Category: Be Inspired

Wow! What an incredible “Baptism Sunday” GC Surrey Hills held in April. Periodically, we begin our worship experience with baptisms. Our April baptism ceremony included three child dedications. It was an unforgettable experience to surround these families with love, support, and prayer as they dedicated the lives of their precious kiddos to our amazing Jesus. Praise Jesus!

The celebrations didn’t end there. After the three dedications, we had four baptisms! We celebrated as Calvin, Chloe (our intern), and Lucas and Kacen (my husband and son) were baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. They made the choice to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

It was an absolute honor for Pastor Mike and me to participate in this celebration. It was beautiful and emotional, so there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

We placed baptism cards on every seat for Baptism Sunday. It was a hit, and we had nine more people fill out a card expressing interest in baptism and two more baby dedications. Between those and others who have shown an interest through our regular connection cards, we have nearly 20 individuals interested in being dedicated or baptized this year! We have two more Baptism Sundays on our calendar this year, and we will just keep adding them as Jesus keeps building his church.

Since we launched our church plant/replant as Grace Communion Surrey Hills two years ago, we have baptized 25 people into the body of Christ and dedicated six children to our amazing God! Just look at what Jesus has done!

We are humbled, thankful, and in awe. We constantly find ourselves flabbergasted, saying, “We see you, Jesus!” We are excited to continue to participate with him in HIS ministry as he continues to build the church.

By Ceeja Malmkar, Assistant Pastor
Surrey Hills, OK, US

The disciples were grief-stricken when faced with the hard truth of Jesus’ imminent death. Jesus acknowledges their grief and reminds them he is not leaving them alone.

⁵ But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. ⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:5-7 NRSVUE

This Trinity Sunday, we celebrate our union and relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. In this passage, Jesus is comforting the disciples (and us) by explaining that even though he will be ascending to the Father, they will never be alone, thanks to the Holy Spirit who would continue to speak God’s comfort and provide them wise counsel.

The Holy Spirit enlarges our understanding of the triune God and helps us live out and participate in God’s love for the world. We can trust the kind and loving communication of the Holy Spirit to guide our efforts to share God’s grace with those we interact with, and we can follow the Spirit’s lead to help us discern how to express God’s love in the most appropriate ways.

Prayer:
Thank you, God, for including us in your love and union. Father, we’re grateful that you sent your Son. Jesus, we’re grateful for your obedience to the Father and for sending us your Spirit. Spirit, we’re grateful for your advocacy and counsel. We love you. Amen.

Adapted from a 2022 sermon resource.

In March, more than 30 members from throughout New Zealand gathered for a three-day workshop on connect groups. We were delighted to have with us our Australasian Superintendent, Daphne Sidney, who kicked off the programme with a session focusing on GCI’s current re-visioning process.

On Saturday morning, we began with Rex Morgan exploring the “Why” of small group ministry. Next, Dennis Richards facilitated two sessions on the “How.”

Then we created the opportunity for participants to experience hands-on learning. Everyone participated in two separate model connect groups: one Bible study group and one special interest group, which we call a “connecting” group. The topics for the connecting, or special interest groups, were as follows: the Swedish pop music band, ABBA; books and movies; macro-photography and biodiversity; and ideas for taking the gospel to our neighbourhoods and communities.

Sunday morning, we held a debrief discussion of the model group experiences. We reviewed things that had worked well or otherwise. Many points were raised to keep in mind as we continue to work within our current connect groups and develop new groups in the future.

The weekend concluded with a moving Palm Sunday communion service, led by Daphne. The atmosphere was thoroughly permeated with the excited buzz of fellowship and networking of geographically scattered members that never fails to characterise these much appreciated get-togethers. God certainly answered our prayers by providing and inspiring a wonderful experience for us all, leaving us with a strong incentive to go out and develop Christ-centred, healthy, and fruitful small groups wherever the Spirit leads us.

By Rex Morgan, Pastor
Auckland, New Zealand

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. John 16:13 (NIV)

Jesus Christ, when he ascended to the Father, gave us a magnificent parting gift — the Holy Spirit. We celebrate this gift on Pentecost. After Pentecost, we turn our attention to Ordinary Time and to joining Christ’s mission in the world. In our missional practices and rhythms, the best companion to have, trust, and listen to is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit should be our best friend, helping us navigate our missional lives.

The missional field is dynamic, and we need to be guided by the Spirit. The Spirit is God and knows the mind of Christ; the Spirit also knows the minds of those we are being sent to! It is the Spirit’s ministry to convict the individual.

The Spirit of our Father speaks only what he hears and is the one directing us as we speak about God’s kingdom (Matthew 10:20). The Spirit will guide us into all truth. We can ask the Spirit: who should I talk to, and how and when should I say it?

May we have a listening ear and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings as we let the world know about Jesus and his kingdom.

Prayer:
We pray, oh Lord, that we will trust you enough to let you lead as we share your word with others. May we be like the sheep who know your voice and follow where you lead. May we never go astray. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

By Brenda Asare-Akoto
National Youth Leader, Ghana

Adapted from her September 2022 devotional.

During Holy Week (also known as Passion Week) the pastoral team of GC Baguio takes time to be especially intentional in the preparation for the worship and liturgy of our gatherings. Traditionally and culturally, in the Philippines, Holy Week is not just a holiday; it is widely observed by Christians. Thus, we are making the most of the celebrations throughout the week. We hope they will be avenues where our members and the visitors of our church get to be immersed in the gospel message of Jesus Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.

We have three special worship celebrations – Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday. (For Good Friday, we provide a printed devotional of the “Seven Last Words” for our members to use in their personal times of reflection or family gatherings.) These special worship celebrations are anticipated annually. Our worship hall is set up with decorations according to the theme of the service. The songs, prayers, confessions, scripture readings, and sermon are aligned with the Revised Common Lectionary and the worship/liturgical calendar.

It is our prayer as a local congregation that through our expressions of worship and witness, we grow more and more in appreciation of the truth of Jesus being the center of the center of our life and church ministry life.

By Justine Paolo “Jep” Parcasio, Associate Pastor
Baguio, Philippines

We began reading about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in preparation for Holy Week. One of our favorite times of year is Holy Week because we get to spend it with the people we care about. It’s a unique week that always involves deep spiritual reflection in addition to spending time with loved ones and church members.

As part of our holy week celebrations, we read and studied the Gospel stories about Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins. We also studied his resurrection, which completely altered the course of human history! On Maundy Thursday, we studied its meaning and prayed together. On Good Friday, we gathered for a very special service. There were conversations and Bible readings that complemented the truth of how Jesus loves us with his divine love. In addition, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper, worshiping and pondering the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice.

There was a special feeling this Holy Week as we prepared the songs with the worship team and other activities in different ministries for each gathering. We love how we were able to connect through the preparations. We also shared a meaningful time praying for those who are struggling because of this world’s challenges. We celebrated Jesus’ resurrection and life.

Greetings from Bogotá, Colombia!

By Juan Carlos “Juanka” Barrero, Hope Avenue Champion
Bogotá, Columbia

After his resurrection, Jesus spent another forty days preparing the apostles for his ascension and for Pentecost, when they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach ² until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴ While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:1-5 NRSV

During these forty days of Eastertide, may we focus on the kingdom’s movements in our lives and in the world today. What were Jesus’ instructions to his apostles? Where do you see God’s clear actions in your life through the Holy Spirit?

The Ascension is a crucial step in the incarnation of Jesus! Without the ascension, his incarnation isn’t complete. When he ascended, Jesus took us to the Father’s presence. May 12 is Ascension Sunday — may we spend extra time focusing on Jesus’ teaching to his apostles and the importance of his ascension.

Prayer:
Father, you have received the glorified Jesus into the Godhead as our High Priest, Mediator, and Intercessor. You have seated us in the heavenlies with him. We praise you for such an amazing plan and ask you to increase our understanding of the Ascension. In the name of the ascended Jesus, we pray. Amen.

By Glen A Weber, GCI Central Region Support Team
Aurora, CO, US

We are excited to announce a new resource: The Art of Mentoring.

Join us for this series that is shining a light on the impactful mentoring stories within GCI worldwide! In our first installments, President Greg Williams and Ministry Development Coordinator, Cara Garrity, offer insights into the series. The next video is a compelling story of multi-generational pastoral mentorship in the Philippines.

Ready to be inspired?

Click here to view the first two videos in the series. More videos will be added over the next four months.

In February, GCI-Pasadena started a new connect group in Redlands, the neighborhood of a few of our members. This is a mid-week Bible study, but we are only meeting once a month to start.

We are reaching out to those GCI members who cannot attend the weekly church service because of the distance. At the same time, we are going outside the walls. Many in the group are nurses, and since they have already been building relationships (place-sharing), they are planning to invite their coworkers. We are praying for each coworker individually.

Our congregation is passionate and intentional about going outside the walls of our Sunday gathering. We have other connect groups (women, men, couples, seniors, children) that meet either in McDonald’s restaurants or individual houses. We share life on life and always end the meetings with prayer.

I am excited to share the update of our newest connect group and ask for prayers. Please join us in praying that God may continue to lead us to where he wants us to go, as we are “sharing Jesus.”

By Angie Tabin, Pastor
Pasadena, CA, US