Displaying items by tag: Outreach

Puna Baptist Church put on a family fun day for families affected by the volcano. One church member wrote on facebook, ‘Puna Baptist Church held a Family Fun Day for the people of Puna. It was a day to just forget about the volcano and have some family fun. It certainly lived up to its name! We had close to 500 people. I was at the registration desk and loved seeing the children’s eyes light up as I told them about all of the things they could do! We were so busy! What a blessing to everyone! I love my church!’ Free hygiene kits were offered by the church and a doctor and a counsellor were also on site. The church members have also been providing a clothes washing service which they've asked members to pray for. Their website reads,’Pray for the Laundry Voucher Ministry to be an effective opportunity to share Jesus with the Puna community’.

The World Cup,from 14 June to 15 July, provides an amazing opportunity for Christians to reach sports people in their local areas through putting on events like a sports quiz or a five-a-side tournament. Christians in Sport have partnered with Scripture Union to provide resources to be used in sports clubs, churches or schools. They have also created a short film, ‘The Greatest Event in the World’, to show at events or share on social media. The film looks at the wonder of the World Cup and compares it to what is an even greater story - that of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.

The Australian Gold Coast recently hosted the Commonwealth Games. What many may not know is that local churches, with the help of Christians from other parts of the nation, undergirded the Games with prayer and evangelism. 43 churches engaged in the 24/7 prayer canopy for the games. The Gideons gave away 10,180 scriptures. Chaplains reported never having seen such hunger or such engagement during any previous Games. There were reports of a friendly, peaceful atmosphere in the village itself. The YWAM team reported 7,000 Gospels of Luke and 6,500 flyers handed out, 10,000 estimated meaningful conversations, and one baptism. Be encouraged and give God the glory! Read the full report on the ‘More’ link.

Long ago, wise men in Eastern Arabia noticed a star burning brightly in the night sky and set out to see where it would lead them. At the end of their journey they found Jesus and presented him with costly gifts - one of which was frankincense. Frankincense trees still bloom today, particularly in the Arabian peninsula. At the centre of this region is a city that is home to six unreached people groups - each with their own specific language or dialect, with unique customs and traditions, divided into tribes and families. As different as each group is, they hold certain things in common: their unifying faith in Islam, their abiding love of camels, and the daily use of frankincense. Every day after evening prayers, the city is permeated by the sweet smell of frankincense as families heat it in burners and carry it throughout their homes. Wise men from Arabia once offered Jesus frankincense: today, He is offering the lasting healing, cleansing and deliverance they seek.

God does amazing things through his Church, often when different denominations work together in unity. Christians who work in this way find they are blessed. This was shown when Bristol HOPE brought together 1,400 volunteers from 3 to 7 April, to take part in a city-wide mission in 25 communities on 170 community projects, 25 events, and 15 family fun days. It resulted in more than twenty people becoming Christians; they are now being followed up by local Bristol churches. The volunteers included 500 young people from Soul Survivor, serving alongside local churches and organisations to bless the local community, putting Jesus’ love into words and actions.

Missionaries in north-eastern China are still engaged in the dangerous work of spreading the Gospel across the border to North Korea, even though at least ten missionaries and pastors have mysteriously died in recent years. They keep at it because they believe their converts will help change religious practice in the cloistered North, which equates Christianity with US-led Western imperialism. The border missionaries provide their North Korean visitors with room and board, and those escaping with places to hide. In return, they ask them to memorise Christian prayers and covertly share what they've learned when they return home.

Easter is a great opportunity for evangelism. Pray for the body of Christ across our nations to recognise every opportunity to talk to the people they meet regularly about Easter’s actual meaning. Pray for each church denomination to be anointed by God to go where He sends them. Pray for a fresh Holy Spirit enabling so that God’s people do all that He has called them to do, and for the Church to use all its resources to impact with power the lives of those who do not yet realise the price Jesus paid for them. May each Easter service be an occasion of supernatural discovery of biblical truths. Pray also for church-based courses and initiatives like Alpha to explode onto the social scene, building influential life-changing bridges in communities not yet touched by Holy Spirit-led evangelism. May the Church see prayer and mission powerfully united, achieving amazing results.

The hip-hop musical Hamilton is now playing in the UK, delivering spiritual messages as it traverses a number of important social issues including race, gender equality, immigration and diversity. Black and minority ethnic actors play the roles of the Founding Fathers, a casting decision that turns audience expectations upside down as soon as the musical starts. After seeing Hamilton, the actress Rosie O’Donnell described it as ‘a religious experience, a spiritual cleansing. Hamilton is medicine that I need for my soul. It is vital to me; it feels like going to church’. People are saying that they are unexpectedly drawn into the presence of God as the atmosphere in the theatre changes. The audience collectively feels a weight, a tension, a presence - perhaps even the presence of God - as deeply spiritual themes saturate the musical. Hamilton built his life on the foundation of grace. See v

Monday: at a missions course in Papua New Guinea, participants came face-to-face with previously unknown realities. Pray for hearts challenged to missions. Tuesday: ‘Bloom where you are planted.’ Pray for Christians to reflect the love of God to all with whom they come in contact, wherever God places them. Wednesday: more than just language learning. ‘God uses my language learning experience to help me understand my walk with Him better.’ Pray for missionaries’ spiritual walk with God. Thursday: the first Amdu Literacy Class graduation. ‘Praise the Lord! A milestone happening here in Amdu! Pray for the team to move forward with exact translation, leading to the future clear sharing of God’s truth.’ Friday: death brings new life. At a funeral people who had never heard the gospel realised they were missing something and expressed an interest in Biblical truths. Pray for these new inquirers.

‘They threatened to kill me.’ ‘They’ are not jihadist groups, they are A’s family. When A committed his life to Christ in 2000, his Muslim family from the ethnic Kotoko people acted as if he had pointed a challenging dagger at them. The Kotoko take pride in the fact that they are one of the few tribes in their region with no known Christians. A said, ‘When all their spells and curses with the help of the local medicine man failed, they tried to kill me themselves.’ More than once, his family tried to poison his food. One night, strangers kidnapped him and took him to an unknown destination. ‘On the way there, I prayed for God to confuse them so that they could release me. And He did! They just let me go without saying anything.’ A and others face constant insults, exclusion and danger from their families when they become Christians.