testimonies

A woman invited the team into her home, eager for them to come inside after hearing the Gospel on the mountainside. The living conditions were extremely poor, and she showed them the little food she had—mostly scraps, chicken feet, and water. The team offered help, and one member gave her $20. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she clung tightly to Cheryl, one of the team members, shaking with joy. Then, suddenly, she took off running down the street, shouting and telling everyone what God had done. Later, she returned with food she had been able to buy, still praising the Lord, and even shared soda with her neighbors and the team. Her joy over something so small left a deep impact on the team—a reminder of how even $20 can spark hope and dignity. Most of all, she was thankful that they had come and shared Jesus with her, the greatest gift she received that day.

Testimony from Forgotten Ministry's time in Colombia:

When the team knocked on a door that barely looked like a home, a woman welcomed them inside and immediately opened up about how her Catholic faith felt like it was failing her and she didn’t know how to fix her life. She said several Jehovah’s Witnesses had visited recently, but when the team arrived, she felt God whisper, “Let them in—they have the answer.” As they shared the Gospel, they asked if her elderly father also wanted to give his life to the Lord. She explained he couldn’t speak, so they said he could simply raise his hand if he wanted to accept Christ. She turned around—and the man who could not speak had both hands lifted high. That day, both father and daughter accepted Christ, discovering that Jesus truly was the answer they had been searching for.

Testimony from Forgotten Ministry's time in Colombia:

"Jeremiah had the chance to share the Gospel with a young woman working at a local market, but before he could finish, she was pulled away. He knew God was softening her heart to receive the Gospel, so he began praying. The woman ended up giving her phone number scribbled on a napkin saying she really wants to hear the rest of the story. The next day, they got a hold of her and were able to share the rest of the Gospel with her-but God had already done a work in her heart. She told them she is in the middle of getting her nails done, so she can look beautiful for the new life in Christ she's about to start. Needless to say, she accepted salvation that day and stepped into her new life."

Testimony from Forgotten Ministry's time in Colombia:

"One group visited a dilapidated prison, filled with 40 hopeless eyes behind bars. After they had the opportunity to preach the Gospel to them, every hand was raised with urgency to say they wanted to accept salvation. Their eyes now filled with hope, they all waved with joy as the team drove away."

"This is my second outreach with Forgotten Ministries. It’s being a great experience; this team has a heart for Jesus that is contagious. Me and my husband we love to come and hear the stories and be able to SHARE Jesus with forgotten people. I pray that we can have many other opportunities to work with them."

-Debora Monteiro, Texas Baptists and Brazilian American Baptist Church

Here is a Food Outreach testimony from Shirley with Beautiful Restoration in Perry: “Our outreach was a big success! We had all 200 bags of groceries given out within an hour. We had three or four cars that we were not able to give to. Several other people that came through express concerns needing more groceries or having families that need groceries. Yesterday we didn't experience anyone coming to the Lord, but we were able to pray for every single car that came through even ministered to a lady that was in a domestic violence situation. That will be ongoing ministry. We are so grateful for your ministry.”

This month we had a grill walk with Crosspoint Church in Enid. We had about 15 volunteers and 6 salvations.  Four of the salvations happened in the living room of one home! There was a Marshallese family playing cards on the floor and Jeremiah and Adam, a member of Crosspoint, were able to go inside the home and share the Gospel with them all. Through that, four of the adults accepted Christ! Sometimes the language barrier between us and the Marshallese community is discouraging when trying to minister the Gospel to them. But this time, it seemed that the message was made clear and God moved their hearts to salvation through His power.

Kristy Shrader, a long time partner and leader of a mission team that comes to Enid every year, along with some others led a Grill walk in their town. Here’s what she said! “What a great turn out for the grill walk in Jamestown, Kansas! We are already planning the next grill walk to finish getting to every house in town. Watch for the next one the beginning of November. Our experienced team members did an outstanding job training the new team members in sharing the salvation message. I love watching their spiritual sparks turn to flames as they put action to their faith. Even our youngest team member was knocking on doors wanting to get in on the fun. One group leader said he was caught by surprise. A teary-eyed lady at one house told them they were doing a great thing. She wanted to pray for them. They came to bless her and she blessed them. Thank you Forgotten Ministries for letting us use your grill for its maiden voyage in Kansas.”

This past weekend, REPENTED M/M Oklahoma Mother Charter joined forces with Forgotten Ministries to bless the Enid community by handing out groceries, praying with families, and sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

It was hot, but that didn’t stop us. The sun was beating down, the work was heavy, but the mission was clear: serve with joy, love without limits, and glorify God, no matter the conditions.

In the middle of it all, one of our beloved sisters began feeling unwell and had to be taken to the emergency room. But even that didn’t stop the ministry from moving forward. Several of us followed her to the hospital, where we continued to pray, comfort, and share God’s love, not only with her, but with others we encountered there.

God used every moment, even the unexpected ones, to shine His light.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

We are so thankful for every hand that served, every heart that gave, and every soul that received. What a powerful reminder that ministry doesn’t stop when challenges come; it goes where the need is.

-Repented Motorcycle Ministry

"FBCW first grill walk!!! Thank you Forgotten Ministries for the grill!!

We saw 1 profession of Faith worth everything we did. May God bless the young man as he bears fruit in Jesus name our heart is for Whiteville. "

-First Baptist Church of Whiteville, TN

"We had the opportunity to volunteer at Forgotten Ministries yesterday and it was an amazing experience."

-Beautiful Restoration-Perry

"Finished another grill walk today with Seward Road Baptist Church in Guthrie, OK. 2 salvations, lots of prayer and many prospects!  They had 25 of their people out sharing the gospel. They are so excited!!  Great job Pastor Shawn Kirk and Sara Kirk and Hayden Tobin with Forgotten Ministries!" -LeAnna Hall, Comanche First Baptist Church

Testimony from the Send Relief website from the Fort Collins Serve Tour stop recap: "Other teams joined Forgotten Ministries for grill walks in additional mobile home parks. In this outreach, a large grill was mounted to the back of a pickup, which carried everything needed to cook and serve. Volunteers knocked on doors to let each household know lunch was being offered free of charge, and word quickly spread. Some residents even drove over from other parts of the park to find the grill. Jason Myers from Severance, Colorado, who helped lead one of the efforts, said what struck him most wasn’t the method but the openness it created. “We witnessed at least four full families accept Christ,” Myers said. “It’s not about the burgers. It’s about Jesus.” In total, more than 80 people prayed to receive Christ through grill walk conversations that weekend."

During one of our grill walk outreaches in Seminole, Oklahoma, we partnered with a small church to reach their community. As we walked through the neighborhood, a 16-year-old boy walked past and they offered him food. As they began to talk and share the Gospel of Jesus with him, you could see that his heart was open. He decided undoubtedly that he was ready to surrender his life to Jesus right there. He explained how his grandmother had been praying for him. This goes to show the power of prayer and how handing out food is a perfect avenue to share the hope of Jesus with someone. 

During our monthly Food Distribution outreach, Tristan Bradley met a single mom of 6 kids.  She later shared with us that she almost left the outreach because the line was long, it was hot and her auto-immune disease was causing her to be in pain. But she felt God tell her to just wait and be patient. As she was loading up her car with groceries, Tristan and another young boy covered her with the Good news of the Gospel and the love of Christ. Right there, she decided to surrender her life to the Lord. 

3 weeks later, Autumn Bradley called her on the phone. She learned that Leisha had quit her mentally taxing job just days after she came to the outreach. Since then, it had been hard to make ends meet and provide for her 6 children. She had been searching for a job and doing it all without a vehicle. She shared how she has been sticking to prayer and been aware of what God is doing in her life even through this difficult time. One day, rent-a-center came to her home to take her children’s beds. She cried to the Lord and asked him to please help her. 3 hours after they had taken the beds, a teacher from her children’s school messaged and asked her if she knew anyone who needed a trundle bed. Wow! She cried with the teacher on the phone and explained how God had provided for her! 

While Autumn was on the phone with her, Leisha said that she only had a couple things to feed her kids for the next week. Her faith was still unshaken. That day, Autumn was able to take her a car load of groceries from the Food Outreach at Forgotten Ministries. She was overwhelmed with thankfulness and told Autumn how excited her kids were when they got home from school when they saw there was food in the kitchen!

She said the day she surrendered to Jesus, she felt a weight lift off of her and no longer felt angry at God. Through all the trials she’s faced in the last few weeks, her faith in God has only grown stronger. 

In Colombia, South Carolina on a grill outreach during the Serve Tour, a group approached a door. They were met by a woman whose struggle with alcohol was unmistakable—you could smell it lingering in the air around her. The group gently began a conversation, and after some time, Jeremiah asked if she had ever been to church. She said yes. Then he asked if the church had ever helped her with her addiction. The question seemed to catch her off guard.

As they continued sharing the gospel with her, something extraordinary began to happen. She started sweating profusely, visibly affected by the moment. It was as if the Lord was not only drawing her heart toward Him, but also beginning to sober her up right there on the spot. You could see the Spirit at work—lifting her, cleansing her, meeting her in her brokenness with power and grace. And by the end of their conversation, she surrendered her life to Jesus.

In Colombia, SC during the Serve Tour with Send Relief, a group knocked on a door during a grill outreach. They were welcomed by a family—a mom, her son, and his girlfriend. Both the mom and the girlfriend were believers, and they had been faithfully praying for the son to come to know the Lord. But he remained agnostic, or at least indifferent toward God.

As the group talked with them, they gently asked the son, “Has your mom changed since she gave her life to Jesus? Has your girlfriend changed?” He paused, then admitted—yes, they had. Then came the next question: “Don’t you want that kind of change for yourself?”

He really thought about it. And something shifted. He said yes—he wanted to give his life to the Lord.

Just as they began praying with him, his dad pulled into the driveway, arriving home from work. The timing was divine. His dad, who had been battling cancer and praying just as fervently for his son’s salvation, stepped into the moment. And right there, the father got to lead his son to Jesus.

It was perfect timing. A holy appointment. A family’s prayers answered in full.

Testimony from the Send Relief website regarding the Grill Outreach:

“I’ll be honest, when I first heard about grill walks, I thought it was a gimmick. It sounded like the most Southern Baptist gimmick ever,” said Jarrian “JayWill” Wilson, founding pastor of City of Refuge Church. “But doing one showed me. It showed me how hospitality really does open up doors for the gospel. Conversations we never could have had happened because of these burgers and us knocking on doors.”

In Columbia, South Carolina August 22-23 during one of the Send Relief Serve Tours, a volunteer who was timid at first, had the opportunity to share a Gospel tract with someone at a door. The Young man looked like he had a past of getting into trouble and presented himself as a gangster. In the midst of the conversation, Jeremiah interjected "it looks like you probably have a past, cause i know at your age i had a past too." then he asked him. "If there was a God that could forgive everything you've ever done, would you want to know Him?" The young man looked taken aback, and he said yes, he would. So, the once timid woman ended up leading that young man to starting his relationship with Jesus and surrendering to him. The weight of the Holy Spirit came down on them both and tears fell from their faces as they prayed.

In Columbia, South Carolina August 22-23 during one of the Send Relief Serve Tours, Jeremiah Herrian went up to a door with the retired President Send Relief, Bryant Wright. They met an elderly woman and her grandson who had the intimidating appearance of tattoos and face piercings. As the conversation unfolded, the grandmother had tears in her eyes and said she was ready to surrender to Jesus. Then they directed their attention to the grandson who said just last night he was telling his grandma how he wants to stop drinking and cussing and how he needs God in his life, he just doesn't know how to find Him. And by the sovereignty of God, there were these people on his front porch not only offering him a burger, but the answer to his wandering, Jesus Christ. Both him and his grandmother surrendered their lives to Jesus on their front porch that day.

In Mount Vernon, Illinois from August 15-17, we worked with Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. WE had three grill walks over Friday and Saturday, with over 40 volunteers. There were a total of Five Salvations, Countless prayers and Gospel conversations, and hundreds of burgers handed out. During the Saturday morning grill walk, Hayden and Jeremiah met a woman in an apartment complex. Through talking with her, they learned she is a mom of four, and she was really burdened and weary from life. After they shared the Gospel with her, she accepted Jesus Christ as her savior and began her journey following the Lord. You could tell she was at a time in her life when she needed this exact message of hope that can only come from Jesus, and she was ready to give her life to Him.

In Meridian, Mississippi for Love Out Loud Week with Northcrest Baptist Church, Jeremiah Herrian and Aaron Hayes talked with a man who said he thought he would be dead in a week because of the life decisions he had been making. Thankfully, they shared the Gospel hope with him, and Aaron was able to lead him to the Lord and he surrendered his life to Jesus!

Our church came to pick up a grill and the plan was to just stay the weekend. Back story I had personally participated on a couple Grill Walks in the past in different states and this ministry really touched me. I was so touched by Brandon’s story again and the entire Forgotten Ministries story that I decided to keep the team for a few more hours to be apart of something bigger than us. So for a small moment in time we packaged groceries and served the local community by giving the groceries out. This inspired my church members that came and we will be back and out across the states with them again. Thank you so much for the experience with God 

FBC Whiteville TN - Bro. Tim

Our team was delivering food boxes at an apartment complex. We met Zalina, a young single mom. After receiving the food box, we shared the Gospel with her and she accepted Christ. We gave her information on the local church. We then moved on to another apartment. We met Maria, an older woman who had moved from Mexico. She told us she was a Christian and a Sunday School teacher while in Mexico, I asked her if she had ever thought of starting a Bible Study here in the complex. She said she would love to do that. I told her about Zalina, the young lady who had just got saved and lived downstairs, I said she needed someone who could disciple her. Maria immediately said she was going to get her shoes and wanted us to introduce her to Zalina. We took her downstairs to meet Zalina. They talked and when we left, they were planning to get together.

Erin and I lead a family (father, mother, and son) to Christ. All 3 made a public profession of faith. The 19 year old son with tears in his eyes asked if he could have a hug. I returned to take the father a Bible and the son asked if we could give his father a hug. It was really a beautiful moment. After returning home, I received this from the Pastor of the church: The father, Viviano Martinez, our new brother in Christ, wanted me to let you know that he was in church with us today. He wept and shared with me about his family struggles. I prayed with him. Also prayed for his wife and son. He said that he’d be back on Wednesday night. Please help us pray: He and his mother & brothers are estranged. He misses them and finds refuge in alcohol. I preached about “the peace that passes all understanding “. I explained to him that the peace that he gets from alcohol is temporary but Christ’s peace is forever. 

Eddie Kessler

We had a block party at a University in Brownsville, Texas which was across the street from a High School. Send Relief had several activities set up including serving free hotdogs, chips, and drinks. A few of my team sat at a booth for students to sign up for Bible studies or to receive prayer. I was truly amazed at how many of them came to sign up and wanted prayer. After they registered, we would ask them if they knew where they would go if they were to die. Remarkably very few knew the way to heaven. In just a short time (3 hours) at the booth only, we had 22 people make a public profession of faith for Christ. I’ve been going on mission trips for 20 years this year and I have never ever witnessed as fertile ground as I did this day at this University. The total count for the entire block party that day was 34. God is doing something big in the age group of 16-24 right now. God is a good, good Father!

Eddie Kessler

While going through a neighborhood in Chicago on a grillwalk, we came up to a door where no one in the house spoke English (only Spanish). We managed to communicate with the family through a translator. The family was quick to accept burgers, because of that we started sharing the gospel through a translator. In the middle of the gospel presentation members of the family interrupt in awe of what they are hearing. They tell the translator they had received a dream the night before that someone was going to come to their porch to tell them about Jesus. Members of the family decided to dedicate their lives to Jesus in the midst of that conversation.

I was so encouraged by the brothers and sisters of Forgotten Ministries who drove all the way out here to San Diego from Oklahoma and some from Kansas! They challenged me to share the gospel of God’s love with free burgers to people in my backyard and I did it and loved it! It was so neat to be God’s hands and feet as we worked together and prayed for many people that we met along the way.

We had an opportunity to outreach a young man and his wife that had just lost everything in a fire. We were able to bless this family and pray for them.

Mario Luna, Repented Motorcycle Ministry 

What a glorious and joyous occasion we had at Friendship Baptist Church this past Saturday, April 5, 2025. We were able to reach out to 240 families. God gave us space to witness to and pray with those hurting families that were in great need. In Jesus' name, many tears and hugs of love and compassion were shared. WHAT AN AWESOME DAY!

Donald Gettens Friendship Baptist Church, Lawton, Oklahoma

This morning, we had a small group that went out in the rain to pass out bags of groceries around our town. We ended up passing out 134 bags of groceries speaking to nearly 200 people. There were 33 homes which had small children in the home. We had numerous people that we prayed for and some that we will be following up with to build relationships over the next few weeks. 

Mark Hall, Comanche FBC