Dave Griffin, Associate Campus Pastor at the Wheaton Campus, along with his wife Conce, and 6 other individuals from The Compass Church, traveled to Nicaragua from January 4-11^th. They helped lead a group of youth who live at Case Bernabe (an orphanage) on a missions trip to the city of Juigalpa, about a 4 hour drive away.

The first few days the team worked with the youth to learn dramas and practice their testimonies. Dave encouraged them with lessons on living an authentic faith. In turn, the kids ended up having a chance to demonstrate to The Compass Church team the fine art of killing a poisonous snake!

The next three days were spent out in the community. The youth cleaned up public spaces, went door to door to invite people to church (many came who normally do not attend!), and put on evangelistic programs that included the dramas and testimonies they had practiced earlier

.   Performing one of the dramas for the community

It wasn’t easy. There were travel delays, power outages, a broken down bus, some of the places where they served required a police escort for safety …and there was that poisonous snake thing too!  However the impact was powerful!

One of The Compass Church team members reports that, “The kids were continually moved by their own ability to share Jesus with people and all that God had already done through our [combined] team.” Dave shared at the Wheaton Campus on Sunday, that these youth, who have been rejected by their families and rejected by society, saw through this trip that THEY had something to offer. THEY could give. THEY could serve. THEY could be used by God to bring hope and healing to their country.

Please pray that God would continue to use this trip. May those who heard the Gospel from the youth’s presentations come to faith in Christ. May the youth continue to grow deeper in their relationship with God and continue to live out an authentic faith. May we at The Compass Church be encouraged by the example of these youth to serve and share with boldness.

Recently the CompassGlobal staff had the opportunity to spend time with Sam George. Sam serves as the Catalyst for Diaspora with Lausanne. His perspectives on the current diaspora movements in the world are not ones you will likely hear on the nightly news. As he places them in the context of global history and God’s providence one can’t help but get excited about the possible impact for the US church and for the world. Read Sam’s recent article in Christianity Today here . May you be encouraged by how the gospel is going from everywhere to everywhere!

In part 1 of our series on New Years Resolutions for the Worldwide Church we discussed unreached people groups. You were challenged to contemplate how you could participate in God’s mission to save people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Did you consider prayer? Without getting a visa, taking a plane ride, or learning a new language you can participate in what God is doing in every corner of the world through prayer!

Here are some excellent resources for you to use:

Joshua Project

This organization focuses specifically on UPG’s. Visit them here and subscribe to receive a daily email highlighting an unreached people group.

Prayercast

At Prayercast you can view prayer videos for every country in the world as well as some for major world religions or special topics.  You can subscribe to have a video emailed to you ever week!

Operation World

Visit here for a daily calendar that will guide you through praying through the world this year.

What is your favorite prayer resource? Which of the above resources will you use in 2017? Comment below to share!

In light of the new year, we have been exploring resolutions for the Worldwide Church. You can read about Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

#3 A Welcome for Every Foreigner

In our world today we are seeing people move from all nations to all nations. Whether they are immigrants, refugees, or international students, you may find that your coworker or neighbor is a foreigner. How do we react to those who are different from us? What does the Bible tell us our response should be?

In Part 1 we discussed unreached people groups. If you remember, 350 unreached people groups are now represented in the US. Without moving, fund raising, or securing a visas, we who live in the Chicago suburbs can share the Gospel with people who have never had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus or meet a follower of Christ. This is an extraordinary opportunity and it starts by each of us welcoming the foreigners around us.

What next step will you take this year?

Interested, but don’t know where to start? Contact jkindelin@thecompass.net.

In light of the new year, we have been exploring resolutions for the Worldwide Church. You can read about Part 1 here.

#2 A Bible in every person’s heart language:

According to Wycliffe Bible Translator’s website, about 7,000 languages are known to be in use today and up to 1,800 languages (representing up to 180 million people) still need a Bible translation project to begin. Once begun, a translation can take decades to complete.

At The Compass Church one of our 4 priorities is to pursue God daily. Consider, how would you pursue God, hear and learn from Him daily, if you didn’t have a Bible in your own language? What might you add to your personal news years resolution list to contribute to a Bible in every language? Leave a comment below to share!

A  new year finds many of us making resolutions and goals for the months ahead. Over the next few posts we will be suggesting some items for the Worldwide Church’s New Year’s Resolution List.

#1 Begin work among all the remaining unreached people groups

Matthew 24:14 records Jesus as saying, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

What is meant by “all the nations”? How many are left to reach? Take a moment to view the video below. You may be surprised by what you learn!

This command to preach the gospel to all nations is not just for a few, but for all of us who follow Christ. What might you add to your resolutions list in light of this? Add a comment below to share!