Letters #1 - Being Intentional

September 9, 2014

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

This past year, I have been touched by your prayers for me & my family. Tomorrow, I will be going through another round of chemotherapy.  Appreciate your support and prayers.

I am scheduled to preach in the English service this month.  Yet, I do not know how my throat and speaking will be affected.  Just in case I do not get to preach, I am sharing my thoughts in short letters.

Related to our theme this year (Win, Build, Send Disciples.  Matt 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”), our church exists to share the precious gospel.   That was the reason we planted our church here in  1988; that was the reason I gave up the engineering career to become a full-time pastor; that is reason we have been supporting missionaries; that is the reason we are expanding our facility, etc.

For that reason, we need to be intentional about sharing the precious gospel and to build up believers spiritually.  Besides church sponsored events, we should apply this goal to milestone events (wedding, funeral, Chinese New Year, birthday & shower parties, etc.) and sports events (ping-pong, volley ball, basketball, etc.)  Let us strive to do what Paul shared in 1 Cor 9:22-23, to do all things for the sake of the gospel.

Are you intentional about making your wedding an event to share the precious gospel? When you meet fellow believers, even informally, are you intentional about reminding each other of the precious gospel? Are you intentional about making your basketball a chance about sharing the precious gospel? Are your shower parties a chance to share the precious gospel?

If not, our church may become like a YMCA.  It started with strong emphasis on evangelistic outreach and Bible study.  Yet now, most YMCA facilities are basically devoid of anything overtly Christian.

The Lord willing, our building expansion should be completed within a year.  There will be more space for milestone events and sports activities.   This is a good time for us to remind each other of this vision of our church. 

God bless.
Samuel To  <http://www.cbccp.org>