Divine Principle Draws Attention

Outreach teams are rediscovering the power of the Divine Principle through the guests they meet every day. As people accept invitations to hear Divine Principle lectures, their enthusiasm for the content brings great hope to the outreach revivals that are happening across the country. Here are the latest updates in outreach from Seattle and Las Vegas.

Seattle

On Monday, May 11, 2015, Unificationists in Seattle kicked off outreach activities with an orientation at their outreach center near the University of Washington campus. The themes were “God’s Hope for America” and “Forgive, Love, Unite!” According to Nelson Mira, Pastor of the Seattle Family Church, the focus of the outreach efforts will be tribal messiahship—growing one’s own personal ministry. “We will seek to expand and grow our own tribe,” he said.

Pastor Mira emphasized that this initiative is not just Divine Principle outreach, but tribal messiahship. When we meet someone who listens to the introduction of the Divine Principle and introduce them to our founders, we should consider them a member of our tribe. This first week of the outreach revival in Seattle is only the beginning for such activities in the region.

The group formed two teams to begin with. One team focused on outreach on the streets around the outreach center, while the other spoke to students at the UW campus.

On Tuesday, May 12, the team was able to make quite the impression on campus. Three evangelist men were preaching in the University of Washington Square. Two young men and a middle aged man held signs that read,  “Fear God or Perish,” and “You deserve Hell.” They preached discriminatory words towards secular behaviors that disgusted some thirty students who gathered around to argue with them. One of the older Unificationists couldn’t help but argue with the preachers, and asked for a minute to speak. He spoke about how God is a God of love, and explained the characteristics of God, including His masculine and feminine harmony. The students responded with applause. One of the young preachers listened to a Divine Principle introduction on the spot where he was standing. He listened intently and studied the contents, and though he wasn’t swayed in his own beliefs, he told the team to continue their good work. It was inspiring to see True Parents’ message received with such excitement.

Later that day at the Outreach center, the team reflected on their experience on campus, and a few of the participants were inspired to try out street preaching for themselves. On the streets, they spoke about the Four Position Foundation, with diagrams mounted on an easel. People stopped by and participants invited them to the outreach center to listen to lectures on the Divine Principle. One man stayed at least four hours to continue learning more.

“It is proven that the content of the Divine Principle draws attention,” said Pastor Mira. So far, about fifteen people heard the introduction to the Divine Principle, and the teams continue to meet and speak with more people every day.

Las Vegas

The Collegiate Association for the Research of Principle (CARP), Generation Peace Academy, local young adults, Japanese Missionaries and Special Envoys teamed up to put together the last weekend workshop for the school year in Las Vegas.  Three guests from the University of Nevada  in Las Vegas attended, two of whom  volunteered to share their testimonies at the bonfire in the evening. It was a very moving talk and experience for everyone. For one of the guests, it was their first time attending a workshop. Long time guests helped with preparing the meals, and local young adults lent a hand by participating in the workshop and taking time out of their busy schedules to come and show their love and support.

The lectures were given by CARP and GPA members, followed by dynamic group discussions. It was inspiring to see young people teaching and learning about how Divine Principle could be applied in their everyday lives.