September 2025 Overview

Greetings Friends, 

Thank you for your diligence and faithfulness in prayer and support for me in this ministry and apprenticeship! I am greatly privileged to participate in this capacity and acquire tangible experience in evangelism and disciple-making! Here are a few things I'd like to share with you from this past month of ministry. I hope that you find these edifying and insightful into this ministry, and God willing, they might be useful for you as well in the ministry you have been given!

What does it look like, as Christians, to love others? Well, I think there are a number of responses to this question that would certainly be true and weighty; however, there seems to be one central expression that most Christians veer from participating in. The expression of love I'm speaking of is directly connected to the Gospel and is actually commanded by Jesus explicitly to those who follow Him. While you might disagree, I do believe this to be of the truest expressions of love a Christian can show to someone - anyone. If we simply step back and view this message of Jesus, I believe that it will become abundantly clear what this act of love is; however, truly understanding this Gospel of Jesus necessitates a response and participation from us. Can the finder of a bottomless well possess genuine love while watching a world die of thirst? Can one who is reconciled to God imitate the incarnational love of Jesus without likewise extending living water to those who are thirsty? 

I find that evangelism becomes exponentially more natural the more connected I become with the message Jesus came bearing. Has the American Church settled for a reductionistic view of Jesus' message that leaves behind an uncompelling and uncompassionate community of people - malformed from Jesus' image in our lack of love for those outside the four walls of the church? Do we love those outside the church? If so, why do we withhold the only thing that can bring life to their mortal bodies? If not, for what reason do we now lay down the cross of Christ which we ought to bear? Evangelism, that is sharing the Gospel of Jesus with the lost, is the beginning of the ministry that we have been given as Christ's followers, reconciling the world to God.

My apologies for the long-winded open, but I find that this summarizes what I wish to share in the rest of this update and places an important emphasis on our participation in God's reconciling work and our transformation into Christlikeness. 

This month has been full of great interactions at CSUF as well as in other ministry settings! On multiple occasions, we've met students who are Christians and hungry to follow Jesus into reaching the nonbelievers around them. In this, our group of CSUF ministering students is increasing and becoming more involved in ministry on our campus, at the whiteboard and beyond. These have been blessed partnerships which we pray will continue to flourish the ministry we desire to partner with God in at CSUF. 

We've had so many great conversations with those of various religious beliefs, and we've seen a number of those who previously opposed or rejected what we do grow in openness and understanding to us and what we are trying to do. It is certainly wisdom that a good reputation is to be valued above riches as we've seen the impact of that firsthand. The cult engagement on campus has been lively this month as we've seen and participated in the release of members of the Fellowship Church cult. There is a significant group of members within the cult who recognize the corruption and evil present in the leadership and practice, and we've been blessed to see the openness of their hearts towards Jesus above their abusive leaders. Many of these members have moved from out of state to escape bad life situations and are made completely dependent on the cult for resources and housing. This is one of the large hindrances for members when considering disagreeing with or challenging the leadership - they know that they can easily be put out on the streets with nowhere to go. Please join us in praying for these young adults who are being taken advantage of and abused in the cults on our campus - that they would boldly proclaim the word of truth, taking up the cross of Christ for the sake of righteousness and the exposing of darkness.

Please join me in prayer as I so eagerly desire continued conversations with my neighborhood Jehovah's Witnesses, but I find a reluctance in the members I am repeatedly pointed to for conversation. I need wisdom in how to reach this demographic as they are uniquely ungrounded and sensitive to correction theologically and historically. I'm praying that God might give me the opportunity to converse with a genuinely open and seeking member of this community who has not yet fully been brainwashed to unplug their critical thinking.