Sharing the Gospel

While attending an event given by the American Veterans Assistance Group in May of 2016, Doreen Matsumoto was so impressed by the presentation of the gospel and how they handed out Bibles afterward that she knew she had to be a part of it! But it wasn’t going to be easy! An elite Green Beret veteran led this group and he needed to see the fruit of her labor proven, and Doreen was more than up for the task. She did not serve in the military, but her heart is full of love for those who did.

Two years earlier, she had given her life in full surrender to Jesus as her Lord and Savior, and completed ministry school with honors as well as became an ordained Chaplain through the Riverside Police Department. She also had considerable experience and knowledge from running her own successful business. It was this relationship with Christ and the skills and talents He gave her that would lead her to serve people and share the gospel!

Doreen managed to put on some very successful fundraisers including raising money to provide vets with down payments to get into their own homes. When she was given the challenge to raise money for a police officer who was hit by a drunk driver while on duty, and only had seven days to do it, no one thought it was possible. Doreen made it happen and raised over fifteen thousand dollars! But the miracle didn’t end there; she made it a point to visit the officer in the hospital herself in order to give him the money, figuring it would be a great opportunity to pray for him and share the gospel.

She told the officer, “I have an ulterior motive for being here, I wanted to pray with you.” He seemed unphased and told her “I know, Jesus told me. When I got hit and my legs were pinned up against that car, I needed to come to Him.” Doreen said, “There’s no time like the present, do you want to accept Jesus into your heart?” The officer said yes as his wife cried happy tears next to his hospital bed. Doreen would continue to visit him in the hospital to share scripture and disciple him.

Today, he is healed, walking, and raising two beautiful children. The fruit of her labor was surely evident, but Doreen says, “Doing all the labor beforehand was nothing compared to the joy of this officer coming to Christ.”

From organizing outreaches for veterans and housing the homeless to counseling and sharing the gospel to the community, she is amazed at all that God is doing and thankful to be a part of it. “People need to have the work clothes of Jesus on at all times, we thank our vets for their service but we don’t do anything about it. They need our help even with the small things like putting up a TV, or fixing their sink, or providing them with a new couch. They need to see the love of Jesus, even the nonbelieving vets.”

Tonight, she definitely has her work clothes on. She’s invited several veterans to come and experience the SoCal Harvest Crusade, many for the first time. Doreen reminds us, “God opens doors, and all we need to do is walk through them.”