Xee at Peoples’ Park Baptist Church by Jennifer Wong
Xee Semester conducted in People’s Park Baptist Church,
15 March 2009 to 17 May 2009, with Certification on 24 May 2009.
I can only smile. With the work of the Kingdom, there’s no limiting God, and what He can do.
Another one asked when we were on Week 3 of Xee, “I really admire the dedication of the Elders, the Leaders and the members of your church, for committing to winning souls.” I had to admit, that, I am very thankful to God, for providing Pat and I, an environment where so much of God’s love and grace were shown, when we were doing the sessions, role plays, and also making contacts with our friends. I am also thankful for the faithful prayer-partners who made all this possible. Every Sunday, after service, groups of threes, sit around in the sanctuary, to share needs, update one another and to pray. Not only did the Prayer partners pray for Xee, but Xee trainees also prayed for their partners. During the week, texts of encouragement were also sent, and after each Connect Activity, texts were also sent out to update their prayer-partners.
What is the result of conducting Xee in People’s Park Baptist Church? The benefits certainly outweighed the sacrifice. Trainees come back to me to tell me, that their friendship with the world took on meaningful turns, less discussion on politics, world financial markets and that horrid boss, and more intentional on “on taking the conversation to saving faith”, when engaging in the respective Xee units for Connect Activities.
In the “stress” of looking for opportunities, any kind of opportunities for Connects, the Xee teams threw away their self-consciousness, roll up their sleeves, and made that call. As a result, the trainers had a foretaste of what Heaven will be made up of – people, who definitely, don’t look and act like us! We met in the most convenient and inconvenient of places- from hot and stuffy joints, hospitals, cozy cafes to fishing ponds! We talked a wide range of topics, from motorbikes, insurance, American Idol, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, reconditioned furniture and then, creatively, turning these hot topics into “do they give us the ultimate fulfillment?”
In all the Connects, I am constantly reminded of how Jesus replied to the experts of the law, “woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” In our Connects, our first priority was the person – to respect him for his views, for his values and his habits, although not condoning them. And help them lift their burdens and cares of the day. As a result, the prospects emerge totally at ease at meeting most of us, for the very first time. We need to make the first lasting impression, as Christ did, as a bridge to many, many more.
One of our prospects was our “cousin” who owns a religious bookstore. We had an intellectual but a meaningful dialogue, and the Xee team, managed to whet up his appetite to search for the truth.
There was one profession, and only last Sunday, when Ps Voon was preaching in People’s Park, his whole family turned up for church! The Xee teams visited also friends that had “lost their faith”, and these “lost sheep” were seen returning to the “sheep pen” over the weeks of Xee. Many first times were made by the Elders and Leaders of the church to visit the unbelieving spouse, and Xee teams talked and made contacts with people they met along the way – in the Bank, in the Opticians’, in the Furniture shop (-the reason for the large amounts of ticks on the Activity Report belonging to this category of building friendships!).
Only one profession? Gospel not shared completely? Aye, but God works in unseeing ways. We are going for the Annual Church Camp this year. And what happened? 90 people signed up, – and some of them have yet to know the LORD (excitement here – a ready fishing-pool – witnessing to them) and yet, some, more importantly are the returned sons and daughters.
Now the Follow-up…..
Xee First Semester Testimony,
PPBC.
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