Last outreach for this sem

Today was the last campus outreach for this semester. 

And I was so blessed by the different ones we spoke to.

The first girl:

We were sharing the gospel tract with her when she said that she was a christian too. 

And she is on her way to meet her christian friends.

That was quite encouraging for me because I have spoken to so many people before but most of the people I met were non-believers. 

The next girl:

She was sitting alone when we went to talk to her and shared about the gospel tract. 

I think she didn't really want to talk to initially.

But she slowly opened up when we continued befriending her.

She then said that she is open to learning more about christianity and may join our life group.

She also said that she just visited the doctor cause she had pain in her right ear so we prayed for healing for her right ear.

The guy we chased:

We crossed path with this guy and my partner said she wanted to talk to him.

So we turned back and chased after him.

We said hi and introduced ourselves.

He was a bit confused and asked what is this about.

We showed him the gospel tract and asked if he has seen it before.

He said that he is a christian too and he is also from singapore!

Really so surprised cause i rarely met christians or singaporeans when doing evax.

We talked a bit and encouraged each other.

The last girl:

My partner said that it is her second time seeing this girl and wants to talk to her.

So went and said hi.

Turns out she lived in singapore before too! :O

Then she said she is studying med so my partner asked if she knew her housemate who is studying med.

And they do know each other. Woahhhhhhh.

And she lives super near my partner!

We also shared the gospel tract with her but she said that she is a buddhist.

So we just invited her to come for life group to try it out if she doesn't mind.

Today was just really encouraging for me.

There are some days where I face rejections after rejections but today went really well.

It is really such a privilege to be able to bless others and share God's love.

God's plans

A few sundays back, I was going in for pre service prayer. 

I saw my friend from my life group talking to this chinese lady.

My friend stopped me and introduced me to her.

That's when I found out that she actually came to school to do her assignment but overheard the sounds from morning service and decided to pop in to ask what's up.

And she ended up asking my friend who was doing ushering that day.

Since she was still a non-believer, I decided to wait with her outside for service to start and also get to know her better.

I shared the four spiritual laws with her and also told her more about Hope Brisbane.

She also opened up and shared very openly to me.

When it was time, we then went in for service.

That day I was just so amazed. 

That lady came to study but ended up being drawn to the sounds from morning service and ended up attending afternoon service.

We have our plans but God's plans always prevails.

Like how she planned to study in school.

Like how I am always early for pre service prayer and got introduced to her.

We both did not know what was going to happen.

But God planned this.

She doesn't join us because our service and life group is in english so it is hard for her to understand.

But she attends a chinese church with her homestay family.

So i really hope that she will continue seeking and find & know God for herself.

Seekers training

Objective of seekers: bring them closer to God. Safe environment for non-christians and new believers to ask question, learn the gospel, and listen to our testimony/experiences. Seekers will help in their progress but ultimately, God brings the conviction to each individuals.

What are the 4 spiritual truths?
1) God created man. He loves us and have a purpose for us.
2) Man sinned and sin separated us from God.
3) Jesus came to pay the price for our sin
4) We have to make the personal choice to come to repentance because we are given freewill

Questions we can ask to get them thinking:
-What do they know about Christianity?
-Who is God to them?
-How do you handle crisis in life?
-How do you define sin?
-What do you believe is your life purpose?

What are some lies/stumbling blocks to the spiritual laws?
Lie 1) God is not real because he allows suffering
-Explain how suffering came about (Genesis-when Adam and Eve rebelled)
-There is a remedy for suffering- Jesus
-Clarify the heart of God. God is a loving father and it hurts Him when His children is in pain. God may allow suffering to happen for different reasons.
-One reason is that there are things we can learn from suffering. (Can also share a testimony of how you grew/ became who you are because of something you went through)

Romans 5:3-4New International Version (NIV)

3 Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

-Another reason is that God may be glorified through suffering. Temporary suffering compared to long term vision. (Can talk about Nick, author of Life without limbs)

John 9:3New International Version (NIV)

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Lie 2) I am a good person and I do not need God

-Some people may think that they have never done anything wrong and hence have not sinned. But having sinful thoughts, even if they did not act on it, counts too.

-God sees us as equal, and sin is sin, big or small.

-It doesn't work like accounting where you are good to go if your good deeds surpass your bad deeds. If you did something bad, your good deeds cannot write off your sins

-Everyone needs God 

Lie 3) It is not possible for one man to die for everyone's sin.

-Jesus was fully human but he was also fully God.

-Jesus had conceived supernaturally, and he was the only man who lead a life without sin despite being tempted, and he resurrected from the dead- testified by witnesses.

-Only a man with no sin (Jesus) can die for us, with sin.

-Sin entered the world from one man- Adam. So sin can be forgiven because of one man- Jesus.

Lie 4) I'm not ready to commit to Christianity.

-Find out why they think they are not ready

-Varies from case to case. Be sensitive and discerning.

-One of the common reasons: family is against them being a Christian. If you had a similar experience, can share. If not, gently tell them that the best thing they can do for their family, is to introduce Jesus to them so that they may be saved. If the seeker is the only one who knows God, the seeker is the only candle and if even the fire from the candle goes off, what will happen?

-Another reason: I don't know enough. I would honestly tell them that when I accepted Christ, I did not know everything. And even now, I still don't know everything. I am on the journey of learning more. God is not looking for someone who knows everything, God is looking for someone who wants to know God. God will embrace you for who you are so don't let this thought stop you.

-Another reason: I am not good enough to be loved. God love me not because I am good and I am saved not by my deeds/strength. 

Ephesians 2:8-9New International Version (NIV)

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Tips on preparation:

- Be diligent and give your best. See every opportunity to minister as the last (they may only come once, who knows?)

-try to find out who is coming so you have an idea of the dynamics

-be familiar with the sinner's prayer

-anticipate common questions

-find common grounds

-you may disagree but respect their values and opinions

-fast and pray before the session

Romans 1:16New International Version (NIV)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

This is amazing grace - Bethel

Seekers: Life is this it? Alpha Lesson 1

Led seekers (for non christians and new believers) last friday!

It was my first time doing seekers so I'm thankful I was doing it with R cause I had the support I needed since I didn't have any experience.

We are using the material from Alpha.

Here's the video we used for the first lesson!

A general introduction to kick start Alpha.

I also learnt a lot while facilitating the class.

"If something is true, isn't it true for everyone? 

And if something is not true, isn't it not true for anyone?"

"Christianity is a statement where if false, is of no importance. 

And if true, of infinite importance. 

What it cannot be, is of moderate importance." C.S Lewis

Pay it forward

Not sure if you have heard of pay it forward before but it is basically blessing a stranger by an act of kindness, in hope that they will pass it on.

Something like this video...

UQ7 gave out flowers/ drinks together with a handwritten verse & card with our church's info.

Acts 20:35 "it is more blessed than to receive."

Victory over temptations

Just reached home after mentoring with my mentor and it was good (as always).
Today's topic is victory over temptations and here are the key points!

1) Know the victory is already won
-Satan was defeated on the cross
-The victory is won, not on our own strength but because we are in Christ

Romans 8:35-37New International Version (NIV)

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

2) Walk in step with the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-17New International Version (NIV)

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want.

3) Recognise the temptation for what it is
-temptation is not sin, yielding to temptation is.

Genesis 4:6-7New International Version (NIV)

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

4) Know the way of escape
-rely on God power to escape

1 Corinthians 10:13New International Version (NIV)

13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

5) Live a life of daily submission to God

James 4:7New International Version (NIV)

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

6) Avoid obvious areas of temptation

1 Peter 5:8-9New International Version (NIV)

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

To conclude...

1 John 5:4New International Version (NIV)

4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Best day of my life

PRAISE GOD!!! One of the girls I met during orientation outreach joined us for friday life group, saturday eat street market, and sunday service. And during service on Sunday, she accepted Jesus into her life as her personal Lord and Saviour.

I am just overjoyed!! Being able to be God's tool and witnessing her salvation.
I am also really encouraged by her child-like faith and her heart to want to know more and grow in faith.

Honestly, I was really really surprised when she responded during service because it was her first time attending a church service and she did not know much about Christianity/ God. When she came back to her seat after the alter call, I explained to her the fundamentals of what we believed in (4 spiritual laws).

I also explained to her what we did during service and the meaning/significant of it (praise and worship, communion, offering, sermon, alter call).

I met her for lunch again the next day to find out more from her. I wanted to know if she responded and said the sinner's prayer because 1) she really knew what it meant and is ready to invite Jesus into her life or 2) she did not know the significance and said it unknowingly.

I found out she did know what her decision meant and also found out the reason why she invited to Jesus on the spot, despite her lack of knowledge then. I also asked if she would like to meet once a bible so that I can study the bible together with her and she said yes. (It would be my first time mentoring someone too as I asked my mentor to train me too haha. And would definitely need a lot of prayer and God's guidance and wisdom as I mentor her). I hope that as we do this tgt, she can learn and grow, and I too will be able to learn and grow.

Praise God for her salvation!! 

Luke 15:7 "I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety - nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

Really so encouraged. And this is why we do outreach/evangelism! We go through so much rejection from people, just to find that one person who wants to know Jesus.

Testimony

I shared my testimony in life group last night so I thought, why not share it here too! It is the summarised version since I only had 5 minutes to share. Maybe I would share more in future about how God has worked in different areas of my life and what God has done in my different season of life as well. Anyway, this is what I shared last night. Here it goes...

I was born in a christian family and we went to church every sunday. But as I grew older, I wanted to stop going cause it was so early in the morning and I would rather sleep in/ watch tv/ meet my friends. At that time, I had biblical knowledge but i didn’t have a personal relationship with God and going to church was just a routine. 

So, I told my close friend, who is a christian, that i wanted to stop going to church. She actually asked me to give God a second chance before I stopped going. So together we went to church. Initially I went because we were close friends and I saw it as time spent hanging out together and also because I saw the effort she was putting in to encourage me to go to church. Then slowly, as I became more receptive, I went to church because i wanted to go. The God that i only “knew” about (knowledge wise), started becoming real to me. It was a gradual process as God slowly touched me through various ways.

When I gave my life to God, I knew that my thoughts, speech and actions had to change. Of all the changes, the most obvious change would be my speech. In lower secondary, I was a typically ahlian and almost every sentence i spoke had vulgarities. I got into trouble quite a bit and have even made my teacher cry while arguing with her, and was almost suspended from school.

I then came across this verse from James 3:10-11 that says “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” I was thinking: hey, yeah that true. It doesn’t make sense that with my mouth I am praising God but at the same time, using vulgarities so carelessly. 

And so I made it a point to control my speech. It definitely wasn’t easy. And stopping the vulgarities did not happen overnight. There were days it would slip my mouth but I asked God to help me and grow my self- control. 

Another reason why I wanted to change was because I did not want to stumble others with my speech. I did not want others to think: hey, i thought she is a christian but why is she cursing and all? 

I wanted my speech to be glorifying to God and not stumbling others.

By the end of sec 2, i have already changed. And then in secondary 3-4, I was in a new class with new teachers. I remember my form teacher coming to me and said “Hey, i heard some things about from other teachers. but I have been your teacher for awhile and i don’t think you are what I heard. 

What he said really encouraged me and it remind me of a verse in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.”

What I just shared with you guys is only a fraction of what God has done in my life. My story is not completed just because i accepted Christ. God has continued working in my life even after I accepted Him as Lord and Saviour of my life. He has restored relationships, he has broken chains that were holding me and I believe that he will continue growing me into who He wants me to become.

To end off, I would like to say to those who have yet to have a personal relationship with God: I was born in a christian family and knew about christianity but I would not consider myself a christian then. It is only when I really opened my heart that God was able to work in me and through me. And that was when God became real to me and not just someone I heard of or read of. So I really encourage you to be open and receptive so that God may be able to speak to you and work in you.

To the brothers and sisters in Christ: Remember that when you empower others, you not only influence those you influence, but also those they influence. Like how my friend encouraged me to go to church and how it has influenced me and how because of her influence on me, how it has influenced the people around me.

Thank you for reading and God bless!

Orientation Outreach

First day of orientation outreach

#1 Met J outside Student Services and she was so lovely! When we approached her, she thought we needed help and asked if we are okay. Then I explained to her that we did not need help and just wanted to make friends with her hahaha. Then she got excited and gave me a hug (is it we BFF now? Hahaha). So we talked for awhile and invited her to join us.

#2 Met M outside Abel Smith and she was waiting for one of the orientation workshops to start. We got friendly easily because she was new to Brisbane and had questions to ask us. She joined us after service on Sunday for games. And I hope she will join us again.

#3 Meet U when she was getting her Go card and we helped her out a bit. I then walked her to Forgan Smith for her orientation workshop and got to know her a bit. She joined us for West end markets on Saturday and I hope she will join us again!

It was a good start to orientation outreach because we did face some rejection but most of the people we met were quite open.

Second day
Was on booth duty so didn't manage to talk to anyone haha.

Third day
#1 Met I and it was her first day of work at GYG. She was early so she was just sitting around before we approached her. It was hard to communicate cause she is still learning English but I am glad we could still understand each other. We had a really good conversation. And on market day, she actually WhatsApp me saying that she is in school alone and wanted to meet. We played the ping pong game at the booth since she wanted to win the cup (she did) and also went to queue for free UQU shirt. I also found out that she is a Christian herself and is looking for a church so she will be joining us for service tmr!

#2 Met L and she was really shy but did open up a bit when she found out we could speak Chinese. And I found out that she has been to church once with her boyfriend. I also invited her so I hope she comes!

Last day - MARKET DAY!
We actually wanted to collect freebies too so while queueing we would talk to the person in front/ behind us. One stone kill two birds hahaha.

#1 Met QQ and thought she wasn't interested initially but as we explored the different booths together and talked, we got a bit closer. She also signed up for CCM membership. And joined us for life group yesterday. She said she really likes what we do and is interested to join us every friday, Praise God!! And she is joining us for Eat Street Market later tonight.

I met a lot of different ones during outreach but I am just sharing some of the more memorable ones.
It was really encouraging to see so many different ones from life group turn up for outreach.
And very blessed by the sharing after outreach everytime and hearing how their experience went.

Really just wanna keep all the people we met and are following up on in prayer.
And praying that what we reap will bear fruits and the enemy will not come to steal what we have reaped.