Servants Retreat 2015: Evangelism
On the 13th-15th March 2015 the Diocese held its first evangelism event in the third annual Servants Retreat.
The programme included talks from Fr Bishoy, Fr Youhanna, Fr Peter, Dr Rafat Saad, Dr Fahmy Hanna, worship, midnight praises, a private Liturgy on Saturday and a Liturgy on Sunday with His Grace Bishop Missael.
All talks circulated around evangelism, Fr Bishoy and Fr Youhanna focused on the necessity of evangelism and how we should approach preaching, as well as the benefits. Fr Bishoy answered questions regarding obstacles we may face when evangelising. Fr Youhanna presented to us character studies of Joseph and Daniel – how they changed the world and how we also can do the same. Dr Rafat Saad focused on the book of Acts as the book contains the details of Jesus’s preaching and how he told his disciples to preach and spread the word of God. Dr Fahmy Hanna tackled the debate of Christianity vs Science explaining how they do not contradict but in fact, go hand in hand. Fr Peter concluded the weekend by talking about how we witness to Christ.
The conference allowed each Church in the Diocese to come together in fellowship and gain a new perspective on Evangelism. Not only did the importance of taking small steps shine through, it also became clear that a lot of the time our actions speak louder than words. Through our approach to life and our attempts to love as Jesus does; everyone around us will see that we are true reflections of Christ. It is not necessarily through our own knowledge and actions we evangelise but through the grace of God and the Holy Spirit inside of us that the word of God shines from within us. Though we may face challenges in our evangelism, particularly with those who wish just to argue for fear of having to believe in and answer to God, it is in Christ we shall find strength. It is our duty to bring Christ to man, not man to Christ.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14
The talks are all available for you to watch and listen to
