Hong Kong Small Group Leader

Hong Kong Small Group Leader

CLI Student, Abigail Nickell, is studying at CLI so she can become a trained Hong Kong small group leader. Abigail is passionate and on fire for sharing her faith.

Read her testimony below:

My name is Abigail Nickell. I am originally from the U.K. but right now I live in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a thriving international melting pot where many cultures mix and mingle. There are a lot of churches here of many denominations, and God is certainly here using his church to seek new believers. The largest religions in Hong Kong are Buddhism and traditional ancestor worship, but Chinese people seem to be among the most open to hear the gospel and learn about Jesus, which is very encouraging. The biggest obstacle that brings challenges to sharing the gospel is a language barrier, especially for older generations. The culture barrier also might make it hard to connect with nonbelievers.
Coming to the faith I have in Jesus Christ now has been a life long journey, as I was born into a Christian home. At 10 years old I was baptized by my father, and after this, I would say my journey to discover Jesus really began. I am still on that journey today with Christ molding and making me every day! I hope and pray that I can continue on this journey and that CLI will help me along the way.
As of this moment in time, I do not have a world-changing ministry dream, but I want God to be able to use me in whatever way He sees fit, and I know that strengthening my own faith and becoming more like Jesus will help me to achieve whatever God has planned for me. So far, this class has helped to strengthen my walk with God, as it has deeply encouraged me to pursue my walk with God with more certainty, fervor, and more devotion.
I think that so far, I most identify with Hong Kong Small Group Leader. I am not a very loud person and I like to make deep connections with people. I like to really get to know people, to know where they are, where they want to be, and who they are. I want to be able to help and guide people with the little knowledge that I have. However, I do not do particularly well in large group settings. I like the intimacy of a small group where people can really feel comfortable to open up and delve deep. I know that in this world, people long for and crave true community and connection and that God intended us to be in community with one another, and I think that small groups can really help to cultivate this.
I think that the Bible always brings transformation when it is read. Even in seemingly small instances. I first really connected to the Bible when I was a 17 years old. I had been praying that I would want to read the Bible and that I would feel some desire to connect with it and God answered my prayer, surprisingly through reading Samuel and Kings. I suddenly found myself completely lost in the story of Israel and Judah and I didn’t want to stop reading. The story of the different Kings and how they led just enraptured me and I couldn’t really understand why, but God answered my prayer and allowed my mind to transform through reading and feeling the desire to read.
My church has always supported me, and they continue to support any member who wants to attend CLI. They are fantastic. My husband is also very supportive of me. He is a wonderful husband and he is also attempting CLI as well. We are very grateful that CLI exists and can allow us to further our walks with God and help us to further other people’s walks too.
My ministry dream is not, as yet, defined although I do have a strong leading towards small groups, I know that CLI with the scholarship will help me and be important in helping me to become the Hong Kong small group leader that God can use. I want to be able to help as many people as I can in their walk with God and therefore I want to be as prepared as possible. I want to be able to help people in the right way, with the right knowledge. You can pray that I will never take this opportunity for granted and that I will be able to finish CLI strong, not give up, and that I will be able to give back one day as I have been given.

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