August 2009 Update

[seilamgoh]

Dear Prayer Supporters,

I would like to share some numbers with you.

I was writing ministry report at AFC yesterday for mission funds
application, and did a small count for all the events I did in the
first 8 months of this year. To my surprise, together with my partner
Wayne, we, the only two ministry staff at AFC Vancouver, have given 12
talks, 13 sermons at Sunday worship, 3 13-weeks Sunday school courses,
2 outdoor activities, 18 comprehensive worship programs and led 5
church camps at 10 different local churches and at AFC, and conducted
over 44 mass-media interviews in 8 months. If there are 35 weeks from
Jan to Aug, then on an average, we were holding 2.4 events and 1.3
media interviews per week. In addition, there are many hours of
chatting and praying with students over lunches or on the internet,
plus many hours of meeting. And I have not included the weekly PP959
and CC959 radio program that we host. When I look at these numbers, I
am really amazed at how much God has achieved through us. We are not
particularly more capable than others. This is solely a testimony of
the power of God.

On the last day of August I also finished writing my doctoral thesis.
The final product has a total of 257 pages with over 93,000 words,
with 87 pages of real content plus many pages of appendices. Part of
my research was to conduct a 6-month discipleship program with members
of The Jubilant, the worship team at AFC. By comparing the scores of
the spiritual assessments they took before and after the program,
their spiritual maturity was raised by more than 11%. Of course I
cannot say that it was all because of my program; there are always
many factors influencing the spiritual growth of a person. But still,
whatever the reason is, I am delighted by their significant growth in
the life. In the "Acknowledgement" of my thesis I wrote: "While
everybody admires my ingenuity in pursuing doctoral education, only He
knows how unworthy I am for my achievement today. None of the merits
generated by this project, my ministry and my life should be awarded
to me but only to Him." Amen.

While these numbers are exciting, the spiritual battle is still
vigorous. I see destructive work of the Enemy everyday, particularly
in deteriorating relationships between people in very subtle ways. I
continue to pray that my heart be filled with light, so that not a
trace of darkness can set foot on and grow in my heart. Having been
freed by God's mercy, I do not want to fall back into bitterness and
hatred any more.

Please continue to pray for me as I and AFC entered into a new era. In
September we will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of UBC Chinese
Christian Fellowship, and then the staff of AFC will go to a 4-day
intensive retreat to plan for AFC's future. Please pray that we will
be faithful in following God's vision and mission.

Thank you and may God bless you.


In Christ,
Alan Yu

PS. Some people are confused about my status at AFC, so maybe I should
give some clarification. I am still working mainly at AFC Vancouver,
and plan to stay till the end of 2012. In the mean time, I will focus
on reinventing the ministry of AFC for the future and building up the
staff team. In addition, I am working one day a week at my home
church, with the expectation that I will enter full time pastoral
ministry after 2012, at whichever church God led me to. And at the
same time, after finishing my current study at the Institute for
Worship Studies, I will begin in October my next program in Fuller in
spiritual formation. I hope this will give a clear picture of my
status and stop some rumours ;-)


Alan's Engagement in September:
Sep 6, 13, 20, 27: Sunday School at Westside Baptist Church on "The
Ten Commandments: Manufacturer's Specification"
Sep 13: leading workshop on Sexuality at Westside Baptist Church
Sep 13: preaching at the 20th Anniversary Celebration of UBCCCF
Sep 14-17: leading AFC Vancouver staff retreat at Whistler
Sep 20: preaching at Sunday service, Westside Baptist Church
Sep 27: leading worship discipleship program at Westside Baptist
Church
Sep 27: leading Restoration Worship at AFC