.

Randy, I'm going to make a presentation on this national show right now, and I'm going to present you with a brand new leather-bound copy of God's Word right here. There you go, sir. Look at that. Just look at that.

Have you ever gotten anything like that? Now we'll snap a picture. Hold that up. Turn it around and hold it up for the Instagram. And what you'll find when you see this picture, friends, is you will find a copy.

Push it closer so people can see it. It's a tiny little copy, maybe not even an inch, but it's another creative way to share Christ. So you've got the Bible in there. Now it's fine print, and there might be a little microscope that is on the inside of there so you can see it. But how many creative gospel tracts?

I have Crossfire tracts. There's little cards, and we're going to announce something. He's going to walk out the door because he's on his way to some big ACC basketball.

We're not going to let that cat out of the bag. But he's on his way to meet our brother Wood, and you guys have some good things going. You all are sharing Christ everywhere. But it's never been easier to just give something to someone. And you have these little cards as a player. Well, you have the big cards. There's a way to give.

And these are folks that you couldn't drag them into church with a hog chain. But if you pull off this round ball, God's favorite sport, we know it is, Randy. You've spun many of these. You've spun them on toothbrushes.

You've spun them on all kinds of things while you're eating, while you're shaving, all these things. But God made the world round, and that's what the shape of the basketball is. So we know it's God's favorite sport. But talk to our listeners about how they can share the truth, wherever they are.

Exactly. You may be a plumber. I say plumb for Jesus. If you're an electrician, do it for Jesus. If you're a farmer, sow seed for Jesus. If you're a homemaker, do it for the Lord. And you can learn to share the gospel. Just like, Stu, you're a great free throw shooter. You learn the technique of shooting free throws, and then you learn the technique of sharing your faith, and then you share. Number one, you pray.

You ask God to go before you and to prepare the heart, and then the word will not return void. I say it's the best offense in the land. If you were able to lead somebody to Christ, that's a blessing. If you get rejected, that's a blessing. It's a win-win.

You get a reward either way, and then one day, we'll cast those rewards back at Jesus' feet for what He allowed us to do through Him and the power of His Holy Spirit. I love it. What's the website for Crossfire Ministries? CrossfireMinistry.com. CrossfireMinistry.com. We've got third or third annual Crossfire basketball camps coming up this summer. We'll be advertising on the Truth Network later on in the months to come. If you ever want Jamie and I to come preach at your church on how to share your faith, speak at a youth rally. This is the Truth Network.