Transformed at a Parade!

Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. – Romans 12:12

A week or so ago I posted about the annual outreach I led at the traditional St. Patrick’s Day parade. https://seekingdivineperspective.com/2026/03/17/whats-wrong-with-this-picture/ This event attracts about 10,000 people each year – a pretty formidable mission field. Ever the fun-loving teacher ( 😉 ), I made up a 4-question, multiple choice quiz that we give to willing participants, and the oft-untold story of St. Patrick has opened up some dialogues about Jesus and salvation. We seldom see dramatic life changes on the spot, but we have been faithfully “planting seeds” each year, trusting that the Lord will water and bring the increase in His time.

This year there were several other things going on that day, and when only one individual said he planned on joining me, I was disappointed though not surprised. Nevertheless, I reasoned that if Jesus sent His disciples out two by two, He was certainly capable of using the two of us to plant seeds in at least a few lives that day. I loaded the pile of quizzes in booklet form into my green tote bag, along with a few Bibles, in case we talked with anyone who didn’t own one. This year I had also made some green and gold laminated bookmarks with shamrocks and some Bible verses about salvation, the Trinity, and slavery. (St. Patrick had at one time been a slave, but the Bible tells us that we are all slaves to sin until we are saved and set free through Christ’s death and resurrection.)

When the morning of the parade arrived, I was getting that awkward, hesitant feeling I get before “putting myself out there” – that feeling that says, Maybe I’ll just stay home… But I did have one young volunteer named Ben, who didn’t seem to mind being the only other person going. (Or at least he didn’t let the low turnout stop him. He said something about letting his “yes” be “yes” [Matthew 5:37], meaning, I guessed, that he’d said he was going to come, so he would, whether he felt like it or not.)

When the “team” met at the church for prayer (all two of us), it seemed Ben was feeling the same way I was. He confessed that he wasn’t very good with striking up conversations with people, especially people he didn’t know, and this was definitely out of his comfort zone. I told him he could start out just holding up the clipboard with the questions and answers, and I’d do the talking, until he was more comfortable. We spent some time in prayer, giving the afternoon to the Lord, and headed over to the parade route.

Each year the outreach team arrives at least an hour before the parade starts. We had learned quickly that it’s not good to try to engage people while they’re trying to watch the parade. On the other hand, after many go out of their way to get there ridiculously early to be able to find a parking place and grab a good spot to watch the parade, they’re then just waiting around for it to start. During that time, they socialize among themselves, but they’re also very open to talk to people they don’t know – especially someone who approaches them with a fun game to play.

Ben and I had no trouble getting people to help us with our “research” – How much do people really know about St. Patrick? Before we were finished with the first group, Ben was inserting his comments and joking with the participants. As in past years, there were high-fives and cheers when someone got a right answer and laughs when they’d pick one of my made-up stories as the reason behind the tradition of the shamrock.

As usual, those we interacted with were friendly, pleasant, and receptive to what we were sharing. As the parade went on and we were approaching clusters of people who didn’t seem to be watching at the moment, we found their “friendliness” often, shall we say, “enhanced” by the beverages they had been partaking of. But they gladly accepted our “freebies,” sticking them in their pockets and purses. We prayed they’d later read them and give them some serious thought when there were fewer distractions, and they were well rested and sober.

Surprisingly, we ended up sharing with people almost every quiz we had brought, and we gave away every bookmark. And not surprisingly, we saw no one fall to their knees, crying out, “What must I do to be saved?!” We were planting seeds and praying that someone, somewhere, sometime, would have his or her life transformed.

It later occurred to me, though, that I had seen transformation! My reluctant, maybe-I’ll-just-stay-home attitude had changed. Of course, I see that happen every year, in fact, every time I’m stepping out to do something I think God’s calling me to do. (Ben suggested that those feelings could be some spiritual warfare, and he’s not wrong.)

But the transformation I wasn’t expecting, I had witnessed in my young ministry partner – the one who hadn’t been sure he could talk to strangers, much less share the gospel with them – who by the end of the afternoon was walking up to groups of parade goers, saying, “Hey, how’re y’all doing? Would you like to help us in a little research?” When I would kiddingly congratulate myself on my creativity when people believed one of my made-up answers, Ben had started telling everyone I was a published author. And by the end of the day, he’d been loudly and enthusiastically sharing the gospel with people he had just met, while I quietly stood by, thinking, Preach it, brother!

So, yes, at least one transformation took place that day. And after seeing Ben boldly present the local ministry team the Power Point presentation of the outreach he wanted to head up next month at the parade before the Kentucky Derby … I have a feeling he’s not going back.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You came so that we could be “born again” – new creatures. Thank You for enabling us to do whatever is Your assignment for us, even if it seems out of our comfort zone and beyond our abilities. We know nothing is impossible for You, and we are so grateful. In Your name, amen.