“I had all but walked away from church 5 or 6 years ago. One day I was driving out the back of Tottenham in western NSW where I was getting nothing on the radio, so I dug out some tapes and the first one I pulled was a recording of John North from 1994 speaking at a mission event. I figured, ‘Why not?’ and put it on. It blew me away! 

“I remembered hearing him speak at the time and buying the tape but had not remembered the content. At one point he asks, ‘Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?’ I had to stop the tape and pull over. I think I sat in my car on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for at least an hour thinking about my answer to that question. To this day I still find myself being reminded of that question and having to stop and take the time to work out an answer.”

Who might like to listen to your ‘Sent’ CD? Request your copy with your gift today.

“In recent months, we’ve mainly been to the women’s prison,’ says Max. “As I give a talk and Meryl sings her relevant songs, we are conscious of the great opportunity we have in working together in the prisons with the chaplains.

“Every Sunday, there are three services in the prison chapel, and on the days we attend we get to know some of the girls. We pray with them, and also during the week, we uphold them individually in prayer, and pray for their specific needs.”

Meryl, who also turned 80 last year, adds, “The girls are so grateful for our presence in chapel, and for the time we spend talking with them. We love this ministry. There are so many young girls whose lives can be turned around!” On their most recent visit, several of these girls prayed to receive Christ!

Of course, you play a part in Max and Meryl’s impact through your support of AFCI, so thank you for faithful praying and giving. We’re so grateful for you!

• REALITY Orange: MAY 3-6, 2012
• REALITY Bathhurst: MAY 8, 2012
• REALITY Lithgow: MAY 11-13, 2012

You can now go to the following for details:

http://orange.reality2012.org
http://bathurst.reality2012.org
http://lithgow.reality2012.org

“My job is to help believers connect with the people in their lives to the point that REALITY can help those people cross the line and put their faith in Christ,” says John North. “I’ve been preaching in these local churches throughout January, February and March this year, to get their hearts ready. I’ve been challenging people that they personally have been sent by Jesus into their circles of relationship to represent Him, and that if they accept that calling, they need to be equipped for it.

“It’s igniting their passion to share Christ, not from guilt but from being part of what God is doing. One woman told me:  ‘I never heard or understood before that God is the one who convinces people.’”

“My next step is to spend six weeks training these churches in effective evangelism – how to build redemptive relationships and share their faith – through the Christian Life & Witness Course.

“After people have embraced the initial idea of their being sent by God, I see them moving from an attitude of ‘I should go’ to this evangelism training to ‘I can’t miss this!’”

After one night of John’s preaching in Lithgow, a believer named Sandra posted this on Facebook: “An amazing night of worship and teaching! Thanks, John North, for being a part of the Lithgow churches in 2012!”

Thanks, too, for your prayer and financial support, because you help make this kind of ministry possible!

• Please pray for our prison ministry.
• Pray for our outreach ministry to senior citizens: there are always opportunities there.
• Pray for an upcoming ministry we have in which we’re partnering with the Salvation Army.

John & Lois North, Sydney

• Please pray for the six weeks of evangelism training John is teaching right now with hundreds of believers from churches across Lithgow, Orange and Bathurst, that God would send these believers out with power as witnesses in their communities.
• As our ministry to church leaders grows, pray that God would grow our AFCI team with spiritual, capable people that he is preparing.
• Pray that God would continue to develop our family in love for him and for each other, as a foundation for ministry to others.

Nola & Ed Brooke, Seminars/Resources

• Please pray for us in our home-based AFCI office handling resources (GrowthWorks and LifeWorks) and seminars.
• Pray for a right balance between ministry for AFCI, church and family commitments.
• Please pray that God would use us to bless the lives of all whom we come in contact with.

“God is moving mightily in that region through this message of our being sent by God,” says John. “It’s happening in church after church. People are coming up to me and saying things like, ‘I’ve never thought of my life and relationships like this before’. One woman said to me, ‘I’m leaving here today forever changed.’”

Hear John’s message for yourself. When you give your gift this month, be sure to request his new CD “Sent”. It’s our gift to thank you for any donation to support the work that God is doing through AFCI!

God has sent you into your circumstances, into your circle of relationships, to represent him. It’s not just that as a Christian you should be looking for people to share Christ with. Rather, you need to recognise that you have been sent – that God has a specific purpose through you in the life of each person you interact with.

This idea shouldn’t surprise you. Think of how sending is in the very nature of God. God is a Trinity of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Consider what the Bible reveals about their interaction. God the Father sent the Son into the world. Countless times throughout his ministry, Jesus referred to his own “sent-ness”. It was integral to his sense of who he was and why he was here.

Circumstances didn’t just happen to him. He was sent into them. That understanding then guided his response to circumstances, interruptions, conversations, and opportunities.

Circumstances didn’t just happen to Jesus. He was sent into them. That understanding then guided his response to circumstances, interruptions, conversations, and opportunities.

Not only did God the Father send the Son into the world, but also the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world. Just like Jesus did, the Holy Spirit is now operating with a sense of sent-ness that guides his activity. The Spirit is not simply there as a power source for you to tap into. No, he is on mission in this world.

But the exciting thing to understand is that God’s sending didn’t end with the Holy Spirit. Now God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are sending you into the world! Isn’t that just what Jesus said? “As the Father has sent me, I also am sending you” (John 20:21).

Ask God today, “Why have you sent me into my spouse’s life? Into my children’s lives? Into my parents’ lives? Into my friends’ lives? Into my neighbours’ lives? Into my co-workers’ lives? Into my hairdressers’ life? Into my classmates’ lives? Into any conversation with any person in my life?” When you have a sense of God’s purpose through you, then act and speak in faith that God will work through you. Because you have been sent!

When you have a sense of God’s purpose through you, then act and speak in faith that God will work through you. Because you have been sent!

10 am
Lithgow Bible Church,
1 Col Drewe Drive, South Bowenfels
(02) 6352 1409

6 pm
Lithgow Christian Life Centre (Assemblies of God),
50 Musket Parade, Lithgow
(02) 6352 3309

FEB 5: LITHGOW, NSW

10 am
St Paul’s Anglican,
2 Roy St, Lithgow
(02) 6351 3070

FEB 12: LITHGOW, NSW

9:30 am
Lithgow Baptist,
corner Lee St & Great Western Hwy
(02) 6351 4744

6 pm
Lithgow Christian Life Centre (Assemblies of God),
50 Musket Parade, Lithgow
(02) 6352 3309

FEB 19: ORANGE, NSW

10 am, 4 pm & 6:30 pm
Orange Evangelical Church
Bowen Public School, Park St, Orange
(02) 6362 1025

Feb 26: ORANGE, NSW

10 am
West Orange Baptist Church
85 Molong Rd, Orange NSW
(02) 6369 0149

FEB 26: COMBINED YOUTH SERVICE IN ORANGE (tbc)

7 pm
New Life Church, Molong Rd, Orange
(02) 6363 1029

2012 ‘REALITY’ OUTREACH EVENTS

FEATURING WILL GRAHAM in partnership with Ambassadors For Christ International are being organised for:

REALITY ORANGE: MAY 3-6

• Venue: Orange Function Centre
• Contact: Graham McLennan (REALITY ORANGE-2012 Team Leader) on (02) 6361 9773

REALITY BATHURST: MAY 8
(More details will be available as this event draws closer)

REALITY LITHGOW: MAY 11-13
(More details will be available as this event draws closer)

God has “new strength” for you if you will wait for Him!

As you move into this New Year, remember that the everlasting source of life and strength and meaning and purpose and power is God. Though you may be tired, He does not become tired. Though your feet stumble, God is as full of energy as the day He created this universe.

God doesn’t encourage us to wait for new strength. No. God’s message to us in this verse today is to wait for HIM.

When your relationship with God is deep and close, then the new strength will flow. But He is the focus! Turn the eyes of your heart on God, and renew your relationship with Him today.