Displaying items by tag: Outreach

Many thousands of Christians came to Melbourne for ‘Awakening Australia’, as part of a mission to bring 100,000 Australians to Jesus. Leaders spent the weekend preaching the gospel, leading people to Christ, and commissioning them to share the love of Jesus with others. Participants included Bethel Music, Todd White, Heidi Baker, Jake Hamilton, Daniel Kolenda, and Bill Johnson. ‘Hundreds were born of God as they responded to Jesus. There is truly something remarkable happening in Australia! There is an Awakening, a sound in God's people here, that will shake the nation’, said Ben Fitzgerald, leader of Awakening Europe. The weekend saw powerful moments of freedom, deliverance and salvation, followed by mass baptisms for those who gave their lives to Christ. Thousands proclaimed the gospel in the streets. ‘I can't believe this is happening in Australia,’ Fitzgerald said.

Aisha (not her real name), 27, grew up in a Muslim family. Her father was devoted to Islam but constantly mis-treated her mother, and Aisha never heard him speak even one kind word to them. The more she watched the oppressive treatment, the more she asked why Allah had created her a girl. She began to reject Allah and his rules. One day she asked her mother why she allowed her father to beat her. 'Allah gave him that authority,' her mother replied. 'Then I don’t want to be a Muslim,' she cried. In response, her mother slapped her in the face. 'That is profanity against Allah; you were born as a Muslim and you will stay a Muslim till you die.' Later, talking to a friend at work who was a Christian, Aisha noticed that her friend frequently mentioned God’s name in their conversations. She described her home life, and her friend referred Aisha to her pastor. In time she gave her life to Jesus, accepting him as Saviour and Lord.

Six years after the first episode of ‘Reading the Bible with Ulrich Parzany’ went on air, the Christian TV station Bibel TV will broadcast a new devotional section, starting on Sunday 4 November. In it, Pastor Ulrich Parzany deals with Matthew's Gospel in 164 episodes. Viewers will get to know the clarity of the Bible and the relevance of the biblical word for us today. The programme’s content and language is carefully chosen to reflect the fact that it is watched both by Christians and non-Christians. Other books available on Bibel TV’s website are Luke, Acts, and Romans.

Christian Unions (CUs) are groups within schools for young people to explore Christianity and develop their faith, usually meeting during a lunchtime. They are typically student-led, sometimes with teachers present, and every group is different. We can pray that this year’s CUs are powerfully outward-looking to their non-Christian friends. May many Youth Alphas be used in the CU meetings. Being a young person who wants to follow Jesus in 2018 is not easy. It is difficult just to survive in their faith through the years of change in their teens. Reaching friends for Jesus takes a serious amount of courage and character. Pray for more parents, church leaders, and youth workers to stand with these teenagers in a show of support and encouragement as they work towards transformation in their school.

There are many vicars reaching ‘the unreached people groups’ in the UK. There is Nigel Rostock, a vicar with a Harley-Davidson who says that being a biker makes it easier to minister to people on the edge of society. He is part of the ‘God's Squad’ motorbikes club - touching the lives of addicts and outsiders who would never step inside a church. Another vicar, Gavin Tyte, is called Snoop Doggy Dog Collar because he is a British beatbox vicar. He was chosen to judge the World Beatboxing Championships in Berlin. Also across the nations café-churches are springing up - churches in the community where all are welcome and coffee and cakes are served along with faith-based ad hoc conversations. There are many outreach activities like Street Angels and Street Pastors who do what they can to help and counsel people on the streets after pubs and clubs turn out, or Causeway Prospects who promote and help churches to reach and teach people with learning disabilities. (Linda Digby – Prayer Alert Team)

How do you persuade someone who already thinks they’re a Christian to become one? The largest mission field in Western Europe is not self-identifying atheists or Muslim immigrants; it is people who call themselves Christians but exhibit few, if any, signs of faith. A Pew Research Centre report stated that people who identify with Christianity, but rarely or never attend church services, make up the biggest segment of the region’s population. 46% of Western Europeans are non-practising Christians, 18% are regular church attendees, 24% are religiously unaffiliated, and 5% follow other faiths.

‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.’ (Isaiah 45:22) ‘Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.’ (Acts 3:19) On 23 August hundreds of Christians from a wide variety of churches gathered in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow for the first of the ‘Encounter’ meetings to launch The Turning - Scotland. For ten days (23 August to 3 September), in Edinburgh and Glasgow teams will spread out to share the Gospel in one-to-one conversations. At the time of writing over 250 had signed up to take part in Edinburgh, over 100 in Glasgow, and around 65 in Aberdeen; these numbers may increase as the week goes on and word spreads.

‘Prospects’ groups are based on two main principles. Firstly, that all people should have an opportunity to hear the Christian message including those with learning disabilities, and secondly, all people are capable of responding to the Christian message because it is a matter of belief and trust, not intellect and ability. In the UK one in fifty people have learning disabilities and Prospects seeks to befriend such people, explain the Christian message in a relevant way, and provide a sympathetic environment where people can grow in their understanding and respond to the message. Prospects meetings can be held in church halls, for meeting-centred ministry, or in the home of a helper, or a residential home for friendship-centred ministry. Helpers make home visits, take people out, provide transport and above all engage in personal discipleship in a way that people with special needs can respond to.

In 2016 you prayed for Nurse Sarah Kuteh who was dismissed from her job after talking to patients about her Christian faith and giving a Bible to one patient. After dismissing her, Darent Valley Hospital reported Sarah to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), questioning her 'fitness to practise'. For nearly two years the NMC has held a series of hearings to determine whether Sarah would continue to be able to practise as a nurse. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the NMC panel unanimously ruled that Sarah was fully 'fit to practise' and revoked all restrictions on her nursing practice.

Across the country youth workers and church members will be running holiday clubs this summer. Pray for energy and innovation for all the leaders; for peace to permeate each activity, regardless of any unforeseen pressures; for safety for all and for incredible relationship-building across the age ranges; for all the different holiday club material to be used wisely; and for God to anoint with power those who are gifted in storytelling, leading music, dance, arts, crafts, games and creative teaching. May thousands of young people recognise God's love for them this summer and respond to His call on their lives. Pray for the Church to impact not just the children but whole communities, as families are inspired through outdoor Christian celebrations, church fetes, and parties. Pray also for all the many week-long Christian mission retreats, Bible weeks and camping events. May millions of lives be challenged and changed this summer.