Scott Jackson

I hope this newsletter finds you well. With everything that the Lord calls us into as disciples, and involved in ministry, (however that looks), something that is being impressed upon my heart is to ask the question, "Who is being raised up to follow after me?" As disciples of Christ, we are to set by example seeking to make more disciples. Investing in others that they in turn can invest in even more, for the cause of the Gospel and Kingdom. We can see this all over the Scriptures, from Moses and Joshua to Paul and Timothy. Let's be encouraged afresh today. Each of us are given the privilege of being asked to invest in others; and the more we press into God, the more we will see Him at work in our own lives and characters, and the more we can invest. We each have something to bring to the outworking of the Kingdom.

Young Life

The Young Life Clubs started again in September after the end of the Summer break. It has been fantastic to see the number of youths engaging with it and attendance increasing, with multiple kids for the first time. We are at the stage now where we are splitting the activities and clubs between two age groups. The older (aged between 15-18) will continue to be called Young Life, and the younger (11-14) will now be known as Wyldlife. I will be able to move between the two groups when needed, but will primarily be focussed in working with Wyldlife. As a part of this, in October, myself and another volunteer started to lead a lads Discovery Bible Study. We are still in the early stages, and in addition to the Bible Study, we will have food and games. To begin with we will only be having it once a month with the hope that it will increase in the future.

SEAM

In October, I joined with several others who are in the university student ministry (SEAM) in giving out invitations to a pre-evangelistic meeting where a member of the church was speaking about business ideas and having a good foundation for business. The leaders of this ministry have an amazing heart to see the student world reached for the Kingdom, and through conversations with the Skopje leader, there is potential to serve again in the future and maybe on a more regular basis as we continue the discussion about how we can increase the mission/evangelism to students.

Below are some photographs of our time outside the student accommodation, where we asked the students "What would you do if you knew there was no way you could fail?", and our time at the events in the evenings, which were over two nights.

Preaching Seminar Ohrid

In September I was invited to join with multiple leaders from across Macedonia, Albania and Serbia in a week long training seminar in Ohrid on Expository Preaching given by REACH Ministry (Ramesh Richard Evangelism and Church Health). It was a fantastic week of learning how to unpack the Scriptures in an expository way to prepare and preach a sermon, and in meeting other brothers, most of whom for the first time. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to join in with this week and for how this will help me in sermon preparation for the future.

Below showing myself with 3 of the brothers who were also at the seminar, two of them from Macedonia, and one from Albania. There were 23 of us in total from across Macedonia, Albania and Serbia. The other photo shows the end of the week where we were each given a certificate for completion.

Discovery Bible Studies

In October, I was invited to join with others from across Skopje for a training seminar on Discovery Bible Studies. I am already involved with multiple DBS's, but this was great in sharpening up my understanding on why and how to do them. It was so exciting to hear testimonies from the leaders of the training of how 1000 refugees from Muslim backgrounds have come to faith in Christ in Greece through being a part of a DBS, with over 120 baptised this year alone so far, and to hear about how DBS's are multiplying roughly every 6 weeks in the Middle East.

Aside from the DBS that has just been started with the youth, I am part of a further two weekly studies. One with the Moore family with their local community. It is wonderful to see members there growing in their understanding of what God is like, and to see that stirring in their heart for more. The other DBS is in my apartment with other members of the church. It is so encouraging to see the growth in faith, with one person (who is still on a journey to faith) saying recently, "I love these meetings. You can take a small passage of the Bible and speak together for hours on it". I am currently leading this DBS, but I want and am currently mentoring a national to take this over. I believe this is really important in seeing national members of the church empowered and raised up all across ministry.

Thanksgivings:

• For the growth in the number of youth engaging with Young Life, where they are hearing about God, and increasingly engaging in the spiritual.
• For the new lads youth Discovery Bible Study.
• For the training seminar in Ohrid.
• For the growing hunger for more of God in those attending the DBS.

Prayer Requests:

• For an even greater and growing hunger for more of God for all of those engaged, whether that is in YL or the DBS.
• Possibly I will be moving apartment soon. This is not definite, but it is certainly something I am processing at the moment. Please pray with me for discernment and wisdom in this.
• The Balkan Call annual gathering will be taking place between the 24-26 November in Zagreb. There will be a group of us going from Macedonia. Please pray that as we gather from across the Balkans, there will be that repentance and forgiveness between the different ethnicities that facilitates reconciliation. Please pray for the love and presence of God to move amongst us in powerful ways. Please pray for protection for all journeys there and back.

Thank you for reading my latest news. I thank God for you. Wherever this newsletter finds you, may you know the love and glory of the Lord in such increasing measure in your life. May..

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

It's always great to hear from you. Let me know how you're doing.

With much love, and Christ's richest blessings,
Scott

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