I Wish You Could See What I See

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady

I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35-36 NIV

I wish you could see what I see. I remember church revivals in the late fifties and early sixties. Members filled a pew with their friends and neighbors. Each night, the pastor preached. At the end of the service, the members sang and prayed as people flooded aisles, weeping and crying out for Jesus. When we saw the fruits harvested, revival filled our souls. People need revival.

I wish you could see what I see. I don’t know if churches stopped having revivals because members stopped inviting friends and neighbors or if those friends and neighbors stopped accepting the invitations… but something changed. Now people tell me no one invites them to church. A pastor and I went witnessing together in the blocks surrounding his church. To his astonishment, six people prayed to receive Jesus in just two hours and many others thanked him for the invitation to church. One young man said that he had passed their church every day, stopped to read the message on the marquis, and had always wondered what it was like inside. People want an invitation.

I wish you could see what I see. People leave some churches without knowing how to meet Jesus personally. I don’t know if those churches forgot to tell them how, did not know how, or began assuming that everyone already knew how. One very religious woman sternly said she believed in Jesus, prayed every day, and “hoped” she was good enough to get into heaven. When I mentioned that God loved her so much that He sent His only Son to die so she could have eternal life, she agreed with me. When I mentioned that the wages of sin was death, she also agreed. When I said that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved and that she needed to confess with her mouth and believe with her heart, she sounded surprised. When I invited her to make it personal and invite Jesus into her life, she said, “I’m in a hurry. I’ll pray if you can do it in 4 sentences.” I could and did and when we ended with her inviting Jesus into her life to be her personal Lord and Savior, tears flooded her eyes. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” was all she could manage. She hugged me because she finally knew what was missing. After that, we said way more than four sentences to each other. People want to know “how.”

I wish you could see what I see. The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a place where 100,000 young people gather to spend four days listening to music and partying hearty. A handful of Christians with the Sojourners Fellowship in Manchester, Tennessee led 98 people to Jesus. Last Halloween weekend, thousands of young people poured into Athens, Ohio to party at the Halloween Block Party. About a dozen Christians led 350 young people to Jesus. Young people want to hear about the one true Jesus.

I wish you could see what I see. Christians wring their hands over the spiritual state of America and believe God has given up on America. I visited a church and witnessed 12 people walking forward to receive Jesus. On July 4th, hundreds crowded around our booth on the mall outside the Capital building in Washington DC just to hear about Jesus. Over 500 people prayed to receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit is still convicting Americans.

I wish you could see what I see. In the last four weeks, 282 strangers eagerly prayed with me to invite Jesus into their lives. When they prayed, what I call “The Holy Spirit Glow” filled their faces. A young man named Erick invited Jesus into his life and asked if he could hug me. A young mother prayed to receive Jesus, burst into tears, and said meeting Jesus must be the reason she decided to drive 15 miles to take her children to the park. While some said no, few were offended when I shared about Jesus. People want to hear good news.

I wish you could see what I see. After spending a day watching me witness, a pastor said, “I feel like I’ve been let out of a cage.” A woman who spent a few days following me and praying as I shared, shared her faith with someone on the plane ride home. Another called me 48 hours after following me and excitedly said he’d just led someone to Christ. When Christians discover how easy it is to share their faith and how much people want to hear it, their faith deepens beyond their wildest dreams.

I wish you could see what I see. In the last four weeks, I've traveled through 13 states and shared the Gospel with many people. People were so eager to receive Jesus that it hurts to be sitting in my house writing this. The world wants and needs Jesus.
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

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40 In 3 - Here Am I, Send Me

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isa 6:8 NIV

How can I possibly explain what it feels like to be with 40 people in just 3 days as they pray to invite Jesus Christ into their lives? That is what happened to me on July 4th at “Christ on the Mall” in Washington DC. Every year, Christians come to our nation’s capital, set up booths on the mall outside the Capital Building, and tell people about Jesus. I was there with Inside Out Ministries from Seattle, Washington. Hundreds prayed with our group to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was like a hot dog stand. People crowded around and waited to talk with us.

I’d use words like awesome or amazing but I looked up the definitions and these words weren’t big enough to describe my feelings. Thinking about it “takes my breath away,” brings on renewed tears, and for some reason, leaves me feeling strangely unworthy of such an honor. I want to leap for joy and shout it from the tops of mountains. I want to call everyone who donated to Pocket Full of Change Ministries and say, “People will be in heaven because you gave money.” I long to experience it again and fall to my knees with pleas of “Here am I, send me.”

We were giving out free Liberty Bracelets that had colored beads to represent the way to true liberty. The gold bead represented heaven and the amazing plans God has for each person. The dark bead represented the sin that separates us from God. Red is the color of the blood Jesus shed to give us a way back to God. White is the color or purity and represents how God sees us when we invite Jesus into our lives. Green represents the growth we have in a relationship with Jesus. We gave out 5,000 bracelets to people of all races, nationalities, religions, ages, and genders.

A man named George waited in line for his bracelet. As I tied it on, I asked if he knew where he would go if he died today. It seemed a harsh question and I don’t usually start that way, but the Holy Spirit urged me.

“No,” he shuddered. “I want to go to heaven but I worry about it all the time.” George was a well-dressed man who looked to be in his 50’s. Nothing about his countenance indicated his concerns about eternity and yet it was there.

“Do you believe in Jesus?” I asked. “His birth, death, and resurrection?”

“I guess,” he said. “I just can’t stop worrying about hell.”

I explained what the bracelet meant and why Jesus died on a cross. “The Bible says that you only need a tiny bit of faith. It describes it as the size of a mustard seed. It sounds like you have at least that much faith. I suspect you’ve made mistakes and feel you deserve hell,” I offered gently. His tears affirmed the truth.

“I’ve tried to make up for them,” George said. “Nothing makes me feel better.”

“The Bible says everyone has sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Sin is the Bible word for mistakes. If you’ve sinned, you’re in good company. Everyone has. In God’s eyes, all sins are equal, so you sins are no better or worse than any other person.“

George was listening intently so I continued. “You’re right to worry about hell because the Bible says the wages of sin is death. The good news is that the Bible also says the gift of God is eternal life and that all who call on the name of Jesus will be saved. You’ve done the hard part. You already believe in Jesus. All that is left is for you is to call on the name of Jesus and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Let’s do that right now.”

“Please,” he begged, visibly trembling.

“Pray after me,” I said. “Dear Jesus, I believe in you. I know you died on a cross and rose from the dead for me. Help me with the part of me that doesn’t completely believe. I have made so many mistakes and feel guilty. I ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my life right now and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for my salvation.”

“Thank you,” George said, as he finished praying.

“Do you need to sit down?” I asked, leading a shaking George to a folding chair.

“I do,” he said, taking the offered seat under the tent. As George tried to compose himself, Christians all around us were praying with people. It was almost 100 degrees but Inside Out Ministries stayed on that mall for over 13 hours, constantly leading people like George to Christ.

“You don’t ever have to worry about hell again,” I told George. “That issue is settled. You remember your mistakes but God has already forgotten them. You probably need to make amends to some people in your life but God has forgiven you for all of eternity. The angels are throwing a party because you’ve invited Jesus to be your Savior and a place for you in heaven is already being prepared.”

“Thank you,” was all George could manage to say.

“Thank you Jesus,” I whispered as George left. I’ve been on the 2010 Pocket Full of Quarters missionary journey since April 1st. I’ve visited 29 states, driven 14,000 miles, and 85 people have prayed with me to receive Jesus. I’ve been present as hundreds changed their destiny through prayer. People long for Jesus because He is worthy. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. (Matthew 9:27)

Have you prayed the words, “Here am I send me?” If not, you cannot imagine what you are missing. God probably won’t send you on the road as He does me, but there are people like George in your grocery stores, shopping malls, and parks. Look for them. They need to hear about your Jesus. Ministries like Pocket Full of Change Ministries need funding. Donate so we can do the work God has called us to do full time. Pray, “Hear am I Lord, send me.” Go into the world as God calls. Please, do not miss the joy of being a part of leading people to an eternity with Christ.