34 Miracles & Counting!

Alvin, who is our Church Planting Resident, was given the opportunity to baptize five adults at the first worship gathering for our next church plant in Auburn, Washington. He and his wife, Juana, were overjoyed at the response of over 90 people, who gathered to worship together.

“Last night another lady accepted the Lord as her Savior. Today she will be attending our prayer night, which will be her first time. She is craving to know more about God!” Alvin & Juana texted me this update last week, which has become a regular occurrence for us. The previous week they texted me how they offered to drive a woman to the hospital because she needed a ride. After spending the day together, Alvin and Juana shared the gospel with her, and she made a first-time decision for Christ. The week before that I heard about Paulina, who they invited for dinner at their home and who brought her sister, Victoria, to join them. When Alvin learned that Victoria was not a Christian, he asked Paulina to translate for him as he shared the gospel with her. Alvin messaged me how, “Victoria was crying while I was sharing with her the gospel. She received Jesus as her Savior and is willing to grow in Jesus and be part of our Bible study group here in Auburn. What a gift from God on my birthday!” And then, there was the time when Alvin and Juana invited Josselin to lunch, and she received Jesus and wanted to get baptized. All said, God is working mightily through Alvin & Juana as they faithfully pray for, care for, and share the gospel with their neighbors.

As Alvin & Juana prepare to launch our next church plant, the Lord has powerfully used them to lead over 34 adults to make first-time decisions for Christ. And what amazes me is how their fruitful ministry has happened in such a short period of time, having moved here from Saipan as immigrants only 18 months ago! When I ask them how they are able to lead so many people to Christ, Alvin & Juana tell me they simply tell everyone they meet about Jesus. In fact, as we were eating lunch and talking about this together, Juana pointed across the room and said to me, “You see that lady? She smiled at me. I think she may want to hear about Jesus.” While I fervently believe the Lord is moving in a profound way through Alvin & Juana, at the same time, I also believe their fruitful ministry is simply a result of their genuine excitement about Jesus, who they faithfully share with every person, who they meet and who will listen to them. And what gets me excited is how their example is challenging our church to follow in their footsteps. I’ve heard of countless people, who are inspired by them, and want to learn from them. And so, not only is the Lord using them to lead countless people to Christ, but to challenge and inspire other Christians to do the same.

I believe that God is bringing the global church here to reinvigorate the American church. According to Barna, 47% of practicing Christian Millennials in the U.S. said in 2019 that evangelism was somewhat wrong. And so, if the younger generation of Christians do not believe in the importance of sharing the gospel, and even believe it is “somewhat wrong,” then how will we expect the American Church to flourish and grow into the future? In fact, the number of practicing American Christians has dropped nearly in half. In 2000, 45% of Americans were practicing Christians, and as of 2020, this was only 25% of Americans. Yet, I see how God is on the move to change these statistics. According to the National Association of Evangelicals, the fastest growing churches are made up of immigrants, who are focused on bringing the foreign-born community together. Like Alvin & Juana, they bring a passion for Jesus, and a conviction to share the gospel, which is transforming lives, and the American Church. And so, we must not get discouraged when we hear about the decline of American Christianity. God is working through incredible ethnic leaders like Alvin & Juana, who see the opportunity to make disciples and who are sharing the gospel to saturate our region with the good news of Jesus.

Join us in praying for Alvin & Juana as they prepare to launch “Nations Church” in Auburn, Washington. Currently they have four Bible studies, and as many as 90 people, who are interested and engaging in God’s mission to reach their multiethnic community with the gospel. Our prayer is for a gospel movement to grow and expand into each of the major language groups in our region. In the City of Bellevue, I know that there are over 90 language groups, which I believe is a representation of our region and means that we have a significant opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission in our own backyard. Pray for Alvin & Juana’s strength, humility, courage, and wisdom as they serve the Lord. Pray for their members to follow in their footsteps, and take initiative to pray for, care for, and share the gospel with their neighbors. And pray for Anthem Church that the Lord continues to use their example to motivate and demonstrate to us how we can grow in our own outreach initiatives in the Bellevue area. May the Lord be praised as we serve his will to be a faithful witness in our world.

The below picture is of Alvin & Juana’s first worship service with their new and growing church plant, which is called, “Nations Church.”