On a cold Friday evening, five guys hit the streets of Broadway (Downtown Grove City) with incredible acts of love. At 7:15PM, we geared up two Ghostbuster-style backpacks with hot chocolate and broke into “Team A” and “Team B”. Team A was Wes Black and myself (Brian). Team B was Steve McCormick, Vince Gaietto, and Sam Smith. Team A positioned themselves in front of the Little Theatre on Broadway. Team B originally positioned themselves in front of Graeter’s Ice Cream and Plank’s (the local pub).

TEAM A
At 7:25PM, we offered hot chocolate to the elderly ticket sales guy, however, he had coffee so he didn’t accept the offer. By 7:30PM, the people started trickling into the theatre to buy their tickets and seat themselves for the 8PM showing of The Foreigner. We’d say, “Good evening! Would you like a FREE cup of hot chocolate on this cold evening?” We’d hear, “No thank you. We just had a big dinner.” Then we heard that reason again… And again… And again… And again! By the time we heard it for the 5th time I began feeling REALLY BAD. We chose the right place, but not the best means of expressing God’s love. It’s not like they didn’t understand the concept of FREE; they genuinely were not in the mood to have hot chocolate. In total, we asked about 70 people on their way into the theatre and only 7 accepted the hot chocolate. That’s roughly 10%. Wes Black had the genius idea just giving out the million dollar Gospel tracts regardless of their acceptance of the hot chocolate. That encouraged us because we saw people read the tracts as they walked away.

At 8:05PM, we noticed the elderly tickets sales guy had finished his coffee, so we approached him again with the offer of free hot chocolate. He refused the hot chocolate, so Wes gave him a million-dollar tract. He chuckled and said thank you. We stood back and watched for a few minutes. He read the ENTIRE TRACT as he was finishing his shift. That was very encouraging. When his shift was over, he walked passed and said goodnight to us.

By 8:15PM, Team A moved from the Little Theatre on Broadway to the Plank’s area. Like expected, we had tons of people coming in and out of Plank’s. We met up with 4 guys taking a smoke break and had a good conversation with them. We handed out three million-dollar Gospel tracts and accidentally left one guy out. We heard him say a few seconds later, “What! I don’t get one?” We quickly fixed that situation!

By 8:25PM, we had made dozens of offers for free hot chocolate in just 15 minutes (without a single yes). A guy came out for a smoke break and was drinking a cold beer. We offered him hot chocolate but he didn’t think it would taste good with his beer (he was probably right). We struck up a conversation with him about church and where he’s from. He gave us a lot of really good information about Plank’s that we’ll be sure to use in the future!

By 8:30PM, word that we were giving away free hot chocolate had made its way to the bartender. She ran outside and exclaimed, “Are you guys really giving out free hot chocolate?” We thought she was going to throw out, but instead she handed us a big foam cup and asked us to fill it up. She tried giving us a one-dollar bill and she insisted that we take it as a ‘tithe’. I explained to her that we were out here showing God’s love and we were not accepting money. I think she understood, but not really.

By 8:35PM, a woman came outside for a smoke break and she looked really broken. She lights up a cigarette and leaned back slightly in her chair. We walked up to her and offered her some free hot chocolate. She skeptically asked us, “Is it really free?” “Yes,” we said. “Really?” she asked. “Absolutely free,” we replied. “Yeah, I’ll have some.” We filled up a cup and she eagerly accepted it. We also gave her a million-dollar gospel tract. She sat and read her tract while smoking a cigarette and drinking her hot chocolate.

TEAM B
Since I was not on Team B, I cannot provide the exact details on their experiences. Steve tells me it was a good experience and they had the same difficulties with people rejecting the hot chocolate because:
1) They had just eaten
2) They were going in to eat

I think after receiving those responses, they changed their strategy and frequently moved up and down Broadway rather than staying it a single spot. I don’t believe they found many people during their trek because most every shop was closed. Later in the evening (around 8:20), they positioned themselves in front of Graeter’s and approached several people.

Hey, Team B, write your experiences in the comments section when you have a chance!

/// edit 2-13-2006
SUMMARY
I think we came in contact with a little over 200 people that night. If I were to estimate the acceptance of the hot chocolate, a conservative guess would be 10-15%. I will be praying about additional ways we can reach the folks who like to spend their Friday nights at Plank’s, Graeter’s, and The Little Theatre on Broadway (especially in the winter season). I have no doubt those locations will be easier in the summertime.