Testimonies from Dakota Fest in Mitchell South Dakota 2026 – by Jeff Goss

I have ministered at Dakota Fest in Mitchell South Dakota for several years and this was one of the more fruitful ones. It is so important that we continue to minister outside the four walls of the church because 90 percent of people that get saved get saved outside the four walls of the church. Even though I had gone to church for the first 14 years of my life, it wasn’t until I went to a football camp at Sterling College in Sterling Kansas where a Kansas City Chief football player and other players and coaches told me the plan of salvation from the Bible.  

Pastor Jon Potter is ministering the Gospel at Dakata Fest in Mitchell South Dakota

I said all that to say this: at these farm shows where we minister, we meet people all the time who have gone to church their whole lives but still have no clue how to be saved. A perfect example of this was when a nice family from Minnesota came to our booth at Dakota Fest. They were church goers, but after talking to them for a while, I could see that they were taught that they had to earn their way into heaven and if they did enough good works, they might get into heaven. I shared with them that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that there is none righteous, not even one. The book of Isaiah (64:6) tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags. After I explained to them that it is by grace that we are saved through faith, and not of works lest any man should boast, the whole family, husband, wife, and kids all prayed with me to receive Jesus. They seemed so hungry and sincere to pray with me the sinner’s prayer. The dad even told everybody to take their hats off when we pray.  

Pastor Jon Potter from Mitchell Assembly of God church is sharing with a couple of young boys

I ministered to another older lady who repeated the sinner’s prayer after me and she got teary-eyed. When her husband joined her at the booth, she told him she just got saved.  

People of all ages that came to our booth, and a number of them prayed with us to receive Christ into their lives.  

We even had several who were French/English-speaking people from Quebec Canada that prayed with us to be saved including a husband and wife.  

People of all ages visited the FCFI booth at Dakota Fest

We were blessed to have Pastor Jon Potter from Mitchell Assembly of God Church help us and then we could steer the people living in his area to go to his church. Even though Jon is a pastor, he also has an evangelistic gift, which is a big benefit to us.  

Pastor Jon Potter is sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ

In closing, Matthew 24:14 tells us, “And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Every time we preach the Gospel to someone, we are hastening the return of the Lord Jesus so keep on sharing your faith until that last trumpet sounds.