This week we are excited to announce our latest OYC site in Manchester, England! The church in Manchester is looking for a zealous and teachable brother and sister to help in the campus and teen ministries. They will be trained by the evangelist and women's ministry leader.
Manchester is a first-class destination for university students from all over the world. The city boasts one of the largest student populations in Europe with over 99,000 students on four campuses throughout Greater Manchester (University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Salford and the University of Bolton).
In the surrounding areas outside the city region, there are an additional 22 universities and higher education institutions, bringing the total student population to around 400,000! The harvest is plentiful!
Learn more at the One Year Challenge website.
Last Wednesday, one of our OYC sites had another baptism. Five years ago some OYC disciples studied the Bible with Sam. This year Sam studied the Bible with Robert (center). One of the teachers at his university came for an OYC and first reached out to him. After studying the Bible for a semester, Robert's faith grew and he decided to give his life to Christ.
The fruits of faith sometimes come long after the seeds are sown. Robert could enter the Kingdom of God in part because of the faithfulness and perseverance of disciples who came on an OYC a five years ago and met Sam. Amen!
We see this powerful Biblical principle at work: "But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown" (Matthew 13:23).
A decision of faith today could help save someone many years down the road. To begin the OYC journey, visit oneyearchallenge.org.
God can use any situation, at home or abroad, to train you to be an effective minister. The OYC Guys encourage you to not to let feelings of inadequacy stop you from going on an OYC, but to seek training instead!
New Content on the One Year Challenge Blog:
Jesus: The Eating Missionary Jesus loved to eat. Not only did he declare "all foods clean," but he also loved eating with people. Eating was a part of Jesus' missionary spirit.A Testimony of a Former Atheist John Woodbridge recounts how as a former atheist, he eventually came to faith in Christianity. He also reminds us that many other former atheists have followed the same path.
His Ways Are Not Our Ways Leading a church or being on a mission or simply living a gospel-driven lifestyle will lead us in "ways that are not our ways." Whitmer tells future leaders where their thinking is likely to go wrong.
Great Images: A Visual Summary of Numbers A visual summary of the book of Numbers!
What We're Reading Today From John Piper's A Holy Ambition: "The power of life-reorienting giving for missions and life-risking going in missions, for suffering and martyrdom, is the enjoyment of the one whom we preach. Missions is not only powered by Jesus' universal authority, founded on his finished work, and modeled in his ministry is sustained by the promise of his presence and the pleasure we have in him." Each week we post a selection from a book disciples considering going on a One Year Challenge could read as part of their preparation.
Monday Music: Songs from OYC Sites Around the World This Week's Monday Music comes from Germany. We have a great OYC site in Berlin!