Fear Extinguishing...a new strategy: "FIRE BREAKS"

While out Fear Extinguishing in this Muslim-majority country, we were burdened by the lack of fellowship that the Christians we met were getting. None of their churches have started meeting in person yet (which they SHOULD BE even if in smaller numbers, diverse locations). The Zoom meetings were NOT meeting their needs - not that God hasn't used and isn't using them...but they are NOT a substitute for incarnational ministry where the Body of Christ gathers together IN PERSON.  The Incarnation itself is our model that God became flesh and we need to meet IN the flesh, in person at this time. (more about that topic in another blog post).

So as we were praying with a number of different Christians who were working in their places of employment, it became clear that God wanted us to be doing something about what we had learned. 

The following idea came to both my wife and I as we were ministering to a few restaurant employees in a Food Court.  We had started ministering to them at the counter, but then one of them suggested that she come to our table where we would be taking our food to meet for prayer.

The story/circumstance that the Filipino woman shared with us was almost too much. They are working them 13 hour days, 6 days a week - they let staff go for COVID and were now working their reduced staff even harder. Pay had been reduced as well. They got home at 11:30PM at night to their accommodation and had to get on the bus to return at 8AM the following morning. I think we were trying to imagine how we could meet them where they live for Bible Study and prayer.  Their day off would have been a good idea except they didn't have the same days off!

So as we walked away, my wife and I had both come up with the same solution.  What if we could meet them in the Food Court for prayer and Bible study during their breaks?  They had a 1-hour break each day and 2 of them could have their break at the same time.  We would simply get out our phones, and nobody would suspect that a mini "Church service" would be happening!

Not only are we going to be doing this with these believers, but the same opportunity presented itself yesterday as my wife met and ministered to two believers in a large supermarket.  They too went to churches that were NOT meeting (Take note church leaders!!!) and the Zoom meetings were simply not meeting their needs (Take note church leaders!!!).

After a fairly long time of ministry in the market, my wife asked when they took their break and it was about an hour and a half later at 6PM.  So it was a go. And in the Cafeteria at the market, my wife was able to meet with these two believers and encourage them and set up what we are calling "Fire Breaks"!  In these women's cases, their break is only 1/2 hour as their shifts are shorter. But the Lord met them in that time and "Fire Breaks" will be continuing.

Employees who are overworked and can almost never meet for fellowship have daily breaks at their workplaces and that is where we will be meeting them!  This was confirmed even back in June when the Lord really spoke to me through the expression "The meat is in the street" and morphed it into "The MEET is in the street" (in this case, meaning the MEETING is to happen OUTSIDE the normal four walls of the church.

...for such a time as this!