Author: Elizabeth Mullins

Awutu-Breku, Awutu Senya, Ghana

The Awutu-Breku congregation held a very special service in May to dedicate their new worship hall built from GCI Ghana resources.

Special guests at the occasion included Pastor Emmanuel Okai (Regional Director of West Africa) and his wife, Mrs. Margaret Okai; Pastor Dr. Frederick Amu-Mensah (Pastor of Kutunse, Accra) with his wife, Dr. Marian Amu-Mensah; Pastor Lady Glowen Kyei-Mensah (Assistant Pastor of Lashibi); and Pastor Christopher Balidin (Pastor of Buduburham) with his wife, Beatrice Balidin. And I attended with my wife, Mrs. Rebecca Okai.

After a time of praise and worship with prayer, Pastor Mawuena Balidin, the pastor of the Awutu-Breku congregation, welcomed everyone to the special occasion. After I delivered the sermon, we celebrated the new hall dedication.The service also featured an ordination ceremony. Miss Esther Korto Kolie was ordained as deaconess for the Buduburam congregation. Pastor Lady Glowen Kyei-Mensah also led a fundraising session, which was met with warm responses.

The service had a great atmosphere with 47 people in attendance. Everyone was excited about the newly dedicated hall.

By Theophilus Nii Okai, Pastor and National Director of Ghana
Accra, Ghana

 

 

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One aspect of Healthy Church is having a prominent, consistent presence in your neighborhood. A permanent location helps to cultivate your congregation’s presence. Congratulations to the Awutu-Breku congregation, and to the following three congregations who are also celebrating new church halls. We share in their joy. Join us in praying for fruit, rooted in our true vine, Jesus.

Baguio, Luzon, Philippines

We are thankful to God for his provision of our new place of worship celebrations. Ang Ating Tahanan — our home! Our first worship celebration on June 2 was filled with joy, thanksgiving, and praises to our triune God. GC Baguio, let us be in the attitude of expectancy for new things, new memories, and new God-encounters together in this place.

Rosacara, Mindoro, Philippines

Almighty Creator, we rejoice in the groundbreaking ceremony for our new church building. May this place become a beacon of light and love in our neighborhood, drawing hearts closer to you and fostering unity, compassion, and hope for all who enter its doors. Bless this endeavor with your guidance and grace.

Port Harcourt, River State, Nigeria

To the glory of God, we dedicated our new church hall on May 19. We are grateful for the participation of Pastor Emmanuel Okai (Regional Director for West Africa) in our ribbon cutting ceremony.

“You have been given questions to which you cannot be given answers. You will have to live them out — perhaps a little at a time.” —Wendell Berry

I’m new to my neighborhood. I have high hopes of making new friends and building community. I make eye contact, smile, and greet every neighbor I see. And some of them return the greeting.

But many do not.

“Not Ideas About the Thing but the Thing Itself” is a poem by Wallace Stevens. Borrowing that idea, author Greg Boyle describes, in The Whole Language, how we don’t want to settle for a description of the kingdom, we want the kingdom itself.

When I read that, I teared up. It connects very deeply to the longing in me. My desire for connection and unity with my neighbors is a longing for the kingdom itself.

Do you long for more than ideas about the kingdom?

Longing can feel like sadness, but it indicates that there is more — more than ideas. Longing tethers me to hope — hope in Jesus’ restorative, reconciling action in my neighborhood. I hope in the reality that we are created for belonging and kinship.

How do I cultivate belonging when my neighbors don’t appear to want to connect?

I don’t have the answer. Perhaps I will have to live it out, a little at a time.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And he shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:13-14 NKJV

We wait. We pay attention to the goodness of the Lord. We stay consistently available and near. We smile. We will not settle for merely the idea of the kingdom kinship.

Prayer:
Strengthen our hearts, Father. In the face of questions, empower us to be of good courage, Spirit. We are grateful for you, Jesus, our answer. Amen.

By Elizabeth Mullins, Update Editor
Durham, NC, US

 

In British Columbia, February 19 is a holiday called “Family Day.” It is a day that gives families the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones. GC Surrey decided to host a free “Family Day Carnival” for our community. Our volunteers spent many hours preparing games, distributing over 500 flyers in the neighborhood, and praying for success.

On carnival day, 22 volunteers dressed in bright yellow t-shirts welcomed over 100 guests to join the fun. We offered nine games, face painting, a colouring table, candy jar guessing, popcorn, drinks, and prizes for all the kids. Parents, kids, grandparents, and friends enjoyed the games and hung around to visit afterwards. It was an awesome experience for everyone involved—not only the participants but also for the volunteers who served and loved wholeheartedly in the name of Jesus!

By Job Ayuba, Love Avenue Champion & Associate Pastor
Surrey, B.C., Canada

 

As mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and human beings, we can have the role of mediator, helper, and advocate. When someone comes to us with a concern, a difficult situation, a grief or hope, what is our go-to response? So often, my immediate response is to seek to find a solution, to help this person with their problem.

When I take on the role of advocate, mediator, and helper, I may be doing what God has gifted me for and bearing the image of the Spirit within me. But I may also be stepping into the role that the Holy Spirit is meant to play in that person’s life. In doing so, what if I short-circuit the opportunity for this person to have an encounter with our triune God?

It is significant that the Spirit quietly works in every moment, giving us life and breath and holding all things together so that we can live and move and have our being. But the Spirit inevitably points away from self to our Father and his Son Jesus Christ. The Spirit mediates, advocates, and helps constantly, being present to each of us and drawing us into union and communion with the Father and the Son.

What we can learn from the Spirit’s self-effacing way of being is true humility, service, and self-giving love. The next time someone comes to us with a concern, how can we set aside ourselves and our solutions, and point them to our Father and his Son in the Spirit? How might we let God be the one who provides a solution?

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me, and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. John 15:26-27 NET

Prayer:
Father, Son, Spirit, so often we seek to be the solution to every problem when that is the role you were meant to play in our lives. Grant us the grace to point away from ourselves and towards you instead, for you are our mediator, helper, and Advocate, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

By Linda Rex, GCI Elder
Nashville, TN, US