Evangelism Week in Newcastle

So much has happened since I last updated my blog….too much to summarize here but I will try to capture some of the highlights.

Our teaching two weeks ago was on Spiritual Disciplines. We were challenged in the areas of faith and generosity, spiritual warfare, hospitality, worship, and service. For me the theme of generosity and selflessness kept coming up, and I’m learning so much about putting others before myself. The verse Philippians 2: 3-4 would sum up that week for me: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” At the end of that week we had a “Giving Night” where we prayed about something that God wanted us to give to someone else in the DTS. We prayed during the week and then gave our gifts on Friday. It was amazing to see how God really spoke to us and how He chose to bless us through each other. Then late Friday night I went with a group to do some outreach at a local nightclub. We handed out water and lollypops to people coming out of the club. It was cool to serve people in a practical way (because apparently water and sugar help when you’re intoxicated) and to also be a light in such a dark place. Apparently the “bouncers” at the club say that when YWAMers are there giving out water, the atmosphere outside the club is a lot calmer. It was a great experience and gave me a taste of the week to come….

This last week I was in Newcastle for a DTS Gathering to learn about and practice evangelism. The week got off to a surprising start. We left very early Sunday morning to catch a bus, which would take us to Newcastle in about 6 hours. I will spare you all the details, but I ended up stuck in a London train station for 12 hours with 11 others from my DTS! We missed our bus and had to wait for the next bus, which didn’t leave until 11pm, which meant we would arrive in Newcastle at 5am. We found a little corner in the station and made it our home by spreading out sleeping bags, playing card games, and just chatting. It was so fun! It was great preparation for Outreach! Learn to be flexible :) While we were there, we prayed together and thanked God for placing us in that situation. We acknowledged that we weren’t there by accident and we asked Him if there was anything He wanted us to do. We ended up just praying for people in the station, praying against the spirit of Halloween (because it was Oct. 31^st) and for people’s safety. This whole experience was such a learning opportunity for me and was a great practical lesson to start off the week of evangelism. The Lord knows how I like to be practical :) It taught me to look outside of myself and to view every situation as an opportunity. I could have easily been so frustrated that we were stuck there all day because that was such an inconvenience. But with that attitude, I would have missed out on a great learning opportunity.

This theme continued throughout the week as we learned about making evangelism a lifestyle. It’s not a method, it’s a question, and the question is: how big is your heart? I learned that evangelism is just about loving people. We often hear the word “evangelism” and get intimidated by what that entails. I was challenged this week to make evangelism a part of my daily life by just being aware of the people God has placed around me and being bold enough to bring God into my conversations. Everyone has a “God Spot” in the brain. This is a part of the brain that raises questions like, “Who am I? What is my purpose? Is there a God?” This is pretty cool, because it makes people quite willing to discuss. The key to evangelism is not about talking at people, but listening to them, asking questions, and getting them to think—to activate that “God Spot.”

For me this week represented the beginning of my journey toward becoming an evangelist. I had some conversations with strangers and got to pray for a few people, but there were no great breakthroughs. I’m learning to trust God and also to have patience with myself. I’m excited for more opportunities on Outreach to share Christ with others and I’m excited to take these experiences home with me, where I can live it out in my daily life. I want to have the eyes and ears of Christ wherever I go, looking beyond myself to see those who need to hear about His love.

Also this week got me thinking a lot about the Holy Spirit. As you probably know, YWAM is known for being very “charismatic,” which is contrary to the upbringing I’ve had. I’ve started to read the book of Acts in the Bible, which mentions many amazing miracles and wonders performed by Jesus’ disciples after His death. They healed people, preached on the streets, spoke in tongues, etc. They were filled with the same Holy Spirit that lives in us today! I’m struggling a bit with comparing my church back home to YWAM and why they look so different. I’m glad to be exposed to this different experience with the Holy Spirit because it is raising so many questions in my head and is causing me to grow. I’m excited because I’m going to read the book, “Forgotten God” by Francis Chan for my next book report. It’s about the Church’s neglect of the Holy Spirit today.

I would love to chat with you more about evangelism, the Holy Spirit, anything! If you have other resources—books, etc., I would love to know about them. I would also just love to hear your experiences.

I've gotten to the point where I'm starting to miss home. I miss my friends and family and I really miss the Trinity House. I'm so incredibly thankful that Trinity has been a part of my life. I'm thankful for the ministry opportunities I had there. I love that CCF is student led, and I'm realizing how much I've learned from my leadership experiences. So if you're reading this and you're still a part of CCF, enjoy your time! Get involved and let God use you in ministry! He will teach you so much about yourself and your gifts which will help you for whatever you choose to do in the future :)

We only have one month until Outreach! I'm excited but also nervous :) I'll try to post some prayer needs soon when I have more details about what we will be doing in South America. Oh, I also found out that we will be spending a few weeks in Northern Ireland too! This next month is going to be super busy preparing for Outreach. I'm so excited to see what God has in store for us!

I hope that you are doing well. Please keep me updated on your life. I love to hear what's happening back home. Take care!

This is part of the "dream team" that got stuck in the train station for 11 hours :) We bonded :)

All of the girls slept on the floor in a church. Again, great Outreach prep!

The city of Newcastle was beautiful....yes, there was a castle! The old architecture was amazing.