August Update

Smiths with AccessTheStory!

Hey there!  Thanks for walking with us through this journey together. We're excited to see the increasing opportunities that God is opening up for us to see His Story have a greater impact on more and more lives.



Completed 'SEASON' for the Men at Teen Challenge!!!


Since our last update we completed 'SEASON' with the residents at Teen Challenge's New Life Men's Centre

Here are some responses we received:
  • that [God is] taking me to a better place. ... He has not given up on me. [My next step is] to start to believe and trust ... love God and live by His principles.
  •  I am living and breathing proof of Christ's work. ... He will repair and restore me if I continue my faith.
  • [God is saying] get deeper in thought, love and relationship.[My next step is] baptism.
We received encouraging feedback from staff as well, and are hopeful for more opportunities like this in future.

Pray that God continues to work in the lives of these men and opens further opportunities in future.


Interviewed on 92.9 Voice FM

A few weeks ago I was having a chat with Ivan Green, General Manager of 92.9 Voice FM (the Christian radio station in Toowoomba).  He asked how the ministry is going and I asked him about advertising Verge in their Community Service Announcements. He was very happy with that and said that I should also come into the station so they could interview me.

So on the 9 August, I had the privilege of being interviewed by well-known radio host, Ruby Slipperz, to talk about AccessTheStory and Verge.  At the end of the interview, Ruby invited me back after Verge to talk about how it went. 

The interview aired on 11 August.  God is good.



Multi-Region Prayer Muster in Gatton

Annie Cathcart invited me to share about ATS and Verge at the latest "Multi-Region Prayer Muster" held at Gatton Church of Christ on 12 August.

They had around 30 people from various churches and regions gathered for prayer, and pastors and other ministry leaders from 6 different regions were given time to share their prayer needs.  The regions were Somerset, Scenic Rim, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Warwick and Toowoomba.

Someone would speak and then we'd all break into small groups and pray for them. This ran from 10am til 3pm with a break for lunch.

A common theme shared by pastors on the day was the lack of young people in churches.  Yep, it's a problem all over.

As the final speaker of the day, I shared about AccessTheStory.  This was eagerly received and I suspect this could be the start of some amazing connections.


Invited to partner with Middle Ridge Uniting Church to share Christianity with Toowoomba students 

What do you do when a Buddhist school asks you to share the Christian faith with high school students?

A number of months ago I was contacted by Rev Rob Callow (pictured left) explaining that he had been asked to do just that by "Pure Land Learning College Association" (a Buddhist school here in Toowoomba) as part of an event they were organising to present three different faiths to high school students studying religion.

Rob asked me back then if I had any ideas on what we might be able to do, and yesterday morning we presented Jesus' Story together (using 4 of the 7 ATS episodes "Designed" - "Broken" - "Satisfied" - "Restored"). There were around 60 participants - mostly students from 3 private schools with some teachers, and at least 2 staff from Pure Land.

One girl shared with the whole group how it was helpful to her to go through a symbolic act of laying a dark stone at a cross and receiving a white stone in its place - representing Jesus taking our sin and making us clean.

A school staff member also expressed to the group how she thought it was powerful imagery comparing God restoring His creation with someone who takes an old, broken chair and restores it to something beautiful and useful.

Afterward, I was chatting with one of the Buddhist organisers and she told me she "had never heard that story before."  She also took an ATS brochure that presents the 4 episodes.

One of the school teachers of Religion talked to me about his struggle with engaging young people and his concern in seeing that so many of the students don't know the Bible anymore.  He commented that he thought we did well.  Young people not knowing the Bible is a common concern which is why I so strongly appreciate being part of AccessTheStory.

It was so good that Ray was able to get the day off work for this and join me in helping with this event.  She was a great help and so naturally engaged with the students.  Would love to see more of that.  It was also great to see how she was encouraged by being part of this event and wants to be more involved in future events.

What an amazing opportunity! Please pray that God causes His seed to grow in these lives.


Helping Hands Prepare for Verge

Verge is fast approaching (16 days at time of writing), and we're busy preparing - promoting Verge, and sourcing or making props with the help of others.  I'm realizing more and more that I can't do this alone and am thankful that God is bringing others to enthusiastically give of their talents and resources to help make this happen.


A special shout-out goes to Vieve who is generously using her artistic talents to paint a number pictures that will be used at Verge.  Also, thanks to Maurice who has provided timber to be used to make props for Verge. Thank you!!!

Please continue praying as we count-down to VERGE: 

We Invite You to come and experience God’s Story like never before:

Verge2017

ONLY 16 days to go:
What would it look like to see your community experience God's Story together like never before, over this four-day event?

REGISTER NOW: 
AccessTheStory.com


“Most Australians aren’t engaged by the Bible, so we have developed a suite of tools that help Christian communities access the Story of God in a way that brings clarity to who Jesus is and what it means to join Him in His Mission.”

The longer we're in this the more we see how desperately this ministry is needed.

We’re grateful that you’re continuing to partner with us and we want to say a big “THANK YOU” to each of you.  We couldn't do this without you!

God has always shown Himself faithful to us and we're thankful and excited to see the increasing opportunities that He is opening up for us to see His Story have a greater impact on more and more lives.

If you haven't already done so, we invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us financially (either through a special donation or regular support). If you would like to partner with us in this way then please complete and return this Partnership form. Your partnership will not only allow Mike to use his time to focus on the work with ATS, but will be an investment in seeing more lives access God's Story and be transformed through the Good News of Jesus, the Messiah.

Blessings,
Mike & Ray

Serving with ...

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