Our most recent guest on the Everyday Faith podcast is Jonathan Weibel, a husband, father, and the founder of Front Yard Missions. Keep reading to learn more about our amazing chat about God, the Gospel, and sharing the good news of Jesus with those around us!
Meeting God in Philadelphia
Growing up Jonathan was a jock, musician, and a partier who started drinking when he was in seventh grade. This pattern of partying and drinking continued throughout his upbringing. One night while he was getting high in college, an advertisement for a book called, “The Power for Living” came up. Jonathan and his friends thought the concept of this book was hilarious and they began making fun of the book and its author. Jonathan’s friends even went so far as to get him that book as a “gag gift”. While on a trip to Philadelphia, he took the book with him.
The neighbors he met in Philadelphia loved God with a passion. Jonathan referred to the mom of the family as Aunt Carrie. Her family invited him over every evening for dinner. He went over for dinner all the time! Little did Jonathan know that this couple was diligently praying for him and believing God would allow them to minister to Jonathan. At the same time, Jonathan began reading “The Power for Living” which his friends bought him as a joke. However, it was no joke to Jonathan. After finishing this book, Jonathan quickly knocked on Aunt Carrie’s door, and said, “I need Jesus. Can you help me?” She took Jonathan by the hand, they walked to the couch, and they knelt together in prayer. Jonathan received Christ right there in Aunt Carrie’s living room.
After this spontaneous salvation, Jonathan met one of our former podcast guests, Paul Moore! Paul was someone who discipled Jonathan during this time and began to teach him the core pieces of the Christian faith.
Hear our podcast episode with Paul Moore: Miraculous Healing in College with the Everyday Faith Podcast.
During this time of discipleship, Jonathan knew that he was a sinner, he knew that Jesus had saved him, and he believed one of his main jobs as a follower of Jesus was to tell other people about him. This “zeal-mixed-with-stupidity” era bore a lot of fruit, simply because Jonathan knew there was a need to tell others about Jesus. It wasn’t manufactured zeal or external pressure that motivated him, it was simply the joy of inviting others into the faith that saved his life.
The Ministry of Being “With”
During the heyday of Christian rock, Jonathan joined a band with his friend and discipleship mentor, Paul Moore. The name of the band? Witness! Whether their crowd was 5 people or a couple hundred people, Jonathan always wanted to share his faith through music and through his testimony.
A wild story that Jonathan shared with us was how a woman, 20 years after his band’s touring days, shared her testimony of finding Jesus through the band Witness. How incredible! God uses the gifts and talents that each of us have to minister to those around us. Even if you don’t have a band that you are a part of, sharing the Gospel every day through the gifts God has given you is a great way to see the kingdom of God on earth.
Hear from Greg Stewart, designer and lead animator at The Bible Project on how God uses your gifts and talents for ministry. See our post: How Art Can Open Doors for Faith Conversations
The Launch of Front Yard Mission
After years of sharing the Gospel with those around him, Jonathan felt led to encourage those around him in evangelism. He now runs a ministry where he empowers Christians to think of their neighborhood as their primary ministry, called Front Yard Mission. He funnels the word “neighbor” into three different criteria: global, local, and tribal.
Global is the entire earth: when you go on vacation, when you see family abroad, and when you go on mission trips. Local is your primary community – your friends, your neighbors, and your connections. Tribal is your community that’s niche – so think of a game club, chess club, or even the Bernese Mountain Dog Club.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37- 40
One testimony from Front Yard Mission was from Jonathan’s Bernese Mountain Dog Club. A neighbor from this club had their dog suddenly die. Jonathan and his wife invited them over and wept with them as they grieved their dog. Jonathan shared with the grieving neighbors that he believed their dog, Finnigan, would be in Heaven. He added, “I hope you will too,” and began to share the Gospel with his friends. Even though they didn’t surrender their lives to Jesus right there on the spot, Jonathan’s story challenges us to live emotionally available and to be with those who are grieving.
Read our interview with Jeannie Barron: How to Find God in Life’s Most Vulnerable Moments
Missional Living through Crock-Pot Evangelism
During our talk with Jonathan, he reminded us that sharing the Gospel is the overflow of your life! As he engaged his neighbors and followed Jesus’ commands, he learned that neighborhood ministry is crock-pot evangelism rather than instant-pot evangelism.
A few years ago, Jonathan and his daughter decided that they would do an Alpha course with various friends and neighbors in their living room. A couple of the attendees were already believers and a few of the other attendees had never met the Lord. At the end of the course, three people gave their lives to Jesus.
One of their neighbors who attended the Alpha course was a war veteran who lost both of his legs after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan. During week seven of the course, Jonathan and his daughter shared the Gospel with the entire group. His neighbor who was a war veteran happily told him, “Oh, I already accepted Jesus this week!” What brought him to the Lord? A song by a Christian death metal band!
God can use anything to bring people to faith in Jesus. For Jonathan, his extremely extroverted nature has opened doors for him to share the love of Jesus with so many people. Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, it’s important to use the gifts that God has given you.
Learn more in our blog: Embrace Your Uniqueness When Sharing Your Faith
Love Your Neighbor by Praying for Your Neighbor
Since the day Jonathan and his family moved into their neighborhood, they’ve been intentionally praying for their neighbors. When you pray, God does mighty things! Jonathan intentionally prays for their eight closest neighbors as a way to bless and honor their neighborhood. Through the app, Bless Every Home, public data about the names of your neighbors can help you pray for them by name, even the ones you haven’t met yet!
Learn more about how you can pray continually: 8 Ways to Pray Throughout the Day
Once while walking his Berense Mountain dogs, he encountered a neighbor he hadn’t met before. However, he knew her name from the Bless Every Home app. He casually said to his neighbor: “Hey Beth! How’s it going?” His neighbor, Beth, asked, “How do you know my name…?”
Panicked, Jonathan ran through all the potential options for how to reply. He decided to be honest and said, “I learned your name from the internet.” He then began to explain that he prays for his neighbors every day, through the Bless Every Home app.
After their interaction, she came over to Jonathan and said, “Hey, I’ve been struggling with this thing. Could you be praying for me?” Jonathan was able to pray and be the hands and feet of Jesus to his neighbor, Beth!
Learn more about sharing your faith and being a person of prayer: How to Evangelize in your Relationships
Conclusion
From Front Yard Mission to his band Witness to a lifestyle of prayer, we left our interview with Jonathan encouraged, inspired, and challenged to share our faith each and every day. Here are some simple ways that you can follow in Jonathan’s footsteps to bring Jesus to your neighborhood, your workplace, and your relationships.
Belief: As modeled in Jonathan’s stories, a lifestyle of prayer is the most intentional way to practice your faith each day. Prayer is as simple as talking to God!
Mission: Never underestimate the power of inviting someone over for dinner! One of Jonathan’s practices when people come over for dinner is to serve them through the place of prayer. Jonathan and his family explain to their guests that they pray at every meal and then ask, “Is there anything I can be praying for you about?” So many lives have been impacted by this simple exercise to live on mission!
Obedience: A simple prayer to follow in the ways of Jesus is to pray for God’s will. Just like in the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus taught his disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer. For Jonathan, he often prays: “God, help me to change the atmosphere!” This simple act of obedience has opened doors for him to pray for others and share the Gospel.
Community: This is probably our favorite takeaway from our interview with Jonathan Weibel! When neighbors come over to their home, Jonathan and his family hand their neighbor a Sharpie and invite them to write their autograph (or a picture) under their dining room table. What a fun idea!
To learn more about strategies on how to reach your neighborhood, order Jonathan’s book: Front Yard Mission today! You can also stay up to date with all that God is doing at the Everyday Faith Podcast by following us, wherever you listen to podcasts.
