“Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Ps 115:1).

1) The power of COMMUNITY. Prior to the actual on field experience, our team shared our “Life Stories” with one another. It was a powerful way to build community because we vulnerably shared our testimonies. It gave me greater insights to the team members lives; but most of all, it gave me more compassion for each person. Then when we got to Indonesia, we shared our Life Stories with the teams from Singapore and Jakarta. It helped in bringing all of our lives together. We were amazed to hear how the power of the Gospel could transform a person’s life. As we experienced this biblical community, it enabled us to experience God’s love in a tangible way.

2) The power of the CHURCH. In the past, whenever we participated in missions, we would partner with churches that we got introduced to for the first time or with churches that we had a good relationship with; but on this trip, we partnered with HMCC-JKT, a church that we planted two years ago. This gave our missions project a difference experience. Not only was the DNA of the churches the same, but we were able to unite together instantly under the same vision and mission. I felt this strong sense of partnership with the different HMCC churches. As we worked together, I knew that we were actually building up the church in Jakarta. The partnership was very noticeable as we were able to work together with the national Indonesians who were part of HMCC-JKT. Missions should always be done in the context of the local church.

3) The power of CHRIST. We saw how the message of Jesus Christ powerfully made a difference in the lives of people that we encountered, as well as in our own lives. In the mornings we would study the Book of Ephesians together. Every morning there was something in Ephesians that reinforced the power of the Gospel through Christ’s sacrifice. Then, we would minister to the various churches through the different revival meetings and church gatherings. In every single one of the gatherings, we witnessed Jesus’ healing power come down and minister to the people. It just reminded us that we had no power on our own, but rather it was Jesus’ power flowing through us.

4) The power of CONNECTIONS. One thing we can all testify to is how God sovereignly opened up many doors for us. When we find favor with God and with people, there will always be many divine connections that are made, as well as many opportunities to share Christ. For example, we had the privilege of ministering in a Muslim village in Lampung with the blessings of the government leaders who were all Muslims. We found favor with them as we served them and that connection opened up a door for us to minister to the children of that village. It is through relational connections that God uses to spread the message of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

1) LAUGHTER. It is amazing how humor opens up the hearts of people. Our time in Lampung has been good as we have been able to build relationships with the members of the churches, people in the neighborhood, and the different pastors. Even though we are different, humor has been bringing us together. Humor is transcultural. We are able to laugh about the same things; and now, we are even poking fun at each other.

2) LANGUAGE. I find it interesting how people find it endearing when we are able to speak their language. Even though it is just several phrase (with horrible pronunciation), they are encouraged when they see us trying. It shows that we want to enter into their “world” and there is an instant connection. Recently, with the youth of Lampung we taught them the word, “holla!” (bringing a little bit of gangsta flavor). Then we made it into a response to “Pugi Tuhan” (praise the Lord). It was an instant hit!

3) LOVE. The language of love is universal. It comes in all different forms – love for the host country’s food, love for the people, love for the culture, and etc. It is incredible to see the things that God accomplishes when this language of love is spoken. It becomes a bridge for strong relationships. It becomes the avenue for new opportunities. It becomes the gateway to a person’s heart. This is one language we need to be fluent in.

4) LIFE-GIVING. Whenever we go into a country and meet various people, we want to be a life-giving missions team. To be “life-giving” is to simply be an agent of bringing the hope of the Gospel and the blessings of God to an area or to a person. As we come with this kind of attitude, it has always brought a kindred spirit with people. People want to always be around other people who are living with hope, faith and love.

1) The TRUST in God. When the Executive Team and I were in discussions about having the Easter Celebration in Mendelssohn Theatre, some people had doubts about having it in a big venue. The big factor was that this year’s Easter fell right in the middle of finals. People were saying that we will most likely have a lower attendance because a lot of the students will probably go home once they are done with finals. But for some reason, I sensed that God wanted us to have one big celebration (by gathering the whole church together) rather than having two Easter services at the Transformation Center. We stepped out in faith and all we could do was to pray and trust that God would move the hearts of our members to stick around for the Easter Celebration, as well as to invite their friends. God honored our faith and our trust in Him. I just found out that we had the highest number of newcomers for an Easter Celebration in the history of our church. As our whole church was worshiping together, all in the same place with one heart, it was a powerful moment for me. There is definitely something about trusting in Him that makes God do some incredible things. God definitely is passionate about making things about Him and His glory rather than making it about us.

2) The TRUTH of God. I ended up wrestling a lot with how I was going to frame and present the message (I preached off John 20:19-31). There were a lot of different drafts. But I finally felt convicted to share it from an angle that would minister to all the groups of people who would attend the celebration. I got this sense that God wanted to work powerfully in people’s lives; therefore I had to preach the hard truth. This meant that I could not “candy coat” the Gospel. There are a lot of hard truths in the Bible. It is not easy sharing those things in a pluralistic and self-centered generation without offending someone. But I keep on mentioning to our church members, “If I do not offend you at least once in my sermon, then I have not preached the Gospel.” There were several moments during my sermon where I felt a hush (a sense of awe in the Presence of God) come over the theater. It was in the key moments where I talked about how our sins have put us in the situations that we are in right now, whether through disobedience, bad choices or our rebellion. But the story does not end there. Thankfully, God’s Presence is evident through His people, His peace and His power. His Presence is something that God offers through Jesus Christ, if we would only humble ourselves and receive it by faith.

3) The TOUCH of God. After giving a full explanation of what was going to happen during the closing praise time, I got this feeling that no matter how awkward it might feel for some people, God, through worship was going to overpower them with His love and mercy. I always have the privilege of looking out to the congregation and seeing people’s faces as they worship and experience God in a powerful way. Similar to other times, as I was looking out this past Sunday, I saw many people getting ministered unto through the worship time. As people were lifting up their hands and singing passionately the words of the songs, God was moving in the theater. It was as if God was reaching down to us and touching us with His power and His Presence. God truly inhabits (is enthroned in) the praise of His people (Ps 22:3).

4) The TEAMWORK of God’s people. When everyone in the Body of Christ is “functioning” and doing what we are called to do, then it is a beautiful sight. I was so encouraged by all the people who were serving on Easter. Some people had to get up early in the morning to help set things up. Other people were reaching out and showing God’s love to the newcomers. Still, other people were praying and preparing for the Easter Celebration. It is hard to describe in words all the stuff that went on before, during, and after the celebration. We have some of the most amazing servants of Christ in HMCC. Not only do they go above and beyond what is expected of them, but they are constantly reaching a new level of sacrifice and surrender as they serve the Living God. Everything just came together throughout the whole morning. I just love the partnership in the Gospel. Already I have been hearing some great testimonies of people who were praying for me, the service and their friends that came out. I heard about LIFE Groups partnering up together to have lunch afterwards to further the outreach. It is just awesome to see everyone doing their part.

5) The TRIUMPH of God’s purpose. It has been awe-inspiring to hear how God was orchestrating different relationships with people’s classmates, roommates, co-workers, friends, and family members to share Christ’s love. After giving the Gospel presentation, we gave everyone in the theater an opportunity to respond to God through a card that we passed out. People we encouraged to check off a box that best described the decision that they were making that day. Throughout Monday, I received e-mail messages from our church members who indicted that their friends received Christ for the first time, while others shared about how their friends recommitted their lives to Christ. These are the times when I just stand amazed at the work of God. No matter what Satan tries to do and no matter what mistakes get in the way of us turning to Christ, God’s purposes will always triumph and prevail. This is why after the Easter Celebration so many people had joy in their hearts. In fact, this is the message of Easter – it is the message of Jesus being triumphant over death and the grave; and since we are His children, we share in this triumph.
 
 
To God be all the glory (Sola Dei Gloria)!