To Know God and Make Him Known
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Romans 10:13-15
Aloha {{first_name|McCalls on Mission Community}}!
Happy New Year!
What a full year it has been for our family already! God has opened incredible doors for teaching, training, and leading worship. It has been a whirlwind arriving home from India in December, leading worship for Christmas, and then heading back on the road in mid January.
So far, I’ve (Chris) led worship at a retreat center in the mountains of Southern California, taught and led worship in Malaysia, Brazil, Honolulu, and here in Kona. Additionally, I released a studio version of Apostles Creed in multiple languages and a Devotional on the Bible App by YouVersion. There is much to catch up on; but first…
Know God
YWAM Value #2 is: Make God Known
YWAM is called to make God known throughout the whole world, and into every arena of society through evangelism, training, and mercy ministries. We believe that salvation of souls should result in transformation of societies thus obeying Jesus’s command to make disciples of all nations.
“Discipleship is a multi-generational costly process. We need to be willing to invest months and years of teaching and modeling into people we lead to Christ.”
What is evangelism? It is proclaiming or communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone everywhere. In YWAM, our communication needs to be creative, adaptive, and relational.
YWAM is called to ALL the places where God is yet to be made known. So that EVERY person may one day pray as Jesus did in Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Psalm 71:17-18 says, “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”
Who can compare to our wonderful God and His marvelous deeds among the nations? May we never stop taking new initiatives to know God and to make Him known!
Statio
Idyllwild Pines Christian Camp
In mid January, I had the incredible opportunity to lead worship at a camp retreat whose sole purpose is for High School seniors to seek God about the future and connect with their Pastors. There were two things, in particular, that were a highlight for me personally.
The Executive Director of the camp is a longtime friend of mine from Middle School. This was the first time we’ve been able to reconnect, in person, since just after high school graduation. It was incredibly special to minister together. The second highlight was the opportunity to encourage a group of seniors, from my own hometown, to dream with God.
Kuala Lumpur
After returning to Kona at the end of the camp, I was home for three days and then began my journey to Malaysia. We, as School Of Worship Global, pioneered SOW in Kuala Lumpur this year. Part of my role, internationally, is to provide Pastoral Care to SOW school leaders and staff while also helping to ensure that our schools abide by our curriculum standards that we have established within the University of the Nations “arm” of YWAM.
I also have the privilege of teaching in these schools around the world. This particular week was on “Worship Leadership/Leading Teams.” What struck me about this group of students was their hunger to learn and grow. It was a very diverse group coming from countries such as, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, Germany, and USA.
I love this aspect of YWAM; international, inter-denominational, and inter-generational. A particular, tenderhearted moment, is that on the last day of my teaching week, I came back to the classroom from our morning break and they had quickly decorated the room to celebrate the new, studio release, of my song Apostles Creed. I was overwhelmed by their love and care. They even had a bowl of ice cream with a banner in it saying “I believe”.
Mahalo 🙌🏼
Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude for each one of you. Thank you for faithfully standing with us as a team in our missions work around the world. The Kingdom of God is advancing mightily and we get to play a small part in it; together.
Thank you for your prayers and for your financial partnership. None of this is possible without all of us, the whole body of Christ, working together unto the purposes of God in this world.
We are grateful for each and every one of you. Please let us know if you have any prayer request that we can be partnering with you in. It is our privilege to intercede on your behalf.
If there’s any opportunities to minister together, in the things you’re doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out as well. We would love to partner with you and serve you in this way.
“Let us then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Prayer Request
At the end of every school I teach in, the class usually asks if I have any prayer requests. Last Friday, the students in the Discipleship Training School, that I was teaching in, asked me this same question. Many of you know our housing vision and that we are currently living on campus.
I told the students of the dream God placed in our hearts and asked them to pray for clarity in knowing how long we are to be on campus. It’s not easy to live on campus but it’s also been a joyful time for our family. With that said, later that evening, after the students prayed for our family, I received an email from the YWAM Kona Housing Department that we will have to move out of our campus room by September.
This actually brought a sense of relief and excitement for what God might be up to. Will you join us in prayer for the release of a new home for our family to live in as another step towards putting our roots down deep into the land and nation of Hawaii? 🙏
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your prayers! We feel every single one of them; truly.
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and may the Lord give you peace. Amen. 🙏
Grace and Peace be with you in Abundance,
-Chris, Lizzi, Kai, Laila, Rhema, Moses, and Zion ♥️-
P.S.- I, intentionally, didn't do an update on everything since January as it would’ve made this newsletter entirely too long. With that said, I am looking forward to catching up on writing newsletters and reporting to you of the faithfulness of God across the nations of the earth!
