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When we look around us we see snow on the ground and there doesn’t seem to be any end to winter in sight; but when we look with spiritual eyes we see a harvest ripening in the fields, as we continue to see relationships forming between GCMI members and various people groups throughout NYC. Clearly the Kingdom is growing through our city to reach the world. In addition, we are excited to partner with other groups of Christians from around the country:
Last month, Executive Director Jared Looney and several GCMI Mission Catalysts were invited to West Springfield Church of Christ in Massachusetts to do some consulting work. While helping out in the neighborhood after a recent storm, the church realized that there were several thousand Iraqis and Nepalis in their community. They asked us to help shape a vision and ministry as they try to develop a relationship with their neighbors.
Later in March, GCMI in NYC will host a group of students from Johnson University. We look forward to partnering with them as they learn about our work here.
Remember to visit our Facebook page to read more stories about how the Kingdom is growing in global cities!
If you are interested in partnering with us financially, check out our newly integrated form on the
website. It is now easier than ever to support GCMI Mission Catalysts. |
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How rewarding it is to witness the seed of the gospel take root and grow. Sunn was in my first university English conversation group. When she first began attending the group, it was difficult to engage her. She was shy, hesitant to speak and soft-spoken when she did. However, as time progressed and I began meeting with her one-on-one, she proved to be a deep thinker and very spiritually interested. When I asked her to gather friends for our first Bible story, Sunn brought five people!
Over the course of the semester, we continued to meet for Bible study and practice. At one point, near Christmas, she expressed her desire and intention to be baptized. Several Christian professors at the university who had also reached out to Sunn invited her to use the baptistery at their church. She asked me to come with her to the church and witness her decision to accept Christ.
After her baptism, we continued to meet for study and fellowship. She has begun sharing her experience with friends and roommates. She called some of her classmates from high school in China, and I am encouraging her to share with her parents. This can be challenging for students, especially from China, as it may be taken as a sign of disrespect or may be rejected by the family completely. Pray for Sunn as she grows in her faith, that she will be bold for the Kingdom.
It is not always the case that we as missionaries will get to see God bring a seed to fruition. At GCMI, we are often on the planting end—scattering gospel seeds and waiting to see if any will find good soil. We give praise and thanks when God allows us to take part in a harvest.
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When I saw the dress on Facebook it looked gold and white, to my wife it looked black and blue. It was interesting and funny so I shared it. The next morning, three people had shared the article from my page, and, from what I could see, everyone knew someone who had shared the story. The story was everywhere. In the internet world this is what’s known as “going viral;” media outlets and companies do everything they can to go viral—it’s a coveted status, even more so for its simplicity: one person shares with three people, who each share with two people, who both share… It’s rapid, it’s organic, and it is how a movement begins.
We at GCMI want to see the gospel go viral in NYC. We want people sharing the gospel as they hear it. We want a rapid, organic movement of disciples making disciples. It’s the reason why we ask people we study the Bible with to share what they are learning with someone around them, and we encourage them to teach others to share. It’s the reason why every Wednesday when we begin Bible study at the Botanical gardens I start with asking how sharing went the week before; and I get to hear how at Starbucks and with roommates and with, until recently, estranged family members, the gospel is going viral. Every Saturday when I study the gospel with my Chinese friends at Columbia, I get to hear how they have shared the story in Beijing and Shanghai; that is the gospel going viral. At GCMI, we are encouraging everyone who is a disciple or is in the process of becoming a disciple to share the story of Jesus, to gossip the good news. We are trying to lay the foundation for a movement. Pray with us that the gospel goes viral.
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