On Mission with the Young Adults

In early April, Cam Close and I led ten young adults from PCPC on a short-term mission trip to Sesto Calende, Italy. We aided PCPC Home Church Missionaries, Ben Hamner and the Luker family, with their missionary efforts for the week. On night one, we worshipped with their Italian-speaking church and spent time with the youth ministry. Ben, anticipating what God may do through the young adult team, asked us to gather with the students to pray over them. Ben and I prayed with students, Paul Luker, and Filipe. We prayed for the Lord to bring peace and salvation to Filipe, and our time ended with teary eyes and hugs. Around 11:00 p.m., as Ben and Paul continued to minister to Filipe, God saved him!

Starting with a miracle of God’s grace, we were hopeful going into the week. We were entering into new territory at Instituto Superiore, a high school where we hadn’t yet invested our time. To our knowledge, it had been untouched by missionaries in the area. Terrance’s friend Angelo, our ‘in’ at the school, had a medical emergency which kept him from being present with us in the new school. Knowing there was opposition from school faculty regarding our presence, we trusted the Lord and asked God to go before us. While initially being met with resistance from some teachers, the Lord quickly gave us favor in their eyes. Unbelieving faculty called us “miracles,” saying, “their faces are glowing!” and that we were “sent by God!”

We built relationships with students, café employees, and members of the church in Sesto. The gospel was shared with an agnostic who is currently working at a monastery and has never heard the gospel before. More than forty students were written on a list to be prayed for. On Easter Sunday, I reached out to Leonardo, a student who showed interest in Christianity, and shared the gospel with him. Our team was freed from burdens, strengthened in our faith, and encouraged by God’s goodness.

Through the missionaries in Sesto Calende, God is bringing the gospel to Italy. Pray that God would ignite the Italian Reformation through Cristiani Biblici Insieme, the local church in Sesto, to bring salvation to the lost people of Italy. Pray that He would send more missionaries. May God do more than we could ever ask or imagine.

At PCPC, we believe that the Risen Savior has given us the Great Commission to go and make disciples in the name of Christ, empowering us by the Holy Spirit. We envision a church where every member is a world Christian who understands the “global-ness” of the Church’s mission, laments over those who have no hope of hearing the gospel, and is eager to serve the purposes of God globally.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:19-20)

Visit pcpc.org/missions to learn more about PCPC mission trips and global workers, and subscribe at pcpc.org/newsletters to our PCPC Missions newsletter to stay up to date on what the Lord is doing and how to pray for our missionaries.

For more information on Hillary and Terrance Luker’s missionary work with CrossWorld in Italy, visit pcpc.org/global/workers/.