Stories

‘The other day I walked into a community centre and saw a lady who I thought could be of the same ethnicity as my brother’s wife (she’s Native American). The woman was working in the reception area, and as I began to chat with her, she shared some of her story with me, about how she was adopted at a young age by a British family. She was so touched that I even knew about some of the Native American heritage and was even related by marriage.
She’s now 67 years old, retired, mother of seven, and an atheist, however as we chatted more, I could see that things were beginning to soften in her heart towards hearing more. I invited her to come to church and she agreed and even accepted the Bible I gave her. We’ve now been chatting for a bit and I’m regularly praying for her to accept Jesus!’ – Nathan*, Advance Group Leader in UK
*Name changed

In South Africa they’ve seen God do amazing things in prisons through the Advance material. One man, who had been in prison has since been released and has shared his experience of being part of an Advance Group. He said ‘The Message Of The Evangelist’ chapter in the Advance Guide, further encouraged me to live out my call, and to ensure that the message I’m sharing lined up with the Bible. I learnt through the material, that I can share about Jesus in everyday conversations on a one-on-one basis. I’d recommend Advance to all people wanting to share their faith, as it helped me and further advised me about how to evangelise.’

‘I went to buy some new trousers and whilst there, one of the store workers got chatting with me about the tattoo I have on my arm because it caught his eye. I grabbed the chance to share about Jesus and the impact he’s had on my life, and by the time I left the store, he’d accepted Jesus into his life! – Wesley, Advance Ambassador in Brazil.

Aaron is part of an Advance Group in the UK, and he and his wife started having conversations with a lady on their estate about Jesus. After a few conversations she was excited to accept Jesus into her own heart and knew she wanted others to know the same love and peace she had found. However, she admitted to feeling very nervous at the thought of speaking to others about the gospel message.
Aaron was able to sit with her and help her grow in confidence, to the point that she went away and ended up leading her ex-husband to Jesus!

‘Recently my Advance Group and I were in the hospital, seeking opportunities to share about Jesus and whilst there, I felt led to speak with a patient who was lying in bed. As we chatted, I started to share the gospel with him, encouraging him and telling him about Jesus. I really felt like it was the Holy Spirit giving me the right words!
He shared that life had been getting incredibly hard for him, to the point that he had drunk poison with the intention of killing himself. Miraculously he had survived, and I knew I needed to pray with him and give him the chance to respond to Jesus. The more we chatted and prayed, the more I could see him changing, he was asking me so many questions until he finally decided to accept Jesus for himself. I am continually amazed by the grace and goodness of God!’ – Grace, Advance Group Leader in Zambia

‘So much happened in the first two weeks of our Advance Group. I already feel bolder and more equipped to share my faith, and in this short period of time, I’ve already been able to pray for my son’s principal as well as a colleague at work. I’m just so excited for what God is going to do next in our group and am praying that he continues to encourage and refresh me and the other members as we press into him!’ –Advance Group Member in Germany

‘I was in a restaurant and went up to pay our bill. Whilst I was at the till, I began chatting with the waiter. He told me his name was Ali and in that moment I felt compelled to explain that I was a Christian and offer to pray for him. He explained he was a Muslim and so wanted to be sure that I’d still be happy to pray for him. I explained I was still comfortable as long as he was, and he asked if I could pray that the Muslim community he was a part of wouldn’t be so excluded from the place he was living in. The queue behind me at this point was building so I quickly prayed over him and moved on.
I didn’t get the chance to share more about Jesus, but even just being able to chat and pray for Ali I felt really encouraged. Before joining an Advance Group I’m not sure I would have had the same boldness to pray for someone in public like that and I trust that God will use that moment to plant even just a small see in Ali’s life.’ – Advance Group Member in UK

‘I’m personally noticing that there is a lack of desire to share the gospel in the world and confusion about what evangelism actually is. Then I was given an Advance Group Taster Guide and as I read through the material, I became so excited with the teaching. In it I saw how the Word of God is presented in a simple and powerful way to encourage and sharpen each one of us to share the good news!
I really believe that God will use Advance to raise evangelists right around the world
I have personally started two groups among some young people in our church and they are really enjoying the time together – whether that be the teaching, the discussions, or just spending time in prayer together. This movement will birth a revival fire in individual Christians and the Church.’ – Pastor Ashin Kandhi, Advance Group Leader in India

Amanda knew that sharing the gospel was an important part of her relationship with Jesus, but didn’t know how to start. Through being part of an Advance Group, Amanda felt her understanding and her confidence in sharing the gospel grow and develop and she’s seen amazing transformation in her life because of it

‘I’ve always had the desire to share the gospel, but I didn’t know how to do it – I felt ill-equipped, nervous and overwhelmed. When I first joined an Advance Group, I felt very out of my depth and I realised that there were very few areas of my faith that were anything to do with evangelism. It was hard to accept as I had been a Christian for over 30 years at that point.

‘But my Advance Group encouraged and equipped me to share Jesus in all parts of my life and since then, I’ve seen changes in my life. I have the confidence to have more conversations about Jesus and to offer prayer in normal everyday situations – whether that’s at the hairdresser, in the supermarket, or with my neighbours. This is new and exciting for me. I find that I am looking and finding more Holy Spirit fuelled opportunities to share my faith, it’s like being more awake and willing to listen more. Now I have an urgency to share the gospel that I didn’t have before and I’m so grateful to God for that!

‘I am now in my second year of Advance and am a member of my original group but I now also lead two additional Advance Groups myself! If you had told me I’d be doing this at that first meeting I would have said ‘No way!’. But God is so good, he leads us and is looking for willing hearts to say yes.

‘Perhaps he is calling you today as well, putting a passion in your heart for his word and to share about what he has done in just everyday situations. I pray that wherever you are on your journey, that the Holy Spirit will stoke the fire in you that will bring fresh insight and vision for sharing the good news of Jesus.’ – Amanda, Advance Group Leader in UK

In March some of the Advance Team travelled to Brazil for two weeks of mission. Luiz, Head of Advance Groups, shares about what happened on their first night.
‘We hit the ground running in Brazil by heading straight to a church, Igreja Vida Nova, in Recreio, an area outside of Rio de Janeiro, to encourage and equip the members there. As the Global Head of Advance, Ben Jack, was preaching, he challenged the congregation to do one thing – to think of five people in their lives who didn’t know Jesus and to commit to praying for them, that they would hear the gospel and accept him into their lives. The response was immense!
Pedro* came up to Ben after the talk and told him that he wouldn’t just only pray for five people but, on that evening, he would call them all up and share the gospel with them there and then. A few hours later, Ben received a message from Pedro – not only did he call those five people, but on the third call, his friend gave his life to Jesus, there and then, over the phone!
It’s incredible what God can do with just a little bit of faith and boldness.

*name changed

‘We had an amazing experience after our last Advance Group session. We felt on fire and excited to go and share about Jesus. We went out into our village in Guinea-Bissau and just shared the gospel to any who would hear and as a result around 100 people gave their life to Jesus that day!’ – Piter, Advance Ambassador in Guinea-Bissau.

Peter was walking down the street in his town recently. He came across a homeless woman called Dawn and ended up praying for her telling her about god’s love. ‘I was amazed by how much it meant to her that someone stopped, chatted and prayed for her. I didn’t get the chance to share the gospel on this occasion, however she seems to be based in my local town, so I’m hoping I’ll have another chance to speak to her soon and chat more about Jesus’

‘I got on the bus to go home one day and I sat next to Catherine, a young six year-old girl and her father. We began to chat and as the conversation went on, they opened up that they’d just been to the hospital, and the doctors found that Catherine had a brain tumour.
I was struck silent. All I could do in that moment was share about Jesus, that he loved her and he died for her. I offered her the chance to accept Jesus herself and there on that bus she did!’ – Grace, Advance Group Leader in Zambia.

Max, in an Advance Group in Germany, recently prayed that he’d be able to share the good news of Jesus with the young people he was working with. Soon after, he was playing a board game with a 12-year-old from his church youth group and felt God encourage him to ask the lad whether he’d heard about Jesus before. This was a springboard for Max to share the gospel with the lad who accepted Jesus into his life and is now getting plugged into discipleship groups in church.

Whilst lockdown was hard on everyone, we also heard some amazing stories of Advance Groups members using the opportunities the pandemic brought to share the gospel. Andy*, a group member in from the UK, shared with us one experience he had:
‘I was prayer walking around the block I live on and was looking out for opportunities to share about Jesus. I noticed my neighbour had a huge overflowing pile of rubbish outside her house – it must have been about 10 bins full, strewn all over the front lawn. While looking at all the rubbish, my neighbour came to her window looking out. I waved and walked to her door and, standing a few meters away, I simply asked her if she needed some help cleaning up her rubbish. This somehow lead to me having a chats with four other neighbours on the street about Jesus as I went around and helped clear up the litter that was all over their front gardens.
Dust bin evangelism worked! Practical, appreciated and a great way to connect with the community.’
*Name changed

‘Some people from my Advance Group felt challenged after meeting together that they needed to help those exploring faith, but who’re struggling to engage with Sunday church. So they decided to get together and put on these ‘Starter Groups’, as a home group for non-church people. We’ve already got a few people coming along and the plan is to get more of these Starter Groups rolled out to help more people who are looking for a comfortable place where they can meet Jesus for the first time.’ – Kuba, Advance Ambassador in Poland

‘The beautiful thing about Advance is that it’s simple, and through it we are being refocused on what truly matters – sharing the gospel’. – Bryce, Advance Ambassador for South Africa.

‘For my job, I work with lots of external migrant workers and I never used to my faith with them. But since joining an Advance Group, I’ve grown in my confidence and have started to share Jesus with them and I was surprised to noticed that they’re so interested in finding out more about him! They’ve been going through such hard times and hearing about Jesus who loves them has a plan for them and has given them new life. Following on from my chats with them, some have now accept Jesus for themselves!’ – Advance Group Member in Uganda

Luiz Cardoso, Head of Advance Groups, recently went on a 10-day mission trip to India across the Hyderbad region, sharing about Advance, and training leaders and pastors to set up their own Advance Groups. In a country where Christians are heavily persecuted, after one training session a man came up to Luiz asking, ‘Please pray with me that I’d preach the gospel with boldness. I know that this could cost me my freedom, but if that happens, I want to be a light and evangelise in prison.’