“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV)
Monday, November 2
10:00 am Chapel
6:30 pm Evening Service
Tuesday, November 3
6:30 pm Evening Service
Wednesday, November 4
10:00 am Chapel
5:00 pm “Missions & Majors” — Dinner Discussion: Come discover how your major can be used in Missions!
Thursday, November 5
3:15 pm Workshops (descriptions & locations listed below)
7:00 pm Panel Discussion/Q & A — Hughes Auditorium
Friday, November 6
10:00 am Chapel
Raising support for five pastors working with Tony Lee, a goal of $150/month for a year = $9,000
Organizations serving in both the United States and around the world were invited to campus to provide opportunities for students to explore how and where they can live out the Great Commission — whether by fulfilling a cross-cultural requirement or simply fulfilling a passion. Students were encouraged to take time and talk with these representatives, who were available in the cafeteria during meal hours beginning Wednesday lunch through Friday lunch.
Mr. Tony Lee
Our speaker comes with more than 20 years experience of serving Christ in missions. He has been called to an area of the world which limits what we can describe about his life. He is a deeply devoted witness committed to making Jesus Christ known. He has devoted his life to encouraging and equipping the church as it fulfills the Great Commission.
3:15 – 4:30 p.m. – Refreshments & One Hour Workshop
Workshop 1:
Title: Slavery in Your Own Backyard: What It Is, Where It’s Happening, and What You
Can Do About It
Who: Tony Lee
Description: Hear about the changing faces of human trafficking–both domestically and
internationally–and gain a better understanding of the problem on many
levels, including what you can do to be Christ’s presence at home and
across the world in the midst of this growing problem.
Location: Bennett-Bernard
Workshop 2:
Title: Ministering in the Inner-City
Who: Shawn Casselbery (’97 grad) – City Director for Mission Year
What: This workshop will discuss the ideas of incarnational and justice ministry in
the inner-city.
Location: Reasoner 214
Thursday, 7:00 p.m. – Panel Discussion on “Persecuted Church” — Hughes Auditorium
New Activities sparks a new Great Commission Congress
October 03, 2009
By Joey Nunez, a senior from Harrisonburg, Va.
WILMORE, KY – The Great Commission Congress (GCC) will be held at Asbury College Nov. 2-6. Chapel services on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings will be at 10 a.m., and evening services on Monday and Tuesday will begin at 6:30 p.m. This year’s GCC speaker will be Mr. Tony Lee, and all services and activities are open to the public.
According to Joy Ireland, assistant director of campus ministries, the week will not look the same. This year’s GCC Council has intentionally designed the week’s activities differently from what has generally happened during this week in the past.
On Nov. 4, Wednesday evening, Missions and Majors will be held in the Gray Room of the Cafeteria from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ireland stated that more than 20 majors will be present at tables. Students are encouraged to attend while eating dinner to hear the opportunities available for how their field(s) of study has been utilized to pursue missions work.
Ireland stated that students, with specific majors, will be able to answer “what does it practically look like” to use their majors on the mission field. No traditional evening service will be held.
On Nov. 5, Thursday afternoon, two forums on urban ministries and human trafficking will be presented. One session will be held in Bennett-Bernard, while the other one will be held in Reasoner 214. Both forms are from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m.
Later that evening, a panel will respond to questions during a Question and Answer session about the Persecuted Church in Hughes at 7 p.m. Lee will represent China, Elzaba Mathews ’12 will represent India and Keith Bateman will represent the Middle East and Sudan.
Ireland acknowledged the week’s importance. “Historically, the week really has become a time where God meets students who have surrendered their vocation to Him.” However, Ireland acknowledged that conflict emerges against such an offering. “Being a Great Commission Christian is counter to what our culture teaches and what it shows us to be. Western society is very materialistic, very selfish and all about consumption.”
Yet, despite the world’s ways, Ireland emphasized Jesus’ final words before His ascension as words meant for us to take to heart. “It is something that is significant for believers, and we don’t want to ever forget that calling as a body of believers,” she said.
Stephanie Selle ’10, the chair person for the Missions and Outreach Committee and an ex-officio member of the GCC Counsel, stated the week’s purpose will be to encourage students to look at both global missions and what they can do right now in Wilmore, Nicholasville and Lexington.
For Selle, GCC’s importance is upon our call to witness to others, a dimension of who we are as Christians. “It’s a great week to be able to emphasize for students and hopefully introduce or reinforce the idea that witnessing is something that they should be taking seriously throughout their year and after they graduate,” she said.
Acts 1:8 will serve as GCC’s main Scriptural passage, as we are all called to be witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Ireland added her perspectives to this passage. “We are called to being witnesses to all places. Not just outside of the country, but we are also called here in the United States to cities, regions and all over the place.”