FIREPLACE NASHVILLE- TESTIMONY FROM WORSHIP AND PRAISE TRACTOR MINISTRY ON THE STREETS BY BROADWAY
Around dusk in Nashville, TN on a Friday at 7 p.m., sounds of high praise and worship drift out to the ears of passersby walking on Clinton Street by Marathon Village. This exclamation of thankfulness and joy towards God happens every Friday night at Fireplace Nashville. Located at Harvest Sound Church, a loving community of believers come together to encounter and worship God, get activated and equipped to share the good news of Jesus, and then go downtown to the street of Broadway and put God’s love into action! Powerful seeds of truth about who God is and his radical love for each of us are sown into hearts searching for fulfillment in the emptiness of the world and not finding it there. Countless lives are impacted by a simple yes of someone’s obedience to the Great Commission, as it says in Mark 16:15, He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” From a simple prayer of faith, many miraculous healings have happened, and yet the greatest joy of all is the salvation testimony of the lost being found!
———-TESTIMONY TIME———-
It was a special night in Nashville at Fireplace in late September and the excitement could be felt drifting in the air! Tonight, not only was a group of believers going out on Broadway to minister and share the good news of Jesus, but the old-time red tractor and trailer were going downtown as well!! A wooden cross hung proudly on the back of the trailer as a couple of strong men loaded up speakers, music equipment, and everything else that was needed to worship God and testify of His goodness and love on the streets by Broadway! As the tractor rolled out of the paved driveway a song of praise could be heard filling the night sky. Little did any of the group singing in the trailer that night know the impact they would have on a certain young girl's life!
The neon lights beckoned the lonely young girl as she drunkenly wandered barefoot following her family along one of the side streets by Broadway, a half-empty bottle of moonshine in her hand. Loud pulsing music reverberated in the background till it slowly faded into an echo around her, lost in the misery of her life she took another swig from her bottle. Yet this time she found no comfort in it, the emptiness she felt in her soul was only getting worse. Deceiving voices bombarded her as she stumbled on, “Why live? You're not worth loving. Just end it and you won't feel anymore. Do you think anyone would even care?” Trying to numb the desperation flooding through her, she stopped suddenly and looked up in disbelief! Floating down the crowded and noisy street was the most beautiful sound of praise! Hope slowly started to fill her as a group of people singing praises to Jesus came puttering down the street on a vintage tractor and trailer! At that moment, a profound feeling of soberness overtook her, and she felt her world shift. Completely captivated, she stared at the cross on the trailer, its beauty lighting the streets and speaking to the yearning deep within her to know such unconditional love! Something changed inside of her, and she thought, “I want to be with them on that tractor! I should be praising God with them!” Her heart became awakened as she felt the love of God calling her back to Him and in wonder, she surrendered to the peace that began filling her soul. It felt as if Jesus was right there with her, speaking His promises over her life, and she knew that somehow it would all be ok again!
After encountering God that night her life became a testimony of redemption and joy! She had unexplainable peace through some hard circumstances she experienced, and yet through it all, she felt the hand of God guiding and protecting her. He became her safe place and a foundation of truth that could not be shaken! One year went by and she felt God asking her to move to Nashville, packing up she said yes and started a new journey with God there! Soon after moving, she started reaching out hoping to find an authentic community she could connect well with. She heard of Fireplace and upon going there she found like-minded people who loved Jesus and were passionate about living their lives for Him! One night at Fireplace, while climbing into a friend's car to go downtown to Broadway to evangelize, she once again heard sweet praise coming from somewhere nearby! There sitting behind the aged brick building of Harvest Sound Church was the very same red tractor and trailer that had radically impacted her life that memorable night one year ago! It was almost time for them to start driving the tractor downtown for another night of bringing praise and worship to the streets!
As it has been said by one of the Fireplace leaders, “You never know the fruit of your yes, or the damage of your no.” You might never know the effect of the gospel seeds that are sown when praises are sung from a tractor and trailer on a Friday night, or while walking on Broadway asking God to show you who needs a touch of His love that night, but seeds must be sown first so they can start to grow. And sometimes you will have the great privilege of reaping the harvest of that seed! Come join in with Fireplace on a Friday night and experience this firsthand!! Click HERE to hear more testimonies and learn about how you can get involved!