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Seek God Earnestly and Please Him with Faith (God’s work in 2014 and direction for 2015)

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him earnestly” (Heb 11:6)

We began 2014 with a New Year conference on New Year Day. We held onto John 21:15 again in 2014 with the direction to love Jesus and feed his sheep. We still need to grow a lot in this aspect, yet I want to see and share how God has helped us.

God’s work in  2014

A. World Mission

By God’s leading M. Joshua Lee attended the 2014 CIS New Year directors’ conference held in Israel along with M. Paul Chang. At this conference, I served the closing message, “Love Jesus and feed his sheep” at the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus had said to Peter, “Do you love me?” “Feed my lambs.” We learned that Jesus’ love command was his sincere love confession, “I love you; I truly love you.” That’s why he could ask, “Do you love me?”… “Feed my lambs”

Around the end of May, Sara was sent to Korea for medical treatments. M. Sarah went together to take care of her. While they were there, both M. Sarah and Sara shared their life testimonies.  Sara testified to God’s sufficient grace in her weakness. In this way M. Sarah and Sara served world mission and were served and encouraged by God’s servants.

S. Jemmie Hwang and M. Susanna Lee attended Hong Kong SBC and Jemmie shared her life testimony (Lk 1:38). The testimony was her prayer for the conference and also for her marriage. Susanna supported this conference through her prayer. 

In the summer, M. Joshua and Sarah attended CIS SBC, along with other Canadian journey team members. The theme was “God’s kingdom.” On the first day of the conference our journey team sang a special song “The Love of God” as five loaves and two fish for the conference and for CIS to be God’s kingdom. We could witness God’s kingdom expanding in CIS countries, and have God’s vision and prayer topics to pray for them. After the conference we visited Bauman (Moscow State Technical University) UBF where two families, Joshua and Petra Kim and Jonathan and Ruth Kim, along with their children serve God. Sara Neusa from Portugal came to Canada for her Ph. D. research at the end October and stayed with us until December 12. We had a mutually encouraging fellowship in Christ. This was also our prayer for Portugal UBF and for future gospel work in the 8 Portuguese speaking countries.

B. Bible Canada

First, the ministry of God’s word. We thank God that throughout the year we could study Luke’s gospel chapters 2 – 10 in 41 lessons through which we learned Jesus’ humanity, shepherd heart and evangelistic work. God also gave us his words from Is. 7 and 9 (at Christmas), Is. 12 (at Thanksgiving), and Is. 55 (at Club Orientation for freshmen), and Ecclesiastes 12, and Psalm 119:97-112. Thank God that M. James, M. Peter and M. David shared Sunday message with me Our missionaries shared their testimonies before GBS each Saturday and our student leaders gathered together for testimony writing right after Sunday worship and lunch.

Second, 1:1 and discipleship ministry. Disciple-raising has been a great challenge. One disciple candidate seemed to grow well with a devoted heart, but he left after SBC. This was another pain to us in disciple-raising. However, God led us to move on in discipleship ministry.

Jemmie has been faithful in serving the Lord throughout the year. She was a main messenger for GTA, Hamilton and Guelph joint SBC (Luke 19:1-10) and served the conference with obedient faith. She encouraged God’s people greatly through her quiet obedience, her message and feeding her Bible students, Sara Park, Sarah Kim, Lisa and Yiyang.  We are praying earnestly for her to establish a house church this year.

The year of 2014 has been a tough year for Sara due to the aftermath of the burn incident at the end of 2013. But it turned out to be God’s faith training for her to grow in deeper faith in the Sovereign God and his sufficient grace. Also, she received much prayer support and love from God’s servants throughout the world, especially in Chicago and Sungdong UBF. After coming back from Korea with renewed health and spirit, she decided to serve God as an intern in the fall. She positively served student ministry through fishing, 1:1 and forming student GBS and 2nd gen GBS.  Our 1:1 restored to around 30 each week. Students stayed in God’s house not just for 1:1 Bible study but for fellowship and school studies. As a result our students actively participated in Christmas worship service in the midst of final exams. Especially God has worked in Loren (2nd year, Math), Sally (1st year, Social Science), and Jessica (3nd year, Forestry). Jessica shared her life testimony based on 1 Peter 2:9. She prays to be a 1:1 Bible teacher for her family, friends and her nation, Brazil. She returned to Brazil in January but keeps 1:1 Bible study via Skype.

Rebekah almost finished her study in pharmacy at U of T and will graduate this June. Now we are praying for her proper residency. While studying, she served her friend, Mengyan through 1:1 Bible study, who moved to Boston UBF. Now Mengyang and her boyfriend Andrew are growing well in Boston UBF.

Paulina graduated from U of T this fall. While studying at U of T for four and half years, she kept her faith in the ungodly and strong humanistic university atmosphere, and often brought her friends to Bible study bearing her challenging school studies. She also faithfully served music ministry in the church. She testified that God had planted Jesus’ promise, Matthew 6:33 in her heart throughout her university life. Now she is preparing LSAT to get into law school. By God’s grace and leading she will receive internship training in Chicago from February for about six months. May God help her through this internship training to be rooted in the words of God and strong gospel faith to overcome all the secular humanism and be raised as a shepherdess and Bible teacher for God’s flock.

Abraham transferred from Scarborough campus to St. George campus in downtown last fall. He has struggled to overcome his study in the new environment and quietly kept his faith and priority as a music servant. Since boys are rare in our ministry, we pray for him earnestly to grow strong as a disciple of Jesus and to support boy ministry. 

Thank God for growing other growing Bible students. Ian made a sincere decision to commit his life to God and the church and is praying for his godly marriage and family. Tracey has also been growing well the past year being nourished in the word of God. She was once depressed but now she is full of motivation to do even impossible things by faith to please God, holding onto her key verse, Mark 9:23. She positively invited her cousins to Bible study. Thank God for M. Esther’s faithfully serving God’s flock of sheep, Estefania, Yachen, Maryam, Elaine, Kevin, and Joshua; for M. Moses, Jeremy; for M. James, David, Chao; for M. Susanna, Ishani; for M. Peter, Stone, Yi, Lui, and Vincent; and for M. Sarah, Tracey, Ian, Sophie, Helen, Esther, Maggie, Echeta, Nicole, Sammy, Yinah in addition to serving junior woman-coworkers group Bible study.

Third, Easter worship, SBC, Club Day, and Christmas worship. We had Easter worship service in our centre. M. David and S. Jemmie delivered gospel key verse messages. In July 11-13, 6 chapters in GTA plus Hamilton, Guelph and London had a joint SBC, with the title “Repent and Believe.” (178 people attended; 22 from Toronto). Through messengers’ camp, God helped us to raise 3 shepherds and 3 missionaries as messengers; we had club day on Sep. 2 and orientation for freshmen (70 students signed up; 6 students came). This year the chapters in GTA each had their own Christmas worship. Our Christmas worship was on December 14. God sent 24 students. The message was based on Isaiah 9:1-6, revealing Jesus our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Fourth, extra and wider work of God. Thank God for our Bible study committee; we completed a Bible workshop on 2 Peter. In addition, directors in GTA and Hamilton and Guelph gathered together and to study 1 & 2 Kings’, which took more than 3 years. Thank God that we could serve HBF since last November.

Thank God for sending his servants to Toronto for special lectures: S. Kang (Soteriology, the Holy Spirit), S. Joshua Lee (Dr. Lee’s legacy, “Endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ”) and M. Abraham and Sarah Hwang shared their life testimoniesy after Dr. Lee’s memorial meeting in Chicago. Thank God for some Canadian workers GBS with Dr. Mary Yang, Titus and 1 Peter.

Direction for 2015

Personally I should overcome my limitations in Bible study, prayer life and shepherding God’s flock. And we need to strive to form a strong vessel of the Holy Spirit. In this situation I need to faith to seek God earnestly for his help and grow in him. So we are holding Hebrews 11:6 as our 2015 key verse. May God bless our direction to seek him earnestly and please him with faith.

Prayer topics in 2015:

1. Seek God earnestly and please him with faith overcoming our limitations; average 50 1:1, 40 Sunday worship attendees, and 12 testimony sharers in our student  testimony writing and sharing meeting
2. For Jemmie’s house church to be established this year; 12 shepherds’ families by 2020
3. For Canada SBC and  supporting  CIS ministry