Monday, September 26, 2011

Friday Night Seminar – Conclusion to Muslims and the Church Week

We concluded our Muslims and the Church week with a community seminar on Friday night. The purpose of the seminar was to bring together church leaders, the PIU community and other interested individuals to discuss possible ministry to Muslims in our region, inform about the opportunities that are available and begin to formulate a strategy for the churches in Guam and Micronesia to cooperate in the effort. Panelists included Paul from North Africa, Andrew Immanuel, pastor of the Palauan Evangelical Church of Guam who made an informational trip to Papua, Indonesia last summer and Billy Edwin, PIU alumni director, who has lived and done ministry in Muslim communities in Africa. In addition, PIU students and staff who participated in the Indonesia trip this summer shared from their experience there. We were encouraged to see so many people from the many different ethnic communities of Guam participate in the event. Pastor Andy shared a moving testimony about the needs he saw in Indonesia and the call he felt for Micronesians to be trained and to go minister there. Several of the team shared about the desire that many of the Indonesians had to come to PIU to get trained to minister to their own people. They encouraged the churches to each sponsor a student to come to PIU. finance their education and send them back to Indonesia as a missionary to their own communities in cooperation with the churches here. It was an exciting time and we ask for prayer for the Spirit’s direction as we see where God would have us go from here.

No comments: