We have about a week left in Australia then we head to the Philippines. Our month in Byron Bay has been very unique for ministry. No two days were the same. And God was constantly asking us to step out of our comfort zone.
Our ministries included: bbq cookouts on Friday evenings, 24 hour prayer services on the beach, meeting the needs of the homeless (as best we could), different nighttime/street ministries, coordinating beach volleyball tournaments, remaining available for the churches and youth centers in the area and helping them with maintenance work. These are just a few.
We were involved in a lot of evangelism. Street evangelism mostly. However, the volleyball tournaments were a great opportunity to share our faith with others. Everyone here built a relationship with either a local or a backpacker passing through, and would remain in contact with them, meeting for a meal, coffee, or simply a walk on the beach.
Honestly, approaching someone with the intention of evangelizing is not a strength of mine. I feel like when I talk to others, naturally I will bring God into the conversation. But for some reason, I was somewhat uncomfortable when I felt like I had to. Maybe I was just putting too much pressure on myself.
We all visited a church one night. It is called the New Earth Tribe Church. The music was really good, and the message was good, just a little different than I am used to. The end of the service became like something I had only seen on T.V. People came to the front of the room, the preacher laid hands on them, and then they would fall over to the floor. It was powerful.
I remember sitting towards the back of the room and asking God “What is going on?” I then opened my Bible right to Leviticus 9:4 which says….”For today the Lord will appear to you.” I have no doubt in my mind that God was revealing Himself to these people. And even to me. I had just never seen Him in this way. People were crying, screaming, speaking in tongues, laughing and passing out.
I decided to make my way through the crowd to the front of the room where the preacher was. This was my prayer as I stood surrounded by the congregation… “God with your strength I’ll remain on my feet. And by Your will, I’ll fall to my knees. I will try to stay on my feet, but if I too, fall to the ground, then I’ll know that this is You. So whether I stand or fall, this is Your will for me.”
When the preacher made his way to me, he laid his hands on my head. He said a prayer. Then he went to next person. Both, the one to my left and right hit the floor. However, I remained on my feet. This doesn’t mean that this wasn’t real. I take this to mean that this wasn’t how God needed to speak to me that night. Perhaps He spoke to me in another way.
Before we all left that night, I approached the preacher and asked if I could pray for him. He said sure. So I prayed for him, then we talked a bit. I told him who we were and what we are doing this year. He prayed over me again, then I met back up with the teams.
A few of them had been thinking the same things that I was thinking during the service. “Is this real? What is going on? If this is God, then I want to feel it too.” They also told me that they were proud of me for searching for the truth that night, and being willing to see God reveal Himself in a different way. This meant so much to me. Maybe this is why I was compelled to go up front. Maybe it had less to do with me than I thought. It was nice to know, that there were others with me searching for the truth too.
This whole month God has been asking us to step out of our comfort zones to evangelize, fast, and simply follow after Him. It has been such a blessing to see God in ways that I never have before. I’m sure this will continue for the next 9 months!
Our ministries included: bbq cookouts on Friday evenings, 24 hour prayer services on the beach, meeting the needs of the homeless (as best we could), different nighttime/street ministries, coordinating beach volleyball tournaments, remaining available for the churches and youth centers in the area and helping them with maintenance work. These are just a few.
We were involved in a lot of evangelism. Street evangelism mostly. However, the volleyball tournaments were a great opportunity to share our faith with others. Everyone here built a relationship with either a local or a backpacker passing through, and would remain in contact with them, meeting for a meal, coffee, or simply a walk on the beach.
Honestly, approaching someone with the intention of evangelizing is not a strength of mine. I feel like when I talk to others, naturally I will bring God into the conversation. But for some reason, I was somewhat uncomfortable when I felt like I had to. Maybe I was just putting too much pressure on myself.
We all visited a church one night. It is called the New Earth Tribe Church. The music was really good, and the message was good, just a little different than I am used to. The end of the service became like something I had only seen on T.V. People came to the front of the room, the preacher laid hands on them, and then they would fall over to the floor. It was powerful.
I remember sitting towards the back of the room and asking God “What is going on?” I then opened my Bible right to Leviticus 9:4 which says….”For today the Lord will appear to you.” I have no doubt in my mind that God was revealing Himself to these people. And even to me. I had just never seen Him in this way. People were crying, screaming, speaking in tongues, laughing and passing out.
I decided to make my way through the crowd to the front of the room where the preacher was. This was my prayer as I stood surrounded by the congregation… “God with your strength I’ll remain on my feet. And by Your will, I’ll fall to my knees. I will try to stay on my feet, but if I too, fall to the ground, then I’ll know that this is You. So whether I stand or fall, this is Your will for me.”
When the preacher made his way to me, he laid his hands on my head. He said a prayer. Then he went to next person. Both, the one to my left and right hit the floor. However, I remained on my feet. This doesn’t mean that this wasn’t real. I take this to mean that this wasn’t how God needed to speak to me that night. Perhaps He spoke to me in another way.
Before we all left that night, I approached the preacher and asked if I could pray for him. He said sure. So I prayed for him, then we talked a bit. I told him who we were and what we are doing this year. He prayed over me again, then I met back up with the teams.
A few of them had been thinking the same things that I was thinking during the service. “Is this real? What is going on? If this is God, then I want to feel it too.” They also told me that they were proud of me for searching for the truth that night, and being willing to see God reveal Himself in a different way. This meant so much to me. Maybe this is why I was compelled to go up front. Maybe it had less to do with me than I thought. It was nice to know, that there were others with me searching for the truth too.
This whole month God has been asking us to step out of our comfort zones to evangelize, fast, and simply follow after Him. It has been such a blessing to see God in ways that I never have before. I’m sure this will continue for the next 9 months!
the picture above was taken during the 24 hour prayer service on the beach
