International (MNN) — Over 1,000 people attended Gospel for
Asia's Renewing Your Passion conference on July
11-13, according to Assist News Service. GFA leaders from all over South Asia, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom, challenged them to
serve God selflessly by faith and through prayer.
"God is going to prove that He is faithful," said
Narayan Sharma, Gospel for Asia's Nepal
Country Leader. "We just need to open our eyes. We just need to open our
ears, and we can see the wonders of the Lord."
The Renewing Your Passion conference is a gathering of
Christians from around the world who support the work of Gospel for Asia's 16,500 native missionaries in 11 South Asian
countries. This year it was held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.
GFA Founder and President K.P. Yohannan kicked off the
conference by urging believers to be more Christ-centered and to turn their backs on the shallow Christian
teachings that pervade the Western culture.
"The passion that motivates me is not what others see in me,
or what I can get out of it," Yohannan said. "My one concern is for His name
and for His glory."
Yohannan's son, GFA Vice President Daniel Punnose, opened Saturday's sessions with a discussion of
prayer.
"GFA started with prayer; it continues with prayer, and it
will die without prayer," said Punnose. He
agreed that God is looking for people who are humble and faithful, "not great
big miracle workers."
"God is not looking for huge things. He is looking for
faithfulness in small things," he said.
Gayle Erwin, author of the best-selling book, The Jesus
Style, explained that Jesus looked not for spectacular people but for humble
when he chose His disciples.
"A servant is someone who makes life better for someone
else. A servant is someone who is a freedom agent. A servant is someone who is
others-centered," Erwin explained. "The natural me doesn't want to be a
servant. Something supernatural has to happen first."
The Saturday sessions concluded with a late-night prayer
meeting where attendees were able to pray for specific needs shared at the
conference. In the final session on
Sunday morning, Yohannan taught on how to stay encouraged in times of
difficulty.
"The enticement we have from the world is constantly calling
us to walk away from Him and put our focus on something else," he said. Pray that those who attended Renewing Your
Passion will leave the conference with a renewed focus on Christ and His
kingdom.
