Fullness of Joy Church baptises 10 new believers
In August 2022, Fullness of Joy Church in Bangkok lived up to its name as it baptised 10 new believers. The church started around three years ago, growing out of the desire of the Thai OMF guest home managers to share the good news of Jesus in the neighbourhood around the guest home and OMF office.
OMF workers David & Tina Cannon, serving in Bangkok, wrote: ‘When we walked into the guest home dining room at 8am, it was already a hive of activity. The day began and ended as a celebration picnic. Each family had brought food to share which was loaded up into the cars and we travelled across town to an established church, which had its own swimming pool and fancy baptismal robes to share. The 10 people being baptised each gave a word of testimony. Six women and four men. Some elderly, some young, a village leader, a cook, a cleaner, and a young man recently released from prison.
All testified to the difference Jesus had made in their situations, their families, their livelihoods, their hearts.’ Please pray for these new believers as they learn to follow Jesus. May they be like the seed in the parable of the sower, producing many times what was sown (Matthew 13:23).
Work + Go 2022
Work + Go Manchester 2022 saw around 70 workers from across the UK gather to explore how an international career and sharing the good news of Jesus cross-culturally can go together. The event, held in collaboration with LICC and Climate Stewards, was the first of its kind in the UK. The main sessions highlighted the value of work in God’s world and inspired and equipped delegates to share the good news of Jesus in their workplaces. Practical seminars brought together artists, computer coders and medics to explore how knowing Jesus shapes and transforms their work and connections with culture. We look forward to seeing how Work + Go continues to develop. Explore more about Work + Go at workandgo.org
New appointment: Intercultural Ministries Director
OMF (UK) are pleased to announce the appointment of Nathaniel Jennings as our first Intercultural Ministries Director. Explaining the reason for creating this new position,
Co-National Director Peter Rowan shared: ‘We are committed to becoming a centre for mission, not only from the UK, as we continue to send workers to East Asia, but in the UK and to the UK. ‘So, we recognised that if we were serious about being a hub for multidirectional mission, then OMF (UK) needed to create a new role to ensure our UK-based diaspora and intercultural work was well coordinated, integrated with everything else we do, and could develop and flourish over the coming years.’ Nathaniel previously served as OMF Area Representative for Ireland for 11 years and will continue to be based in Belfast. Chris Keiller has taken on the role of interim Area Representative. Nathaniel said he was looking forward to ‘working to see that in all we are doing we are serving and envisioning the Church in becoming intercultural communities, where people of all backgrounds are welcomed and can belong, and in doing so becoming tangible signs of the power of the gospel to a fractured and warring world.’ He asked Billions readers to pray, ‘that the Lord would open doors and provide connections to be able to do this. Pray that in all the “good” things I could be doing I would do that which is of God’s will, and which will be truly fruitful as it is in tune with his ways and purposes. Pray for the humility, wisdom, and grace I will need to do this well.’
Prayer groups
Committing to pray on your own can be hard. It’s difficult to find time to pray and easy to get distracted. OMF prayer groups are a great way of meeting like-minded people and being encouraged in prayer. We have a mix of online and in-person prayer groups meeting around the UK to pray for OMF’s work in general and groups focusing on a specific country. These groups would always welcome new members. Find out more about prayer groups
near you by contacting your local OMF Area Representative or by visiting omf.org/uk/pray