Belfast City Hall Outreach

Hello World!

So far, outreach has been an amazing, life-changing experience and God continues to blow our minds at each turn. Yesterday, our team went into downtown Belfast to the city hall and spent the day witnessing and forming friendships with the many teens that hang out there regularly. God moved in such a powerful way and we left there with many memorable stories and 74 changed lives. Everywhere we go, God's love leads and prepares the way, ever reminding us of the reason we are here: to be unmistakable followers of Jesus and tell the Gospel to all.

Here are a few testimonies from our team:

So the last couple of days have been really cool! We have talked to a bunch of people and some of them have listened, some of them have not. But the cool thing is that we are talking to people in Belfast, a city in which nobody wants to talk about religion because of all the violence and division it has caused, and people are actually responding! This one lady I talked to was a Christian but I got to talk to her about how Jesus could be her friend and help her with more than just the major decisions in her life. She told me that she became a major alcoholic after her mom died; and 2 1/2 years ago she realized that she was hurting herself and with some help from her church she quit but she still struggles with the temptation every day. I was able to encourage her and talk to her about how Jesus could help her with her cravings and with everyday life. And I was also able to pray for her! I'm really looking forward to the rest of outreach so that I can continue to spread the word about how much Jesus loves these people!
-Sarah Shepherd

There was a man named Matthew who questioned God and his judgment. His question was, "If a man who lived a horrible life and knew he was now 30 minutes from death accepted Jesus and another man who was always good also died, would the man on the death bed go to heaven before the good man?"

The moment was intense; everything was moving fast and I felt a need to speak in haste for the fella. I answered him according to what I know Jesus speaks on. I said "Yes, because Jesus talks about forgiveness and is quick to forgive."

Matthew was quickly angered by my response; I think I disarmed him with words of understanding. I told him "I would agree with him as a (fallen) human being, I would agree the unfairness in this judgment but God is quite different from all of us."

I then asked at the end of our conversation, "Do you want to know truth?" He responded, "Yes." I then said he would want to know Jesus. I spoke this with all honesty in my soul. "Ok," he said with agreement in his tone.

I was deeply encouraged by him. I want Matthew to see Jesus and know him in heaven.
-Jordan Esquivel

God has really been moving here in Northern Ireland and has been proving himself to me through talking to hundreds of teens here; I love it. Because Belfast is so quiet, I can really hear the voice of God in my heart and through the scriptures. It is so great to see what God has been doing. People have been so accepting of us so far and we've grown closer to God through prayers; I feel alive in Christ and can't wait to see what happens through the rest of our outreach.
-Matthew Glover

More testimonies will be up within the next few days as we continue to see God's work unfold. Tonight, we are putting on our production Encounter for the first time in the UK and we are anticipating a large crowd of people we have met on the streets. Continue praying for our team and all those we are working with. God is so awesome!