close friends. The church also came together to organize three Care Events: one for the children, another for the youth, and a separate event for university students. As the members rose in boldness to invite their oikos, God’s granted them favor. 320 people, 80 of which were First Time Visitors (FTVs) came and experienced the joy of the Lord through the Christmas presentation. Attendees shared that the event left them with a positive and open attitude about God and church. During after-service fellowship, FTVs were encouraged to come back to celebrate the launch of KJCH’s second Polish language service on January 10. Knowing the Polish love for free things, the invite included a coupon for a free cup of coffee! As the leaders and members stepped out in faith, we were amazed and excited to see God bringing in the harvest. The Christmas event saw an attendance three times greater than our average weekly services! We praise Him for the opportunity to share the Gospel with so many in our community. 2016 promises to be an exciting year for us. With the help of Pastor Ivan Iurchyshyn, a migrant from Ukraine, the Russian-speaking members intend to expand their efforts to reach out to more of the Russian-speaking community.
Brookside Community Church caters to the English and Sinhala-speaking communities of Colombo, Sri Lanka. This Christmas, our Sinhalaspeaking congregation experienced a tremendous breakthrough in the area of evangelism. Weekly attendance of the Sinhalaspeaking congregation averages around 250 people – 200 adults and 50 children. For Christmas, the congregation spent 16 weeks preparing for Nattal Sith Ruu (Colors of Christmas) – a production that included songs, choreographed dances, an apeksha band, a short drama, and a nativity act by the children. Two teams, a Core Team and a Practical Logistics team, worked very closely with each other and with members of the congregation to ensure that the production would run smoothly. As our members invited their oikos for Nattal Sith Ruu, leaders were mobilized to connect with people, share Christ with them, and to ensure that there was follow-up for as many FTVs as possible. In Matthew 9:37, Jesus shared that, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” This Christmas, our Sinhala-speaking congregation saw
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this verse in action. We had only expected to cater to 150 people for the Christmas production. However, God brought over 700, of which 550 were FTVs! The congregation was absolutely amazed and overjoyed to see how God was working in our communities. Though it was impossible for us to speak with every FTV that day, we thank God that most FTVs were oikos that could be traced back to the person that invited them. Each leader, now with a renewed heart for the harvest, encouraged members to continue connecting with their oikos. Since Nattal Sith Ruu saw many FTVs that were students, the congregation has come together to organize a Care Event just for them. As the congregation invested their time, talents and treasures, we saw that God took what we had – our five loaves and two fish – and multiplied it for His Glory. Praise God for the open heavens and hearts this Christmas!