March 9, 2023

Am I Called to Go? "How do I know if God is calling me to missions?" "Discerning a particular call to missions starts with recognizing that every Christian has been called to participate in God's mission to reconcile the world to himself." "While it's true that participating in God's mission does not require all of us to travel to distant places, finishing the mission [of reaching every tribe, people, and nation] means that some of us must [go]." These three quotes are from a 2017 Gospel Coalition article by missionary Lucas Burton. I encourage you to read it in full here (about a five minute read). I recently had the opportunity to speak on this very topic at the 2023 SOW summer camp. With 120 university students, we had five days to delve into God's word, sing his praises, meet in small groups, and have a lot of good camp fun! Please pray that the students will prayerfully discern God's calling upon their lives, and whether that is to serve him here in Sydney, or outside of their culture to far flung peoples around the world. Island to Island Forum I will be assisting with the Island to Island Partnership (I2I) Forum next week in Fiji. You may recall I traveled there is September to help find a location for this forum. The many tiny nations of the Pacific Ocean were largely Christianized in the 19th and 20th centuries, but have since been victims to all the common heresies of the day (prosperity gospel, liberal theology, etc.) as well as many cults. Four Presbyterian denominations from the US, Australia, and New Zealand formed I2I to gather gospel-centered ministries from these nations in an effort to revitalize the local churches. The forum will be the first in-person meeting with representatives from four of the larger Oceanic nations (Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa and Vanuatu). Please pray that beneficial partnerships will be built toward the revitalization of the Oceanic churches. City Sanctum Update   An informational dinner was held on February 9 for those wanting to learn more about the re-boot of the City Sanctum ministry. From this group and others at Harbour City Church, I am working to form a new steering committee. Once formed, we will together seek God's guidance in laying the foundations for City Sanctum, and implementing the re-boot of regular meetings. The vision for City Sanctum is to guide city workers as they navigate the intersection of being Christians in an increasingly secular world. Recruiting steering committee members is proving to be a slow process. However it is providing opportunities to meet with HCC members and to discuss their roles within the life of the church. Calendar March 15-20 Island to Island Forum in Fiji (This is one of my required "leave Australia every 90 days" tourist visa trips.) June 13-16 PCA General Assembly Memphis, TN Prayer Points   Pray for the City Sanctum ministry and the formation of the new steering committee. Pray for the Island to Island Forum, and that it will be a blessing to the ministries on the islands and will serve to revitalize the churches. Pray that I will be granted a two year visa in order to continue serving in Sydney. My current tourist visa will expire in July. Pray for the university students from SOW camp as they seek to discern their roles in God's gospel mandate, whether at home or abroad.