Jess: A Life Transformed in Sydney (VIDEO)

By Tom Mills, Jan 30, 2024

Jess was raised in the Catholic faith: attending Catholic school, praying the rosary, going to church on Sunday. But it was more cultural Catholicism than actual faith in God. She believed God’s acceptance of us was based on our actions. She grew up believing she needed to be a certain person and do certain things.

In high school, Jess joined the Christian Society and was introduced to Harbour City Church. Initially she was still stuck in a works-oriented mentality. As she tells it, Monday to Saturday Jess was very different from Sunday Jess. She felt lost. Eventually that led to struggling with the church and struggling with community, and she stopped attending.

Then came a point where she realized she needed to make a decision. If she believed in God she needed to believe in Him from the heart and to align her actions with that faith. Jess started listening to the sermons more genuinely, and realized she had been putting on a certain persona. Because of the gospel of Christ, she didn't need to be someone else, she could come to church as she is and trust God's Word and have that transform her heart.

Jess has embraced that God has given her certain quirks, characteristics, and gifts and that He loves her completely as she is. Her assurance doesn't come from what she thinks of herself or what other people think of her. It comes from what God thinks of her.

Tom Mills is a content creator for Mission to the World. He is a graduate of Wheaton College. Tom loves meeting and interviewing believers all over the world, capturing stories of God's global church.

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Pray for MTW's ministries in Sydney, including Harbour City Church, City Sanctum, and Student Outreach to the World, as well as the Pacific Islands Island to Island Partnership.

Give thanks for Harbour City Church in Sydney, Australia, and pray that God would continue to use it to reach people who come to Sydney from all over Australasia.

Pray for City Sanctum, a ministry to businessmen and women in Sydney, Australia that helps believers live out their faith in the workplace, and welcomes non-believers exploring their faith.

Give thanks for Harbor City Church in Sydney, Australia, which is thriving with four campuses after years of struggles getting established.

Pray for missionary kids as they develop friendships with local children to have an impact for Christ.

Pray for those who feel called to missions, but don't yet know what or where God is calling them to. Pray for clarity, but also a resting peace in our sovereign God.

Pray for Harbor City Church in Sydney, Australia, and their mission to reach Asia. “New Australians”—second-generation immigrants and internationalized young adults of predominantly Asian descent—are the source not only of Harbor City Church’s steady growth, but also of its impact, much of it through its Student Outreach to the World ministry.

Pray for God to move among the Pacific Island nations of Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga through the Island to Island Gospel Fellowship.

Pray for MTW's work in the Pacific Islands and the Island to Island partnership including church leaders from Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.

Jess: A Life Transformed in Sydney (VIDEO)

GET INVOLVED

From Resistance to Calling: How a Reluctant Student Became a Campus Pastor in Sydney (VIDEO)

A Huddle of College Students Grows into a Flourishing Church in Sydney

Leaving My Life of "Anything Goes"

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