A team of seven people from Eastern Europe, consisting of Agape co-workers from Albania, Macedonia, Poland, Ukraine and Moldovia, visited Vienna for four weeks with the goal of inspiring students with the vision of launching a spiritual movement on their campus and to involving them in evangelistic outreach among their peers. Among them, the Albanian group leader Ermal, who came in contact with the Gospel message four years ago through an Austrian!
For some of the students, it was the first time they dared to go on campus to talk about faith with their peers. They were amazed at how much easier it was than they had imagined. Maren, for example, shared: "Evangelism always had an aftertaste of forcing your own opinion on others. It was so freeing to experience that this isn't the case at all. You simply look for opportunities to talk about your own faith and see whether God has already “prepared the field” [helped the other person have an interest in spiritual issues – ed.]. It is wonderful to see how God works in people's lives in so many different ways!"
Marius, a local student, was impressed with the group’s approach: "They didn't know our culture or the students and most didn't speak our language, yet they still shared openly about their faith with us. This impressed and motivated me."
During the four-week outreach, God brought Agape Austria’s CampusLive ministry three new, motivated student volunteers who are now willing to get involved and learn. Most of all, they want to be used by God to start a movement at their university. The team even had the privilege of witnessing one student come to faith in Jesus.
Renate Regelsberger, local CampusLive leader, is impressed again and again at how God partners with Agape. "I don't need a degree in theology or take a public speaking course (even if these things could be helpful in my work) in order to talk about my faith with other people. God simply wants us to step out in faith," she explains. In Vienna, Renate recently saw a billboard ad that touched her heart. The slogan read: "The world is waiting for you. What are you waiting for?"
Original article by Renate Regelsberger "Die Welt wartet auf dich, worauf wartest Du?".
Translated and adapted from Agape Österreich newsletter "Erlebt", July 2015, No. 7. Read the original article.
Last Saturday morning, I woke up to the shouts and shrieks of children playing in the park below our apartment. Confused and a little annoyed, I shuffled sleepy-eyed to the window to see what the commotion was about.
Caradonna helped me put into words the process I was experiencing with God. Because we write a message on our bodies, it must be short and impactful. Caradonna helped me find words to convey my experience and encourage others through my message.
"Europe needs more Jesus." - Christian Pichler, speaker at Revive Europe.
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