If you don’t get our monthly field update in your inbox, you can still check it out here. Here’s what we’re talking about this month:

• Living On Purpose
• New Relationships in Christ
• A Double Portion of Grace

Enjoy!

Keeping up with our theme, our pastors will be learning how to “Become Salt & Light From the Inside Out”. Check out the promo video for next Monday’s Hand in Hand conference:

When mission teams come to serve alongside us in South Africa, they participate is what we call Relationship Evangelism. It’s all about building relationships with people, serving them in tangible ways, and sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

As our team from Grace Community Church served around World Fellowship Church, they impacted many lives.

One young man had been raised with traditional Basotho beliefs, but didn’t agree with them because he felt we should be able to talk directly with God rather than through ancestral spirits. He also investigated Islam, but didn’t find the truth he was looking for. When the team met him, they found him hungry for truth and seeking a direct relationship with God. They introduced him to Jesus Christ and his life changed forever.

But it didn’t stop there. The team continued to disciple this young man through the rest of the week. They visited his tuck shop, taught him from the Bible, and answered his many questions about God, Christ and life in general. They invited him to World Fellowship Church where he was connected with other believers. And they invited him to a LaunchPad class, where he will continue to grow in his faith.

As the team said their goodbyes, they found that this young man was already witnessing to others. He is well known in the area and people often hang out around his tuck shop.

It’s all about relationships. Our personal relationship with Christ. Building relationships with other believers. And stepping out to reach people in need of the hope that Jesus offers.

We have been asked how the current strike is affecting our ministry in South Africa, so we wanted to give you a quick update. In a nutshell, teachers, healthcare workers and civil servant workers in South Africa are currently striking over pay.

The strike has not affected our Outreach Department, in fact we have a mission team serving with us and they’ve been out in the villages everyday for the past couple of weeks. God is using them in HUGE ways to impact people with the love of Christ.

Because schools are closed, our AIDS Prevention program has been affected by the strikes, all Leadership Summit classes this week were postponed and will be rescheduled when school resume. Some of our LaunchPad classes will also need to be rescheduled depending on their location.

We ask that you stand with us in prayer that this week will be the last of the strikes! We know God has big things in store for all of our programs for the rest of this year.

We’re so excited about our next IMPACT leadership conference. A week from today, we’ll be talking to 350+ students about activating transformation in their schools and communities!

Check out the video to learn more!

We recently hosted a student mission team from Grace Community Church in California.

It was amazing to see these young leaders step out boldly to share their faith and show the love of Christ in tangible ways. And as the Lord worked through each of them, it was clear that He did a mighty work in them as well.

Here are some of the lessons they learned from their experience in South Africa:

“God uses us in different ways than we expect.” – Lindsay

“That in any situation I face I can have peace in that He’s going to accomplish His will whether I’m nervous or not, that His Spirit is helping to guide my words and actions when I fully rely on him.” – Daniel

“Always trust, and let the Holy Spirit lead me everywhere, in absolutely everything.” – Sara

“To be bold, and to pray for whatever you need.” – Mollie

“Don’t be afraid to let God lead me and stretch me and use me, even if I feel awkward or uncomfortable at first.” – Kelsey

“God taught me that I need to be listening to him every day and praying that his Holy Spirit works through me.” – Sara

Our AIDS Prevention program is currently in ten schools, teaching nearly 4000 students! But, there are over 600 schools in Qwa Qwa–and we’ve been invited into all of them.

In order to reach more students, over the next few weeks our coaches will be doing one-day events at local schools, sharing with students what it means to live on purpose.

God showed up in big ways last week at our first assembly, pushing aside obstacles so we could equip and empower students.

Many area schools were closed because of a recent teachers strike, but this school remained in session specifically for the assembly. The school was so excited about the message, that they even had a professional photographer come to capture the events of the day.

We knew the teachers were excited about what was being shared, but we were encouraged when over 60 students were told they could leave school early, and they all chose to stay; they were anxious to hear what it means to live a life of purpose!

We have more of these one-day events planned in coming weeks. We’re excited God is using the coaches to share this powerful message of hope!

This week our Leadership Summit Director, June Blanshan, is sharing her heart and the journey she’s taken with God, wrestling with the issues of poverty and unemployment while serving in South Africa. You can view her past three posts here.

Needless to say, I have been learning what it means to have Jehovah Jirah as Provider.

As I walk through personal challenges and learn to stand on the truth of God’s Word I am encouraged and strengthened.It is that same encouragement and strength I am blessed to be able to share with the coaches.  God’s Word is truth, hope, and life.

When He states He will provide for our every need, our only job is to believe Him and stand on that knowledge.

My prayer, my hope, my hearts desire is to see them (our coaches) at a place where provision is no longer a care or concern.  Where they are able to provide for their family and put food on the table.

I dream of the impact that this would have on their lives, their confidence, and the testimony it would become. I imagine how this would increase their ability and desire to pour into the lives of their learners, and how the results would be magnified without carrying the burden of provision, the pang of hunger, or the bitterness of being cold…

I dream, I imagine, I pray, and I wait… for our God is able.

This week our Leadership Summit Director, June Blanshan, is sharing her heart and the journey she’s taken with God, wrestling with the issues of poverty and unemployment while serving in South Africa. Just joining us? You can find the first two posts here and here.

In the midst of the financial hurdles and obstacles, our coaches still choose to prepare, attend, and teach classes to the youth of Qwa Qwa sharing our curriculum and the truth of God’s Word. The coaches infuse hope, dreams, and futures into the lives of the learners they teach even while they may be struggling to survive or pay their bills.  They maintain a walk of faith at all times, teaching and mentoring their students to do the same.

I am amazed as I watch them invest their time to serve, holding onto the word of God and His promise to sustain and provide.  My heart is divided between being so proud, so encouraged, so filled with thanks for them…and the deep sadness that I/we cannot provide, cannot be the ones to meet their financial needs in a tangible way.  All I know right now is that I am grateful God who can, who will, and who does provide, and am in awe of watching His provision everyday.

Join us tomorrow for the final post in June’s series!

This week our Leadership Summit Director, June Blanshan, is sharing her heart and the journey she’s taken with God, wrestling with the issues of poverty and unemployment while serving in South Africa. Check out her first post here.

Our coaches work with us part-time, and rely on these wages to sustain them. A few also rely on their income to provide for both their immediate and more extended family. If they are the only ones with any form of income or employment, as some of them are, basic survival can be a challenge.

It’s hard to try and mentor lifestyle skills- such as pulling extra money for a grocery budget when all of the money is spent on necessities. It’s hard to encourage them to attend classes and teach in order to earn more income – whenbasic expenses like money for personal transport are real barriers.

Knowing the challenges that the coaches deal with has impacted how I hear and respond to needs. My first thought or instinct was to purchase what was needed and move on. However, when that same need resurfaced one month later I quickly learned that I had only thrown one small bucket of water on a raging fire. Challenged to creatively seek longer-term solutions to ongoing problems has stretched both me, and the ministry I serve, as we trust in a willing and capable God for answers.

…June’s story continues tomorrow.