Stepping Out in Faith: Embracing God's Mission Together

May 20, 2025

Devotional

Day 1: Obedience to God’s Calling Opens Unexpected Doors

Obedience often begins with a simple step of faith, even when the path ahead is unclear or seems impossible by human standards. When you respond to the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit, God can lead you into places and roles you never imagined, breaking through barriers and traditions that might otherwise hold you back. Trusting God with your next step, even when you don’t have the full picture, allows Him to unfold His plans in ways that bless not only you but also those around you. [03:14]

Hebrews 11:8 (ESV)
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Reflection: What is one area in your life where you sense God prompting you to take a step of faith, even if you don’t know the outcome? How can you respond in obedience today?

Day 2: The Power of Unity and Serving the Church

True discipleship flourishes within the context of the local church, where believers from diverse backgrounds and denominations come together in unity to serve, grow, and reach others. When the focus is on serving the church and building up the body of Christ, rather than on personal recognition or organizational success, the impact multiplies and God’s kingdom advances. Unity across traditions and a heart to serve the church create space for God to move powerfully among His people. [06:50]

Ephesians 4:3-6 (ESV)
…eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Reflection: Who in your church or community can you intentionally encourage or serve this week to help foster unity and strengthen the body of Christ?

Day 3: Love and Grace Bridge Cultural and Denominational Divides

When engaging with people from different backgrounds, cultures, or traditions, genuine love and grace are the most effective ways to build trust and open doors for meaningful connection. Adapting language and approach to honor others’ contexts, while remaining true to the gospel, allows for deeper relationships and fruitful ministry. God often uses simple acts of kindness, respect, and prayer to break down barriers and create opportunities for His work to flourish. [12:49]

1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (ESV)
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Reflection: Is there someone from a different background or tradition you can reach out to with love and grace this week? What practical step can you take to build a bridge?

Day 4: Prayer and the Holy Spirit Guide and Empower Ministry

Prayer is not just a formality but the foundation for every meeting, conversation, and ministry effort. Inviting the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than simply asking God to bless our own plans, brings wisdom, creativity, and supernatural results. When you make space for the Spirit’s guidance and power, God can shift circumstances, open new opportunities, and accomplish far more than human effort alone ever could. [17:30]

Acts 1:8 (ESV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Reflection: Before your next meeting or conversation, will you pause to invite the Holy Spirit to guide and empower you? What difference might this make in your interactions?

Day 5: Every Believer Plays a Vital Role in God’s Mission

Fulfilling the Great Commission is not reserved for a select few; every believer is called to be salt and light, sharing their story and walking alongside others on their journey to faith. God uses ordinary people in everyday situations to be part of the chain of connections that lead someone to Jesus. Your willingness to be present, to listen, and to cooperate with what God is already doing in someone’s life can have an eternal impact. [25:42]

Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Reflection: Who is one person in your life you can intentionally walk alongside or share your faith story with this week? How can you be salt and light to them today?

Sermon Summary

From the earliest days of my journey, I never imagined I would be called to lead in ministry, let alone in ways that broke the mold for women in the church. Yet, God’s gentle whisper and the encouragement of those around me led me to step out in faith, trusting Him for each next step. My story is one of unexpected doors opening—sometimes through simple obedience, sometimes through boldness, and always through the grace of God. Whether it was pastoring a church where most were first-generation Christians or stepping into the unknown with Alpha, I learned that God’s plans often unfold as we walk in faith, not always with a grand vision, but with a willingness to say yes.

Unity and evangelism have been at the heart of my calling. I witnessed the power of the church coming together across denominations, cultures, and traditions, all for the sake of the gospel. The journey with Alpha was never about a program, but about serving the church and making disciples. We set audacious goals—not for our own glory, but to see lives transformed and to measure our stewardship. The vision of reaching a million souls was not about numbers, but about each individual story, each meal shared, each question asked, and each heart opened to Jesus.

Contextualization and simplification became essential. The church is diverse, and so are the ways we reach people. Whether it was adapting Alpha for Pentecostal, Anglican, or Catholic contexts, or making it accessible for busy people and new generations, the key was always love, respect, and a willingness to learn. I discovered that prayer is not an add-on, but the engine of all fruitful ministry. Every meeting, every conversation, every new initiative began and ended with prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to lead and empower.

The greatest joy is not in organizational success, but in seeing the church—God’s people—step out in faith, invite others, and witness lives changed. In a world hungry for meaning and connection, we are living in a time of unprecedented openness to faith. The challenge is not a lack of interest, but a lack of connection. Each of us is called to be a bridge, a witness, a friend who walks alongside others on their journey to Jesus. The privilege of participating in God’s mission is not reserved for a few, but is the invitation to all of us—to be salt, light, and storytellers of God’s grace.

Key Takeaways

1. Obedience often precedes understanding. Many times, God calls us to step out before we see the full picture. It is in the act of saying “yes” to God’s promptings—sometimes through uncertainty or even reluctance—that we discover His faithfulness and the unfolding of His greater plan. [03:14]
2. Unity in the body of Christ is both a calling and a gift. Working across denominations and traditions requires humility, adaptability, and a genuine love for people. When we focus on what unites us—the gospel and the mission of Jesus—God opens doors and brings fruit that no single group could achieve alone. [06:50]
3. Contextualization is essential for effective ministry. The gospel never changes, but the way we communicate and serve must be sensitive to culture, language, and context. Learning to speak the “language” of different communities, and simplifying our approach, allows more people to encounter Jesus without unnecessary barriers. [12:49]
4. Prayer is the foundation of all fruitful ministry. Rather than asking God to bless our plans, we are called to seek His plans and cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Every meeting, every initiative, and every relationship becomes an opportunity to invite God’s presence and power, trusting Him to do what only He can do. [17:30]
5. Evangelism is relational and participatory. The privilege of sharing Jesus is not reserved for experts or leaders, but is the calling of every believer. By being present, telling our stories, and walking alongside others, we become part of the chain of connections God uses to draw people to Himself—fulfilling the Great Commission in our generation. [25:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:30] - Early Encounters with Alpha
[02:10] - Calling and Transition into Ministry
[03:14] - Breaking Barriers as a Woman Pastor
[05:00] - Embracing Obedience and New Opportunities
[06:50] - Vision for a Million Souls
[08:30] - Adapting Alpha for Different Denominations
[10:45] - Cultural Sensitivity and Love
[12:49] - Engaging with the Catholic Church
[15:00] - Simplifying and Contextualizing Alpha
[17:30] - The Centrality of Prayer
[19:00] - Alpha’s Impact in Local Churches
[21:42] - Celebrating Church Stories and Testimonies
[23:30] - The Openness of This Generation
[25:42] - Our Privilege in God’s Mission

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 8:26-40 (Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch – walking alongside someone on their journey to faith)
Matthew 5:13-16 (“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world…”)
John 17:20-23 (Jesus prays for unity among believers)

Observation Questions

In Acts 8:26-40, what steps did Philip take to engage with the Ethiopian eunuch? What was the eunuch doing when Philip approached him?
According to Matthew 5:13-16, what does Jesus say about the role of his followers in the world?
In John 17:20-23, what does Jesus pray for concerning all believers? What is the purpose of this unity?
The speaker described how Alpha was adapted for different denominations and cultures. What were some practical changes made to make Alpha more accessible? [12:49]

Interpretation Questions

Why might God call someone to step out in obedience before they fully understand the plan? How does this relate to the speaker’s story of saying “yes” to new opportunities? [03:14]
What does it look like for the church to be “salt and light” in a world that is hungry for meaning and connection? How does this connect to the idea of being a bridge or a witness? [25:42]
Why is unity among Christians from different backgrounds and traditions so important for the mission of the church? How did the speaker experience this in her ministry? [06:50]
The speaker emphasized that prayer is not an “add-on” but the “engine” of ministry. What difference does it make when prayer is central rather than secondary? [17:30]

Application Questions

The speaker shared that obedience often comes before understanding. Is there an area in your life where you sense God nudging you to step out, even if you don’t see the full picture? What would it look like to say “yes” this week? [03:14]
Think about your own church or small group. Are there ways you could work towards greater unity with Christians from different backgrounds or traditions? What practical steps could you take? [06:50]
The speaker talked about adapting and simplifying ministry to reach more people. Is there a way you could make your faith or church involvement more accessible to someone who is new or unfamiliar with church? [12:49]
Prayer was described as the foundation of fruitful ministry. How could you make prayer a more central part of your daily life or your group’s activities? Is there a specific situation or person you want to commit to pray for this week? [17:30]
Evangelism was described as relational and participatory—not just for experts. Who in your life might be open to a spiritual conversation or invitation? What is one step you could take to walk alongside them, like Philip did? [25:42]
The speaker mentioned that the greatest joy is seeing lives changed, not organizational success. How do you measure “success” in your own walk with God? Is there a shift you want to make in your perspective? [21:42]
The sermon highlighted the importance of being a bridge and a storyteller of God’s grace. What is one story from your own faith journey that you could share with someone this month? [25:42]

Sermon Clips

“Discipleship only makes sense for me within the framework of a church. However, you identify that micro church or home church or, you know, denominational church, but within the framework of a church so they can be discipled.”

“I’d always had a vision to be a millionaire in souls. You know, there are lots of people that make money and good on them. It’s not easy. But I just wanted to see, look, how can I influence a million people? So I’d done that through the church, through raising up missionaries, through planting churches.”

“Congratulations to every person that invited, every person that prayed, every person that cooked meals. This is a celebration of every believer in Australia that has reached out and said, okay, a million guests have questions. There’s got to be millions more.”

“The concept was food and fellowship. It wasn’t necessarily just excellence, because most people today don’t dine out in fancy restaurants and, you know, don’t really understand, don’t have the manners. It’s perhaps intimidating for young people.”

“It’s been a big learning curve, but it’s the same when you travel. You know, if you love people, you want to get to know how they think, how they operate. You really, really want to know what’s unacceptable in that culture so you don’t do it.”

“I think a lot of it, though, is covered by love and grace. You know, so if you love people and are genuine, I think they’ll see that. And sometimes God opens up opportunities and you just kind of have to be a good steward.”

“We never ever change what we believe but the language so you know you and I would talk evangelism in a Catholic context always talk evangelization so you know we talk about alphas about the gospel but it’s really about the kerygma which the gospel we all agree on so just learning some languages.”

“It was a god open door that I had to walk through with as much respect as I possibly could um and then see what god did and so it was a fascinating way and now between 12 and 15 percent of catholic parishes run alpha it’s really something that serves um their church and you know I have learned so much from the catholic world you know I’m I go to silent retreats you know I’m on the examine ignatian spirituality it has enriched my spirit my personal spiritual life in a way I never expected it’s been wonderful.”

“So simplification was important the contextualization within denominations was important so the top down bottom up approach um to be fair um hillsong didn’t want to run alpha um like the catholics did and the catholics didn’t want to run alpha like hillsong did it’s not that there are fundamental differences we still eat we watch we chat but they’re within a different context and there are some language shifts that really matter so we just kind of had to work that out.”

“I think the other approach was working through the church so discipleship happens through the church so while alpha is an outward facing tool it runs in board youbedrooms, you know, people’s lunchtimes, universities, all of those things are vital, prisons, juvenile detention centres, but there’s a link back to local church or churches.”

“So I can either say here’s my strategy and plans, which as a good steward I have, and here’s my budget, which as a good steward I have, but I say, Holy Spirit, I’m not asking you to bless these plans. I’m asking that I will be in cooperation with your plans.”

“And the shift that we’re making now is a new alpha for youth you know we need to reach young people and so how do we do that so you just keep making those things which at you know one of the shifts was hey we are no longer a sales organization is online we’re an online organization that helps people in their community so being web -based so you make some of those decisions which sound really simple but they shift the focus of your organization so that you’re continually keeping true north for us a million alpha guests.”

“My greatest joy is hearing churches tell their story about their Alphas. It’s about people getting out the stories. It’s about a Baptist church saying we had 23 people baptised, 22 of them came through Alpha. It’s about the local church that I’m part of in Queensland that’s regional that had 857 people do Alpha last year, including two of their church plants.”

“I’ve always said if Alpha is doing our job, no one should know we exist because the credit is the church. To have Queensland Baptist do, through their denomination, I think a large percentage of their churches do Alpha together and now they’re hosting the Global Baptist Conference and they’ll be telling them about that.”

“We are positioned for what God is doing now which is young people and young adults coming to faith in amazing numbers and the church is ready for that because they’ve been invitational because they’ve been outward focus because they realize they can’t answer all the questions and they’ve also realized the power of come holy spirit and prayer.”

“We’re in the greatest openness to spirituality that we’ve ever seen it is easy to talk to people about faith all of our google search words all of our things on invitation says that this generation are incredibly open to faith the challenge is they don’t have a connection to a church you know they’ve never been invited to a church or whatever so the witness they have is you it’s me.”

“So what I would say to this generation is you have the privilege and opportunity of seeing the great commission fulfilled hopefully in my lifetime certainly in yours you know there’s a big push around the globe for 2033 how can we share with everybody around the globe you know how can we put alpha in Chinese so we can reach Chinese people how can we have missions trips how can we plant churches in unreached people groups how can we do online evangelism lots and lots of different organizations saying how do we do that and I want to be a part of that and I want to invite our listeners to be a part of that.”

“It’s not about superstars or organizations it’s not even about resources it’s just about each of us being salt being light telling our stories and allowing God to work in people’s life because lasttime I looked at it, Tina, you and I can’t save anyone.”

“What we can do is bring our friend to Jesus. What we can do is carry them through a roof. What we can do is sit down and have a conversation or walk alongside a chariot. And we can cooperate in what God’s plan is that none should perish, that everyone should have an opportunity to hear about Jesus and to say yes to him.”

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