First Pres Passion Week & Easter
During this past Easter, we got to bring the gospel to many unhoused members through Passion Experience showing as well as Good Friday/Easter messages! We got to witness God's work to bring many precious unhoused members closer to Him.
Two weeks prior to Easter, we started showing the virtual Passion Experience in 2 sessions. (Thank you to all the teams who put PE together!) Each time we had around 10 participants. They were really engaged with the content and impacted by many videos, especially the sin video which shows the gravity of our sins in modern civilization. At the end of each session, we got to have deeper spiritual conversations with many of them. And one gentleman made a salvation decision! This gentleman had some understanding of the gospel but he questioned whether or not Jesus could actually forgive him fully, down to his very depths. After a meaningful conversation, he wanted to come before God and pray the sinner’s prayer. Praise God!
During Passion Week, we served there on both Thursday and Sunday so that we can bring both Good Friday and Easter messages. For Good Friday, we brought a cross and some props to help them understand the cross a little better. We also planned a special activity in which each participant can write down their sin on a special paper and let it dissolve in the water. We ended up having 8 participants. Every one of them wrote down their sins and we got to pray for them. One woman told us how it felt so good to write down her sin and see it dissolve away in the water. Another gentleman who couldn’t spell named his sins and asked us to write them down. It was amazing to see how he didn’t let that barrier get in the way.
On Easter Sunday, we had a special night for them. Everyone got to eat crispy chicken, steak, potato casserole, sweet salad, garlic bread, and plenty of desserts our Element youth students made. It was definitely a feast! We also made it a little special by serving food to their tables. This added to the message we wanted to share with them, that "they are dearly loved by God." Afterward, we shared the message in the main gym. It was the first time we did a spiritual activity with the majority of them. We weren't sure how people would respond. But to our surprise, more than half of them joined and most of them were very attentive throughout . The message was about “Home”. As many of them face tough situations in their earthly homes, this message gives them hope for a true home in Heaven. It was quite a monumental point. In the past, only people with church backgrounds joined. But this time, many people without spiritual backgrounds got to hear the gospel and got to have spiritual conversations with us. Praise the Lord for His amazing work among these unhoused members!
