Ministry Update | February 2020
Hey everyone!
Last week, as part of the introduction to a church planting training I was participating in, the facilitator, Ray Chang, asked an interesting question, "What is the goal of the church?" He had just laid some groundwork explaining the origin of the church and how the Great Commission is essentially a command to plant churches. While we considered it, Ray continued on to say that when people enter a new church or question the one they have been going to they often ask, "am I being fed?" While it is important to be encouraged and to grow in our personal walks with Christ, Ray said that this was the wrong question to ask. Instead, we should be asking, "am I being equipped?"
As he explained, Jesus did not establish the church to give its members good teaching. He gave a specific calling for all his followers to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
The goal of the church is to equip its members to be missionaries to their communities, workplaces, schools, and friend groups.
The rest of the training was great, and I have some other important take aways, but I've been thinking about this specifically a lot. It's helping shape how I plan to do ministry and church planting when I go back to Japan, but it's also challenged me to be a missionary in my current context while I'm back in the States. And it's made me ask, is my church equipping me? If it isn't, what can I do? How can I help equip others?
I'm looking forward to applying these ideas as I find more ways to get involved and continue to do MPD (ministry partnership development).
So far, I've really enjoyed connecting with my partner churches and meeting with individual partners to update them on what God has been doing in Japan. While the adjustment home hasn't been the easiest in the last few months, I've been encouraged by the support everyone has shown. Seeing my teammates in California for the training was also an encouragement.
As the year moves forward (I can't believe it's February already), I'll be reaching out to more churches and individuals. If you support me and I haven't met with you yet then I'd still love to talk! If I have but you know someone else who'd be interested in hearing about Japan and possibly partnering with me, then please let me know. Referrals from you guys will be an important part of finding more partners and reaching my support goal.
Right now I'm close to 40% which is a huge praise! The goal is to be back by the end of the year. Would you join me in praying for God to accomplish that?
Thank you!
Adam
|
|
|
|
My teammates, Kevin, John, and I after one of our training sessions.
|
|
Schedule for the coming months:
March 2-5th - Exponential Conference in Orlando, FL
March 15th - Speaking at Christ Community Alliance Church in Orange, VT
If you'd like me to come speak at your church or small group or if I'm going to be in your area and you want to meet up, then please let me know! You can email me at adam.bailey@efca.org.
|
|
|
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for more partners: My next speaking engagement is not until March and I don't have many individual or group meetings scheduled so please be praying for more opportunities to open up to meet new people and churches especially churches outside the central Vermont area. As I go through this process it is also stretching me and pushing me beyond my comfort zone so pray that I could rely on God and allow him to work through me instead of trying to do it through my own strength.
- Pray for me to apply what I learned at the training: As I explained, I learned a lot from my time in California at the church planting training and I’m looking forward to processing the information and trying to apply some of it even while I am still in the states, so pray that I could do that and that this training would be a meaningful part of my development as a missionary and church planter.
- Pray for me to grow in my ministry skills: One thing that I don't want to do is grow stagnant or prideful in my current abilities. I want to continue to grow and be well equipped so that I can better reach out to people while I'm still here in the States and when I return to Japan. I'm thankful for the opportunities I have to do this already so please pray with me that they will be fruitful and that I would continue to see new opportunities as they come up.
|
|
|
|
If you'd like to give a one time or recurring gift, click on the link below!
|
|
|
|
|
