"Guard the deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Tim. 1:14)
Through 2 Timothy I realized that God has already given us so much. Among many other things is the deposit given to us. It is the truth of the good news, and God wants us to be approved workmen of the gospel. I thank God for helping us to serve His word in this generation in the grace of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
A week ago, we had our fall Bible conference by a 180 degree bend of the river Moselle. It was a beautiful sight among vineyards. Still, it was a Bible-focused conference.
First, The messages. We studied 2 Timothy with the key verse 2:15. As messengers we chose young people in need of this kind of preparation, foremost John Youk and Josef Hong who have been serving Sunday worship services in their own apartment in Wuppertal (40 miles northeast of Cologne), then Mark Teuerle and Rene; Richelshagen. In preparation, they had Bible study with a coach each, then studied the text together with the group Bible study leaders for the conference. They wrote their testimonies, then their messages. They had their messages checked by the senior shepherds and P. Abraham Lee. Then they revised again before sharing it at the conference. In this way, all four messages were deep and had a clear point. All participants followed them eagerly from the beginning to the end. We are grateful for the opportunity to strengthen the new gen ministry in Wuppertal as well as our own ministry.
Second, Bible study groups. Study group leaders were well equipped. And for the first time we studied all four lessons in a 2-day conference. We also had two times testimony writing. And we had testimony sharing times, both in groups and in the assembly. This was very meaningful and encouraging so that we could truly understand Paul's testimony to his spiritual son Timothy. Everyone confessed their desire to live their lives as stewards of the gospel, overcoming fear from the inside and challenges from the outside.
Third, Testimonies. All in all we listened to 12 testimonies. Freiburg UBF raised Torsten Preg and Georgette Batoua; Dusseldorf Hanna Park; Koln II Daniela Yu; Stuttgart M. David Hong; and Koln I Annika Fabian, Johann Kim, Sergey Levitsky, M. Sarah Jeong, M. David Yoo, shps. Ulrike Groß, and shp. Knut Rohrmoser. We were deeply moved by their confessions as well as their decisions. For some it was the first time ever to share a testimony. They all pray to study God's word deeply and to pass it on to their peers resp. students.
Also, M. Grace Richelshagen shared her life testimony on Gen. 12:2, praising God's one-sided love and absolute calling for her.
Fourth, Direction. As this conference was in the first week of the new semester, we couldn't expect many (new) students. But some were there. Still, this conference focused more on helping coworkers and growing students to set their minds on sharing the gospel.
We are thankful for the good work of God among students in Freiburg under M. Noah Yu's care and their good coworking spirit.
Stuttgart UBF brought the family of Prof. Storchak (father of shps. Rebekka-Yaroslava Song, Freiburg); and they are praying for Bible students who couldn't make it this time.
In Dusseldorf, M. Daniel Park's family is coworking with the family of Titus Keller, and they pray to reach out to students together.
In the same way, in Koeln I we have renewed our 9-step Bible studies after the Summer Bible conference so that all coworkers may be renewed in their spirit to find and teach young college students. God has helped two families to open Bible groups at their homes; and shps. Joy Lee has started a fellowship meeting at the center with some students attending more or less regularly.
Fifth, Children ministry. Parallel to our conference, the young ones had a separate conference on Hebrews 11. They studied the faith of the gospel heroes and could find the greatness in their parents' faith, too. Interestingly, a young girl who was staying at the same place eagerly joined the children's conference instead of going to the playground with other peers.
Last Saturday, our new gens celebrated the 10th anniversary of their monthly worship service. Having this meeting, supported by seniors, helped them not only to survive spiritually in a challenging decade. They have also found joy in reaching out to others, sharing the gospel, and having great fellowship. While at first some of them might have sought a kind of "independence," meanwhile they are taking true responsibility. I praise God over them.
Five years ago, Mother Sarah Barry came here to restore our ministry. It was a great work. When I look back, I can only thank her with tears. I also thank God for the many loving shepherds such as you who have come here again and again, serving us with God's word and endless prayer. I am a debtor to all of you. I am a sinner not worthy of the gospel and of the task entrusted to me. May God help me to pray more so that I may find and follow his guidance.
Please, pray for our student ministry to be renewed.
In Jesus' love,
Walter
