“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Philippians 3:8-9 NKJV
In his study Bible, Warren W. Wiersbe wrote: “Paul’s phrase ‘knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord’ means much more than knowledge about Christ, because Paul had that kind of historical information before he was saved. To ‘know Christ’ means to have a personal relationship with Him through faith. It is this experience that Jesus mentioned in John 17:3 – ‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’ – You and I know about many people, even people who lived centuries ago, but we know personally very few. ‘Christianity is Christ.’ Salvation is knowing Him in a personal way.”
Free hamburgers attracted teenagers to TTT. In the early 1970s, “Burger Bash” was planned to be in TTT’s three-car garage, but a sudden rainstorm made us move everyone to the basement. As more came, everybody kept moving further back, sitting on the floor to make room for more. Nearly 400 teenagers crowded into the basement that night. After the invitation to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” everyone moved up to the garage for free hamburgers.
Because of the large crowd, the garage was equipped to serve as a meeting place, providing chairs to accommodate.
When the decision was announced to accelerate plans to construct the TTT Christian Communication Center, each teenager attending was asked to prayerfully consider giving a dollar each week. The results were reported to the TTT board of directors and building committee.
Working with architect Jack Kinkel, the plans had to be revised three times because of the projected costs.
Hearing the song “Dreams” was especially meaningful: “When the dreams that you’ve made seem to crumble and slowly fade, and everything seems to go wrong, just remember though Him in your weakness you can be strong:
don’t give up on singing your song. When you pray about dreams and sincerely believe through Him that all things are in His control, then you’ll find rest and peace and the happiness within, by singing the song in your soul.”
Offices were built in the basement as God sent special people to work together taking the Gospel to more and more teenagers, with many making the decision to know Jesus Christ personally, as Paul had done.
As Warren Wiersbe wrote: “Paul looked at his own record and discovered that he was spiritually bankrupt. He looked at Christ’s record and saw that He was perfect. When Paul trusted Christ, he saw that God put Christ’s righteousness to his own account! More than that, Paul discovered that his sins had been put on Christ’s account on the cross. And God promised Paul that He would never write his sins against him anymore.”
Meanwhile, TTT’s executive board and building committee approved a much more affordable plan, continuing to work with architect Jack Kinkel.
The TTT Christian Communication Center was dedicated Saturday, November 4, 1978.
Between Saturdays, multiple methods are utilized by TTT staff and volunteers to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ via daily radio, weekly newspaper columns, copies of God’s ABC’s of salvation, other printed materials, billboards, public gatherings, one-on-one sharing, and any and every means and media available.
TTT’s doors open at 6 PM every Saturday. An impact rally begins promptly at 7:27 PM for those attending in person and via livestream. Every first Saturday, free food is available at the conclusion of the rally. September 7 is to be “Burger Bash” with free hamburgers for everyone attending in person. God willing, it is to be TTT’s 3,058th consecutive Saturday.
Every 10-19 year-old attending will receive a special TTT Bible. Each adult who transports 10-19 year-olds to Burger Bash will receive a complimentary copy of “Divine Direction” by Craig Groeschel.
Continuing to “pray about dreams,” we’re encouraging every Christian to join us to “pray without ceasing” for the vision to be realized: Every youth, before turning 20, to hear the Gospel with an invitation to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” is our priority. Will you pray about making this your priority too?