Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wl2jMmeKHc
Discover the transformative power of Christ’s love in our new series GCI Testify. Join us as members from our global fellowship share testimonies of their experiences with Jesus through GCI congregations and ministries. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness firsthand the impact of the Spirit in and through GCI.
Watch the entire series here.
I am excited that GCI is investing in providing ways for formal education to be part of the development of our leaders.”
Meet José Lopez, the Ministry Training Center Coordinator in Sun Valley and Hawthorne, California.
Click here or the image below to see the entire profile.
GCI’s vision for Healthy Church includes investing in our youth. All year we’ve brought you stories about our children from around the globe. Enjoy a 2024 review in pictures of these precious young people. But first, read these recent stories showing how GCI invests in youth.
At the end of November, the Sunday school children and three of the youth participated in an outing to the Planetarium. The joy on the faces of the children is the simplest form of gratitude.
The children of the Rayong congregation enjoy an active Sunday School ministry. They learn about our triune God by singing fun songs and creating artwork.
In November, the Suva congregation seamlessly combined our Sunday worship with our youth camp in the village of Nanukuloa, Ra, creating a weekend filled with service, fellowship, and spiritual growth.
As part of our Love Avenue initiative, on Saturday we partnered with the youths of Nanukuloa to plant Vetiver grass on a hillside vulnerable to landslides — more than 1,200 planted in just two hours! This effort not only helps the community but also supports environmental conservation, stabilizing soil and preventing erosion. It was a beautiful reflection of Christ’s love in action.
This weekend was more than just a fun event. It was an experience where Jesus’ love was evident in every moment — from acts of service to shared meals and worship, we saw God’s hand at work, uniting us in purpose and faith.
By Epeli Nakautoga, Hope Avenue Champion
Suva, Fiji
Thank you very much for your prayers for GCI Bangladesh. On November 14-16, we had 75 participants from GCI Bangladesh participate in our young adult Friendship Camp. Because of our ongoing college ministry, 20 Hindu and Muslim college students also attended our camp. Among them, three chose to be baptized! By the grace of God, eight more people were baptized on December 5.
By Amiyo Bacher, Facilitator and Church Planter
Khulna, Bangladesh
As the year closes, praying scripture is a powerful way to reflect on God’s presence in your life. Download this Church Hack and use the journal prompts for your personal devotional time. Praying scripture and journaling what you hear from God can help you express gratitude and discern God’s guidance for the new year.
Here are some top GCI resources from 2024. These are meaningful resources you may want to bookmark so you can refer to them all year.
Dear GCI Family and Friends,
As we approach the end of 2024, there’s much to give thanks for in our shared journey. In the U.S., we came together for face-to-face regional gatherings (the first live gathering of this nature since before the Covid pandemic). It was a time to hug necks and rejoin the deep relationships that we have enjoyed for many years. This year was also a time to face difficult realities about the state of our congregations, and we made needed changes related to what congregations can be chartered, and served accordingly, as we go forward into 2025.
Another significant change that is under way in the United States is moving from the regional structure to a U.S. National Ministry Team, whose purpose is to serve our pastors and congregations in meaningful ways that can put legs to the vision for Healthy Church. We are prayerfully hopeful.
I am encouraged by the remarkable ways the Spirit is at work in and through GCI, moving us forward in unity and purpose. The resiliency and supportive attitude of GCI pastors and members amazes me. Thank you!
The triune God is faithful in our midst. Jesus Christ, the head of the church has much in store for us. I caught a glimpse of this at the Dream Huddle event held at our Ministry Training Center in Surrey Hills, O.K. Church planters, pastors of church mergers, and leaders of church relaunches gathered to share what we have been learning. We discussed how we can be supportive of each other as the Lord reshapes and rebuilds GCI in the U.S. Once again, I am prayerfully hopeful.
I am very encouraged by my visits and interactions with our international leaders as well. This past year, I collaborated with our Australasian Superintendent Daphne Sidney who is leading more than thirty participants in the Christian Discipleship Program. Their journey of learning and growing together has great promise. I joined New Zealand Regional Director Dennis Richards and Pastors Frank and Emily Boyd from Fiji as they hosted their Avenue Champions for a two-day workshop. It was inspiring to see their focus and intentionality as they join Jesus in His ministry to their island nation. I rounded out my year joining Kalengule Kaoma, Superintendent of Africa, and his team of regional directors in Ghana. The church in Ghana celebrated its 50-year anniversary, but with the level of energy and enthusiasm expressed it’s like they are just getting started.
Join us! We invite you to read this article from Equipper.
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Nuts and bolts of the Hope Avenue
By Linda Rex, Elder
Our journey in GCI towards Healthy Church includes a deeper understanding of our hope in Christ. Our Hope Avenue team ensures that our Sunday services provide a warm welcome, fellowship, worship, and inspired preaching, which refresh us with the hope of Jesus.
Markers of a healthy Hope Avenue
The Hope Avenue team prepares all aspects of the Sunday service, from parking lot to sanctuary to fellowship hall. The Hope Avenue team works together to welcome, include, and integrate into the life of the church, all those who attend. The fellowship and Sunday service enable each person to meet with, in a personal and united way, our triune God. Renewed with the hope of Jesus, those who attend are sent out with this good news. In this way, the Hope Avenue team shares with Jesus in His divine ministry by the Spirit.
Signs of unhealth
Members of a church with an unhealthy Hope Avenue might not notice new guests, or swarm new people at the door and scare them away. Worse, the pastor may bring attention to guests when they prefer not to be noticed. There is limited or no signage in an unhealthy Hope Avenue, and no one offers to help guests find the restroom, children’s room, snacks, or the sanctuary. Guests are often not told they are welcome to join in the pre-service fellowship or study group. Youth and teens are often ignored. Seniors are not always given the support they need as they move from the parking lot to the sanctuary and back.
An unhealthy Hope Avenue worship service is more focused on the content of the service, the speaker, or singers than on relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The service is disjointed and messy because little planning has been done. The music is often more focused on our human experience of God than on worshipping God. An unhealthy Hope Avenue sermon is often teaching a Bible Study rather than preaching about Jesus, who He is and who we are in Him. In an unhealthy Hope Avenue service, communion often focuses more on the items on the table than on the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
For four days in October, GCI Malaysia/Singapore gathered at the Grand Kampar Hotel in Perak, Malaysia. The gathering was a landmark as the members celebrated 50 years of the church in Malaysia and Singapore. The church began with a few members who came together in the early ’70s. Over the years, the church has experienced various challenges but has remained steadfast in the faith.
Approximately 55 members from Malaysia and Singapore attended. Guests included 12 members from the church in Thailand, one member from the United States, and Asia Superintendent Dan Zachariah and his wife, Mary, from India. It was a time of great worship and fellowship.
Four church services were conducted during that time and messages were given by Pastor Dan Zachariah, Pastor Wong Mein Kong, and me. The theme for this year was “The faithfulness of God.” It was a most appropriate theme reflecting the course of the church as a witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ in primarily Islamic and Buddhist countries. One of the highlights of the gathering was the baptism of Mrs. Ho, which was carried out at the hotel’s swimming pool.
Various exciting activities catering to members of all ages were conducted. The young adults had a great time participating in caving and whitewater rafting at Gua Tempurung. The rest of the members also participated in a less physically challenging tour of the caves and a trip to Kellie’s Castle. Others chose a food tour trying various cuisine around Kampar town.
It was a remarkable time, truly reflecting the family that we are in Christ Jesus. As David expressed in Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity.”
By Devaraj Ramoo, Pastor
Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
