August United Friday Meeting: Testimonies, Conference Reports & Prayer Topics

For this United Friday Meeting, there were testimonies on the Roman’s Bible study, the Acts Sunday passage, a report on ESBC, a report on the CBF Summer Bible Conference, a new member’s testimony, Kenya Prayer Topics, and Ministry prayer Topcis for the upcoming Fall semester.

Sammy S. – Romans 12:1-21 KV: 2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
From this passage, he learned that God’s mercy enables him to present himself to Him. He is transformed and of a renewed mind. This key verse spoke to him because he described himself to be a stubborn person and of one track mind. He prays to be watchful of what God’s will is and not give way to fear.

Gia – Acts 6: 1-7 KV: 4, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
From studying this passage he asks himself, what does it mean to have a life and character that is Christ-centered? He started to understand that it means to do everything in your life in reliance upon the grace and hope in the shed blood of Jesus. He realized he must have the same attitude with all the small things in his life. Now he knows that he must fill himself with prayer and the word of God so that the Holy Spirit can dwell in him and thus guide him in every step of his life.

Conference Reports

Tony- ESBC Report- KV of conference John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The conference took place from August 1-4 in Prague, Czech Republic. The Czech Republic is known as the most atheistic country in Europe, so to have a conference there was a powerful statement against the darkness there. The conference title was “The Way”. He expressed how he saw the love of Jesus in the 2nd generation members. From group Bible study he learned that “The Way” is the person Jesus whom we are to follow. As long as you follow Jesus, even if you don’t know exactly what to do, he will surely lead us. He learned that to follow Jesus is to go without knowing and believing that Jesus will take us in the best way.

Tim CBF Summer Bible Conference Report- KV John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”
They had the conference at the Brothern Retreat Center in Shipsewana, Indiana in the heart of the Amish country. There were 70 attendants, 53 children, and 17 adults. The children sang praises to God, shared testimonies, heard engaging messages, and played outdoor activities. Before the conference, they dedicated one week to studying the main messages, wrote testimonies, and prayed to have maximum Bible study and maximum fun time. They pray that each child may hold on to the word of God so that they have received it, and each may seek God with all their heart.

New Member Testimonies 

Abraham – Pslam 37:5-6, “Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”

Abraham reflected in his testimony on how he had a full circle moment in his life: when he left Chicago to go to Portland back in 2012 and then was called back by God to start his 1 semester at the UIC School of Medicine. He shared how he was rejected by many schools before and through a door being opened at UIC he felt God vindicated him and like his key verse portrays he saw the Sun after months of darkness. God was calling him to examine what it means to commit his new way to him. He prays to establish a firm identity as a father of Faith, to adjust well to his new school schedule, and for his wife Gloria to grow both spiritually and physically healthy.

Gloria- Pslam 37:5-7, “Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”

After staying in the U.S. for about 9 months she has been reflecting on how she did many things in Korea, such as clubs and bible study and keeping herself busy. It was hard for her to balance her life and she reflected on how she knew of God and believed in him as her savior, however, she was not able to fully commit to him. She believed in God but she believed also in herself. Thus it was not easy for her to repent of her deepest sins. She gradually and truly believed that only God is good and righteous. She learned to have silent time with God. The only way she can guard her heart is by being still and listening to the voice of God.

Nancy from Kenya UBF stayed in Chicago for a couple of weeks and shared Kenya UBF prayer topics you can read about them here: https://www.chicagoubf.org/cbf/prayer-topics-for-kenya-ubf

Fall semester is starting and many college ministries are busy with preparations and outreach, you can read about each ministry prayer topics and outreach schedules here: https://www.chicagoubf.org/true-vine/2024-25-new-school-year-outreach-plan-and-prayer-topics