Dear Bethel Church Family, August 10, 2014
I cannot believe it has been three months since I stopped preaching here every Sunday. Of all the churches that have partnered with DCMi for global evangelization, partnering with Bethel Church bears special meaning in my heart. Thank you so much for your prayers and loving support.
Preparations for the October Gospel Festival in Gisenyi, Rwanda are now underway. Kay and I first met the Gisenyi pastors in the summer of 2009. These pastors wanted to reach out to their community, but didn’t know how. They were concerned that many had turned away from Christianity after the 1994 genocide when people had fled to churches for refuge and then thousands were brutally murdered inside the church buildings. They wanted to hold a city-wide festival to bring Christianity back to life within their city.
I agreed that there should be a festival, but only after the pastors had come to learn and grow and work together through pastors’ conferences. Apparently other ministries had previously mentioned holding such conferences in Gisenyi, but no training had ever taken place. The pastors were amazed and delighted when the DCMi team actually followed through with the first Gisenyi Pastors’ conference in 2010. Our DCMi team has since formed solid relationships with these leaders by holding three regular conferences each year over the past 4 years.
After the most recent conference in the spring, the Gisenyi church leaders and DCMi mutually concluded that the time had come for us to reach out to the city of Gisenyi with a full-scale gospel movement. The Gisenyi Gospel Festival will be held on October 24-26. We set the following goals for the festival:
- 60,000 people will attend the festival (20,000 people each night for three nights)
- 2. 10,000 Christians will bring one unbelieving friend to the festival each night (30,000 unbelievers)
- 3. The Gisenyi pastors will train 300 counselors, each of whom will recruit and train 3 other people for counseling (total 1200 counselors).
- 4. 1200 to 1500 new believers will be born in this city through the festival and will be connected to local churches for follow -up and discipleship The total budget for achieving these lofty goals is $50,000. DCMi will contribute $40,000 (80%) and the remaining $10,000 (20%) will come from the Gisenyi churches.
The fact that the poor churches of Gisenyi, Rwanda are committed to raising $10,000 for a gospel movement is an undeniable sign that the kingdom of God has already come to Gisenyi. Will you pray with us for God’s provision for this movement? Will you strengthen the body of Jesus Christ in Gisenyi through your financial gift? Donations may be made by check to DCMi, P.O. Box 4161, Federal Way, WA 98063 or online at http://www.davidchung.us.
The Gisenyi pastors gathered this past week for their eleventh conference, a 2-3 day evangelism conference in which they refined their plan for evangelizing their city before the festival and following up with new believers after the festival. Please pray that the Gisenyi churches will diligently train counselors and disciple-makers before the DCMi team arrives for the final event in October. We observed in Myanmar that this follow-up piece was the least planned and the most difficult for them to
carry out. We pray that God will bless the unity that these Gisenyi pastors have developed and that they will be prepared to reach out to those who respond to the Gospel during the Festival.
Thank you so much for loving me and my family. I have always appreciated your prayers for my dad. Please keep praying that my dad would lead healthy life until God calls him to heaven. Grace is going to high school this fall. Please pray that Grace’s heart will be touched by God’s love and that she will come to understand her need for a savior. We want her to be grounded in His love as she starts high school this September.
Kay and I were blessed with a visit from one of Kay’s former Chinese students last week. Kay had not seen Jennifer since leaving China ten years ago so they had a wonderful week of fellowship. Jennifer, a beautiful young woman who loves the Lord with all her heart, uses every opportunity to share the love of Jesus with those around her.
We are continuing to search for a church home where we can worship, fellowship, grow, and serve as a family. Please pray that God will clearly direct us to where he wants us to be. Kay has applied for a corporate position within the Costco pharmacy division. She prays that God will open the door for this promotion if this is where He wants her to be.
May God hold us and all of you in the hollow of his hand as we walk the journey he has set out for us.
We love you,
David & Kay