December 2013, Christmas Outreach to Wokha
Whenever the month of December approaches, everybody’s thoughts are bent on Christmas, and that is also the case for us at Golden Crown College. Especially because this means it is time for our Christmas outreach during the winter break which this time would bring us to minister in three different locations. On December 14th we were all on our way, passing by the picturesque mountains of Nagaland, as we drove all the way from Dimapur to a village called Old Riphyim. There we arrived just in time to minister at the evening service. The students sang beautifully, and several of the lecturers shared during the service. Then we received a home-cooked dinner, and it was time to drive back to Wokha, where we would spend the night.
The next day, Sunday, we drove up to the beautifully located church of Longsa village. Here the church was packed with hundreds of visitors who listened to our students’ choir as well as a sermon about the topic what is so good about the good news. Right after lunch we drove back to Wokha, because now it was time to prepare the stage for our fundraising concert which was to take place in the hall of a Catholic school, known as the Don Bosco Youth Centre. This was the time for our students to shine – they performed not only as a choir, but also as individuals and in duets, covering a wide variety of songs such as “Holly Jolly Christmas” or the majestic “Christmas Sanctus”.
With this concert, our Christmas outreach for the year 2014 came to an end, and the next day it was time for the students and lecturers to return to their homes – all of us being thankful for what God had done, and looking forward to spending the Christmas season with our loved ones.
January 2014, Winter Youth Crusade in New Riphyim
In the first week of this year (January 3–5), a small team from Golden Crown College had the opportunity to participate at a Winter Youth Crusade that took place in New Riphyim. The idea was that young people from many different villages would come together in New Riphyim to spend three days together to hear the Word of God. For this occasion, a huge tent had been set up right in front of the village gate and it was in this tent that our evangelist, Pastor Philip from Singapore, was preaching to an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of youths. Often times, there was an overwhelming response, with many people coming to the front in order to accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord, or to rededicate their lives to Him.
During the day time, the participants of the Winter Youth Camp had further opportunities to deepen their relationship with God by joining a variety of programs. This was also an opportunity for the team members of Golden Crown College to get involved: Rev. Nzan translated several of the messages; Daniel, one of the newly arrived lecturers, conducted a Bible study; Avoni conducted music seminars; and Thungyani, one of our students, performed on stage by singing several songs.
All of us who went are so thankful to God for this experience. We were so moved by the hospitality and the warmth displayed by our hosts in the village, and we give God the glory for the many people, both young and old, whose lives were impacted for eternity during this time.
January 2014, Spiritual Awakening Day
After the Winter and Christmas break, we were all looking forward to welcoming our students back to school here at Golden Crown College. Monday, January 20th, was the arrival day for the students, and in the evening we had our first chapel service together. Normally, it would then have been time to begin with our regular classes the next day. Instead, we decided to have a day of Spiritual Awakening – a time of prayer and reflection in order to build a solid spiritual foundation for our studies in this new year. Together we studied various passages in Ephesians to learn more about our identity in Christ. We also had times of worship, prayer and reflection that were very moving. We had a sense that this year, 2014, will not only be a year of learning for us, but also a time in which we want to dedicate our lives to God once again.
And this is also what we want to wish you, our dear reader: That God would surprise you with His goodness and generosity in 2014. May you have a purposeful, exciting, enriching, joyful, prosperous, and very happy New Year!
Article by,
Daniel Topf
Lecturer,
Golden Crown College