Taken from: In Touch Ministries

Moving Forward


January 2002

"This is just a time when I know of the horrific nature of what has happened," says Associate Pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle Charles Hammond. "But the whole point is, help us to see through the eyes of the Lord and how this whole thing is supposed to connect."

Pastor Hammond, and Reverend Marcos Rivera, of Primitive Christian Church in New York City, agree that the wake of terrorism leaves with it opportunities to move forward.

Hammond says, "There is such a hunger out there on the streets that it is truly harvest time. It's time to talk to people, not just about God; talk about Jesus. . . . Evangelism isn't a date thing or going out on a particular day. It's really a lifestyle."

A lifestyle that includes prayer and service, compassion and boldness. Reverend Rivera has been able to organize pastors and Christian leaders who traveled to New York after the disaster in a time of prayer. Speaking of one such vigil, Rivera says, "We were at Ground Zero, and the place was still smoldering with flames [so] we just stood there on the cornerabout 15 pastorsand we bowed our heads. We made a circle and prayed.

"It was almost like everything in that section of Ground Zero stopped for a moment. All the inspectors, chiefs, and captains stopped [and] took their hats off while we prayed. . . . After we stopped the prayer, the men and women that were there came over individually to ask for prayer."

Police officers Toni Cruz and Joe Cruz understand what that lifestyle of prayer and evangelism entails. Though unrelated, Toni and Joe Cruz are partners in the New York Police Department, and members of Police Officers for Christ. As detectives, their job allows them opportunities to meet new people all the time.

One such meeting proved to be divine.

The detectives frequently transport prison inmates from jail facilities to courthouses so that they can appear at their trials. Toni describes the mood of the afternoon she and Joe took a particular female prisoner to court, "We had been playing Christian tapes. She asked us about the tapes, and that opened the door."

As they drove to a fast-food chain to get something to eat, Toni noticed in the rearview mirror that the prisoner was crying. "I said, 'Before we go to [eat], I want to ask you a question.' I said, 'I want to know if you want to give your heart to the Lord.' She said yes."

At this point in the conversation, Toni Cruz was overwhelmed and couldn't think of how to lead the young woman in prayer. That's when she remembered the In Touch magazine in the back of the vehicle. She jumped out, fished it out from the trunk, and brought it to the inmate. Together, they read the prayer of salvation that's printed on the inside of every issue.

This example mirrors the kind of "lifestyle" of which Pastor Hammond speaks. The time is ripe for the body of Christ to move forward into a new land, which the Lord has given us. It's a land that, foretold by Caleb and Joshua, is flowing with milk and honey, just waiting for us to open our hearts and mouths to give a testimony of what the Lord has done.

Read more about Officers Toni Cruz and Joe Cruz, and Pastor Hammond and Reverend Rivera, in the January 2002 issue of In Touch magazine.