Last year we were very frustrated about OSU gospel, we contacted over 40 students and only about 11 attended GTF, and only 1 baptized, after baptism, the new one immediately did not want to see us. I was so thankful that some saints from Elyria brought gospel friends and they 1 baptized. Total attendance of the GTF was under around 30.
This year after summer training, Taiwan trip, and NJ training I was physically pretty exhausted. So basically not ready to do anything, but the Isaiah training reminded me to be in lowly and contrite spirit to continue prayer in tears with repentance of the lack of fruit and power of God to save people, and lack of increase. Continue to ask the Lord for mercy, plus the desire to see the real work of the Holy Spirit since God desires all men to be saved.
The Lord started to work in a wonderful way, The Lord knew that we are not going to move, so He stirred saints and the environment to send us three new sisters and two gospel friends from other localities, so we have to go to visit them, so spontaneously invited their friends and roommates. All of sudden we had 7-8 new students come to our Friday night meeting. This situation also stirred up one more brother willing to coordinated with us to serve together.
Also one day I was taking care my baby, Lord somehow opened my eyes to see in the bookshelf there was the 60 Q & A of gospel forum CD I bought from NJ training, so Lord inspired me to use these for the new students to have them in a separate group to get into 2 to 3 questions and answers, then read some Gospel of John, plus we have saints & students watch testimony videos on YouTube put out by luke54.org and from NJ training DVD.
So we kept new students before GTF week.
The entire church also has many activities, ex. Welcome dinner, OSU Oval BFA table, OSU Oval pizza cook out, apple picking, bon fire and diner. Through all these events we got more names and more opportunities to preach the gospel to new students. I was amazed how many Chinese students attended these events. So I had not passed out one track, but in my hand, I have more than 50 names.
Around this time brothers mentioned about the GTF for OSU, so we immediately rented the Buckeye village recreation center which can seat about 80 people. Picked up a day without football (Last year the GTF date was a football day). After that I was under very heavy pressure, since the kind of “failure” we experienced last year. So day and night tried best to continuously pray. Even my wife asked me do I really sleep. Also worked very hard to set up a website for students to sign up and designed poster to post on campus, plus printing tracks to pass out, setup Google doc to track contact information and meeting attendance, plus follow up, ride, shopping information. So all the saints can see information online to coordinate together. I was amazed how the Lord moved me to be crazy again for His gospel.
One thing interesting was because too many students came this year, one student could not find a place to live, we have a brother on campus called me and asking if I am open for this student to move into our 733 Stinchcomb house on campus temporary, and I agreed, now this student is meeting with us on Fridays and also on Lord’s day, he was impressed by how we have this one new man meeting on Lord’s day, so keeps coming back. When he moved out, I was helping him to move out, then he said he needed to go to Buckeye Village to pick up a lamp, when I went with him, I saw this young lady who sold lamp to him actually was the one who attended our last year 10/10 GTF, who was study Bible with American friends and never open to the Lord to pray and receive Him, so I asked her she can come again, since we will have another GTP, but she said she is going to go back to China, so I prayed for her and her family, and she finally agreed to pray with me to receive the Lord, I just felt the Lord’s love and sovereignty to arrange this to show me that He is with us, and also He waited for the whole year for me to meet with this lady again before she goes back to China to receive Him into her heart to get saved.
Also after moving this young man to his place, one more student came to see him, so got to meet one more student, plus another roommate, then help them to go shopping, get chance to talk to them about the Lord, one of this one got baptized and reading Bible one on one with me now.
The Lord’s day before the GTF, Church announced this event and I asked the brothers to give me some time to share with the whole church about the burden of the GTF, Lord gave me 2 sets of verses.
Act 26: 14 And when we all fell to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?
In the above verse Lord spoke to Saul with Saul’s own dialect.
Act 2:6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and was confounded because each one heard them speaking in his own dialect. 7 And they were amazed and marveled, saying, Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
When the Holy Spirit outpoured, They all speak to people with the mother tone so they can understand.
I shared with the saints according to the Bible, we should use the mother tone to preach gospel, if Jesus talk to a Chinese he would use Chinese. Plus my feeling before the Lord that many Chines does not even have a chance to hear the gospel, this meeting is to give them this chance.
After Lord’s day, we started to go to confirm students attendance of the event, since students started to have midterms, I was a little worried not many could make it, so continues with unceasing prayer day and night, eventually we have confirmed about 20 students are coming, most of them are invited by the new students. I also called some community friends and they promised to come also.
Tuesday night, we also prayed in the church prayer meeting, and involved more non-Chinese speaking ones to help with setup food, play piano, also one English speaking brother on the panel, and have one church leading brother give the introduction of the forum to introduce church to new ones.
Wednesday night (3 day before GTF) we had a conference call for all brothers from all localities to fellowship together. During this time, my wife called one young sister, and she told my wife all of sudden her roommate felt so boring of her new job and wanted to go to church and get baptized. Also another student I met at apple picking called me to confirm his sign up. He called me earlier and asked me how to pray and confess his sins and received the Lord, he wanted to try it out.
One night before the GTF, St Louis saints arrived, with local ones, we meet one more time to fellowship what the Lord has moved so far for this event. Plus some practical arrangement.
In the Sat (GTF day) morning, we had some students helped us to set up the meeting place; one student has already believed the Lord but not sure about baptism. He said his church at home needs him to go to classes before he can be baptized, so we showed him Act 8, 16, 22, none of the cases in Acts, people need to go to class to get baptized, so he decided to get baptized. So even before the GTF, we already have two decided to get baptized. Also after setup the chairs, we took students for lunch @ 733 Stinchcomb, after lunch, students from St Louis wants to visit OSU campus, OSU students wanted to go home rest or do homework, all of sudden another brother just showed up at 733 stinchcomb saying he thought we have activities here, I told him it is later at Buckeye Village, so he just provided ride for OSU students to go home, I was amazed again for the Lord instants provision of ride without us plan for it.
Then we serving ones met again at 4 PM for final prayer and fellowship. 5 PM all go out the ride students we planned providing ride for 23 students.
During GTF, it was very smooth, the place was packed with people and saints, we had 70+ adults and some had to stand outside, and ran out of food. At the end 11 stood up to receive the Lord and wanted to get baptized, so we had to open two saints’ homes in Buckeye village to accommodate the needs of baptism. But after the baptism we counted only 10 got baptized, not sure which one we missed. One more wanted to get baptized but was stopped by her husband, but she said before she left, she will get baptized during Thanks Giving time.
After that, one more student talked to brothers for a long time and finally got baptized. We asked all of them to come back on Lord ’s Day to introduce them to the whole church, I think only two missed, the church was so joyful to see them and clapped the hands to welcome them when leading brothers asking them to stand up. The afterwards, one older brother who not baptized yet was touched and invite all of them to go out to eat and paid for around 19 saints.
Now we have at least 3 brothers willing to start one on one or one to two/three reading Gospel of John with these newly saved ones, to care and cherish them. Will have more fellowship to make sure every one is cared for.
In conclusion, glory to the Lord, Lord is faithful if we have a lowly and contrite spirit to repent and join one with His desire to get people saved. Plus Lord is really moving among the Chinese speaking students from China, I felt Lord loves China, there are billions there not even a chance to hear the gospel, and the Lord is gaining this generation to bring gospel back to China to prepare His final move in China before He comes back.
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