This will get you arrested and jailed in Vermillion, South Dakota!
Greetings, dear friends, in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12). Alas, such is not America in these dark and troubling times. The warnings are clear: “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Even more sobering: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the NATIONS THAT FORGET GOD” (Psalm 9:17). Thankfully, the United States of America is not my savior and neither are blasphemous and self-proclaimed “messiahs” fraudulently campaigning for political office who profess to represent “change we need.” Ha! The nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket and less than dust before the Judge of the Universe (Isaiah 40:15), and the kingdoms of men in all their glory will be crushed by the Stone cut without hands and scattered like chaff on the summer threshing floor. The Stone, the coming Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, will then fill the earth as a mighty mountain (Daniel 2). Justice, my friends, will be served. Jesus Christ is coming back soon, and boy, is he mad (II Thessalonians 1:7-10). REPENT! GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES!
The occasion of my writing this night is to sound yet another alarm: our freedoms in this nation are being taken away right under our noses. Yesterday, two close friends who have partnered with Full Proof Gospel Ministries on numerous occasions (Jon Lane of Platte, South Dakota and Shawn Holes of Lake Placid, New York) were arrested in a traditional public forum on the campus of a public university in South Dakota simply for distributing Gospel tracts (University of South Dakota in Vermillion). SMALL TOWN AMERICA, PEOPLE. Like Matthew and me in Hickory, these were charged with trespassing on public property. Jon Lane, being a South Dakota resident, was arrested, formally charged, and then released. Shawn Holes, however, was forced to spend time in jail and made to pay a $150.00 bond for release. Prior to the actual arrest, a “Safety Officer” from the university physically assaulted Shawn, grabbing and breaking his camera. Both of these brothers are gentle and humble spirits who are bold to share their faith. I have spent countless hours with these on the streets, and I am more than confident that both would have handled this situation with respect and decency toward the authorities or offended parties. Check out video footage of the incident to see for yourself. As was the case for me in Hickory, NC, this is a clear case of discrimination against the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we need to speak out. The funny thing is this: Several years ago, when I pedaled a bicycle across the United States for the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I pedaled through Vermillion, South Dakota and stopped on this very campus. There, I distributed Gospel tracts and witnessed to several students at a street crossing. Of course, I encountered no problems, but as the lyrics of an old Bob Dylan folk song go: “The times, they are a changin’.”
When Matthew and I were arrested in Hickory, it was your voices that ultimately led to the dropping of charges and the freedoms we were able to later enjoy at Oktoberfest. People from all over the area, the country, and the world flooded the relevant authorities in Hickory with emails and phone calls, expressing disdain and concern over what had transpired. I am asking you to do this again on behalf of these brothers. Circulate this information to as many Bible-believing Christians as possible, and let’s flood the contact information posted below with our concerns. I already made relevant phone calls today:
James W. Abbott
President, University of South Dakota
Tel: 605-677-5641
Email: president@usd.edu
Art Mabry
Chief of Police, Vermillion, South Dakota
Tel: 605-677-7070
Email: amabry@vermillionpd.org
Teddi Gertsma
State’s Attorney, Clay County, South Dakota
Tel: 605-677-7107
Email: teddi.gertsma@claycountysd.org
If Christians do not speak out now, while we still have Constitutional Freedoms, Constitutional Law, and an abundance of Case Law in our favor, it will soon be illegal in the United States to proclaim the Gospel. Still, I won’t shut up, and I pray the same will be said for you.
These are decent Christian brothers, my friends, and at least help them out by voicing your concerns. Shawn Holes is an evangelist after my own heart. He travels around America with his wife and two teenage children, sharing the Gospel on the streets of countless American cities. Jon Lane pastors a small church in Corsica, South Dakota that regularly supports our ministry. He has also served with me in Nepal and Bangladesh, and both of us were blacklisted from Bhutan for sharing our faith in that closed country. Your prayers, telephone calls, and emails concerning this matter, a matter that ought to gravely concern all Bible-believing Christians (especially when coupled with numerous other incidents like this all around America), would be most valued. Thanks in advance.
Last weekend, we ended up not attending the Barbeque Festival in nearby Lexington. The weather was lousy and ended up being the determining factor. Please continue to pray for us as we seek out other opportunities to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness. Lately, I have been pedaling my bicycle all over Catawba County while flying a Christian Flag that reads: “Repent or Perish. Prepare to Meet God.” It only seems appropriate with all the political claptrap in the air. It is almost comical to see those who tout tolerance, tolerance, tolerance get so angry at my flag. Others are encouraged. Today, a car followed me for awhile and then pulled up beside. An elderly lady handed me two twenty dollar bills out the window. I tried to refuse, but she insisted. I promised to use it toward the printing of Scriptures in Nepal. She thanked me for the message and drove on. What a blessing; $40.00 will print almost 300 copies of John/Romans in Nepali. For more information on this work, see Project Jagerna.
After the Election, we are considering a bit of traveling, possibly a jaunt outside of the country. Join us as we pray for wisdom. It’s hard for me to sit still too long when the Gospel needs to be proclaimed and the return of the Lord so near.
If you would like to send a note of encouragement to our brothers who were arrested in South Dakota, here are the email addresses:
Jon Lane: godspromise4us@yahoo.com
Shawn Holes: luketentwo@mac.com
Thanks in the name of the Most High God. Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied” (Jude 2)
Jesse Boyd
P.S. With regard to the upcoming election, I stumbled across a bold and gripping editorial the other day. I must say that I concur with adamance. To see for yourself, CLICK HERE.
