The GIC week has moved like a whirlwind to those of us that are closely associated with it. There is little time to talk about what has been going on because we are so busy getting ready for the next event. But here is a brief update about what has happened these last couple of days and a quick look forward.
Thursday evening we experienced what our brothers and sister who do not have the freedom to worship Jesus openly experience, at least in a small way. Our UBC youth allowed us to worship in the underground church with persecuted Christians. We were led through a maze with guards roaming the areas looking for lawbreakers and dissidents that may be guilty of nothing more than worshipping Jesus. Steven Khoury led us as we whispered the words to “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” in worship and then preached in hush tones from Acts 16 of Paul and Silas in prison and in chains. His experiences as a pastor in Jerusalem and his own experiences growing up as a Palestinian Christian brought the reality to us that this is real and happening today all over the world. Those that attended will not easily forget to pray for the persecuted church and to thank God for the freedoms that we often take for granted.
Friday evening our classes gathered in one of their homes with their adopted missionaries for a home briefing. It is one of the best times that we have during the GIC. Our missionaries are so encouraged to be able to get connected with the classes. And the classes really get to hear the inside scoop of the work of the missionaries. Those connections are long lasting and bless both the missionary and the folks who attend. The reports out of each class were great!
This Morning, (Saturday) we have had an incredible breakfast with our missionaries and GIC Leadership team, host families and Staff. Eric Stapleton, Wycliffe Missionary to Vanuatu, led our devotion from Proverbs 4:23. The food, prepared by DeWayne Jeffers and his team was wonderful. We then left the building to do missions distributing information about our new church plant in Lebanon We had 95 UBC folks and missionaries from all over the world walking the streets of Lebanon distributing flyers to 2000 homes inviting residents to the preview service of Living Word Bible Church Palm Sunday evening, April 17th.
This evening we will enjoy the great food at our Taste of the World at 5:30 pm. Then our children and preschool will have their own version of GIC while the rest of us gather to worship and hear God’s word presented by Travis Ogle, Teaching Pastor of Hope Baptist in Las Vegas NV. This is our prayer Commitment Service and possible the most important of the week of events.
On Sunday Morning, our missionaries will be in the Sunday School Classes. This is when we receive our Faith promise offering. Our Goal is $300000.00, so please pray with us for the Lords blessing. Only he can do that. Pastor Travis will be preaching again and the flags of the world will be presented. Please come and meet our missionary both Sunday morning and Sunday night. One of the reasons they have come is to meet and get to know you.
Sunday Evening at 6:00 pm is our Life Commitment service. Pastor Steven will bring our message. Please come to this very special service. I believe God is going to do something very special in this service as we worship Jesus. He is rising up his army to go into all the world. This commitment service is about our obedience to Him and being part of expanding His Kingdom. You will not want to miss it!
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