How to spend an hour in Prayer for this country (short version)

On another tragic day in the life of this nation, I am reminded and even warned again that I need to be in prayer. I sincerely believe that the only hope for a country that judgement has been declared on is found in Jonah chapter 3. Repent and call urgently on God.

Prayer is mentioned so many times in the Bible, and yet so very many professing Christians do not pray. We know we should, we are supposed to, its the right thing to do, we just don't do it.

For many (I would say most) Christians, asking them to pray for an hour seems daunting. So I put together this quick guide to help you.

How to pray for this country for an Hour:

10 minutes: Still yourself and read Jonah chapter 3. Ask God to still you, and show you what He wants in this passage.

10 minutes: Spend some time confessing your sin. (Sin is anything God is displeased with). Repent from it and turn towards God. If you can't remember them ask God to show them to  you.

10 Minutes: Spend this time praying for Our President and our leaders. Whether you agree with them or not. Call out to God to grant them Wisdom in leading. Ask God to give them a heart for him. Earnestly plead for their repentance (turning away from sin and towards God)

10 Minutes: Spend this time praying for the families of those who were shot. In this shooting and all the others. Call them by name. Plead for their comfort, salvation, and restoration.

10 Minutes: Spend this time asking God for a Great Awakening of true spiritual Revival. Confess the sins of our country, our ancestors (yes that Biblical), and anything God brings to you Mind.

10 Minutes: As God to grow you spiritually. To bring genuine Revival in  your own life. To find, know, and develop the gifts He has given you when He put His Spirit in you. Ask God to burden  you to continually pray. To seek His face not just what he can do for you.

You have spent an hour in prayer.

Do this!! Share this!! Pray to God while He may be found!

Why I refuse to have Black friends!

I am white.
I am southern.
I am conservative.
I am Christian.
I live in South Carolina.
My great great grandad served in the Civil war for the Confederacy.

I stand before you today saying that I am proud that I do not have any black friends. I'm also so proud that I don't have any white friends. Oh sure I have friends. I have a friend named Robert who is black, but he's not my black friend. I have a friend named Trent who is Irish American, but he's not my Irish buddy. My friend Michelle is a full blooded Cherokee, but he's not my Native American friend. My friend Desi is Caucasian as they come, but he is not my white friend. My neighbors are from Colombia, but they are not my South American friends.

No, they are ALL just my friends.

Not my black, white, red, yellow or any other colored friends.......just MY friends.  Despite the slant this whacked out PC world tries to SPIN it. I am from South Carolina and I ONLY HAVE FRIENDS.


I wouldn't want it any other way.



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Truths for your Church I learned from over 850 Wild game Banquets.

I started speaking at Men's events and Wild game Banquets back in the 1990's and since that time I have had the privilege of speaking at over 850 events all over the country. Here are a few truths I learned during that time.

1) The Best Game Banquets are done on Weeknights not weekends. -  The reason for this is simple. Guys who hunt and fish do so on the weekends. Show me a Wild game Banquet that is on the weekend, and I will show  you one that is primarily filled with Church goers. An event planned on a week day breaks up the work week for a guy, while still allowing him to talk about hunting and fishing. Choose your times wisely.

2) The Venue makes a difference.- Churches that do their Banquets away from the Church building find they have much better success, because guys who don't know Christ have a thing about walking in a church. Ive heard Church members say: "Well they should want to come to the House of God" Well two things: the building is NOT the house of God. God dwells in people not buildings. (Acts 17:34) Secondly if they wanted to come to your church they would be there. Choose a venue that is non threatening to the non church goer. Give them the chance to hear the good news.

3) "Ambush Evangelism" will hurt your Banquet in the future-  Ive heard Jason Cruise who is in my opinion the leading authority on reaching men through hunting and fishing. Talk about this in his blog: http://jasoncruise.com, and I have seen it as well. A speaker will get everyone to bow their head and close their eyes with the promise of not embarrassing  anyone. However the moment a hand is raised he will tell them to look up and move to a counseling room or to talk with a counselor. This destroys credibility for future Banquets as an outreach event. I had a seminary professor that said a speaker should spend as much time preparing their invitation as their message. Don't bait and switch. Make sure your speaker knows how to extend an invitation and let God work.

4) Churches that use a response card do a much better job of "Follow up" than those that don't.
Following up on decisions made at a Wild game Banquet or any Evangelistic event is critical. Too many churches put more energy and planning in the physical food than the spiritual food. A response card used at the end of a decision time can give the church the valuable and confidential information they need to help a new convert grow and stick. Sometimes a follow up can help deepen up some commitments that a person may not have fully understood. I suggest using your response card at the end for your door prize card. Just make sure that everyone fills one out, and that decision is kept private.

Wild Game Banquets can be an amazing outreach tool, that will draw people that would not otherwise darken the doors of  your Church if they are done with prayer, care and a little thought.

Things Ive learned from BASS Pros about preparing for Bow Season!

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Over the window in my office hangs the Wells coat of arms. Underneath it reads one of the few Latin phrases that I know by heart. Semper Paratus which translates loosely "Always Prepared".  Now I am sitting here in the middle of July with the temperature hovering around 94 with 80% humidity, and suddenly it dawns on me that bow season in my state only about 3 weeks away! I can't tell you how many times I have let the season slip up on me, and I find myself totally unprepared. So what do I do? I look to some over looked experts for help.  You see one of the coolest secrets that I have learned while traveling with the BASS Elite Series Anglers is that some of the best Bass Fishermen in the world are also some of the best Bow Hunters as well. I have had the privilege of getting to hunt with as well as pick the brains of some of the best Bow hunters on the tour. Here are a few things I picked up from some really neat BASS Pros that just may help you get ready for bow season just in time!

1) Get your legs in shape. That's right your legs! Bow hunting can be one physically demanding sport. From the walk to your spot, to the climbing of the tree, without proper physical conditioning you can set yourself up for failure.  Clifford Pirch is a BASS Pro that hails from Payson Arizona, but when hunting season rolls around he is an Elk guide. In case  you don't know it, Elk hunting is a synonym for  "Hiking". Payson has some of the largest Public hunting areas in the country and they are loaded with Elk, and if you want to get them you have to walk them down! Cliff Pirch is a walking machine. Ive learned from Cliff that not only do the "legs feed the wolf", they also make bow hunters better.

2) Practice holding at full draw.  Over the last ten years or so I have had the privilege to get to hunt with Shaw Grigsby on several occasions. Shaw has one of the most successful fishing shows of all time in "One More Cast", but what everyone doesn't know is that he is literally a bow hunting guru who has executed shots in excess of 60 yards! One of the best things I learned from Shaw is to watch tv while holding your bow at full draw. Being able to develop the muscles that allow you to hold your draw longer will put you in a position to make stealthier and more ethical kill shots. I spend a lot of nights holding that string back while watching my favorite shows aka The Bassmasters, and Major League fishing.

3) Have the correct tools to set your stands correctly. Several years ago I got to go on a Mission trip to Joplin Missouri with BASS Pro Brent Chapman. We went in just days after the devastating tornados literally destroyed the city. Brent brought a team of workers and was a powerhouse with a chain saw. He had various types of extensions to reach most every situation we met. I asked him why he had so those and his answer was "tree stand placement". You don't have to have top of the line equipment, but having the correct tools to be able to clear, conceal, and hang your stands can be the difference in filling a tag or not.

Getting Prepared is critical. Whether in fishing, hunting, or your spiritual life, being prepared is the key!

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My insights on blogging and 40,000 views!

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I have been blogging on and off since 2011, and the Bass chaplain blog just hit 40,000 views!  On that note I would like to share a few insights on my blogging adventure, and also give a shootout to some upcoming things we will be doing!

1) Blogging is a powerful medium- I have written some so so blog posts and a couple that were read by over 18,000 people, and I have discovered that this form of communicating and sharing can be an extremely effective tool to reach and engage an audience.

2) With good blogging comes great responsibility-  Blogging can evoke tremendously passionate responses. I have had people unfriend me, curse me out, and I have been threatened. I have also been told that some of my blog posts have changed people's lives for the better. I have found that carefully posted excerpts from my blog can be powerful starting points for meaningful dialog. That is a responsibility I don't take for granted.

3) Blogging is about timing and consistency- Blogging forces me to be more aware of what is going on in our world. Carefully timed blogs can skyrocket your influence. At the same time haphazard and periodic blogging can really hurt. Too often I get on blog streaks, and then go months without posting. Blogging must be consistent to be effective.


**The next several weeks are going to see a huge shift in our Social Media presence. @Basschaplain has added over 1500 new twitter followers in the last 3 weeks and my goal is to have over 20,000 by the end of the year.

 In addition we will be adding a new Bass fishing/Hunting website to provide challenging and effective informational content to our audience. We are also excited to announce that we are wrapping a new truck for Wellspoken Ministries. The goal is to take that vehicle to every event I speak at (68-79 events yearly) with a wrap designed to start faith conversations. A new website is in the mix as well that will include video and information on how to book the Bass Chaplain.

Fishing til He comes,

Chris Wells -The Bass Chaplain

Starting Faith Conversations!

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According to recent statistics, 90% of Christians in the denomination that I am a member of will never share their faith one time. It always stuns me to think how as  Christians we have the greatest news of any generation to share, and most of us will never share it. I speak to Men's groups all over the country and I have observed that men can share with each other about Football, basketball, fishing Hunting Finances, business and a plethora of other things with absolute ease. Yet when it comes to sharing our faith, men become deaf mutes. Now I don't propose to have the answer to every Christian man who doesn't share his faith, but I do think that more often that not it comes down to "how to start".  I have found that if men can  just get the ball rolling, sharing about our faith becomes much easier. I want to offer some ways to help you kick those faith conversations off.

1) Remember you aren't called to save anyone. As a matter of fact, you can't even save  yourself. God does the saving. We are called however to share. You are successful every time you share your faith, not just when someone is converted.

2) Look for ways for them a start the conversation for you. Right now I am on my way back from a trip to California, where I have gotten to share my faith nearly 40 times. We drove two wrapped boats across country, and let me tell you a wrapped boat is a faith sharing magnet. I had people from all over the country walk right up to me and ask me about the truck and boats, giving me a perfect in to share Jesus. Now I know everyone doesn't have a wrapped vehicle, but there are other ways to get people to ask. Wearing a Christian T-shirt, carrying a Bible, reading a Christian book, or listening to Christian music can all be great ways to start faith conversations. When I am around fishermen I carry a little key chain of a lure made by Rainbow baits. The colors of the bait tell the plan of salvation. Get creative to help those conversations going.

3) Develop telling your personal conversion story. Sharing with people how you met Christ can be one of the most powerful ways that you can share. People will often argue about the Bible, theology, and religion, but no one can argue about what happened to  you. Its a great way to share, however when you do get your story down to around a minute. Yeah that's right I said a minute. When I share my story I use the "Before, How, Now" Method. What was my life like before I met Christ? How did I meet Him? What is He doing in my life right now? This is great way for you to begin to share Christ.

The more  you share your faith the easier it gets to learn how to share, and when you start, God will use   you. There is nothing more exciting than being used of God to change lives.

That's a Wrap!

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Today I am writing this entry for two reasons. First to share the faith stories of my "Wrapped Truck". Second because its time to "Re-Wrap" and we are looking for partners. Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with Wrapped vehicles, I will give you a crash course on their purpose and effectiveness. Basically a wrapped vehicle is when a company puts a vinyl covering over a vehicle in order to draw attention and to advertise. For years people have purchased advertising on Bill boards and in Yellow pages, but imagine if that Billboard could actually go where your customers are? Enter the wrapped vehicle. Marketing experts tell us that a wrapped vehicle generates over 40,000 impressions for every 6 hours it is on the road. In addition to that, a wrapped vehicle lasts much longer than a Billboard. In the BASS fishing world where I minister, wrapped vehicles and boats are the standard by which most companies advertise. So what does this have to do with Ministry? Ill tell you.

I have found that one of the reasons that most people don't share their faith, is because they don't know how to start. My wrapped truck gives me a perfect opportunity to start. In the years that I have had my truck wrapped, I have shared my faith hundreds of times and have seen many people trust Christ. In addition it allows me to share with people what I do, and gives me scores of opportunities to minister to people who are hurting. I will share with  you a couple of stories.

 Several years ago former BASS classic winner Randy Howell, shared with a company that wraps trucks about my ministry. They called and offered to wrap my truck as a gift to Wellspoken Ministries. I picked up the new wrap in Birmingham Alabama, and set out to drive to the Classic which was in Shreveport Louisiana that year. 15 minutes after I got on the highway I got a phone call. The caller said "I just passed you on the interstate, and I saw that you are a Christian speaker. How do I become a christian?" I had the opportunity to lead him to Christ over the phone. One summer, our family was staying down at the beach. As we were cleaning up to leave, we realized we were out of glass cleaner. I was given the task to go fetch some. I pulled into the parking lot at CVS and saw a man staring at my truck. He walked directly to me and said " Do you pray for people"? He was going through a divorce and took a walk to try and figure out his life. I had the opportunity to lead him to Christ in the parking lot.

I have so many testimonies just like those, of scores of people that walk right up to that vehicle. Now do you have to have a wrapped truck to share Christ? Absolutely not, God can use whatever we give Him as long as we are willing to be used.  So with that said, we are looking for Sponsors for the new Basschaplain Wrap. If your business of company is interested they can contact us through email or by phone. We have a number of sponsorship levels. Take Care and Keep telling people about Jesus!


To contact us about wrap Sponsorships:

(864) 414-9453
Chris@chriswells.org