by Michael Tolosa

During the week before Christmas, my fiance Megan Beckwith, friend Dan Hong, and I handed out over 150 Christmas-themed New Testament Bibles in Washington, DC. We stood between the White House and the National Christmas Tree and passed the Bibles out to appreciative tourists visiting the U.S. capital. Each group we encountered seemed to speak a different language — but all seemed to understand the words “Christmas story” and “free.”

“Did you get one of these?” I would say to get their attention, “They’re free.” When the passersby inquired what I was handing out, I would tell them, “It’s the original Christmas story.” Most would gladly accept the free gift, while the others would politely refuse.

We encountered many fellow Christians, who encouraged us and thanked us for doing the Bible handouts. One woman said she was completely surprised and inspired to see someone doing what we were doing in DC. A pastor even stopped to bless us. The park police officer patrolling the National Christmas Tree area told us, reluctantly, that we had to move further down the sidewalk away from the Christmas Tree, because there was no soliciting allowed. “I’m a fellow believer,” she said, “And I think what you’re doing is great.”

Inside each Bible, we included a Christmas-themed Gospel tract, so that everyone who received a Bible also received a clear Gospel message. That is, after all, the point of all of this… To reach the Washington, DC area with the message of Jesus Christ.

In addition to the handouts in DC, I was also able to hand out 100 Bibles at Tysons Corner Mall in the affluent area of Tysons Corner, Virginia. In total, we handed out nearly 300 Christmas Bibles last week. We have more Bibles to hand out, including 100 Spanish-language Bibles we’d like to distribute to low-income areas of Langley Park, Maryland in the coming weeks.

Please pray that our commitment to hit the streets with the Gospel message would remain strong, that we would find more people to help us, and that God would bless our efforts and use these Bibles to reveal Himself to the people of Washington, DC.