The WORD OF GOD in 10 minutes?

I have rarely NOT seen the Oasis full of people by 8:00pm Wednesday night!! 70-80 World Refugees!! Now, granted, we actually open the doors at 7:00 and try to start by 7:30, but by about 8:00, the WORD OF GOD is being shared and the room is usually full ! !

Some arrive in the middle of the message, but many are there from the beginning. Right now, 90% of the refugees who come speak or understand Farsi, (largely spoken in Iran and Afghanistan). When the speaker does not speak Farsi, there is a man who translates from English or German to Farsi. Occasionally we also have Russian translation and beyond that English and German are used.

Before the speaker on Wednesday night speaks, we hand out copies of the WORD in whatever language the refugee can read. Thus, as the speaker speaks, each refugee has the WORD in their own language to read. When there is translation, there is actually extra time for the refugees to read the given passage or even read before or after the given passage.

The message on Wednesday night spoken straight through, without translation is often 7 to 10 minutes. Can the gospel of Jesus actually be shared in such a short time? YES. Can the message actually be different each week? YES. Consider the example of Jesus in John 3 with the man Nicodemus and in John 4 with the woman at the well. The messages were not exactly the same in content, but they were in complete harmony as they were meant to draw people to Jesus as the Savior. Neither message shared ALL biblical knowledge. Each is like a mustard seed...that GROWS!

At the Oasis, we too are seeking to draw people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ so they too may worship Him. We seek to draw people through giving the WORD of God, and ALSO showing the servanthood of Jesus, showing the love of Jesus, giving (coffee, tea, pastries) as Jesus gave, worshiping God and honoring the name of Jesus through song, and sharing more of the WORD through discussions after the speaker has shared!