Macedonia Update April 2024

Hi Everyone, thank you for reading our latest missionary update from Macedonia.

Ministry of Reconciliation

In our prayer walks we have felt God highlighting the importance of the Ministry of Reconciliation scriptures in 2 Corinthians 5.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a]the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-19

We feel that God is highlighting the importance of ensuring that we communicate the need for reconciliation with Him, that the relationship is broken and that Christ came to forgive, cleanse and restore relationship. Culturally, many people here view salvation as a balance: as long as your good deeds outweigh your sins then you should be ok at the time of judgement. We feel compelled to make it clear that it is only through Christ we receive salvation and that no amount of good deeds will ever be sufficient to pay the penalty of sin, only the work of Jesus on the cross.

So, what has been happening?

We have seen some answers to prayer with an increase in opportunities to share testimonies and the gospel message with people in our community. We have met some new people and also seen a small increase in attendance at our family Bible study. Additionally, there has been a sense among us as a team that there is more of a depth to the bible studies and we are trying to create some opportunities for people to engage with Jesus in a deeper way during these times.

From April, we will also have a member of our church joining us weekly for prayer and evangelism in the community. We are delighted that he has been willing to come and give time to share Jesus with people. It will be good for us to have a ‘native’ come with us as sometimes we can be viewed as ‘foreigners with that strange religion’!

Capernaum

Katie and Kristen are continuing to support the work of Young Life Skopje through their involvement in the Capernaum Club ministry to children with special needs. In March they held a family fun session in the Skopje city park, all four of us were able to come along and join in and it was a privilege to be able to connect with the families who had been involved with the ministry. It was lovely to see so many families there and there were even a few passers-by who saw what was going on and joined in! There were games, a picnic and a message was given on the subject of the Parable of the Lost Sheep. We are hopeful that this work will continue to grow and be fruitful amongst those families.

Prayer

• Please give thanks for increased opportunities in our local community and depth in the Bible studies.
• Please pray for increased numerical growth and an increased hunger to know Jesus.
• Please give thanks for the successful family fun afternoon.
• In our last update we asked for prayer as we were in the process of renewing our visa. This is still in progress but hopefully we will hear something in early April.
• Macedonia will be holding parliamentary elections in May. Please pray for those involved that whoever wins power will make decisions for the good of the country and in line with God’s will.

Thank you so much for reading our update. Please feel free to get in touch and let us know your news as well!

Ian, Katie, Kristen and Josiah.