"Where will we stay?" Mary asked.
"We'll find somewhere" Joseph replied.
He sounded more confident than he felt. The uncertainty of their accommodation was in contrast to the certainty of his reception from his relatives. They'd disowned him for the shame of marrying this pregnant girl. They hadn't listened to his dream. Still, in obedience to Caesar's decree, and to a greater calling that they were only beginning to understand, they wound their way along the well-worn path.
Imagine planting five house churches in four years. This is what Poh Choo and her husband Phil have done in Melbourne through the Basic Church network under the umbrella of Churches of Christ. Poh Choo is also a missionary with Power to Change serving with me in the Church Movements team.
Poh Choo's motivation to get involved in planting house churches was her passion for disciplemaking.
"In Basic Church, we keep programs really low and emphasis training our people to be a disciple of Jesus," Poh Choo explained. This focus is shaped around loving God, loving others, and making disciples.
"We focus on developing a personal relationship with God, learning to hear from and obey Him. We seek to love, care, pray for one another, and then reach out to the lost. Disciplemaking is in our DNA. Part of our culture is that everyone who comes to Basic Church will eventually understand that Mission is very important. Basic Church exists to serve the Great Commission."
House churches can provide a natural introduction to Christian community for those who don't follow Jesus. One of the Basic Church gatherings in Melbourne is made up of young adults. They invited a friend, Dawn (name changed), to visit and she felt comfortable walking into a home and meeting in that space.
~ by Suan Lee Campbell, a missionary with Church Movements Ministry
This is the story of a humble pumpkin in my backyard. It began with the awful news that we were in another snap lockdown, the last one being 2 weeks ago. I felt down and guessed that others would too. There was a big pumpkin sitting on the kitchen bench and a bag of 5 Kg. flour in the pantry. Put the two together and I began baking with a friend who lived with us. 120 pumpkin scones later, we packaged them up with a note of encouragement* for the neighbours in our street. It was one way I could connect with new neighbours and show some care. A few friends in the neighbourhood did the same for their neighbours.
This is the story of two weeks, two students, one domestic tourist, a non-Christian dad, flat ear pods…and three new Christians on campus in Brisbane!
"When we opened our eyes...God opened Sam's!” Andrew, the leader of the international student ministry at QUT, met with new missionary Josh to share the gospel on campus, he was burdened. As it got closer to exams, there were fewer students around. So they prayed that God would lead them to someone whom the Holy Spirit had already prepared.
They opened their eyes, stood up and initiated with a student who was walking towards them. They discovered that Sam had been hurt by his experience of church in his home country. But, as they talked, it was evident that he did not understand the Gospel. As they shared how Sam could come into a relationship with Jesus, his eyes were opened and Sam invited Jesus into his heart. Sam has continued to meet with Andrew & Josh to learn more about his new relationship with God!
~ by David Evans, a missionary with Church Movements Ministry
Student prays for a sign
Do you believe that God places people in your life on purpose?
I met Andrew at a café. I was sitting down, and he walked past with a banged-up knee in a brace. He was hobbling along, and it looked quite uncomfortable. I asked him if he wanted to sit down. He thanked me but continued to stand while he waited for his order. We began chatting about how he injured his knee and what he is studying. In return, Andrew asked me what I was studying. Many students on campus ask me this same question.
I simply say, “I’m not studying. I help out with the Chaplaincy meals program here at the Uni and talk with students about life and faith related matters.” I quickly added, “I am a follower of Jesus and I like to encourage and pray with people.” I offered to pray for him and the healing of his knee.
The basic idea was to invite Victorian Uni students to meet together in small groups and go on food outings together. Students were given incentives as they attended these meet ups (e.g. Netflix voucher). The aim was to help incoming students get connected to the Power to Change community. Especially given the lockdown last year, we saw this as an opportunity to serve the student community and help them be connected.
The Digital team at Power to Change HQ lent their expertise to get promotion and registration working. And praise God – we saw nearly 100 people signup for the initiative!
You can partner with the work of Power to Change by giving online
