Author: GCI Media

This update is from GCI mission developer Rod Matthews.

India: festivals celebrate God’s grace

Early in October, GCI members met in two locations for a week-long festival celebrating God’s grace. Members from across southern India met at a Christian retreat facility on the outskirts of Mysore (see group picture below).

A highlight of the festival in Mysore was the appreciation expressed to pastor Joe and Joanna D’Costa on the celebration of 25 years of employment in the church (see picture of a presentation to the D’Costas below). The D’Costas also celebrated their 34^th wedding anniversary during the festival. A stimulating session of the Life Club (a personal development and speech club) and an afternoon of swimming capped the activities.

Members from northern India met for the festival in a retreat center on the outskirts of Hyderabad (see group picture below). Some traveled from far north India and overseas, including the USA. The festival enjoyed a range of speakers including messages on the challenges of sharing the gospel in a modern Hindu nation while facing associated legal restrictions. Everyone laughed and learned from the movie night feature, a personal story of missionary work in New Guinea called The Pineapple Story. The pastor of a small group of churches who is building a relationship with our church in his area, attended part of the festival. Another young man took great efforts to seek us out as a source of teaching aligned with incarnational Trinitarian theology.

New Zealand – celebrating 200 years of Christianity

On December 25, New Zealand will celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the first time the gospel was preached on its shores. Here are some related facts:

1. The preacher was Samuel Marsden, chaplain of the convict settlement at Port Jackson, New South Wales (now Sydney).
2. Marsden became chaplain on the recommendation of William Wilberforce, famous anti-slave reformer in Britain.
3. Marsden had learned the local Maori language before he arrived in New Zealand.
4. On his first voyage, Marsden introduced sheep, cattle, pigs, poultry, horses, goats, dogs and cats to New Zealand, all on a single journey, a veritable “Noah’s ark” said a sailor. The Maori were amazed.
5. The spread of Christianity in New Zealand is credited largely to the indigenous Maori peoples.

GCI’s Auckland pastor and office manager Rex Morgan tells the story in an article in our New Zealand church magazine, Inside Life (cover pictured above, right) found online at www.insidelife.org.nz/files/8699/InsideLife21%20200Years.pdf.

Thanks for Falam Chin literature

The Discipleship 101 course is now in print in the Falam Chin language of northern Myanmar! After being translated by GCI friend and partner Van Thawme Lian, we recently printed 2000 copies, which he shared with pastors, students at the seminary where he teaches and other interested Christians.

When someone receives rare Christian literature in their own native language, their thanks can be quite effusive. Van Thawme Lian has shared the following letter of thanks:

 

Ron Ratliff, pastor of Creek Valley Church in Edina, Minnesota, has been tracking with GCI for a couple of years, leading to his being accepted as a GCI elder and commissioned as a GCI pastor earlier this year at our Chicago regional conference. Ron and his wife Sherri are pictured at right.

We’re pleased to announce that the members of his congregation met recently and mutually decided to become a chartered congregation of Grace Communion International. Pictured below are some of the Creek Valley Church members. We welcome these brothers and sisters in Christ to the GCI family!

Here is a video of one GCI’s congregations in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. What a blessing it is to witness their sharing together even if they may not have much.

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/zhwAXqhbZ8s.

Here are reports on GCI youth camps recently held in Mexico and Oklahoma.

Mexico

This report is from GCI Generations Ministries national coordinator Anthony Mullins, who with his wife Elizabeth visited GCI’s youth camp in Mexico to assist in equipping camp leaders.

What an inspiring time my wife Elizabeth and I recently had with 35 brothers and sisters (pictured below) at the annual GCI Mexico camp near Monterrey! We witnessed four young adults (Jose Louis Lujano, Naoko Gonzalez, Anahi Tabares and Daniel Garcia) step up and share the gospel through the chapel messages using GenMin curriculum; we shared the joy when Daniel Garcia, an emerging leader, was baptized under a magnificent waterfall (see picture at right), and we rejoiced to see three sisters from the outreach mission in Guadalajara blossom with bright smiles as they felt the inclusion of the entire group! There were many beautiful stories to behold, and it was encouraging to see new leaders being developed.

During sessions I facilitated with camp leaders, we imagined the future possibilities together through “What If?” questions. What if they planted multiple camps throughout Mexico? What if the young adult leaders met more than once a year, and invited GCI pastors to discuss how they can intentionally be on mission in their communities? What if this national camp became an outreach mission instead of exclusively serving GCI kids? Mexican camp leaders Samuel & Hayde Mercado and pastor Natanael Cruz (pictured with me and my wife Elizabeth in the picture at right) are planning to strategize in the upcoming year about how to make the camp more missional and outward in its focus.

Oklahoma

This report is from Joe Brannen, one of the leaders of CrossWalk—the Generations Ministries camp held near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

We conducted our 26th session of CrossWalk in November with 33 senior campers, 30 junior campers, 9 mini campers and 55 staff members. There were 13 new campers and 4 new staff. Eight campers were unchurched.

Our theme, Hunger Games, was based on the movie series with the same name. As campers arrived Friday afternoon they were greeted by costumed staff members who set the theme by inviting everyone to share in games that helped them feel included. Then campers were “reaped” into eight “districts” to train for upcoming events related to the “economy” designated for each district.

Saturday began with private devotions, chapel and activities, followed in the afternoon with Hunger Games. The games began as each district raced to retrieve a bag filled with assignments for 13 activities that would challenge them physically and mentally. Most importantly, the activities brought unity to each district—it was amazing to see how they pulled together!

That night there was a banquet followed by a time of powerful, Spirit-filled worship led by the CrossWalk praise band made up of young adults. Following worship, campers gathered for a social in the dining hall, which was beautifully decorated in the camp theme.

CrossWalk was a wonderful example of God’s inclusive love—a message that was emphasized in camp chapels and other gatherings. We were powerfully reminded that God, in his grace, includes us all—in Christ, all are loved, forgiven and accepted. Chapel speakers used the Hunger Games theme to expose lies to the contrary.