ONE 2021: How Good and Pleasant!
Early Wednesday morning, several members of the ONE KC team rolled out of their beds to join a Zoom call with ONE pastors and leaders from around the world. Each had the expectation of a quick check-in call, only to be left in awe of the testimonies shared and the magnitude to which ONE has grown.
“I was expecting to have a casual conversation for about 30 minutes,” said Randy Frazee, Lead Teaching Pastor at Westside Family Church in Lenexa, KS. “I did not expect the level of energy and excitement from 32 folks (for over an hour). Something is going on even during this pilot year that is bigger than we expected. We need to do some praying to try to catch up with what the Holy Spirit is doing – if that is even possible.”
Randy was not alone in his awe of the Lord’s work. The call was celebratory, encouraging, and filled with a sense of eagerness to partner together for the sake of the Gospel. There is something incredibly lovely - even heavenly - about the Body of Christ coming together, unified, from many nations and languages and tribes.
“How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.”
~ Psalm 133 ~
Join us in celebrating these updates shared from participating countries and cities:
Hong Kong shared that 2,035 individuals have downloaded their ONE app since mid Feb. 2021 (more than 55,000 have downloaded their app since 2018). More than 400 churches have joined the HK ONE movement, averaging 20% engagement per church.
Malaysia reported 107 churches involved, Vietnam has 95, and there are an additional 57 churches participating in 29 other nations.
Brazil: A pastor from Brazil shared that he was looking for a way to reach people in Brazil and found FCBH and the ONE Initiative. He joined out of a deep desire for his people to encounter Jesus. This pastor shares a passion and heart for Scripture and hopes to be a great partner in ministry moving forward.
A pastor from Vietnam reported that many are giving their lives to Jesus through the work in Vietnam and the campaign is bringing Catholics and Protestants together (which was previously thought to be impossible).
A Chinese language Zoom launch was hosted on 2/11 with 235 participants from 7 countries. These are the Chinese diaspora (50M worldwide outside China); creating awareness of FCBH and the ONE resources, as well as highlighting the need to record 198 more Chinese languages. A leader said, “this is more than a campaign; it is a platform for Chinese believers to come together worldwide.”
Ghana has 100+ churches and listening/watching groups on various university campuses. One church is dedicating their mid-week service to watching the Lumo Bible films. Another large church shared it has 100s of watching groups!
Praise the Lord for extending His reach into these nations and beyond! Praise Him for those risking and giving their lives to the cause of the Gospel! May we be encouraged and spurred on in our faith, remembering that the Gospel is powerful and good!
