Hello all! As usual, things got busy and my newsletter is late. But God has been very good and I have been very busy. There’s a lot to praise Him for and a lot on the horizon, so I hope you will be encouraged, that you’ll keep us in prayer, and that you’ll consider supporting the work if you are able. And, of course, if you would like to join us on the steeets, if you have difficult questions you want to discuss, or if YOU need prayer, never hesitate to reach out. I pray I can see or talk to each of you soon, and that God blesses you and your family.
Dan B. 408-768-9262 dan@yoursoulmatters.org
You can also give to our work at: https://dan.livethegospel.net/donate/
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING
Christmas Outreach – 2025 gave us a ton of great Christmas outreaches, but with more variety this year. Previously I have spent most of my Christmas outreach time at Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose. This year God gave me some other opportunities, and as good as CITP is I’m praying for more variety going forward. We had a team out in Morgan Hill’s holiday lights parade, which went well. I joined a team from Redeemer Bible Church to hand out tracts and share Christ for the City Team Ministries Christmas giveaway, where they provide help to underprivileged families, and I spent a couple of nights at Christmas on the Hill, an event our church’s main campus hosts to share the Christmas story. It was a lot of fun! All three events, and Christmas in the Park led to great conversations. Please pray for all the seeds that were planted.
(Lt to Rt, Top to Bottom – Christmas on the Hill in Morgan Hill, Christmas in the Park (CITP), Cityteam Ministries Christmas giveaway, an intense conversation at CITP, talking with a pastor and his family from Mexico)
University Ministry – University ministry has been going very well, and particularly at San Jose State. I have good relationships with a lot of students, both believers and unbelievers, who stop by to talk, to ask questions, and to ask for prayer. God has also put together a great outreach team. Most weeks there are four or five of us! It’s also a blessing to see other Biblical college ministries out interacting with the students. Sadly we have to deal with some unbiblical groups too, some who specifically target Christians. If you have kids in or heading to college, reach out and I’ll pass on some good resources to help keep them safe.
Stanford is going well too, though not quite as busy. We have regulars there too, which is nice, and I’m starting to build relationships with members of a few campus clubs. But unbelievers there stop by regularly too, and that’s a great thing. We had non-Christian student say hi recently and call us “My favorite proselytizers.” It was meant kindly, and I took it that way. And to hear that from someone who, based on their lifestyle, is far from God, is a high compliment!
(Lt to Rt, Top to Bottom – Our outreach team at San Jose State, At Stanford with our friend Doug Pyle from Chosen People Ministries, 4 more conversations at San Jose State)
Kurt’s Visit – Becky and I recently had the privilege of hosting our friend and fellow OAC missionary Kurt Schafli recently. Kurt is originally from Switzerland, and was called to come to the US to minister to Native Americans. He has been working in the Wind River reservation in Wyoming for 35 years, and has some amazing stories! While he was in town to update his passport (the Swiss Consulate General’s office is in San Francisco) he was able to join us for ministry. It was particularly fun when he joined us on the Flight 1080 radio show. Kurt has a vast knowledge of scripture, prophecy, and Hebrew culture as it relates to the time of Jesus, and was able to share some of it with our listeners. We should have a shortened version of the show up soon. We also got to play tourist for a day. We took him to Big Sur, since he doesn’t get to see the ocean much. It was a great visit!
(Lt to Rt, Top to Bottom – Kurt visiting Big Sur, Kurt preaching at Streetlife Ministries, On the air on the Flight 1080 show, with the KSCO radio team)
Mexico Trip – Last week I joined a team from my church, West Hills Community Church, on a mission trip to Mexico. Though I am a full time missionary, most of my mission work has been here in the States, and this was only my second mission trip out of the country. It was exciting and eye-opening. We were able to build one house from the ground up, and add a room on to another house to bless two local pastors. It was amazing to watch the team, many of them contractors with many years of experience, start with a concrete slab and end with a fully functional house, complete with furniture, household goods, and even a full refrigerator. What a blessing and encouragement!
Many people had a specific part to play. Mine was to share the gospel, though I helped with the some of the construction too (mostly painting, not surprisingly).We also did two afternoon Bible clubs with the kids from a local church. I had the privilege of giving the Bible lessons. One I read in Spanish as I painted (with a translator nearby to help), and for the second I had a translator, but spoke as much Spanish as I could without notes. The language is still challenging, but it is getting easier. I may have a possibility to go back to Mexico in the near future to do some Evangelism training, so now I’m preparing for that as best as I can. Pray God helps my memory.
I had or participated in a number of deep gospel conversations while there too, praise God. Interestingly, one of the best was with a couple of Mormon missionaries who came by the big house on the final day. I challenged them from scripture on a number of fundamental Mormon doctrines, and it was interesting that the two actually disagreed on some of those doctrines with early Mormon prophets, and with each other. I told them I would pray that when they got reassigned, it would be reassigned to our area, and then I would have a chance to talk to them again and buy them a meal. They also both took gospel tracts. Please pray that we can meet again.
(Lt to Rt, Top to Bottom – Working late to get the house done, spending time with family and neighbors, handing the house over, teaching on the feeding of the 5000 at VBS)
BE ENCOURAGED! (Stories from the Streets)
What is True Repentance? – One of my newer outreach opportunities is with Streetlife Ministries. They provide meals for the homeless, but every meal is preceded by a gospel presentation. I am preaching at one of their locations monthly now. While I was preaching there recently, a young man asked a key question; What is true repentance? What a fantastic question! I think God allowed me to explain the concept clearly and Biblically, but you can be the judge. The video clip is below. 🙂
Hair Salon Evangelism – When you share the gospel message, whether through preaching, conversations, or just handing out tracts, you never know who is going to be impacted. While I was sitting at out tract table at the Great Mall a month or two ago, I had an unusual tract request. A lady was getting her hair done at a salon within sight of the table. She must have been getting a perm, and showed up at the table with her hair still up and her smock still on. She wanted something to read while her hair set, so she took a couple booklets. The picture below shows her reading them. I love it when God does fun, quirky things like that!
WHAT’S COMING UP
Echo Ranch – This year will be my fourth at Echo Ranch Bible Camp in Alaska. I’ll be there at the beginning of June, and will be working with the seven to nine-year-olds again. I truly love this place! Please pray for them and the great gospel-focused work they are doing. Also, please pray for their camp preparations. One of their buildings collapsed from heavy winter snow and I’m not sure they’ve gotten it repaired yet. There are some info links on the camps below.
Kids Bible Clubs Being Planted – We are continuing to move forward in the process of planting a couple of kids Bible clubs. One is planned in Capitola in partnership with Calgary Chapel Capitola. We had an introductory meeting recently and have a number of congregation members interested in helping. Will be scheduling a team training soon.
We’ve also been looking at the community of Hollister for a kids Bible club. In addition to the English speaking congregation I’m connected with there, I’ve also been able to connect with a Spanish-speaking pastor who is in the process of planting a church there. Both are interested in helping, and I’m excited about the possibilities! That pastor and I did a prayer walk and some recon there last weekend.
Please pray for both locations, and that God will bring the right people, both volunteers and children and adults who need to hear the gospel message.
MINISTRY/PRAYER NEEDS
Financial Support: I’ve been with Open Air Campaigners since 2015, and focused full time on the ministry since early 2025. Please pray for continued provision, and consider supporting out work if you are able. We are still trusting God month to month, since on paper we don’t have enough, but have been blessed with several one-time gifts. No matter what happens, God’s calling is clear, so we’ll continue on this path, but we are praying God provides more stable monthly support.
Family – Please pray for those members of our family who don’t know Christ. Also, please pray for our second grandchild, who is in process. More details to come!
Also, Becky and I will be celebrating our 30-year anniversary at the end of May! God has been very good to us, and I’m praying for at least another 30 with my amazing wife!
Our Church – Please pray for wisdom as I look for outreach opportunities specifically to encourage our congregation to get out to the streets and share Christ more. In particular I’m trying to get to make connections at a local mall nearby for a literature table.
Thanks all for your interest in this ministry, and for making it all the way through to the end! If you have any questions, any prayer needs, or if I can encourage you in any way, please send me an email or give me a call. God bless you!
OTHER OUTREACH PICTURES
(Lt to Rt, Top to Bottom – ROW 1 – Downtown Palo Alto, Downtown Mountain View, Capitola Beach
ROW 2 – Streetlife Ministries speaking to the homeless, Monterey Waterfront
ROW 3 – At Hilldale Mall with Calvary Chapel San Mateo, A new sketchboard
ROW 4 – Downtown Palo Alto, Capitola Beach, Downtown San Jose
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