Showing posts with label Endurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Endurance. Show all posts

Saturday, November 8, 2025

Frequency | Endure. Resist. Remain. Jesus Is Worthy of It All.

 

It's Your breath
in our lungs, so
we pour out our praise
to You only.

The lyrics above are what we were singing in the picture above during one of the many powerful moments when the Spirit of God was moving during the 2025 Frequency Conference in Philadelphia.

On the night of Friday, November 7 around 8 p.m., Pastor Phillip Anthony Mitchell felt a groaning in his heart before he preached as he invited the 700+ people in the room to join him in worship singing:

All the earth will shout Your praise,
our hearts will cry, 
these bones will sing,
"Great are You, Lord!"
It's Your breath in our lungs,
so we pour out our praise
to You only!


The greatness of God in the grief of living in a world in need of redemption and renewal was the focus for both Friday and Saturday in midst of the songs, sermons, and communion of saints who came together from across the world (ex. one sister, Bethlehem, flew from Dubai to join with us this past weekend) to remind each other to:

Endure,
Resist, and
Remain
as a Remnant of
humble and faithful 
Jesus followers
for such a time as this.


This post will include a stream of consciousness collection of Scriptures, songs, and notes from the communion of saints who poured into us the 36+ hours we were together (including some from Redemption City Church where I had the privilege to preach on "Nehemiah 9: The Lord Who Writes Our Stories" on Sunday morning). May anyone reading these words of encouragement receive an exhortation to walk with King Jesus and see Him as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of your story, the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

And after reading some of these words, my hope is you will join the choir singing this chorus that potently punctuated a praise break:

You're worthy of it all!
You're worthy of it all!
For from You are all things
and to You are all things,
You deserve the glory.


Main Session | Vision
w/ Rev. Dr. Eric Mason

It's a privilege to be a Kingdom participant. 
Jesus wants living sacrifices, 
people who are committed 
no matter what. 

Are we building our lives 
around what's best for the Kingdom 
and our spiritual growth? 
There's no microwaving discipleship. 
Go through the battle. 
Vintage beauty gets its character 
from being cut and washed 
over and over. 

Through suffering with the Savior, 
God produces:

+ Substance
+ Stability
+ Structure
+ Sense of belonging

so we can be Jesus' people 
sent out as His incarnational missionaries 
in the spaces we live and dwell.



" ... If the highest place I reach
Is at Your feet,
Then I've done it all.

If the best thing that I've seen
Is Your glory,
Then I've seen it all.

Your love has changed my life,
Forever satisfied,
God, You are my everything.

If one Word is the only thing
You speak,
Then I've heard it all.

If I feel Your heart
And never see Your hand,
I still have it all.

No treasure of this life
Could ever satisfy.
God, You are my everything. ... "

(This song is a powerful "dayenu"
that brought me to tears.)

Fireside Chat | Enduring

We need to be broken,
as jars of clay in the Potter's hand
so people can see Christ through us.

You need people around you
that aren't impressed.
They value you, but they remind you
it all (i.e. your gifts) comes from God.

You participated,
but you didn't make it happen.
You need people in your life
who protect the glory of God
that rests on you.


" ... I can never repay You, Lord,
For what You've done for me,
How You loosed my shackles
And You set me free.
How You made a way out of no way,
Turned my darkness into day,
You've been my joy in the time of sorrow,
Hope for my tomorrow,
Peace in the time of storm,
Strength when I'm weak and worn,
You've been so faithful ... "

Main Session | Conviction
w/ Pastor Phillip Anthony Mitchell
+ Jude 1:1-3

Are you a servant of Christ
or is He your butler or genie?
Have you given Him 
your complete "Yes"?

May
mercy,
peace, and
love be multiplied to you ... 
I found it necessary
to write to you to
contend for the faith
that was once for all
delivered to the saints.

This is for the called.
This is for the beloved.
This is for the kept.

Salvation is enough
to give Him praise
for the rest of your life.

Fight for the faith,
for the salvation of Christ,
for the teachings of Christ,
for the family of Christ.

Contend in your prayer room
against the principalities and powers.

Contend from your knees 
and rise for Christ.

Wherever you show up, 
His light shows up.

If being a servant is below you,
being a leader is above you.

This is us caring about the Kingdom
more than our comfort.



Panel | Remnant Discipleship

It's hard to take up my cross
when I'm offended.
+ Megan Ashley

Life in community 
is a glorious mess. 
Everything is a part 
of your discipleship.
+ Phillip Anthony Mitchell 
& Eric Mason

Feel your emotions,
but remember that
they're still tainted with sin.
Feel them with Jesus.
Submit them to Him.
Work them through filters.
Filter them with Him.
Filter them with trusted friends.
Filter them in the Word.
Filter them in prayer.
+ Phillip Anthony Mitchell

How do you know you're called? 
Going anywhere else,
doing anything else, 
would be disobedience.
+ Eric Mason

Discipleship is a lifelong apprenticeship 
with Jesus 
in which you are transformed 
from the imago Dei 
to the imago Christi. 
+ Pastor Vernon Mobley &
Rev. Dr. Eric Mason

People will be more amazed
by your intimacy than your intellect.
Be personable and knowledgeable.
+ Preston Perry

God didn't ask us to be impressive,
He called us to impact.
+ Rev. Dr. Eric Mason

Suffering and weariness 
are means by which God 
will bring you to the end of yourself 
so you can understand 
your dependence on Jesus. 
+ Pastor Aaron Campbell


Final Main Session | Encouragement
w/ Jackie Hill Perry

God uses encouragement
and exhortation to keep us.

Keep going. 

Encouragement and exhortation:

+ Help us to stay protected
+ Remind us of His promises & presence
+ Inform our perspective
+ Keep us being faithful today

Discouragement can turn into lies 
that you decide 
you want to believe. 
But discouragement is not the enemy, 
per se, unbelief is.

Today if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts.

Do you let your temporary discomfort
reveal your distrust in God,
or do you let it
reveal your trust in God?

We have expectations that the places God leads us will have no depravation. If we are our own resources, we will be discouraged in those spaces. We can be so discouraged that we think God rescued us to then kill us. That the God who loves you doesn't like you. The devil is a liar. But in the LORD, where it seems there is no way, God can make a way. 

Is the LORD among us, or not? 
Are we posturing ourselves as someone 
God has to prove Himself to? 
Or do we trust He's with us?

To one God gives courage.
To another God gives patience.
Both are needed for endurance.

Are we exhorting each other every day?
Are we encouraging each other every day?
Are we edifying each other every day?
" ... As long as it is called today ... "

Weariness is 
a consequence of faithfulness.
We can be tired of what comes 
when being useful and faithful.

Encourage each other 
every day 
while it is still called today.

There is manna for every morning.
But you got to get up and take it in.
His mercies are new every morning.

Some races can't be finished by yourself.
"I finished last. But I finished."

God will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. He has not given you a spirit of fear, but the Spirit of power, and love, and a sound mind. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. When you don't know how to pray, the Spirit intercedes for you with groans that are too deep for words. If God is for you, who can be against you? In the temptation, He will provide a way of escape so you can endure.

Frequency Blessing + Benediction

May God Himself,
the God of peace,
sanctify you through and through.
May your whole spirit,
soul and body be kept blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The One who calls you is faithful,
and He will do it. 
+ 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Bonus Frequency Speaker Videos:

w/ the Perrys

w/ the Perrys

w/ Jackie Hill Perry

w/ Lecrae

w/ Lecrae

w/ Rev. Dr. Eric Mason

w/ Lecrae


Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan


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Location: Worcester, MA, USA

Thursday, June 23, 2022

CN | Inisheer Island, Ireland & 1,000+ Years of Faith in Christ

 

"Saint Brendan and the Iceberg" by Lynn Curlee

"In a place where history and wonder meet, there is an ancient church from the tenth century ... "


I wrote about The Seamless Life by Steven Garber in a recent post. In this beautiful little book, Garber also shares a little about the history of Inisheer Island, Ireland and the faithfulness of people to witness to the story of the Gospel of Jesus for more than 1,000 years. This post captures a little of this special place in Celtic Christian history.

Mere Christianity on Inisheer Island & the Truest Truths of the Universe

"Being on Inisheer Island, Ireland, for a few days reminded me of the deeper, longer truths of life and my life ... 

The locals say that there are ten thousand miles of stone fences on the three Aran Islands; on Inisheer we counted five trees, which gives one pause, realizing that for a very long time people have carved out a life on these barren rocks, creating an agricultural economy from the stone, sand, and seaweed. Throughout the world, the wool from the Aran Island's sheep has made for some of the finest sweaters we know.

In this place where history and wonder meet, there is an ancient church from the tenth century, now sunken into the ground because of one thousand years of blowing sand, calling out to us through the generations, reminding us of the truest truths of the universe. For almost as long as we know, women and men have set their hope on the cross, seeing its reality as the center of life and learning, of labor and love.

Celtic Cross in Front of Sunken Church by Eliza Batz

While the details are hard to know so many years later, it is believed that St. Brendan went out from and returned to Inisheer in the sixth century, as did St. Columba about that same time. Their visionary vocations mattered then and still do centuries later, choosing to step into history not knowing where their adventures would take them, sure that they had been called to love the world in Christ's name.  
(For example, in Christ's Church's history, the Celtic Missionary Movement comprised of Saints Patrick, Aiden, Brendan, Columba, Brigid, Winifred, and many more was not only credited with the evangelization of Europe but also of "saving" European civilization through writing and copying sacred texts. + Rich Robinson, "The Genius of the Scene: From Solo Heroics to Collective Intelligence" in Red Skies) 
Inisheer Island — a simple place — is almost forgotten now, but for folk who see themselves as belonging to the deep, long story of the Gospel of the Kingdom, mere Christianity. It matters, its influence echoing across time into eternity.  
For hundreds of years men and women have lived there, with ora et labora (prayer and work) at the heart of their hope, seeing the world for what it is and isn't, and choosing to step into it for love's sake.

Simply said, I have chosen that Story to make sense of my story — and therefore Inisheer Island has meaning for the person I am, for the person I want to be." 
+ Steven Garber, "On Mere Christianity" in The Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work

Bonus: Creed by Patmos Abbey in Order of St. Columba 

 

We believe that our lives are held within the all encompassing love of God our Father, who knows our names and recognizes our deepest needs.  
We believe that Christ is the only begotten Son of the living God, and that His grace is like living waters that can never be exhausted.  
We believe in the birthing, renewing, enabling Spirit of God who yearns over our welfare as a mother yearns for her child.  
We believe that God is in the arid desert as well as in green pastures, and that hard times and disciplines are also loving gifts.  
We believe that our journey has a purpose and a destination, and that our path leads to a glory we cannot yet imagine.  
We believe that in Jesus' Church we are fellow pilgrims on the road, and that we are called to love one another as God loves us.  
This is our faith and we are humbled to profess in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

May God's Kingdom come, His will be done.
Jesús nuestra Rey, venga Tu reino! 🙏🍞🍷👑🌅🌇
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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

CN | Dispatches: Stories of Humility & Hope in China



" ... Another man was sick, and as a Taoist, he sought help from seers. He went to one renowned fortune-teller in the city, but the man had recently become a Christian. His advice to him now was, 'You need the Lord.' Surprised and disappointed over this 'fortune,' he sought out another fortune-teller, but he too had been converted and advised the sick man, 'You need the Lord.' This man went to five fortune-tellers – all of whom had come to Christ. Upon their witness, he found that Christ was indeed his true fortune. ... "


"The hour is dark and it’s hard to see what You are doing here in the ruins, and where this will lead. Oh, but I know that down through the years I’ll look on this moment, see Your hand on it, and know You were here. And I’ll testify of the battles You’ve won, how You were my portion when there wasn’t enough. I'll sing a song of the seas that we crossed, the waters You parted, the waves that I walked. Oh, my God did not fail! Oh, it’s the story I’ll tell! ... " + The Story I'll Tell

This song above and the verse below have hit me in ways I'm still unpacking. We get to live in the story of a God who does not fail. May the Word of God be the sword of the Spirit for all of us in the midst of feeling contained, chained, and/or limited right now:

I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained. + 2 Timothy 2:9

For encouragement in holy imagination for what King Jesus can and does do to reveal His Kingdom of heaven near and at work among us, these "Stories of Humility & Hope" are from China (the past two were from our sisters and brothers living and walking with Jesus in the former Soviet Republics and countries on the coast of West Africa).

"China" excerpts adapted from Dispatches from the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance from Around the World, published in 2014 A.D.


Wuzhou's Story in Shenyang, China

We met last night in room 603 on the backside of the Jin Jiang hotel. The room was crowded with men and women reporting from the front. One of them was Wuzhou, a house church leader in Shenyang. Last year he was copying and distributing ten thousand copies of the JESUS film. But the operation was too big, and the police caught him. Perhaps because he is the son of a Communist official, he off light – just a huge fine, the equivalent of a year's wages! Wuzhou seemed to take it in stride. In fact, he said nothing of this – I learned it from others. Rather, he is looking ahead, focused on strengthening the more than three hundred believers in the house church here in the city, which more recently broke up into numerous groups. As Uncle Zhao ("Uncle" is the common term among Chinese Christians for an older leader) reminded us, "It is easier to strike an eagle than ten sparrows."

The Yuans' Story in Somewhere West of Beijing, China 

We are in search of a "secret" baptismal service of a house church in Beijing. We have vague directions – take the road west, pass the apple orchard, follow bus 727 to a bridge ... We got out at the bridge, walking down a dirt road that wound along the Ye Xi River. When we rounded a bend, we heard the singing of "Amazing Grace," and what we saw was also amazing – hundreds standing beneath the willows along the river bank. About two hundred people were in line to be baptized, and more were arriving. At least that many more were there to share in this time of witness and worship. Morning mist still clung to the river, where the pastors stood and received one believer after another from the long line. The old pastor of the church, the venerable Allen Yuan, sat with his wife, and they laid hands on and prayed for each person being baptized. Pastor Yuan is 90 years old and has spent 23 years in prison for his faith, including torture during the days of Mao.

Sister Sung and Brother Khao's Stories in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China

For 30 years Sister Sung and Brother Khao have served the Lord and led many to the Savior. Their testimonies were told with tearful joy because, as Sister Sung put it, "the love of God gripped me" – and clearly He has not let her go. Over the years, Sister Sung and Brother Kao witnessed far and wide and started house churches in Dun Jiang, Mulan, and the Black River region, but the fires of persecution have followed them. Yet like the three Hebrew children, the fires did not consume them, and they found Christ with them in the midst. Once the police raided the church in Dun Jiang. The police chief denounced the Christians as being part of a "capitalist dog religion," and with threats of criminal charges, he and his henchman began days of interrogations. However, little did the chief know that his wife was a "lady Nicodemus," secretly meeting at night with Sister Sung to know more about Christ. She believed on the Lord Jesus – and then openly declared Him. Her witness to her husband ended the investigation – and eventually led him to the Savior. In another city, a police spy planted in a house church came under conviction after hearing testimonies of men with notorious pasts. As a police officer, he had beaten and tortured men for their crimes, but that had not stopped them from stealing or fighting. How is it that the Gospel has the power to change a person? Under deep conviction, he soon found out for himself. Another man was sick, and as a Taoist, he sought help from seers. He went to one renowned fortune-teller in the city, but the man had recently become a Christian. His advice to him now was, "You need the Lord." Surprised and disappointed over this "fortune," he sought out another fortune-teller, but he too had been converted and advised the sick man, "You need the Lord." This man went to five fortune-tellers – all of whom had come to Christ. Upon their witness, he found that Christ was indeed his true fortune.

Altantsetseg's and Wu-Wen's Stories in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China

Met a young lady named Altantsetseg, which means "golden flower." She is working in campus evangelism and discipleship in Dalian. She made a 30-hour train ride here to accompany our little team across her homeland of Inner Mongolia and to introduce us to Christians along the way. Tonight before our prayer time, she shared how she came to faith in Christ, and with joy she sang songs of praise in the Mongolian tongue. The sound was sweet and clear. A winsome loneliness clung to its rhythms, like the companionship of the wind that only a Mongolian shepherdess could know. What a day that will be when Mongolian voices join the choir from every tribe and nation, all of us singing praise to the Lamb that was slain. ... We are traveling via bus and many are slumped over, catching rubber-neck naps. But Altantsetseg is busy talking with our tour guide, Wu-Wen, sharing Christ with her. She delights to shine for Christ and speak of Him. ... After a late supper at the end of a long day, we returned to hear that Wu-Wen accepted Christ as her Savior. She had first heard the Gospel last summer at an English camp, but Altantsetseg's faithful witnessing brought her to understanding and decision. More and more like Wu-Wen are coming into the Kingdom across Inner Mongolia, from the cities to the grasslands. In little more than a year the church in the area has grown to over one thousand. They meet in ten house churches – some in the city, some among the shepherds on the prairie.

Nashso's Story in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China

In town, the house church meets in the home of a seamstress named Nashso. A brother named Amrad took me over to Nashso's house, where she eagerly took out from beneath her mending her treasured copy of the Mongolian Bible. Six months ago, Nashso's husband divorced her, abandoning her and their 8-year-old son. As she walked out of the court where she was given divorce notification – overwhelmed by hopelessness – she met a Christian who shared the Good News that she too had only recently heard and believed. Nashso trusted Christ right there. She said, "The worst day of my life became the best day of my life." The group of believers that gather in her cramped apartment has grown from four to forty in six months. ... These people don't even know the terms "church planting" or "soul winning," they just know that Isus Hkristus (Jesus Christ) has given them new life – and the news is too good to keep. ... The wind of the Spirit sweeps over these Mongolian plains.


Soli Jesu gloria.

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

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Monday, June 22, 2020

CN | Dispatches: Stories of Humility & Hope in West Africa



" ... Johnny no longer looked at his useless legs as a curse but as a gift from God, for he came to understand that the Father always blesses and never harms his children. It was tender to hear Johnny tell how before he got a wheelchair, he tried to ease his mother's pain and show her his love for God by washing the dishes, which he would collect as he dragged himself on the ground and then wash in a bucket. It was a beginning of a lifetime of serving others and Jesus with all his strength. ... "


I am grateful again to share with you some Gospel witness and worship stories from sisters and brothers in other parts of the world to begin the week. The previous post's stories were from the body of Christ who live in the former Soviet Republics. Today's stories are from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea along the coast of West Africa.

"West Africa" excerpts adapted from Dispatches from the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance from Around the World, published in 2014 A.D.


Dennis' & Roland's Story in Borkeza & Kpassagezia, Liberia

The sun, like me, was not awake as we walked for the daily 5:30 a.m. prayer meeting. Dennis struck a makeshift church bell (an empty propane tank), calling Christians to rise and pray. In the distance, I saw a dot of light bouncing in the darkness and a woman's voice, clear and strong singing, "Good morning, Jesus. Good morning, Lord." About twenty Christians gathered this morning, and the meeting began with praise to God who made the day. ... Afterward, we went on toward two new Gospel plants at Borkeza and Kpassagezia. Roland needed to scout out places for well-drilling, and Dennis wanted to see the progress of the church. ... Roland and Dennis make a great team. Dennis is the preacher. Roland is the well-driller – a combination of fire and water. Roland's life is itself a story of grace. He was fifty years old before he believed the Gospel and received the grace of God. Before that time, as he describes it, he had an empty hole in his life that he filled up with money and achievements. But no matter how many things he stuffed into that hole, it was always empty – until Christ filled his life. Now he's in West Africa drilling wells, bringing fresh water to people who before had only contaminated water. ... Dennis learned his church planting methods from the book of Acts. They pray, fast, and then send evangelists in by twos to tell the Good News. Dennis said they target the toughest villages, the strongest strongholds of Satan, and there they pursue the most obstinate among the village leaders. When these men fall down before the cross, it opens a floodgate. ... New believers put their backs into the work from the beginning. But also from the beginning, they look beyond their village to the next village – even to the next country. Kpassagezia is the end of the line in Liberia, but beyond is the border of Guinea ...

Dennis's & Kulbah's Story in Malawu, Liberia

The story of Malawu is almost unbelievable. Malawu was the "Mecca" of spirit worship in all of Liberia. This mountaintop town was founded by a witch long ago, and such demon powers dwelled here that even presidents of Liberia would come here to seek special powers and curses against their enemies. Animal – even human – sacrifices were offered here. ... It was literally considered sacred ground, and so in the debauched worship of the Devil, shoes had to be removed and women had to remove their blouses before entering the gates of the town. It was a place of unspeakable evil and violent darkness. But about two years ago, a man from Malawu came down from this mountain, heard the Gospel, and believed on Jesus. He and Dennis and the evangelists began to pray. What followed was nearly a year of praying and fasting in preparation ... Many of Dennis's friends begged him not to go, saying he was going into a death trap. But Dennis fixed his heart on the Lord and not his fears, and just over a year ago they came up the mountain in faith. What they found was amazing! They were received by the elders who heard their witness for Christ and declared to them, "Our hearts and hands are open to you – even if you want to build a church building here!" When the village people heard that, they were so happy they began to dance with joy that they could have a place to worship the true God. They circled the hilltop with joyful dancing and singing. I had heard about this "Malawu Miracle" from Dennis, but I still was not prepared for what I saw when I reached the summit: there before me was the cross. The church building now stands on ground once dedicated to Satan. A Christian lady named Kulbah was the first to greet us. The marks of her transformed life could be seen on her beautiful countenace, by her beautiful dress, and by shoes on her feet. Now she is a free woman walking over the ground that Satan long ago usurped but which has now been reclaimed for Christ. ... In just over a year, the high altar where animal and human sacrifices were made has been overturned, and half the village has turned from darkness to light – and the light shines in their faces, for they are now sons and daughters of the King.

Johnny's Story in Jawajeh, Liberia

What can I say about Johnny? Johnny loves Jesus, Johnny loves kids, and Johnny has never walked. He was born a cripple, and his mother used to weep over him. In this society, his prospects were utterly hopeless – just a roadside beggar, just something to spit at. But Johnny had a friend who carried him on his back to church, and there Johnny received Christ – and then everything changed in his young heart. He no longer looked at his useless legs as a curse but as a gift from God, for Johnny came to understand that the Father always blesses and never harms his children. It was tender to hear Johnny tell how before he got a wheelchair, he tried to ease his mother's pain and show her his love for God by washing the dishes, which he would collect as he dragged himself on the ground and then wash in a bucket. It was a beginning of a lifetime of serving others and Jesus with all his strength. Today, Johnny's oldest son pushed his dad in the wheelchair to the little hilltop near the church, and Johnny clanged the "church bell," an empty propane tank. As he gathered children to the church from all over town, I thought of the Lord's parable where the master said to his servant, "Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled'" (Luke 14:21-23). From his wheelchair, Johnny can see so clear and far. He sees beyond his brokenness, beyond this broken world, to the One who was broken for him and who will someday give Johnny legs to run to Him.

Alphonso's & Nan's Story in Kuna, Sierra Leone

Alphonso is a Fula, from the proud tribe that brought Islam to West Africa many centuries ago. He was a zealous Muslim who gave the first call to prayer of the day from the mosque. One day he was told there was a man preaching Christ in his town. He found him and struck and cursed him. The Christian responded with kindness and tears and said to Alphonso, "I will pray that your eyes will be opened." Alphonso said, "What? Do you think I am blind?" and walked away. That night, before Alphonso was to get up and give the call to prayer, he was awakened by a voice, the words of Scripture, the words of Christ: "Come unto Me, come unto Me, come unto Me." Alphonso called out in the dark, "Who is there?" He lit a candle to see, but no one was there. Suddenly he was struck with great fear, and he remembered the words of the young man, "I will pray that your eyes will be opened." Knowing where there was a church, he went to them and the pastor led him to Christ. Alphonso became bold in declaring his faith to his family, and as a result was utterly rejected by them. His aunt even tried to kill him by poisoning him. Though the poison was powerful, the Lord spared his life, to the amazement and disgust of his family. Later the Lord brought a wonderful lady into his life named Nana, who also came to Christ out of Islam. Together they have spearheaded a rapidly reproducing church-planting movement reaching deep into Sierra Leone, even as far as the border with Guinea. In the past few days, I've seen new churches that have sprung up among fishermen, farmers, and soldiers ... but it's not without violent opposition. One church building I saw in Samu was recently destroyed by a mob, stirred up by a village elder when his own son became a Christian. Such attacks are just part of the price, and Christians here don't seem too worried about fighting over buildings. ... Despite the opposition, the testimony of believers is gaining ground, shaking hell's gates ...

Mohammed's Story in Pamlap, Guinea 

Alphonso wants to see churches established in Guinea, starting with the town of Pamlap. Alphonso has made contact with the chief there, who will meet us at the border. Alphonso went to that town a few months ago but was told to get out. Today we try again to share the Gospel without borders. We had no visas for Guinea, no permission to cross the border; but when the chief, whose name is Mohammed Lamin-Sesay, arrived, he took personal responsibility for us and directed the guards to let us pass. So Mohammed on a motorcycle led us into this new country into the heart of the town. Soon an impromptu council of elders was assembled, including the imam from the nearby mosque. Formalities and gifts of peace were exchanged. Alphonso declared the chief to be a man of peace, and the chief reminded the elders that Alphonso had once lived in this city when he was a boy. So they welcomed him as a "son of the soil." Yet Alphonso went on to explain that though he was a son of the soil, he was also now a Christian and wanted to start a church there. Discussions went back and forth in a marvelous mosaic of languages (Fulani, Susu, French, and English). Nana, recalling a language she hadn't spoken in years – Susu – was a vital link in carrying on and connecting the discussions ... (And then) the old Muslim elders agreed that a church could be built in their town, and one added, "We are ready for you to wake us up!" Another leader said afterward, "Guinea is ready for the Gospel!"

Soli Jesu gloria.

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

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