Embedded Files
“What in the world has Ivan Penrose been doing the past month?” Well, I’m glad you asked! At the beginning of the year, I made the move to Fullerton California to begin my disciple-making apprenticeship with Orange County Project. I’ve become involved with a number of local ministries in my time thus far and have begun my training and application of Bible dialogues, prayer walks, Disciple-Making Communities (DMCs), and more! I have become connected and involved with the local church, Friends Church Fullerton, and am continuing to find more ways of serving in this local body of believers. Here are a few glimpses into the work we have been joining in Orange County as well as some of the trainings I have been doing!
-BIBLE DIALOGUES-
Starting in week one, I joined Nick, my apprenticeship coordinator, in Bible dialogues with people he has been ministering to and discussing scripture with. There were three dialogues that we had the first week, and I was able to see different ways this tool can be used to engage very different groups of people with the text of scripture. The picture to the upper left is the first Bible dialogue I was a part of (Nick is on the left and Zack is on the right). This dialogue was uniquely focused on the significance of the local church in a believer’s life as a disciple of Jesus as Zack will be water baptized this February. Nick has been meeting with Zack for a while to discover what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus, and we look forward to this unique opportunity for Zack to officially show his family and friends his decision to walk down this new path with Jesus!
The picture to the lower left is of my first Bible dialogue with high school friends over Facetime. This was an awesome opportunity to practice the dialogue skills I had been learning and observing with people that I know personally! In this dialogue, we explored the first eight verses of the Gospel of Mark and discussed what the Gospel is, who John the Baptist was, and who Jesus is. We had a great meeting, and I was able to learn experientially some of what I had observed and heard prior. We have had so many great Bible dialogues with people exploring huge questions about who Jesus was and what salvation is, as well as less official dialogues with people we meet as we go! Some of the best (most dynamic) conversations we’ve had are with people we “happen” to run into. Discipleship is such a wonderful way of viewing everyday life, and I’m excited to become more and more fluent in this unique dialect!
-City Lights-
City Lights is an apartment complex for people moving out of homeless situations that provides more affordable housing and additional resources to assist the resident community. In the photo to the top left, Vee (another apprentice), myself, Brandy (volunteer at City Lights), and Nick are delivering food to a few residents. We do various things while at City Lights, but we are excited for any opportunity we get to talk with and pray for the residents. We were recently invited to lunch with the other volunteers by the nonbelieving social worker, *Kathy, that is the head of the facilities, which is very significant as this is a new invitation! In addition to this invitation, we had a wonderful conversation about the power and love of God which involved Brandy sharing with us her beautiful testimony of God’s work in her life and how He saved her, not only from substance and abuse, but also from the debt of her sins! It was truly amazing how our conversation became a beautiful witness to *Kathy, and a wonderful encouragement to the rest of us who are already disciples of Jesus! This past week, Brandy invited us to hold a Bible dialogue with her and a group of the residents! We are stoked to begin this and pray that God will open the hearts of the residents to His new way of life as a citizen of His kingdom, and that this would continue to be a witness to *Kathy!
*Middle image: *Mary (City Lights resident), Vee, and me praying together after helping with food distribution at City Lights.
*Bottom image: Brandy, Vee, myself, and Nick (outside of picture) fellowshipping over lunch to discuss and pray about the new ministry that God desires for the people at City Lights.
-Counter-Cult Ministry-
Among other ministries, we are also engaged in counter-cult ministries. Let me give you a brief overview of what that can mean and why that’s important. On the campus of Cal State Fullerton, there are at least eight different high-control religious groups with various names and severities. These groups are big in recruiting students into their “Christian” groups where they establish unhealthy authority that limits the member’s freedoms. Not only are there serious social harms done to members of the groups, but there are also various demonic doctrines taught under the name of Christianity. This is not only destructive in the immediate sense of the social and doctrinal damages, but they also abuse people with the name of Christianity and make it harder to do evangelism and discipleship with them. We had a Bible dialogue with someone who has just recently left the Shincheonji cult and had been tricked into joining their antichrist group through an invitation to a “Bible study”. They teach many false doctrines, but through legislated lies and deception they target Christians and teach them doctrines that deny the divinity of Jesus along with many other outlandish doctrines. I’ll spare you the time, but this is very dangerous socially and theologically, and I would encourage you to read more about these groups if this is completely new to you. I was unaware of this type of warfare and have been blown away by its effects even in the small amount I’ve seen so far!
*Sorry for no pictures of this ministry area yet! I'm finding out how challenging it is to remember to get photos to share!
This is such a small glimpse of all the things I’ve learned and experienced this past month, but I am so excited for the ways God is, and will continue, to use us as sowers, waterers, and harvesters in His world!
-Prayer-
Please pray for the residents and workers at City Lights as we continue to work with them and begin a Bible dialogue with them! We are praying that God would use us to help equip leaders among them to make ministering disciples that reconcile those around them with the compassionate, merciful, and true God!
Please pray for the protection of the students of Cal State Fullerton and the continued work of the Holy Spirit to cultivate their hearts for His words of truth. Please pray for divine wisdom and guidance as we engage these people, and combat Satan’s influence at work through these cults.
Please continue to pray for the team’s health and my clarity of mind as I learn and apply many tools for making disciples of Jesus. Please pray that I may be supernaturally empowered in the memorization of scripture as it is such a crucial part in equipping the servants of God!
Thank you for your support and prayers as I continue to learn and serve in the Orange County mission field!
With love and peace,
Ivan Penrose
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