The work of an evangelist
June 2025 Newsletter
Howdy, friends and gospel partners!
Before reading on, please hit reply on the email and share a one-sentence prayer point! I’d love to be praying for you this month.
Scripture Reflection
“Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourselves to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practise these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
- 1 Timothy 4:11-16
“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
- 2 Timothy 4:5
I read 1 Timothy with a dear friend over the course of my 2 weeks in Canberra. When we got up to chapter 4, the part quoted above, we noticed these verbs: devote, immerse, persist.
These are tryhard verbs!
Being a tryhard doesn’t usually come with positive connotations. But when my friend said “these are tryhard verbs”, I knew what he meant. And I agreed! We both want to be tryhards - devoting ourselves to reading and teaching scripture. Immersing ourselves in these things and persisting in them. Progressing in our godliness. Exercising our gifts for the sake of others. Being an example in speech, conduct, and love.
I want to be a tryhard for Jesus. Do you?
Another thing I thought of recently is this quote from 2 Timothy to ‘do the work of an evangelist’. That means sharing Jesus with people. I think it’s an important reminder for those in pastoral ministry because it can easily get lost amongst all the other demands. The equipper can forget to be a doer. So please pray for some of the conversations I’ve had recently:
D, my ex-housemate in Canberra. We had a looooong chat over lunch and he declined my invitation to church. I challenged him on his approach to life, which consists of keeping busy to avoid the existential dread he would otherwise feel. Pray that he would be challenged to face the existential dread and find satisfactory answers in the gospel.
U, a friend and ex-colleague from maths and chess at uni. He has read the bible 30+ times and the Baghavad Gita 15 times, and considers religion a special interest of his. However, he isn’t a believer - he calls himself maybe a Hindu - and doesn’t seem to read to know God, but for some vague sense of spirituality. Pray that God would convict U of sin and righteousness and judgement as he reads God’s word.
C, an old family friend, the younger sister of my primary school bestie. We bumped into each other at the shopping centre and had a brief chat. I invited her to come along to Open House and handed her a flyer. She’s had other friends invite her to Christian groups before - pray that she comes this July.
F, a muslim man who works hard to establish his life in Australia after coming from Turkey three years ago. He said we’re basically the same when it comes to faith in God, and I challenged him that we have very different views on God because of Jesus. In the end he said “you guys have Jesus, we have Mohammed.” I bought a spinach and mushroom gozleme from him later that night. Pray that he would hear the gospel and respond in faith to Jesus as God the Son.
A middle-aged lesbian woman who asked if my church welcomes ‘people like her.’ She got a bit offended when I told her my close friend is a gay Christian and chooses to be celibate rather than disobey Jesus. “That’s so sad!” she exclaimed. Pray that she will ponder more on my friend’s choice to choose Christ over worldly pleasures.
June Updates
Who wants to Get Rich?
Every year we do a three-week evangelistic series called Open House. Our Open House topic for 2025 is Get Rich - living the rich life everyone’s looking for.
I’ve been working on prepping the series overview with my trainer Alan- this meant coming up with a biblical theological outline for the topic of riches, as well as trying to define and trace what a ‘rich life’ is throughout the bible. Reading a lot of books and articles and trying to engage with Christian and non-Christian thought on the topic was a lot of challenging work. I think could have put in double the amount of hours and not felt like I quite had my head around the topic.
Turning all that into two weeks of bible studies to encourage and equip the church was also a challenge, and I got lengthy feedback on my initial attempt. Thank God for trainers who take the time to give good feedback!
Open House prep was something I requested to be a part of in my annual review at the end of last year, and it has been just as difficult and rewarding as expected.
Besides the teaching, our community engagement began right at the end of June with our stall out in Eastwood. Plenty of our congregation members came and tried to share the gospel with strangers through the topic of the Rich Life. How encouraging!
Please pray for all the people we met at the stall to consider Christ, and that many of them would come to Captivate and hear the gospel.
Please pray for Alan as he preaches evangelistically, to present the gospel clearly and winsomely through the topic.
Gospel Workers’ Roundtable
Every quarter we gather some people who are thinking about pursuing ministry vocationally and encourage them in various ways. The June session is typically the Captivate Apprenticeship Info Night.
I shared up the front about how I came into the apprenticeship feeling like I was able to learn and try things and not be the best immediately, because I knew I had wiser, godlier, more competent pastors helping me, who would lead the church despite my weakness - I’m in safe hands. Yet what I’ll treasure about my time here is realising that since Jesus - the chief Shepherd - is the wisest, godliest, most competent person who leads his church in triumphal procession precisely in our weaknesses. I’m in the safest hands possible.
I was a bit nervous sharing up the front that night - not entirely sure why. I was also a bit emotional realising that I’m truly in the home stretch of the appreticeship now and I’ll be saying goodbyes in a mere 6 months.
Please pray for wisdom for all those considering ministry apprenticeships at Captivate in the near or distant future.
And here are some personal prayer points I shared that night:
That I would finish well, and be intentional to train in what I lack.
That I would do the work of an evangelist.
That I would make wise decisions for the future: bible college and beyond.
Coming Up:
I’m leading the teaching prep for Term 3 - the book of Galatians, which we’ve titled All or Nothing. It’s meant to capture how we can’t add or subtract even a little bit from the gospel of grace without losing it. We hope to challenge ourselves and our youth to fully set their hope in the completed work of Christ for them - boasting in nothing but his cross. Please pray that we would all know that we are crucified with Christ and it is no longer us who live, but he who lives in us!
Thanks for your prayerful and financial support! Please message me or hit ‘reply’ on the email to share how I can pray for you.
Bonus Snaps
Please pray that our house move goes smoothly!
Please pray for bold evangelism and term 4 youth prep on the sermon in the Mount. Loving your newsletters, praying for you!