Komen Race For the Cure - Over 20,000 people

Today, I went to Downtown Cleveland for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The University Hospitals' website says more than 20,000 people participated this year.

The race started at 9:15 AM and I found a spot along the race course on Lakeside near East 9th. I was met by an early comment of "Inappropriate!" Granted, this is a race for breast cancer, but the Gospel is more important than that. This is from the Komen Website:

"Breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect women. In 2009, it is estimated that there will be approximately 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the United States, along with 62,280 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. An estimated 40,170 women will die from breast cancer this year. It is estimated that 1,910 men will be diagnosed and 440 men will die of breast cancer during 2009."

Did you know Komen supports Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions? Looking back, I am wondering if I should have had a sign against this, also. Planned Parenthood performed 305,000 abortions in 2008. Abortion is murder. That dwarfs the 40,000 who will die of breast cancer. Again, I am not discounting breast cancer as a disease, but this is inexcusable.




150,000 people die everyday, and the majority of them are going to Hell. Why is that statistic not published more widely and why don't we have "Races For Heaven" like we have "Races For the Cure?"

I am not discounting the battle against breast cancer, but Jesus Christ is more important than that. Today, I had an opportunity to reach around 20,000 people today. I was not going to let this opportunity pass by.

I just stood silent as the entire race passed me by- and there were a ton of people in it, as expected. A few people told me they were ready, but no more than a dozen or two at most, I would say. I gave out one tract to someone who passed by and inquired about the cross. A few others asked what the Scripture verse was and I told them.

A few people thought my sign was a mile marker for 1.15 miles (it says "Mark 1:15). Afterward, I realized I was in between the mile 1 and mile 2 markers. I attended handed out tracts at the Komen Race for the Cure in Columbus earlier this year- it was my first major tracting experience. I handed out about 400 tracts to the estimated 40,000 participants. That was 1% of the participants. I feel the cross being visible to the entire race participants is far more effective.

I noticed a man with a camera directly across from me on Lakeside with his camera lens pointed right at me twice during the race. I do not know if he was a part of the media or not, but I was hoping he was and would come over and ask me about the cross. If a picture gets published somewhere of the cross- that's just more people that would be able to see it! No one needs to know about who I am, just as long as they see the cross. A few people also stopped to take a picture of the cross.

As you can see in the first picture, I added a dowel rod to the base of my cross so I could hoist it up in the air an extra 2 feet. The wind picked up shortly after the race participants starting coming by me, so I was limited to by how high I could hold the cross with my hands without it blowing away. Below is a picture someone took of me from inside the race as they passed by.



I did not take my cross around the area where the vendors were set up before the race, nor did I stay after the race to display my cross. The cross had already been seen and I didn't want to get into any verbal confrontations.

Again, I am not discounting the fight for breast cancer, but everyone needs the Gospel. I would venture to think some of the people who saw me today have seen me around town before with my cross. Perhaps they will see me in the future and remember me. My hope is that they will and that they will inquire about the cross and I can witness to them.

When I returned home, I ran into my new neighbor and found out that he attended a church in the same denomination as my church. He saw my cross and asked if I was a pastor. Not assuming the he was saved, I went through the law and gospel quickly and gave him the parachute analogy- being on an airplane that is about to crash and having a parachute that can save you. Merely "believing" in the parachute won't save you- you have to strap on the parachute and jump from the plane. In the same sense, we need to strap on the Lord Jesus and jump from our sinful lifestyle.

I am trying to make it my habit to witness to people who even say or they appear to be saved, just to make sure.

I know Scripture says, "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:14), and “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'" (Matthew 7:21-23).

I gave out 2 tracts today - 1 at the race and 1 to my neighbor.