Away we go

This week is the kick off for a few things. Tomorrow we start our first Bible study in our home, and we are eager to see who is going to start coming. We think it may be a prayer group for a few weeks before people decide they want to come. I think that would be great anyway. Although this is something we have been praying about, doing it together in the place we are going to have it will be a good foundation.

This Wednesday I start our home group for young people in Wuppertal. Etta and I are excited to see how God is going to work through this time together. I really sense God moving in the lives of some young people. I would ask that you continue to pray for this group. Our first story is going to be from Luke 1. We will be telling and discussing the stories of Zacharias and Mary.

This Sunday will be my second sermon at the church in Wuppertal. Andre and I are going to be doing the second part of a two week teaching on Worship. Our topic is "what does music have to do with worship". Although I have been preparing and planning with Andre for a few weeks now, I am not feeling very confident. God has blessed me and given me what to say, but my courage is small right now. My language is always a factor for me, so I ask that you would pray for me in that area. Also, Andre and I will be doing a “team” sermon. I have never done this before, so I am eager to see how it will manage. God has given Andre and I a unified heart on this subject, so I believe God is going to bless.

Volleyball has been going very well. The weather has been against us the past couple of weeks, but despite its attempts to thwart our time at the park we have been able to meet a few people. At this point they are just acquaintances, but we pray that we can build stronger relationships with them. I ask that you would pray for opportunities to share Christ during our time at the park, and that God begins to work in hearts.

I am not sure what will happen this week, but I am so excited that things are starting. Succeed or fail, I desire to be always pursuing ways to show and teach people the truth. Please pray with us and the rest of our team as we begin new work.

Relational Evangelism

As I was sitting in Starbucks today, drinking the coffee of the week, and reading through my notes on my upcoming sermon, the idea of relational evangelism came to my mind. It has amazed me over the course of this last year how many times I have heard this method taught on, or talked about. Whenever the topic of evangelism comes up in a discussion, the idea of "relational evangelism" is usually at the forefront of everyones thoughts.

Relational evangelism is really just a fancy way of saying, "go make friends, and find out how you can share Christ with them". However, the question that always seems to come up is; “how many encounters should one have before he or she should bring up Christ?" I have heard it said after two or three visits. I have also heard it said one should not bring up spiritual things until you have earned the right to be a called a "friend" of the person you are building the relationship with. This makes it even harder because that could take weeks, or months, or even years, and our command to share Christ is left in the hands of the one who is defining the relationship. The idea of "encounters" begins to become very tricky, and in some cases paralyzing. "What if I speak too quickly? I might ruin the relationship and never get the chance to share with them again?" or the flip side, "What if I waste my chance and never see that person again?"

As I was thinking about these ideas, I was reminded of an old Tootsieroll Pop commercial I used to watch when I was a kid. The main question of the commercial is, "how many licks does it take to get the tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop?" The caricature (who seems to not be wearing any pants) goes from animal to animal asking the same question. Only the “wise ol’ owl” has an answer for him, and in reality, was the not answer he was looking for. I have attempted to attach the video for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2xMGI-QpZw

So how many encounters does it take to get to the core issue, namely, sharing the Gospel of Christ? The bottom line is, if we are not willing to step out in faith and just share the love of Christ, this may be a love "the world may never know".

2 Corinthians 4:1-2

"1Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God." (ESV)

1 Peter 3:15

"15but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,"

New Beginnings

It seems in the last few weeks we have been experiencing new things in every area of our life. Of course the biggest has been the arrival of our beautiful daughter Maggie. Having her home has been so much fun, and we are settling in nicely as a family of four.

Ministry seems to be starting afresh as well. As our team gears up to begin our Bible study, we are praying and seeking who we can invite to the group. As we prepare to start, it is clear that this is a new direction and new waters for all of us. As we sat in our meeting last week together, it was clear that God was leading us to this, and there was a sense of joy and anticipation within the group as we made our plans and prayed together. We ask that you will be in prayer for us as we step out in faith.

Outreach is another area that is showing new opportunities. On Thursday I took the volleyball net to the park, and invited people who were hanging out if they wanted to play. Although I was the only one on the team in town that day (aside from Kristen who was home with our daughters) I still managed to set up and stake down the net by myself. There were about 8 or 10 people that came over to play, and I was able to meet all of them. A few of them even said they would like to keep coming, so I am excited to see where that is going go. Most importantly, I desire to get to know the people that come to play and pray God gives us the opportunity to share about His love.

The best thing that happened at volleyball night, was a brother and sister, who were just in town visiting their father, came again for the second time before their flight back home the next day. I was able to sit and talk with them about the God and the Gospel for quite a long time. By the end of our time together, they heard the whole Gospel. I pray that the seed that was sown will root deep in their hearts and they will come to Jesus.
Through all these new experiences, God has given us a spirit of thankfulness and joy. I end this blog with Psalm 108:1-5

“My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your lovingkindness is great above the heavens, and your truth reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and your glory above all the earth.”