Living the Journey

In the fall of 2008, I began a Journey to the Heart.  God did a mighty work in my life during that week in the Northwoods, as I was a very proud, fearful, insecure, and obnoxious girl.  As I continue the Journey, God has slowly been taking my sinful heart and changing it into a “heart after God,” fully and completely reliant on Him. I am beginning to see God for who He really is.

After the official beginning of my Journey to the Heart, God led me to teach character to children for 3 semesters. My experience teaching character in schools and reaching out through Bible clubs has been nothing short of amazing.  To be on the front lines of the spiritual battle, watching God work in hearts, praying over souls, sharing God’s light in a dark world . . . I would not trade this opportunity for anything. I don’t want to give you a false impression, though, it is also a lot of work!

This is work that cannot be done alone!  Every lesson, every Bible club, and often each individual class, is bathed in prayer.  The best object lessons for a class I didn’t know what to do with came directly from the Master Teacher.  He is an everlasting source of ideas!  So many folks thought I had it all together, but I didn’t.  Only God and I were in it together, and He knows where all the pieces belong.

Interning with this character program also surrounded me with good friends: some that I knew for a season, and some that I will have for a lifetime.  God gave me the right kind of friends, who encouraged me to trust the Lord when life got rough, who made me do my best, and who even loved me enough to tell me when I was wrong. God bless those friends!

God used this opportunity to draw me to Himself and to allow more of His character to shine through me. The Journey to the Heart retreat was just the beginning of my Journey with God.  Stay in His Word, and keep talking with Him. God’s plan is simply amazing!

~ Barbara
September 2008 Journey

If you are interested in an opportunity to invest in the lives of children, please send a quick note to Chad Christiansen.

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After seeing the work that God had done in the lives of the young people from our church who had just returned from their Journey to the Heart, God put in my heart a desire to make sure that this fire was not quenched. I invited all of the alumni of the Journey in our church over to my home to review the material that we had gone through. We shared with each other insights and new ideas for how we could resolve current issues in our lives.

Once our hearts were clear, we were free and excited about communicating the love and power of God to others. We then prepared for our soulwinning outreach by asking difficult questions that non-believers might ask us about the Gospel, such as “How do you know God exists?” or “How do you know you are saved?” We answered the questions with Scripture and then each one of us prayed individually for the adventure on which we were about to embark!

Equipped with Gospel tracts, we hit the streets of New York City! Dividing up into three groups so that we could effectively reach more souls, we began to pass out tracts and talk to people about the Lord.

Nick Gomez from the July 2009 Journey reports: “Many were open. Many were not. But we praise God for the boldness He gave to share the Gospel. Sometimes we had to face rejection but it was actually a blessing to be rejected when we knew it is for the Lord!

At first, of course, you get nervous, but you ask God for the grace and He will provide all the boldness. After all, we are His instruments and everything we do is through Him! The only thing He does is use us.

So I would recommend to you if you are coming to the Journey, don’t come alone. If you really want to make God known, bring along friends that are really seeking God. Then you can do mighty works in your city just like God is beginning to do in the city of New York.”

Please pray for us as we have a vision to win New York City for Christ! In the next upcoming weeks we will be contacting the officials of our city to see how we can spread the Good News of the Gospel more effectively to the very needy people of our city!

~ Bryan Lafaurie
August 2008 Journey

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When I learned that the laying on of hands was for every believer (see Hebrews 6:1-2), I was very excited and asked if I could have this done for me! In May, several elders and my dad laid their hands on me, anointed me with oil, and prayed that the Lord would make me a laborer in His harvest field and that I would lead many to Christ. I had no idea how this would change my life!

In II Timothy 1:6 we read, “Stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” The next verse explains the powerful gift of God that comes through the laying on of hands, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Fear had hindered me from many spiritual blessings, especially the blessing of witnessing to others. I would give out tracts but when it came to explaining the gospel I was disabled by fear.

Since receiving the laying on of hands, I have had a greater level of boldness and liberty to witness to others. In Acts 4:25 we read, “And now Lord, grant unto thy servant that with all boldness they may speak thy word.”

The Lord has opened many doors for me to boldly share the gospel. Wherever I go, there are hurting people that need to know the good news.

We were at a friend’s house and there was a girl that came who was having some health problems and was thinking a lot about eternity. The Lord prompted me to pray for her and to share the gospel with her.

The Lord gave me His boldness to ask her questions about what she thought she needed to do to go to heaven. She said, “If I tried really hard to obey the Bible and not to sin then I will be able to make it to heaven.” I then was able show her in Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is a free gift, “Not of works least any man should boast.” I shared that it is through Jesus that our sins our forgiven—not through our good works.

She broke down and wept and prayed to receive the free gift of salvation. She asked Jesus Christ to be her Lord and take “first place” in her life.

She thanked me over and over again and said, “I never understood until you explained it to me.” She went and told a lot of people what God just did in her life. She was full of joy and I was too, because I knew it was the Lord that did the work in her life.

I am so grateful to the Lord for removing my fear and replacing it with His boldness.

~ Priscilla
May 2008 Journey Guide

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