Although it was difficult for me due to the many rejections we came across during Arise, I am thankful to the Lord for allowing me to experience meaningful encounters and enjoyable fellowship with believers that went beyond that. After three days of evangelism training, we headed to City Hill Church, which hosted us. From the Wednesday I arrived to Saturday, I worked hard to evangelize with the church members, and what surprised me on Sunday was that the families who participated formed the entirety of the Sunday congregation. The small number of families took turns preparing lunch and participated in door-to-door and street evangelism. Since the number of people was small and no one could be left out, they may have participated reluctantly, but I could feel the believers’ willingness and willing dedication to the gospel and the church. They were such precious families. I thought God would value them greatly.

Before going on evangelistic missions, we gathered at church every day and started the day by reflecting on the Book of Acts. When I prayed, my heart went to people who respected God, even though I didn’t know Jesus very well. They included Lydia, a purple cloth seller from Thyatira who worshiped God, and Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God. Although my heart was open to church, I felt like these were people who were open to faith but who could not attend church for some reason. Strangely enough, I met several such people while evangelizing.

During door to door evangelism, I met someone who naturally became distant from the church due to the absence of a leader for a long time after the church pastor retired. As we talked, it seemed like he had a desire to go to church again, so he went into the front door and prayed with us, and he was grateful.

While I was walking, I met someone who showed interest in church even though he was not religious. He said that there are times when he wants to go to church on weekdays, but it is unfortunate that the church is always closed. Since I am a believer from birth and there are many churches open on weekdays in Korea, it was something I had never thought about. Also, a young man in his early 20s whom I met while doing street evangelism said that he had stopped going to church for about two years after his mother passed away, but that he would like to go back someday.

There is another person I remember. Although they were mostly critical of the church, the conversation was not light. He said the church doesn’t care much about the environment. They said that the countless disposable items thrown away at various events and gatherings, and even the coated evangelistic sheets I gave out while evangelizing, were the cause of contamination. Through this person, I realized that the first thing non-believers see is us is as believers rather than God, and it made me think that we should pray and work hard to live a more righteous and truthful life in the future.

Although I evangelize at GVC every Saturday, I had many regrets because it was not easy to have these deep conversations. Through Arise, I was able to have many conversations, listen to their lives, and pray for them, so I was very grateful. Please pray for City Hill Church to continue have a passion for the gospel and to follow up on those who were evangelized through Arise. Finally, Shalom to everyone, every day!