A man who goes by Evangelist James returned to campus for a second time this semester to preach more about his beliefs and values. Students once again gathered around the evangelist in Del Mar College’s free speech zone, located in front of the Heldenfels Administration Building.
Cayce Berryman/Foghorn
Evangelist James preaches to students Nov. 18 on East Campus. It was his second visit to campus this semester.
“I’m not here for myself. … I’m here to see Jesus glorified because he deserves it,” James said Nov. 18.
Unlike with some preachers who use the free speech zone to express their values, most students didn’t find James offensive and in some cases admired what he had to say.
“I think it’s something that a lot of the students need to hear,” said student Ben Desive. “Because it’s the way and the truth.”
Student Carolyn Rose, however, disagreed with what James had to say and how he was handling it.
“I’m an Episcopal, and I go to an Episcopal church,” Rose said. “He’s telling us like well this is right and that’s right, but that’s his religion.”
James hasn’t branched out to other campuses yet and said he has no plans to but will receive direction as he goes.
James wasn’t the only preacher to make use of the free speech zone that week. A preacher who goes by Shawn the Baptist took to DMC on Nov. 16 to express his beliefs as well. Students were listening to what Shawn had to say and not many people were offended by his preaching.
Shawn was unable to give an interview but one of his team members, Pastor Tony, explained what they hoped to achieve.
“Our goal No. 1, is to glorify God,”Tony said.“The Bible says we were created for his pleasure to bring glory and honor into him. Everything we do should bring glory to God.”
This was the group’s first visit to DMC but Shawn has been preaching for a while. “He’s been doing this for nine years and he travels all over the country specifically to college campuses,”Tony said.
Tony shared many of his thoughts and explained what sin is, and gave many analogies to better understand what he’s talking about. According to Tony, people who are lost or have sinned can go to heaven if they accept God as their savior.
“Without the Lord Jesus Christ, they can’t get into Heaven,” Tony said. “And without accepting him as their savior, they can’t make it into Heaven.”
