A Lesson about Faith!

Wednesday, October 31 was an amazing day for me!  God gave me the opportunity to get acquainted with and minister to a 15 month old church plant in urban Philadelphia named the Philadelphia Vietnamese Christian Fellowship.  What a blessing it was to meet these friends in Jesus, and to observe their faith in God!

I was treated to a gourmet Vietnamese luncheon at the home of one of the church leaders!  Pastor Kevin and his wife Cindy (the church’s pastor and wife), a couple of the church leaders, and Pastor Phan, our Vietnamese pastor from Northern Virginia, all joined in on the meal!  Not sure what all they fed me, but it was all very good!  After sharing together about their church and about Converge and what is involved in a church affiliating with Converge, they took me over to a building the church has purchased and will be remodeling in the coming weeks.  Great vision!

Then, we traveled to the house of Pastor Kevin and nail salon where his wife works, and where a basement room has been converted into a temporary worship center for the church. By 8:00 pm that evening, the room was filled with about 50 people of all ages who worshiped the Lord with incredible energy and passion!  I preached with Pastor Phan interpreting, there was a time of prayer, and the service started to wind down around 10:00 pm.  As soon as the service was over, chairs were moved, tables were set up, and another amazing Vietnamese dinner followed!  During the meal, a number of men and women shared their stories of how their lives had been totally transformed through the ministry of this new church. One shared how he had come to Jesus out of a Buddhist family background.  Another shared how Christ had delivered him from demonic oppression.  Pastor Kevin pointed out others who had experienced physical healing as a result of prayers of faith. Some of the people stayed around until 11:00 pm, just talking and sharing, and praying together. Even the children were engaged in worship of Jesus.  What a powerful time of Christian fellowship, worship, and ministry together!

I got to bed around 12:30 am, but my heart was full.  God is moving in really cool ways in groups and in cities in our region.  These folks have a vision to reach the 30,000 Vietnamese people living in metro Philadelphia.  They want to plant several new churches across the city. And, with what seems like limited resources, but with large faith, God is doing a great work.  Lord, help my faith to grow. Truly, let my faith grow!

In Jesus,

Dan Peterson

Converge MidAtlantic