Partners wanted!

Tempo di lettura: 3 minuti

by Simon Cowell, GBU Staff worker in Bari

One of my favourite bible passages is Philippians 1.  The letter to the Philippians is rightly known as “the letter of joy” for the deep connection between the apostle Paul and this small church in the ancient Roman city of Philippi.  Having greeted the church, the first thing Paul writes is this:


I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:3-5

Did you notice the main reason for the apostle’s profound gratitude to God?  It’s their partnership in the gospel – this good work started in them by God, so that this church wouldn’t just be recipients of the gospel but active participants in it.  Sometimes we don’t think about how amazing this is: Paul, this giant of the early church, history’s first great missionary, the man chosen by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles – this man considered the partnership of this tiny, insignificant church to be immensely precious, and brought him great joy.  Why?

Partnership in the gospel

Paul knew that the work of the gospel is too big, too vast and important to be left to the “professionals” or “experts” (even those as able and gifted as the apostles!)  Proclaiming Jesus, and the eternal life to be found in him, is the main mission of the church – of the whole church, including that small community in Philippi.  This is a profound biblical truth: every Christian ministry is fundamentally collaborative.  In the case of Paul and the Philippians, it was Paul who criss-crossed the Mediterranean (multiple times!), preaching Christ and founding churches.  It was the Philippians who contributed in two vitally important ways: prayerful support, and financial support.

The importance of prayer

Referring to his imprisonment and his gospel “rivals”, Paul writes this to the Philippians: “I know that this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ”.  Even though they weren’t physically with him, Paul explains the importance of their prayers in the midst of his difficulties – they are the only thing he mentions other than the help of the Holy Spirit!
Partnership in the gospel means praying; interceding with the Lord of Hosts to do what only He can do: transform hearts and minds to accept Christ Jesus and the eternal life that only he can offer.

The importance of giving

Still writing to the Philippians, Paul speaks various times of his joy in their financial partnership in the gospel:


“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me… no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone”

(4:10, 15)

Paul also emphasises that this financial partnership is not a matter of his needs, and certainly not of his greed.  Rather, he underlines the benefits that they receive as a result of their generosity:

“Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account… and my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”

(4:17, 19)

All of this to say that giving to those who proclaim the gospel isn’t just a sacrifice, or even an investment, but a means but which God blesses even the giver.  When we give we are growing in spiritual fruitfulness; when we give, strangely, we receive from the divine riches.  No wonder the apostle was full of joy to see these precious brothers and sisters openly show the work of the Spirit in them!

The GBU, the gospel and you

Partnership in the gospel, therefore, is one of Paul’s main reasons for thankfulness and for joy.  And the mission of the GBU is that the proclamation of the same gospel of Jesus Christ might continue even today, in every Italian university – that we might in some way be sharing Jesus from student to student.  But just as Paul couldn’t and didn’t want to take on this project alone, so it is for us in the GBU. 

We’re looking for partners!  We’re looking for people who are going to strive in prayer together with us, who also want to see Jesus proclaimed and glorified in Italian universities, and who want to support this work financially.  If you’re not already our partner, or a member of the Associazione GBU, or a financial donor, then today’s the day to start this beautiful partnership – for the salvation of souls, for the growth of the Italian (and beyond!) church, and for our mutual building up in the faith.  To find out more, click the link below!

https://gbu.it/en/how-to-donate/

un-SATISFIED

Tempo di lettura: 3 minuti

Emanuele Berti tells us about his experience with the “Mission Week” that the GBU Florence group organized from March 11th to the 14th.

PREPARATION

Preparing for the week, for me, was a process that was as challenging as it was formative. It began several months ago and has proved to be an ongoing challenge. The choice of the theme and its development were particularly complex. Each time I found myself doubting the outcome, and I had difficulty figuring out what was an appropriate approach to engage students. Initially, I explored concepts such as victory and defeat, and the meaning of life, focusing on the reality of university students.

Later, under the Lord’s guidance, I oriented the theme toward dissatisfaction. In collaboration with other coordinators and staff, we looked for ways to address this topic with students. However, we opted for a direct approach with students through questions, which we often use in the GBU to initiate discussion. We also used a poster board, which summarized the concept of dissatisfaction through two key phrases: 

  1. “Human beings are often dissatisfied not because they want too much, but rather because they want too little.” By C.S. Lewis
  2. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will thirst no more.” John 4:14

I have realized in this preparation how constantly revisiting and reworking ideas is a challenging and tiring process, but I have also realized how essential and necessary it is; not only in preparing for an evangelistic week!

THE WORK IS IN YOUR HANDS

We planned the evangelistic days with personal prayer during the mornings, and then devoting the afternoons to evangelism and interaction with the students. On the first day, we gathered for an analysis and study of the Gospel, exploring its meaning and how to convey it to the students. The enthusiasm and joy I felt during the first day of preparation was so intense that the next day I found myself in bed with fever, nausea and sore throat! I spent two days in bed.

Initially, I was sorry that I could not attend, but then I felt great joy in knowing that others were at the university, sharing the Word of Jesus with students. I realized that the Word and the Gospel are free, not imprisoned, and continue to spread, despite our limitations.

WE ARE STRONG ONLY IN THE LORD

On the last day, after much prayer, I was able to find the strength to get out of bed and reach the university, joining the others. Although I was still sick, voiceless, with some fever and tiredness, I experienced how the Lord works in our very weakness. The warmth of the sunshine and the encouraging conversations lifted my spirits. To attract people, we had decided to use a little door and a ball. At first, they did not arouse much interest, but once we figured out how to make use of them, the Lord acted in an extraordinary way. We proposed a game in which, in exchange for a prize (a candy), people had to answer a question. In addition to the main poster board, we displayed another one with the pattern of the two ways of living, represented by six pictures illustrating the gospel. It was surprising to note that almost all the people, at least a dozen, understood the meaning of the gospel on their own after I asked them to try to understand what the pictures meant. It was a real miracle, and some people even agreed to come to the Mark Drama.

SATISFIED

These days have made me realize even more that only the Lord Jesus can truly satisfy. We can find many religions, ideas and sources of entertainment, but only Jesus can reconcile us with God. He is the only righteous one, the only sinless one, the only one who can redeem us and give us eternal satisfaction, a satisfaction that knows no end. He is the water that quenches our thirst — forever! Through His mercy, God welcomes every student, whether they have been a lifelong blasphemer, an arrogant person or an atheist. If they repent and believe in Jesus, they can be reconciled and God awaits them with open arms, rejoicing for the lost sheep who has been found, for the one who had died and has come back to life.

Emanuele Berti, GBU Florence student