Cultural Shifts
By Kristin Coulson, first published in Compass Winter 2020 edition.
In January, our staff gathered for the annual training in Canberra. One of the key topics discussed was about living and discipling in today’s western culture. The culture we live in influences us in ways we often don’t realise – how we relate with God and others, how we raise our children, how we witness, and how we disciple. It is important that we understand the way our culture impacts our faith and our lives. We must examine it in light of the Scriptures in order to walk as true disciples of Christ and to be faithful ambassadors for Him. (more…)
Your Questions Answered! – by Tiew Tuan and Rose
An Australian Navigators Interview, first published in Compass Winter edition 2020
Tiew Tuan and Rose Lau are Perth labourers who consider their office and neighbourhood as their mission fields. We interviewed them to find out how they create community in their local area in order to bring Gospel conversations into their daily interactions.
How do you intentionally engage with people around you?
Rose: Tiew Tuan has lunch with his colleagues during lunch hour. I take the initiative to approach [people in my neighbourhood] and spend time with them. When a young Indian family moved right next to us, I baked an apple pie and brought it over to welcome them. There is also a lady a few doors away. She is a chef. We visit each other often, with our conversation centred around food.
How do you bring the Gospel into these interactions, and how do you create a community among the Christians and pre-believers?
Tiew Tuan: In my office lunch group, there are some Christians as well as pre-believers. An Indonesian colleague, Rudy, asked a lot of questions about God. So I invited him to do a Bible Study with 2 other colleagues. Rudy accepted Christ and has since been inviting other colleagues to do the (EBS) study. We have now been through 3 rounds of EBS during our lunch hour with different people!
Rose: With a passion for parents with young children, I have a Mothers’ Group that supports young mothers and we learn about parenting using Christian books. There are both Christians and pre-believers in the group. I invite the pre-believers to do EBS separately outside the Mothers’ Group.
Apart from these, we also have potluck dinners, go on holidays or camping with their families. We try to integrate our groups together.
