During the third week of January, the people whom we sent out from the previous school year to plant churches came back! Not only that, believers from several provinces gathered together to pray and plan how they can go out and move the Gospel forward. Overall, it was amazing time of fellowship and encouragement for everyone. What amazes me over and over again with this was just how the bond of friendship never broke. People gathered together and fellowshipped with each other not like they have not seen each other for a semester, but like old friends. More than that, the abilities to welcome in anyone who was new.
More than just people got encouraged and during this gathering, the national church solidified their identity. Now, they know what kind of church they want to be, what kind of believers they want to be, and who is their driving force to be and do the things that they desire. After much prayers, they wrote this:
Dandelion Church
We are the Dandelion Church
Everyone is a living seed
The world is our field
Holy Spirit is the wind that carries us
Jesus is our sun
The Bible is our food
God’s love is our water
Prayer is the air that we breathe
Dandelion by nature spreads, when it spreads, it carries the seed with it, and where ever it lands, it multiplies. However, the dandelion cannot multiply without wind, the sun, or the nutrients from the ground, water or air. Without any one of these element, its not possible for a dandelion to be dandelion. That is what the church wants itself to be!
During this New Year, I went to my friend’s house and celebrated with his families. Before we started the journey, we had the faith that at least his parents would come to know him, but little did we know, God had prepared 5 people’s heart to receive the Gospel. We went out to fish for men and God prepared the fish’s hearts. What was even more amazing was that just few days ago during the native believers’ retreat I taught on God’s heart for household salvation. This work by no mean is easy, but it is when we see one person coming into God’s family that we say, “To God be all the GLORY & Honor!”