Jesus is stirring and shaking things up in a good way throughout our fellowship and community! I am always so excited to send an update with the highlights of God’s good work being done here. Many times, I struggle to keep up with documenting the events happening here.
As the local students prepared to take their annual exams, we served our community children and teens by distributing school supply kits. These kits included: pens, pencils, rulers, erasers, sharpeners and some chocolate treats. We wanted to encourage the students that we know to do their very best. We had an amazing opportunity to share the Good News and Jesus, as the friend of sinners, to these students through songs and stories. Additionally, we prayed as a church for all of the students.
Our outreaches from February through March included going into government run programs that help children and youth who have been sexually trafficked. As we move by faith into serving our city, we often get opportunities for social work and worship. In my country, currently, Christians are not openly welcomed in many places that are run by the government. But the favor of God has been on us as we go boldly into any venue as the Holy Spirit leads.
Our ministry team also reached a large Catholic community and was welcomed to preach, teach and lead worship amongst the people in that colony.
Whenever we reach out, the feedback we continually receive is that people are feeling very encouraged, set free, and connected to God. We are so thankful that Jesus continues to send us out and open doors where we can be Salt and Light.
An interesting aspect of our native culture is an extreme affinity for movies and cinema entertainment. In this nation, celebrities are elevated above idols, and many times they are literally worshipped as gods. Actors and actresses alike have shrines and temples all over my country dedicated to praying to them as deities. People are fanatical about movie-going, and they experience addictive habits.
Sometimes Jesus asks us to redeem parts of our culture that would otherwise be used as a stronghold of the enemy. In our fellowship, we have cultivated a family atmosphere through “Movie Night.” Many pastors would go so far as to preach against all forms of movie entertainment or film watching. However, I decided to use this to my advantage and bring the people in to fellowship and be encouraged.
Every month we set a date on our calendar for Movie Night, as a church. We watch amazing films and movies about missionaries, Jesus, and other stories from the Bible! We serve snacks like popcorn, samosas and chips plus soft drinks. We project the video on our church wall and gather together to be inspired and entertained. The believers learn so much through these visuals, and they have been blessed by having occasions to be together for wholesome entertainment.
Please pray that Jesus will saturate every area of our lives as we continue to surrender to His Lordship.
Thank you, as always, for your care and concern for the saints of our country. We know that the prayers of the saints avail much!
Special Property Update:
In our previous updates, we touched on the fact that our fellowship is multiplying. The increase in the number of households attending our Bible Studies and worship services has not only outgrown our physical space, but we also now need a morning and evening Sunday worship service and more house visits to keep up with all the needs of the believers.
We began praying and asking the Lord what to do, given our current situation!
As we have been praying, we were approached by an older woman selling her property. She wants us to purchase her plot of land at half price. We verified with a reliable real estate agent that her offer is legitimate and that she is really selling it at half price of the market value. It’s amazing!
We have continued to pray and believe it is a part of God’s plan to expand. The property we are hoping to buy is very close to our existing location, and it would not disrupt or hinder the believers from continuing to attend services.
The property includes a spacious yard and a 3-room building/home that could be renovated to remove some walls in order to have a larger meeting hall, with bathrooms and kitchen access. Some roof repair may be required. The total amount of land is nearly 2000 sq. feet.
Our current meeting room is located on a rooftop and is approximately 12′ by 12′. The combined number of believers currently coming to our services is consistently 50 or more. We do not have space to put up chairs for every person, so the people crowd in and sit on mats. More people spill out into the stairway to listen. Our people would be so blessed to have a church home where we could all gather together as a family to worship Jesus. So, what would it cost for our fellowship to expand? Right now, we have estimated $60,000 for the purchasing of this property. We have already received donations from local believers totaling $7,123.
We are sharing this update to have everyone who loves us to pray into this endeavor, and to make our need known.
This is not merely a church project. In fact, we believe strongly that it is more than a project, it is God’s ongoing plan here in our country for more revival.
Thank you so much for keeping up with the Lord’s work in us and through us.
In His Love,
Pastor 6*
*Names have been changed or omitted for security reasons.
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