2012-10 (十月禱告信)

親愛的弟兄姊妹主內平安！

神在校園中悅納人的日子

在剛過去的八、九月，來自東西兩岸及芝加哥的十多間教會、總數約一百位的短宣隊員來到美中，與中心的同工們一起在美中、美東南的校園中傳揚主的福音。感謝主！有許多人在這兩次短宣中信耶穌；他們有些是已在美國居住一段時日的，有些卻是來美國只有數週的新同學，我們把榮耀讚美歸給主！ 我仔細地去觀察這些信主的弟兄姐妹，他們信主的原因，一般來說可歸納成下列幾類：

  1. 在短宣隊的福音佈道會中信主──開學期間是個傳福音的好機會，此時功課還不太忙，來參加聚會的人數也比較多，在一些校園，甚至近三分之一的同學都來參加佈道會。初到陌生之地的新同學，對很多事物都感到新鮮，一被邀請，就歡歡喜喜地來參加。感謝主！他們就在佈道會中信了耶穌。
  2. 短宣隊員個人佈道工作──短宣雖為期十天，但通常在週末才容易辦福音聚會，週間短宣隊員則在各地校園中作個人福音工作。在炎炎的夏日，一家一家叩門探訪是很不容易，在校園內隨走隨傳也甚具挑戰性。但感謝主！接受探訪的人也不少，因此每年因短宣隊員個人佈道而信主的人數，也常常會超過在佈道會中信主的人數。可見個人佈道是傳福音的根基，每一位弟兄姊妹只要去傳福音，都可以為主結出佳美的果子。
  3. 該校園弟兄姐妹平常傳福音的工夫──哪一個校園平常就注重傳福音，短宣佈道會時，信主的人數一定會比較多。當地弟兄姊妹若能陪同短宣隊員逐家探訪，產生的福音果效會更大、福音的影響力也會更持久。該校園同工的福音工作，是新同學信主的根基。短宣隊不是代替校園同工傳福音，乃是帶動校園同工一起來傳福音。今年有好幾隊短宣隊，是先在該校園作個人傳福音訓練，然後與當地弟兄姊妹一同配搭探訪 、傳福音，最後才有佈道會；感謝主！主在各地校園不僅得著初信的靈魂，也得著更多傳福音的同工。
  4. 中國國內的校園事工──近幾年來不少新同學到了美國校園，第一次接觸到福音就信了主，開學一兩個星期就要求受洗，與以前要慕道一段時日後，才信主有很大的差別，主要原因是: 神已在中國很多的校園，興起了不少的弟兄姊妹在校園傳福音，校園事工逐漸在各地被建立起來。現在有很多來美國的新同學，對救恩已有一定的認識，他們甚至來美國之前， 心中已經準備好接受主，只是在國內環境不容許， 而北美的校園，對他們來說，是信主與受洗的大好機會。所以如果我們的觀念若還停留在：向新生傳福音會把人嚇跑，而自己裹足不前，我們實在錯失了很多傳福音的好機會。
  5. 各校園中美國弟兄姊妹的配搭與同工──感謝主！祂在幾乎每一間校園都已興起了為數不少的美國弟兄姊妹關心中國同學、向中國同學傳福音，教他們聖經與英語。這些同學的心已預備好了，當他們聽到有人用中文向他們傳福音時，他們的心就立刻受感動，決志相信主！這些美國弟兄姊妹在福音上已為我們開了路，當我們看到有人好像一聽到福音就信主時，我們要感謝這些美國弟兄姊妹所做的感人福音事工。

當我看到這些光景，我就想到神藉先知以賽亞所說的話：「耶和華如此說：在悅納的時候，我應允了你；在拯救的日子我濟助了你。我要保護你，使你作眾民的中保（中保：原文作約）；復興遍地，使人承受荒涼之地為業。」[賽 49:8]，今天神要在各校園中顯出祂悅納人的心意，神樂意幫助我們、賜福我們在校園所做的工，因為祂要復興遍地的校園事工，好叫遍地都得著復興。

事工報告:

六對屬於RVICS(Roving Volunteers In Christ’s Service)的退休夫婦將於十月十五日至十一月六日來到中心幫忙。通常這個機構的團隊到一個地方義務幫忙最多每兩年一次。這次他們只過了一年就再度前來，甚至也不是我們申請或要求。我們為這出人意外的幫助感謝主。神知道我們在建造新宿舍方面的需要，就差派了額外的幫手過來幫忙。弟兄們將幫忙蓋建宿舍，姐妹們則幫忙縫製窗簾並為馬可樓重新油漆。請為所需要的十萬元經費代禱。同工Dale弟兄剛完成了新宿舍的地基工程。我們的目標是建造八個房間以備十二月的訓練聚會使用。雖然時間緊迫，但有了您的代禱和義工們的幫忙，神必定行奇妙的作為。請為義工們的工作、平安和好的天氣代禱，叫我們能按時達成目標。

冬季各項聚會:

  1. 冬令會將於十二月廿一至廿五日在密蘇里州堪薩斯城的Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center舉行。網上報名時間為十一月中開始至十二月十六日下午四時正嚴格截止。感謝神為我們預備了多位祂的僕人在聚會中分享：邊雲波弟兄、賴若瀚牧師、李健長老、蘇文峰牧師、何仲柯醫生、蘇绯雲博士及中西部的牧者們。冬令會主要是向未信者傳福音及造就已信主的弟兄姐妹。請您帶福音朋友來參加，好讓他們能得信基督，自己也得造就。冬令會是為給家庭和學生準備的聚會。求神感動更多家庭參與向快速增長的學生傳福音。Christopher Yuan牧師將為青少年聚會的講員。兒童事工將由我們親愛的Dan & Kathy Davis 的團隊帶領。更多資訊將於十月張貼上網。
  2. 十二月門徒訓練營 將於十二月廿五至卅日在基督工人中心的營地(Warsaw, MO)舉行。感謝神，許多初信的弟兄姐妹歸向主。盼望門徒訓練能幫助他們全速在基督裡成長。門徒訓練也是裝備成熟的基督徒服事主的好機會。講員為賴若瀚牧師及李健長老。請為他們代禱。
  3. 一月讀經營 將於十二月卅至2013年一月六日在基督工人中心的營地(Warsaw, MO)舉行。這次我們將研讀使徒行傳。講員有李玉惠姐妹和張西平牧師。感謝神，許多弟兄姐妹已經報名，並開始準備功課。請為他們代禱。嚴格報名截止日期為十一月十五日。

請為基督工人中心的各項事工代禱。求神賜給同工們有更多從上頭來的能力服事神。謝謝您在禱告與財務上的支持。

同工近況

  1. 這個月高牧師將分別在東南亞及德州達拉斯地區服事。他將分享學生事工的策略，裝備更多人有效地在校園裡服事。請記念高牧師的母親和高師母的健康狀況。
  2. 江士民姐妹剛剛忙完夏季繁重的服事 – 兩個聚會及八、九月各有兩支短宣隊來宣教。目前她正回復正常的事工運作。江姐妹需要能力與智慧來安排冬季的各項聚會。請在禱告中記念她。
  3. 曾瑗姐妹將把愛荷華州的 Dubuque加入她服事的範圍。請為她在愛荷華州各校園的服事及週末奔走各地行車安全代禱。
  4. 關靜淳姐妹和阿肯色州的Fayetteville及密蘇里州的Springfield, Joplin的弟兄姐妹同工，把堪薩斯州的Pittsburg加入她服事的範圍。這不單是幫助新的校園，同時也是裝備弟兄姐妹宣教觀念的好方法。請為她代禱。
  5. 潘曉明弟兄的服事涵蓋了阿肯色州、田納西州、阿拉巴馬州，以及他原有的密西西比州。請為潘弟兄、他的家人和他的服事代禱。
  6. 涂立宇弟兄駐守密蘇里州的哥倫比亞，他分擔了高牧師的工作量。涂弟兄也 帶領哥城華人基督教會的弟兄姐妹在密蘇里州的Fulton開始了一個新的查經班。請為他代禱。
  7. Dale Beyer弟兄忙於新宿舍的建造工程。他也忙著準備RVICS團隊十月十五日的到來。除了日常的工作，Dale弟兄還需要準備明年初搬遷至瓜地馬拉作宣教工作。他也正在清理傢俱並籌措經費。這對他全家來說也不是一件容易的事。請為Dale弟兄和他的全家在這忙碌的時期代禱。

願神賜福您和您的家及教會。

在祂裡面您一起同工的,

高榮德（牧師）

 

Dear brothers and sisters,

The Lord’s peace be with you all!

The Lord’s favor on campus ministry

In this recent August and September, around 100 brothers and sisters—coming from over ten churches in East and West coasts and Chicago—joined the short-term mission teams. Together with the CWC coworkers they did evangelistic outreach on mid-west campuses. Praise the Lord, many people accepted Christ! Some of the new believers had lived in the United States for years. Some had come to the US for just a few weeks. We give God the glory! Based on my observations, the factors that led to their acceptance of Christ can be summarized as follows:

  1. Evangelistic meeting by short-term mission team— The beginning of school year was a good time to evangelize because schoolwork was not heavy. Many people attended the meeting. Some campuses had 1/3 of the total Chinese student populations come! Many new students who just came to the States came when invited. Thank you, Lord—they accepted Christ there!
  2. Personal evangelism by short-term mission teams— During the short 10-day mission trip, the team did evangelistic meetings during weekends and personal evangelism on weekdays. During the hot summer days, it was not easy to knock on doors and visit from house to house. It was also very challenging to evangelize when walking around campuses. But thank you, Lord—quite many people were willing to be visited. The number of people accepted Christ due to personal evangelism often exceeded counts from evangelistic meetings. Personal evangelism is the foundation in spreading the gospel. As long as we are willing to evangelize, we will reap the fruit.
  3. The campus’ evangelistic efforts during the school year— The campus that emphasized spreading the gospel will have more people accepting Christ during the short-term mission visit. If the local brothers and sisters did visitation together with the short-term mission team, the effect will be greater and long lasting. The local evangelistic ministry was the foundation for outreach to new students. Short-term mission teams could not take the place of local evangelistic ministry; it just mobilized the local outreach efforts. This year, several mission teams first did training on personal evangelism, then co-worked with local brothers and sisters to do visitation and evangelism, and finally had the evangelistic meeting. Thank you Lord! The Lord not just saved souls but also prepared more coworkers to spread the gospel.
  4. Campus ministry in mainland China— During the past few years, many new students who just came to the States accepted Christ quickly and even wanted to be baptized within couple weeks. This differed from the past. Students previously tended to spend quite some time seeking the truth before accepting Christ. God had prepared these students via many brothers and sisters evangelizing on the campuses in mainland China! Campus ministry has gradually built up in China. Many new students who just came to the States already knew Christ’s salvation, and many were ready to accept Christ in their hearts. While the situation in China discourages display of Christian belief, the campus environment in the States gave great opportunity for them to accept Jesus and be baptized. Fearing that spreading the gospel on US campuses will scare people is no longer appropriate. If we assume past hindrances still exist, we will miss the opportunity to evangelize.
  5. Co-work efforts from American brother & sisters on campuses— Thank you, Lord, in providing numerous American brothers & sisters on campuses who care about Chinese students, do evangelistic outreach, and teach them English and the Bible. The hearts of these Chinese students were prepared, and when someone talked to them about the gospel in their own language, their hearts were touched and ready to accept Christ! These American brothers & sisters prepared the way for us, and we should thank them for their ministry.

All these observations remind me of God’s Word through the prophet Isaiah: “This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances”

Today God will show His favor for the campuses. He is willing to help and bless our work there, because He wants to revive the ministry on all campuses and revive all lands.

Ministry Report:

Six retired volunteer couples called “RVICS”, Roving Volunteers In Christ’s Service, will come to help our work from Oct. 15 to Nov. 6. Normally, they visit a ministry at most every two years. This time they arranged to come after just one year and even without our application or request. We thank the Lord for this unexpected help. God knows we need to build our new dormitory; He sends additional help to us. The men will help build the dormitory. The ladies will help sew the curtains and do some painting for the Mark Hall.

Please pray for the need of about $100,000. Our coworker Dale just finished the foundation work of the new dormitory. Our goal is to make the eight bed rooms of the basement usable for the December training camp. Although time is running short, with your prayers and those help from those volunteers, God will do amazing work. Please pray for their works, their safety and good weather, so that we can reach the goal on time.

Upcoming Meetings in the Winter:

  1. Winter Conference will be held at Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, Kansas City, MO, from Dec. 21 to 25. The online registration will start from mid-Nov to Dec. 16, 4:00 pm, a strict due date and time. Thank God that He has prepared lots of His servants to share in the Conference. There will be Brother Yunbo Bian, Rev. Johann Lai, Elder Chien Li , Rev. Edwin Su, Dr. William Ho and Dr. Esther Su and some local pastors to be our speakers. Winter Conference emphasizes both evangelizing unbelievers and edifying brothers and sisters. Please bring your gospel friends so they will be reached for Christ and you yourself will be edified. The Winter Conference is geared both to families and to students. We pray that more families will help bring the fast-growing students to Christ. Pastor Christopher Yuan will be our youth speaker. Children will have care and ministry by our beloved children’s ministers Dan and Kathy Davis and their teams. More details will be posted on the web in October.
  2. December Discipleship Training Camp will be held at CWC at Warsaw, MO from Dec. 25 to 30. Thank God that so many new brothers and sisters turned to the Lord. We pray that this Training will help them grow in Christ at full speed, and they will be a good testimony for Christ in their campuses. Discipleship Training is a good time to equip mature Christians to serve Him during their student time and beyond. Rev. Johann Lai and Elder Chien Li will be our speakers. Please pray for them.
  3. January Bible Camp: will also be held at CWC at Warsaw, MO. from Dec. 30, 2012 t to Jan. 6, 2013. This time we will study the Book of Acts. Our speakers will be Sister Grace Lee and Pastor Stephen Chang. Thank God, many people have already applied and they are preparing for their home works. Please pray for them. The strict due date is Nov. 15, 2012.

Please pray for all the ministry of CWC. Pray that our coworkers will have more strength from above to serve Him. We thank you for your prayers, financial support.

Coworkers Corners:

  1. Pastor Ko will minister at Southeast Asia and Dallas, TX this month. He will share campus ministry methods to equip more people to effectively serve on campus. Please also remember the health condition of his mother (Mrs. Ko) and his wife (Mrs. Ko) in your prayers.
  2. Sister Cindy Chiang just finished the heavy summer ministry: two meetings and two mission teams in both August and September. Currently she has gone back to her routine ministry life. She needs strength and wisdom for arranging the meetings in the winter. Please remember her in prayers.
  3. Sister Vivian Tsen will add Dubuque, IA in her ministry. Please pray for her ministry over the campuses in Iowa and also safe journey every weekend.
    Sister Ching Kuan will add Pittsburg, KS in her ministry along with the team works from brothers and sisters from Fayetteville, AR, Springfield, MO, and Joplin, MO. It is a good way to help new campus and build up mission view to brothers and sisters. Please remember her in the prayers.
  4. Brother John Pan’s ministry covers Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and his ministry in Mississippi. Please pray for him, his family and his ministry in the prayers.
  5. Bro. Liyu Tu is stationed at Columbia, MO and he shares the workload of Pastor Ko. He is also leading the brothers and sisters from Columbia Chinese Christian Church to start a new Bible study group in Fulton, MO. Please pray for him.
  6. Bro. Dale Beyer is very busy on construction of the new dormitory. He also is busy preparing for the arrival of RVICS Oct. 15. Besides his routine tasks, he needs to prepare for moving to Guatemala as missionary in the first few months of next year. He needs to clean or sell unnecessary furniture and raise funds. It is not easy for the whole family. Please pray for him and his whole family at this busy season.

May our Lord bless you and your families and your church.

Serving together in Him,

Billy

Pastor