The Gospel That Transforms

I hope this message finds you well as we enter the Advent season.

Resurrection Power in Acts

Over the past few months at our Brisbane church, Christ our Refuge, we’ve been working through the book of Acts in our Sunday teaching series. If you haven’t caught any of the messages, they’re available on our new GNU YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/@WordSpreadsFast (aside: it’s been wonderful to have Duncan and Caroline with us each week at church to capture the sermons for GNU).

What struck me again and again from Acts is how the early church was utterly captivated by the resurrection of Jesus. They didn’t just believe it, they boldly proclaimed it, knowing that the risen Christ changes everything.

The good news is… that the same Lord who conquered death is alive today, at work through his Spirit, still transforming lives by the gospel.

Stories of Gospel Fruit

During our Acts teaching series, we have concluded our Sunday services with a gospel commission prayer, asking God to empower each of us by His Spirit, to offer one person refuge, security, and hope in Christ. It’s actually a prayer I’ve prayed for a couple of years, but over the last couple of months, I’ve seen significant fruit in sharing the gospel.

Let me share four recent stories that have filled my heart with gratitude:

Robi came to faith through our church’s digital ministry in the Middle East. From a Muslim background, he’s just encountered the risen Christ. Isn’t that extraordinary?! We’re now connecting him with a team experienced in walking alongside believers from Muslim backgrounds. Please pray that he will continue in Christ.

Gary in the UK also came to Christ through our digital outreach. In his first message to me, he said this:

“I feel lost in my life, I have a lovely family and good job but I feel I am missing the lord. And just wondered how do I go about this.”

Over the course of two weeks, I was able to walk him through the gospel message, answer his questions, and then he also turned to Christ and found new life in him. Praise God, we’ve been able to connect him with a great church near his home, and he is now meeting weekly with a wonderful pastor for discipleship.

John is my best mate from high school. And just last week, he became a Christian! I’ve had the privilege of being part of many people’s journeys as they have crossed over from death to life by putting their trust in Jesus. But this new brother in Christ might well be the sweetest moment of gospel fruit in my life. Over 30 years ago, I first started sharing the gospel with him. We have maintained a friendship and always had stimulating conversations about life and faith. I had a sense recently, over lunch, that he was close to the kingdom of God, but was a little shocked and in awe when he messaged not long after lunch to say he had decided to surrender his life to Christ! Pray for ongoing follow-up with this dear friend.

Steve works in a shop that I’ve regularly frequented over the last five years. Just before sitting down to write this letter, he was clearly having a difficult day with customers, and I offered him some encouragement, letting him know he was doing a good job. Exasperated, he shared that it had been a tough day and said, “I dunno, I think I need Jesus!” And I replied, “Wonderful, I can help with that!” We had a good interaction afterwards via text, and he’s very genuine in his desire to know Jesus. So please pray as we meet up next week that he will find the new life in the gospel.

There are many other conversations over those months, in person and online, and I trust that we will see more fruit in the days ahead.

What’s This Got to Do with GNU?

Everything! At the heart of Good News Unlimited is the gospel that transforms. The same gospel that raised Jesus from the dead is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Aside from opportunities to engage people in my city with the gospel, I’m asking God to send me a new person every two weeks who is ready to turn to Christ. Enough time to meaningfully explain and clarify the gospel, see a response, and then pass people on to others for meaningful follow-up and discipleship.

As this has been happening, I’ve enjoyed thinking through how to do this on a greater scale. Just recently, the YouVersion passed one billion downloads of the Bible App, and more and more people are engaging with the gospel online.

Wouldn’t it be incredible to see a team of people (both employed and volunteers) equipped and ready to follow up with those seeking Christ through digital means? I would love for GNU to be a ministry not only about broadcasting the gospel to the ends of the earth, but also about equipping more people to share Jesus clearly, training pastors and leaders to do discipleship follow-up, and helping individuals connect meaningfully with local Christian communities as they are able.

So much work has happened behind the scenes over the last nine months at GNU. We’re looking forward to sharing greater clarity about our mission together in the new year.

Thank You for Your Partnership

Church, family, ministry, and behind-the-scenes GNU work have been a juggle this year! I love the ministry of GNU as I’ve learnt more about how God has used it for so many years.

I’m sorry for not being in contact more regularly this year. That needs to change in 2026. I certainly don’t want to take for granted all the faithful prayer warriors and financial partners who have been the backbone of this ministry for so many years. Stay tuned for more regular updates in the new year.

Thank you for your partnership; it has borne fruit, and I trust it will continue to bear gospel fruit into the future.

In fact, we plan to send out another letter in a week. It will be our Christmas appeal. But I wanted to send this brief update first with an invitation to pray.

Will You Pray?

For now, I want to ask you to pray:

  • Give thanks for the gospel fruit in recent months
  • Pray for GNU as we launch into a new season of ministry
  • Ask God to use you this Advent and Christmas season in sharing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
  • Pray that God will continue to stir your heart for this ministry
  • Ask God to provide for our every financial need

The Lord has been so faithful. I’m eager to see what he does next.

In Christ,

Rev Dave Miers

Managing Director

Good News Unlimited