From North County Project
“And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” — Paul (Philippians 1:14)
(Open-air sharing this week at CSUF – this student stopped to boldly share his testimony about knowing Jesus in front of his friends- this dude was bold!)
“It Would Have Been More Uncomfortable NOT to Speak…”
Every Wednesday night we gather for Ekballo—our weekly time to eat together, open the Scriptures, and pray for the Lord to send workers into His harvest. This week Colt, one of the young men we have been discipling, led our group through a Bible Dialogue on boldness from three stories in Acts. At one point we asked whether we thought it was uncomfortable for the disciples in Acts to speak openly about Jesus. Someone made an observation that really stuck with me:
“I think it would have been more uncomfortable for them NOT to speak about Jesus after everything they had experienced.”
I’ve been thinking about that ever since. Maybe Christian boldness isn’t primarily about becoming fearless or developing enough grit to make ourselves talk about Jesus. Maybe there comes a point where we have experienced something so good in Him that keeping it to ourselves becomes more uncomfortable than risking looking foolish by speaking.
That night we prayed together about becoming those kinds of people. We even talked about something as ordinary as our phones—these devices that can so easily distract us—and prayed about what it might mean to consecrate even them to the Kingdom of God.
And Colt isn’t only talking about boldness.
Recently, when our normal whiteboard ministry time at CSUF ended because I was training our other “whiteboard warriors” in Bible Dialogues, Colt picked up the whiteboard, moved it somewhere else on campus, and continued ministering on his own for another hour and a half. One of our ministry partners even saw him and remarked to me that the level of engagement Colt was having both showed his genuineness and intelligence in a way that represented Jesus very well.
That encourages me deeply—not simply because Colt taught about boldness at Ekballo, but because his boldness is something he is living out in front of his peers.
Maybe that’s part of what Paul was getting at in Philippians.Sometimes watching another disciple faithfully speak the word gives the rest of us courage to do likewise.
From Atheist…to Sharing Jesus with Atheists
Another story this week actually began about a year and a half ago. Ivan and I met a young man at Cal State Fullerton named Andres who described himself as an atheist. He came from a country where Christianity was culturally common, but once he realized he didn’t need Christianity to maintain his cultural standing, he left it behind. He had thought seriously about his unbelief and had real reasons for believing atheism might be true. But through Ivan’s ministry and his encounters with the good news, Andres eventually became a follower of Jesus.
And now?
Andres regularly comes out with us to minister the gospel at Cal State Fullerton. Recently we watched him talking with another atheist we had been ministering to. Andres was telling him his own story—how he once didn’t believe in God either, and how he had come to believe in and follow Jesus. The atheist we were sharing Jesus with a year and a half ago is now sharing Jesus with another atheist as a brother in arms. Andres is now also participating in a Disciple-Making Community led by Ivan, where we hope to continue fanning into flame what the Holy Spirit has begun in him. He regularly texts us all in our text thread with encouragement to “share the gospel!.”
This is what we mean when we talk about multiplication. One of our five-year goals is to help develop 100 capable apprentices—ordinary disciples of Jesus who can pray, share the good news, open Scripture with others, make disciples, and eventually help other people do the same. If people only watch us do ministry, we haven’t accomplished what we’re trying to do.
We want people to encounter Jesus, become His disciples, and then find themselves so compelled by what they have encountered that they begin speaking the word too.
Other updates and Prayer Requests
* Our 14 Cities Goal: Another one of our five-year goals is to develop disciple-making partnerships throughout the 14 cities of North Orange County. Currently, 5 of the 14 cities have some level of developing disciple-making partnership. DMCs are underway in Brea and Fullerton, while potential partnerships are developing in Placentia, Buena Park, and Yorba Linda.
Would you specifically pray that these DMCs and partnerships would begin at the right time, with the right people, and in the Lord’s way? And please pray for something beyond merely starting groups. Pray that these DMCs would actually produce workers. Pray that people would become mature disciples who multiply, that some would develop into potential apprentices, and that those apprentices would eventually help raise up still more workers for the harvest.
Please continue praying for Ivan and Viany. They are currently at approximately 55% of their needed financial support as they continue raising the remaining support necessary to serve in ministry. We are incredibly grateful for those who have already come alongside them. Please pray that the Lord would provide the remaining faithful partners who believe in their calling and want to invest in the work God is doing through them. Pray also that this season would continue deepening their trust in God and that every remaining need would be met.
If you would like to partner with them, increase your current gift, or share their support link with someone who may want to partner: Support Ivan and Viany
Did you know? Factoids
North Orange County: Something interesting is happening among the generation we encounter every week on our college campuses. Recent national Barna research found that 34% of Gen Z and Millennial young adults say they are attending church more often than they were a year ago.Even more interesting to us: prayer was the #1 spiritual reason young adults gave for attending church, cited by 45%. That doesn’t mean those numbers are specific to North Orange County, but our experiences here keep reminding us not to assume that younger people are spiritually apathetic. There may be far more openness than we realize—and a need for disciples willing to meet people there.
Quaker History: The earliest Quaker movement emerged among spiritually hungry people often known as “Seekers.”George Fox himself spent years searching until he experienced the conviction that “There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition.” He then began sharing what he had encountered with others. Early Friends believed ordinary people could encounter the living Jesus themselves—and then become bold witnesses to what they had experienced.
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Thank you all for your generous partnership in prayer for this ministry we are doing with the Lord!
His/yours
Nick, Jamie, Isabella, Zion, and Finn
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