2026-07-19

牧人心語

星期三早上，我參加了一個在網上舉辦的學術講座。隨後有一對宣教士夫婦到我們家中午餐聚舊。這對宣教士夫婦，是匯點教會前母會的一對執事夫婦。他們在匯點剛開始時，還特別出來幫助了我們三個月。之後，他們蒙召成為宣教士，就去了亞洲做宣教工作。今年回美述職，到年底退休。

他們和我們分享了一個十分令人鼓舞的故事。就是我們的前母會請了一個十分年輕的傳道人，他十分勤力而且有異象和魄力。他最近帶領教會和一個課後學習社簽約，讓他們租用教會設施作課後學習之用，一開始就帶來了七、八十個學生。他的教會在過去這十幾二十年，從來沒有那麼多小朋友在教會裡出現。

但最令我感動和鼓舞的，是這個年輕牧師利用這個機會，招聚了國、粵、英語堂的弟兄姊妹在一起，挑戰他們回去禱告後做一個決定，他們是想繼續看著教會老化死亡，還是想利用這個課後學習社帶來的機會，振興教會。他挑戰教會全民出動，把握機會與這些小朋友和他們的家人建立關係，引領他們認識和接受救恩。

我覺得這是天父給我的鼓勵。因為我們教會亦剛通過了出租Pleasanton分堂的部分地方作為課後學習社之用。我們Pleasanton分堂的兒童事工亦正需要重整和發展。我心裡祈禱，希望我們在Pleasanton分堂的弟兄姊妹、教牧同工，能看見這是天父爸爸為我們開創的機會，讓我們能好好把握，想方法和這些將要來上課的兒童和他們的家人建立橋樑，讓我們能引領他們認識基督的愛和接受救恩。

耶和華神對我們說：我必不離棄你們，我要在光秃不毛之地開江河，在谷中開泉源；我要使沙漠變為水池，使乾地變為湧泉。（以賽亞書 41:18）和修

招牧師

代禱事項

• 1. 感謝讚美神不斷為我們製造機會。求天上帝的靈引領和幫助我們能善用不同機會去為主做見證，領人歸主。
• 2. 為教會的年輕人事工祈禱。求神賜恩典能力給Pastor Hankin及Pastor Joshua，讓他們能分別拓展英語和粵語的年輕人事工，並將所需要的人力資源加給他們。
• 3. 為下週開始在Milpitas 母堂舉行的暑期實體查經班祈禱。求神讓更多弟兄姊妹有追求研習詩篇的心。
• 4. 為國語三個堂會的門徒訓練事工祈禱。求神加力和賜智慧給幾位國語傳道同工，讓他們能因材施教，幫助弟兄姊妹的屬靈生命繼續成長。
• 5. 為宣教年會的籌備工作祈禱。我們還在尋找英語和工作坊講員，求天父上帝為我們預備，並使用今年的宣教大會，激發更多弟兄姊妹傳福音、為主做見證的熱誠。

From the Heart of a Shepherd

On Wednesday morning, I attended an online seminar on church development. Later, a missionary couple came to our home for lunch. This missionary couple was a deacon couple from the former mother church of Crosspoint Church. They came to help us for three months when Crosspoint first started. Afterwards, they were called to become missionaries and went to Asia to do missionary work. They returned to the United States this year to report on their work and will retire at the end of the year.

They shared a very inspiring story with us. Our former Mother Church hired a very young preacher who was diligent and filled with courage. He recently led the church to sign a contract with an after-school learning club, allowing them to rent church facilities for after-school program. The after-school program invited seventy to eighty students to their welcome reception. I was told that this church, for the past 15-20 years, has never had so many children present.

But what moved and inspired me most was that young pastor. He used this opportunity to gather brothers and sisters from the Mandarin, Cantonese, and English congregations, and challenge them to make a decision after prayer: do they want to continue watching the church age and die, or do they want to use the opportunity provided by this after-school program to revitalize the church? He challenged the entire church to seize the opportunity to build relationships with these children and their families, and lead them to know and receive Christ.

I was encouraged by this young pastor. Our church has also approved renting part of the Pleasanton space for an after-school learning center. Our children’s ministry at our Pleasanton campus also needs to restructure and re-develop. I pray that our brothers and sisters, pastors and staff at the Pleasanton campus will see this as an opportunity created by our Heavenly Father, and we will seize this opportunity and find ways to build bridges with the children and their families from the after-school classes, leading them to know the love of Christ and to accept his salvation.

The Lord God says to us: “I will not forsake you; I will open up rivers in the barren land and springs in the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water and the dry ground into springs.” (Isaiah 41:18)

Pastor Chiu

Prayer Requests

• Give thanks and praise to God for continually creating opportunities for us. May the Spirit of God lead and empower us to make good use of these opportunities to bear witness for the Lord and lead others to Him.
• Pray for the church’s youth ministry. May God grant grace and strength to Pastor Hankin and Pastor Joshua as they develop the English and Cantonese youth ministries respectively. Ask God to provide the necessary human resources for their work.
• Pray for the in-person summer Bible study class starting next week at the Milpitas main campus. May God inspire more brothers and sisters with a desire to study the Book of Psalms.
• Pray for the discipleship ministries of the three Mandarin congregations. May God grant strength and wisdom to the Mandarin pastoral staff, enabling them to tailor their teaching to individual needs and help the brothers and sisters continue to grow in their spiritual lives.
• Pray for the preparations for the Missions Conference. We are still seeking speakers for the English sessions and workshops; may the Heavenly Father provide the right preachers and use this year’s conference to ignite a passion among the brothers and sisters in Christ for evangelism and bearing witness for the Lord.