epistles from england team-1986-england

8/13/2019 Epistles From England Team-1986-England

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Cpistlc from Cnglanb A report from ministries challenging apost-Christian nation with the claims of Christ.

V X . 1 3 NO. 3 FEB. 1986WN e w Life f o r t h e O ld , Old S t o n y

In i t s multicolored history/ the Christian church/ which was founded onJesus Chr is t/ has found expression in a variety o f ways. From small groupsmeeting in homes or catacombes to large ornate cathedrals/ the church hasalways expressed i t s l i f e in a plethora of ways.I believe this is how i t should be . Every age and every culture finds i t sways to exress the truth of the gospel without doing in ju stic e t o either themessage or the grom of believers who live in that particular culture. Surelythe gospel must be both relevant and a t the same time true.As a m i n i s t e r in a new church/ it i s often tempting to ignore the p a s thistory of the church and the various traditicxis which are represented to moveinto a new work of God. Many such groups exist today who are attemptira toexpress the Christian life in new forms/ but often ignore the past. But I amconvinced that is to one s peril. The gospel must alwa^ remain faithful tothe history of God s work/ but equal ly must be expressed in new forms for thenew life t o f l o u r i s h .Some of our churches in Britain are very new. They find a l o t of freedom inhow they axiduct their services and l i f e as a church. In our particular case/we have been cautious to always remind ourselves of our past and what God hasdone/ so that we don t miss the r e a l i t y of the gospel jus t for the sake ofr e l e v a n c e .TiTe general British population seems to have a very strcng dislike or indifference to the church for it i s seen as a r e l i c of the past. I f there i s aGod/ surely He i s n t bound by the church. And so neither God nor the churchhas any relevance in the lives of pec^le. Some of this is prctoably due to therole or the church in the history of Enq^nd. But surely some is due to notmaking the gospel relate to the people of the 80 s/ to enable them to see andexperience that the God of the past i s also the God of the present and thefuture. The church mast be w illing to follow i t s Lord now and in the future i fi t is to have any^ing to say to me people of today.Our church in Redditch does not have a building. This has both positive andnegative results. Itie most positive is tiiat we meet in a oommunity center forour morning worship. see this as a way to relate the church to the peopleonce again. For too Icxng the church and i t s Lord have been removed from thepeople. In this way we are hxping to say to our neighbors/ \ od is real. Hei s a l i v e and His gospel i s indeed good news. We are not indicat ing thatchurch fcxiildin^ are irrelevant/ but we are trying to express two truths.One i s found en the l ips of Steven in Acts 7:48ff. He indicates that God i stoo large to be held in caie building car one view. He i s God and not to have aclear or large enough view of him is seen as resisting the Holy Spirit . Theo t h e r t r u t h i s from J e s u s i n Luke 5:37-38: new wine demands new wine s k i n s . tis with these two truths we are attempting to explore new ways t express theold/ old story for the pecple of today.^ Dm YWWBLLWE WELOOME TO OUR PAGES DIOC AND YVCNNE STITT.AN INSIDE PAGE. OTEY INIRODUCE THEMSELVES ON


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PLATT BRIDGEREPORT

m , :MMelissa and Jim Dahlman

SarahTWO CCNVERSATICNS

The l a s t few months gave me acouple of unusual oppor tuni t ies tot a lk about deep t h ings . Onecame as I perched on my bicyclea longs ide the road . The o the rbegan a t an old fo l k s home. Theysyntoolize to me the fundamentaldi fferences in how people respondto the message o f C hr is t .

The f i r s t was with a f r iendlyman i n h i s sixties I had firstmet him at a friend s f u n e r a l . A tthe ga ther ing afterwards, wetalked a long t ime. On th is daywhen I stopped to greet him, wepicked it up again. His basicopinion about Jesus was the c lass ic good man, f ine teacher l i ne /a n d if someone wan t e d to f o l l owth e B ib l e down th e l in e / th a t i sf i n e . But ( I knew t h e re was abut* coming)/ t he re s no need toget beyond Chris t iani ty being agood code of conduct in socie ty .He wasn t fo r messing it up withs a l v a t i o n and all that wasone of many equal ways to t ru th .After I gave my side of the story( the b ib l i c a l s ide / I be l i eve ) / hesummed up our con\ j r sa t ion int h o s e now f am i l i a r words : W ell /it looks l ike we agree to d is

agree/ and I ve enjoyed it I t sbeen in terest ing. It might havebeen a summary about a game ofTrivial Pursuit

The o t h e r c o n v e r s a t i o n was onChristmas Sunday night . A youngnan came into th e hall at t h e o ldpeople s hc ne where a group o f uswere ca ro l l ing . He s tood n ex t toDavid Campbel l and me. I d neverseen him be fo re / and h is b rea thsmelled of l iquor . We shared ourc a r o l s h e e t . When we f i n i s h ed /David i n t r oduced me to J ame s , whomI had heard abou t / and who l i v eda c ro s s th e street f rom Dav id .Could we t a lktonight? / heasked. We had the teen groupcoming over to our house/ so wes e t a t ime l a t e r t ha t night a tDavid s house. James was wait ingwhen I go t t he re .

James had been in p r ison fo rburgla ry; he had been addicted todrugs; s ince prison he had returned to drinking; his home l i fewas a mes s . He was a man i n t r oub le and he knew it He is alapsed Roman Catholic/ and in hiswords/ he wanted me to he lp mfind my fa i th again. He s ta r t edpouring out h is s tory before I gomy coa t of f . We ta lked fo r twohours wi thout a break/ and agreedto talk mor e . I ve n o t s e en h imf o r t h r e e weeks, and I know fromDavid t ha t he has been s t rugg l ingI don t know what wi l l happen. BuI do remember the desperation inh i s vo i c e and h i s manner t h anight . I knew we haven t talkedf o r th e last t ime ; th e b a t t l e i snot over. One th ing he d i dn t saywas/ I t s k>een i n t e res t ing .One m n said, The kingdom oGod i s not fo r the well-meaningbu t the despe ra t e . Case inpo in t . JIM


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WEST ROMWI H REPORT

J a n a nd Pe t e B o w e nGare th an d David

Jpistle fromzo o E. Jalletson. v/asnmglon. IL BISTIJi m S Melissa Danimtui4 RusMin CnscentAhram. W/ganLanes . W Ni SP X

Rogar Earingion144 Oravallr LaneSrdington, Bifminghan:B2 3 6L T

Pe la i Ja n B e w e n4 1 Ha raOeUAmington Tamii/oflhSUffs B77 4N A

Da n A Amy Varnatt0I Redstone CloseChuief i HiU NorthRaMilcn. Worcs.e s e s A F

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B ob i S u e H a r tma n4 6 Asf iOOume RO MWigsion LeicesterLEB IF E

Jane t Barnes26 Spenc e r S l i ee lHinckley. Le


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WIGSTON REPORTA CHRISTMAS GIFT

Bob and Sue HartmanKarl and Christopher

usually ready to collapse by tht ime Chris tmas Day a r r ives Ithe past/ December has been scrammed f u l l o f a c t i v i t i e s t h aV- --tW I ve hardly had time to enjoy thW - jtjjf season I determined that woulftt happen this year and, by God


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TUN Ri GE WELLS REPORT S e a s o n a lChr i s tmas program presenta t ion

Mary was in t earss t a r go t shy and re fu se d tot w i n k l eThe props mist ress missed her cueTh e w i s eme n d id n o t l likloading t he i r pretend camelsThe en t i r e ca s t ( including me)forgot a song which was suppose to .be sung the play

Chris tmas program presenta t ion2 (at a pensioners' complex):The donkey lo s t i t s ea r

Ben sit down. Ben, don t h i t . Ben, come back here . Ben, wherea re you? Ben, don t . BENToo many chi ldren in one roomMass chaos in the echo-y hallway

General consensus about both presentat ions:LovelyWeren't they sweetDidn ' t they a l l do wellThey sang lovely

Which a l l goes to prove t ha t adoring adul t s are b lin d and tone-deafduring the Christmas seasonbless 'em.Over and above these programs we:Sang carols in the town center to ra ise money for the Save the Children

Fund (col lec ted about $280.)Went to the r e s t home of ninety- three year old, house-bound Mr. Turnerto b rin g the hope Christmas gives to him through r eadings, s ing ing andvis i t ing with him and some of the other residents .About burn t th e ch urc h down during ou r we ll -a tt en d ed c a ro l s er vic e .Some o f th e c a n d l e s on th e window sills bu r n t down to th e sill wood.The carol s ervic e i t se l f / led by Curt, was unusual and very good.)Had neny par t i e s and a t e .


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Cpisitit from Cnglantt A report from ministr ies challenging apost-Christian nation with the claims of Christ.

VOL. 13 NO. 4 MARCH 1986Travelling Along

I have been told that Great Britain has the highest number of cars Mr mileof road in the world After nearly eight years of experiencing British roadsI tend to believe the statement This is not due to the prosperity of theBritish worker, but to the relatively dense population. At times, travelling byroad in this country can be the most infuriating and frustrating experienceknow. I see two reasons for this: ^ c 4-,^,Firstly the lack of good roads. If you come from the north of the countryinto London there is only one major road (an expressway). This motopay, calledthe Ml, was opened in tiie late 60's and was at full capacity within a year otits opening. Since then, more people have cars and this motorway takes thebrunt of the traffic going north and south. Because there are over three timesas many cars and t ruc^ using the motorway than the road was built ror thereseems to be constant repairs to the road. Even though the ntorwy is threelanes wide (in each direction), huge traffic jams occur at these repairs, ihave sat in one for over an hour as three lanes of traffic are funnelled downinto one. There are constant appeals on radio for drivers to avoid certain^^Secondly ^ntil the last six months there w^ no route around LondonIf you were travelling from south of London to the north of the co^J^ry you Mto either go straight through I^ndon or go on what is know as the Circularroute which is merely a series of roads wliich happen to connect together andtakes you around the city. In either case, there are c^ntless stops stoplights, pedestrians and the unavoidable road works. Tê drive rois only eleven miles, but on one trip, bec^se of congestion, took ^ ninetyminutes. Even without heavy congestion, I must pl^ an hour to trav^ thoseeleven miles. Now that the new orbital route around London has been opened i tshould help relieve this problem (though once again the road has already^Thl on:SêS*âlternative to the roads is the train systetn. Thoueh theBritish complain about the level of service (it is greatly reduced fjom what itwas I find it efficient, reasonably inexpensive and restful. ^have to travel to Birmingham (a journey of 165 miles) almost al^ygtravel by train. I can leave my house in Tunbridge Wells and be at a meetingIn Just under four hours. For the best part of that journey, I cm sit at atable aid read, prepare a sermon or plan a program. When I arrive 1 am rested(L I did not\Ze^to fight the traffic) and satisfied that ny time w^ notwasted The cost for the round tr ip can be as low as 28. If I drive thecost for the same trip (including we^ and tear) would be 70.In T way is this an attempt to discourage anyone from visiting ^d drivingin this beautiful country. There are certain parts of the country ^^h trai^do not serve, thus a car is a necessity. But, if you do come prep^dfor a travelfing culture shock. COTT NOKWUeUIRoger Edrineton is now in the San Josfe, California area checking on thepolslbility of ministry. e would very much appreci ate your ^ heseeks the Lord's direction to use the gifts he has been given in the best way.


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PLATT BRIDGE REPORT

Melissa and J im DahlmanSa rah

FEELING AMERICAN

I wr i t e t h i s l e s s than twoweeks af ter the Cha llenge r and i tscrew was vapou r i s ed in t h a t fireba l l over th e At lan t i c Ocean. The began replaying l ive Americannews broadcas t s a lmost immediately , and Britain also repeatedlywatched the slow-motion replays.Repor ts desc r ibed the shock andgrief in the States as being comparable only w ith the af termath ofJohn Kennedy s death in 1963. AsMelissa and I watched, we wept. Aweek la te r , we were talking withBob Hartman and Jane t Baines abouti t , comparing our reactions. Andwe, with over years in Englandbetween us, a l l nodded when one ofus said , I realized jus t howAmer ican I still am.I t s exciting to voluntarilyswitch cultures and intentionallyi nh ib i t some i n s t i n c t s and react ions which are bui l t up throughgrowing up in a cer ta in place in acertain time. I t seems part ofthe missionary s cal l ing to allowas l i t t l e of our cul tural baggage to get in the way of the

message of Chris t as possib le . Weare not ashamed to be American,but ne i t he r do we make it a s e l ling poin t . In many areas of l i f e ,we actual ly prefer the Bri t i sh wayof l i fe to the American. Living inanother culture has helped us see,in many areas , what i s au then t ica lly Christian and what is simplyAmer ican o r Br i t i s h . f t h a t i sth e case between cu l t u r e s soc lose , what it must be to miss i ona r i e s in more d i s t a n t soc ie t ies All th is i s a pr ice lessadventure of discovery. Therehave been times (Lord, forgive)when I have f e l t a r e v e r s e snob-b ism towards Americans who seemedcondescending to other cu l tu res . Il i k ed to t h ink t h a t I was nowabove a l l tha t , tha t I have l e f tmy American parochial ism behind andnow s tan d f ree as a wor ld - con -s c l ou s Chr i s t i an . f t h e i r a tt i tude was wrong, then so was minetowards them. Then the Challengerblew up and I fe l t very sick andvery fa r away from th e homeland.Like many others, I grew up withthe space age. I t was a fascination. A dis t inc t ly Americanf a s c ina t i on . So when t h a t f i r ebal l f i l led the sky, my Insidestwisted and my eyes f i l l edjus tl i ke many American s . I m not surewhat to t h ink about t h a t . When ourchurch prayed fo r the Americannation af te r Challenger, I rememberthinking, They re p raying for us.I t was a strange feeling. Theambiguous fee l ings are hard to exp la in , but tha t i s what it fee lsl ike to one American Chris t ianoverseas

J IM


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TA M W O RTH REPO RTA CHANGE OF SCENE

There i s something s p e c i a l abonew fal l ing snow. I t i s freshclean pure a winter remindet h a t t h e r e can be n e w n e s s oopportunity for us at any timLike a glorio us su nrise a f t e rcleansing shower or the sudden ar i v a l of s p r i n g f a l l i n g snow casignal new beginnings.I t seems appropriate to us thwe are surrounded by one more evdence of God s cycles of change anewness a t t h e t i m e we chooseshare with you the exciting new call we have received and accepted wi

j o y .The elders and lovely people of the Wall End Church of ChristKirkby-in-Fumess, Cumbria have invited us to come there to ministerand with them. Kirkby pronounced Kirby) is a collection of eight hamlestretched alongside a beautiful moor just south of the Lake DistricThere are about 1 200 people, with other villages and towns with smalland larger population nearby.There are thirty eight members at present; the sanctuary probably holeighty to one hundred comfortably; it is packed on special occasions aclearly the area has potential to fill i t every week. Moreover telders and congregation are committed to scriptural outreach. e visitthere in December when not one soul knew us from any other stranger, athen again just recently. n open dinner brought forty-five adults, mof them not members of the church. Many were at the service at which Dpreached the next morning. There is structure, vitality and commitmeand love in abundance at Kirkby. The Spirit is clearly at work in tdir The lovely church building, which stands atop a hill alongside the rothrough the village, is visible from a long distance. Built in 1876is nevertheless open and bright inside, without any of the heaviness aclosed-in feeling some older cathedrals have. Exactly twelve miles wof the building are the beaches of the Irish Sea from which we enjoyedcolorful sunset on Christmas Sunday. About twen:y riles northeast is LWindermere and the whole of the glorious Lake District lies before you.

e shall not leave Tamworth until mid-June, but our move to Kirkby wnot be made until August. In the April July time period we haveexciting opportunity. e have accepted an invitation from tcongregation at Wigston reported elsewhere in this edition.) Atmoment we are in the States enjoying the regenerating work of the Spithrough his people in our home church, First Christian Church ofDICK AND YVO

Dick and Yvonne Stit t


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fromzo o E Jellfson. wasninglon. IL 6I57I

s M e i ss s D a M m a nC v s c a n t

Wigane s. W N 2 5 P X

Ore* S yvtrnne S m41 Hare e l lAmfngton TamwannS t ar t s B7 7 4H A

S Ja n BotrenH e r e o e i l

Tamwonh37 7 4NA

Da n i Amy >S 'ne l '101 R e d s t o n e CloseC n u t c h Hill NorthRedOi tch , Wa re s89 5 9A F

Bo o S Su e H a n m a o46 A s h b o u t n a R o a aWigston LeiceslsrL ee Iff

J a n gI B a i ne s26 Spencer SlreelHinckley LeicsLEIO IR S

C un i L i n d a N o r a n i e i m13 St. J a m e s ParkTunbnOge WellsK e n t TN I 21. 3

Gail Burns S f l i la la e20 Culvertiorx Park B o a aTunbriOge WellsK e n t TN 4 S O t

AMERICAN CORRESPONDENTS:Mr S Mrs. 8 C NoDnielmZOO J e l l e r s o nnasttingion. IL SISTIUSA

GROtfING PAINSB _ _ h ve een keeping very usyH these last few months have8 several ladies taking an Acts^ ^ ^ extension course from Springdale.H a r o l d M e r r i tt f a i t h f u l l y d r i v e so v e r e v e r y Wednesday e v e n i n g t ot e a c h a n d o f t e n t o be p u t on t h e*hot s e a t a s we t ak e a dv an ta ge o fh i s k n o w l e d g e and wisdom t o s o r to u t p r o b l e m s and q u e s t i o n s whichwe've come a c r o s s i n t h e week

Many o f o u r l a d i e s come t o aweekly study we have whi ch preceedso u r weekly p r a y e r m e e t in g . T h i sprayer group, s t a r t e d by a coupleo f t h e women, h a s grown and beens u c h a p o s i t i v e t i m e f o r us as we

look back and see how God has been, and i s working.We are conscious, also, of trying to keep in touch w ith th e S ewell 'sduring their internship in Mesa Z We pray for them and eagerly await

t h e i r r e t u r n so t h a t we can b e n e f i t f rom work ing with themAs we grow as a church we become conscious of areas that need work orrebuilding or dropping altogether. Those aren't always easy areas to dealwith, yet we find tha t as we study, pray and seek, God can work in andthrough us to sort out those changes. They have sometim es been painful,yet necessary, but we are learning t h a t it i s f a r b e t t e r to fo llow a

d i f f i c u l t path than to stagnate and die . JB

Mission ServicesR e s o u r c e D e p tP 0 B o x 7KnoKville TN 3 7 9 0 1

BULK RATEU.S. P O S T A G E

PAIDP E R M I T N O. 61

WASHINGTON. IL 61571

At)t)KKS.S CORRECTIIIN RKyUESTEO


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WIGSTON REPORT

B o b a n d S u e H a r t m a nKarl and Christopher

S H O T A N D O P E N

O n e d o o r s h u t s . A n o t h e r d oo p e n s .

O v e r t h e p a s t few m o n t h s , oc o n g r e g a t i o n h a s b e e n s o n c i d e r it h e possibility o f invitingBritish minister to w o r k with uA n invitation w a s e x t e n d e d w h i c hh o p e d w o u ld b e a c c e p t e d . B u tw e r e t o o l a t e . He h a d a l r e aa cc e p te d a no th er p o s i t i o n . Od o o r s h u t .

D i c k a nd Y vonne Stitt a n e n t hsiastic A m e r i c a n c o u p l e w ho h ab e e n m i n i s t e r i n g w i t h th e T a mwoC h u r c h o f C h r i s t , d e c i d e d t h a tw as t i m e t o l e a v e t h a t m i n i s t r y

l o o k i n a n o t h e r d i r e c t i o n . T h e y h a d v i s i t e d o u r s e r v i c e s a t i m e o r tan d we had s p e n t o t h e r t i m e s t o g e t h e r . Would t he y be i n t e r e s t e d in speni n g some t i m e working along w i t h u s? Yes, t he y would. Another door op

So, h e r e i s w h a t s h a p p e n i n g : Di c k and Yvonne a r e c u r r e n t l y i n tS t a t e s . When t he y r e t u r n i n m id -A pril , th ey w i l l s t a r t working w i t h usS u n d a y s and p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n o u r G r o w t h Group p r o g r a m . I n m i d - J u n ep la n to r e t u r n to th e S t a t e s to v i s i t o ur s up po rtin g ch u rch es an d a ls oa t t e n d my s i s t e r s wedding. W hile we a re gone from mid-June to the eo f J u l y , Di c k and Yvonne w i l l s t a y i n o u r h o u s e and be o u r s h o r t - t er e pl a c e m e nt s. When we r e t u r n , t he y w i l l t he n move on to anot her m i n i si n B r i t a i n . I look fo rward n ot onl y to c o n s i s t e n t pr e a c hi ng an d t e a c h ifo r th e church while I am gone, but also to the time t h a t Dick and I wspend working together in April and May By opening t h i s door, th e Lh as t u rn ed o u r d i s ap p o i n t m en t i n t o j o y f u l a n t i c i p a t i o n . p r a c t i c a l aote: would th os e s up po rtin g churches who would l i k e uscome an d pr esent o u r work, p l e a s e send p o s s i b l e d a t e s to us a t o u r B r i taddress* Ve w i l l do ou r b e s t to f i t you a l l i n and so need th es e d ate ssoon as pos s i bl e*

Ou r g ro wth g ro up s have grown again, but t h i s t ime i t s in v ar ie ty . TMonday group i s now s t u d y i n g I C o r i n t h i a n s u n d e r Ha rol d M e r r i t tSpringdale College. The Wednesday group i s using a lecture format, wBob e x p l a i n i n g th e v ar io us a sp ec ts o f w o r s h i p . Th e Th u r sd ay g r o u ps t i l l u sin g th e o r i g i n a l form at o f a l o t of di sc ussi on an d sh arin g tima l l r e l a t e d t o a p a r t i c u l a r B i b l e p a s s a g e o r s u b j e c t .In th e n e a r f u t u r e we w i l l b e g i n two ne w g r o u p s . One i s a mef e l l o w s h i p which w i l l meet on Tuesday evenings. Th e o t h e r i s an a l t e r nt i v e t e e n g r o u p . We c u r r e n t l y h a v e s ix t e e n r e g u l a r l y a t t e n d i n g a t egroup, b u t th e y range from t h i r t e e n to t wen t y -o n e. S


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REDDITCH REPORT

Dan and my YarnellDavid

T r nsitionsS i n c e we h av e j u s t r e c e n t l y

r e t u r n e d f r o m a three m o n t h furlough to the Sta tes our a t t en t ionhas been brought to th e f a c t t h a tthe church i s always one in t r a ns it i o n . Hence o ur congrega t ion hasbeen changing in both very posi t iveand ne ga t ive ways w h i l e we werea w a y .

The p o s i t i v e t r a n s i t i o n s havefocused p r i m a r i l y on the matur ingo f v a r i o u s individu ls who h a v er e a l l y moved ahead in t h e i rr e l a t i o n s h i p with C h r i s t .

The c o r e l e a d e r s h i p o f th ec h u r c h i s now f u n c t i o n i n g morec l o s e l y and pe r s ona l ly than ev e r

before . Added to t h i s i s th e f a c t t h a t in o ur a bs en ce o t he r i nd iv idua l shave found i t necessary to take on new tasks within the l i fe and work ofthe church. This has brought much needed variety in ministry, as well asa rel ief from our needing to do a ll of the l i t t le items which others couldeas i ly do themselves.Two of our couples have also moved ahead in thei r commitment to Christ,and one of the men Colin Seymour, is now being considered for aleadership position in the work nost probably that of deacon .

But the t rans i t ion has equal ly moved in another di rec t iontha t of amore ne ga t i ve tone .

This is character ized by two couples who are now contemplating divorce,since an adulterous relat ionship exists between them. There is l imitedhope in our counsell ing effor ts but they do need your prayers.

We a l s o f aced two dea ths in o u r ab sen ce . One was an e l d e r l y man who,along with h is wife, were jo in in g w ith us in worship and minist ry,especial ly among our large number of very young Christ ians.The o t h e r death was th e th ree m on th o ld i n f a n t son o f Dave and Denise

Wolfe. She had just made her commitment to Christ a few weeks previously.They are one of the two couples in the adulterous relationship. nd one of our members Arthur Rutter, was a ls o pulled in by the powerof sin, and through an adulterous relationship has now le f t the church andthe reEvery church will face the ups and downs of everyday l i fe . Some wil llearn to bend with the movement of God while others w i l l b re ak under thepressure of a s inful world. We ask for your prayerful support so that wecan stand up under the the s trains of change, hear the voice of God andmove forward under the Lordship of Christ . N


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Cpisitlc ro Cnglanb A report from ministr tes challenging apos t- C hr is tian nation with th e claims of Christ.

:2 dd

VOL 1 3 , NO 5 APRIL 1986

THE B A D S I D EWhat n e g a t i v e i d ea s come to p e o p l e s min d s w hen you m e n t i o n t h e

c h u r c h ? I n v a ri ou s c o nv e rs a ti on s an d i n t h e media, you w i l l h e a r s u c ht h i n g s a s : o u t - o f - d a t e c o l d s c a r y r e m o v e d u p p e r o r m i d d l e c l a s sh y p o c r i t i c a l a c r u t c h f o r t h e weak, f o r t h e r e l i g i o u s - t y p e f o r m a l , f o rwomen an d c h i l d r e n e n c o u ra g e s a d i s l i k e o r h a t r e d o f t h o s e w i t h d i f f e re n t b e l i e f s b o r i n g a l w a y s h a v i n g its h a n d s o u t f o r c o t r i b u t i o n s f o rb e t t e r b u i l d i n g s and s o o n . Where h a v e t h e s e i d e a s come from and wh ya r e t h e y b e l i e v e d ? W e l l , u n f o r t u n a t e l y i t s b e c a u s e many c o n g r e g a t i o n so r t h e i r p l a c e s o f w o r s h i p r e i n f o r c e s u c h s t e r e o t y p e s . L e t s e x a m i n et h e s e n e g a t i v e i d e a s u n d e r f o u r c a te g o r i e s : b u i l d in g s s e r v i c e s t h ea t t i t u d e s o f c o nt en te d n o n -b e li ev e r s and r e l i g i o u s s e c t a r i a n i s m .

BUILDINGSA l o t o f c h u r c h b u i l d i n g s r e i n f o r c e n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s .Many o f them a r e b i g d a r k and c o l d and r e m i n d a c a s u a l v i s i t o r o fc e n t u r i e s go n e b y . We ve know n q u i t e a few p e o p l e who w e r e a f r a i d toe n t e r a church b u i l d i n g because of those f e e l i n g s . They paced back an df o r t h o r c i r c l e d th e b u i l d i n g u n t i l t h e y worked up th e c o u ra g e to e n t e ror l e f t and t r i e d again with a f r ie nd. )

SERVICESImagine a person who, due t o c u r i o s i t y o r need, overcom esh is f e a r f u l f e e l i n g s and g o e s i n t o a c h u r c h b u i l d i n g . He t h e n f i n d st h a t i n s i d e i t s t o t a l l y s i l e n t e x c e p t f o r s l o w , m o u r n f u l music. Then ama n i n r o b e s an d a w h i t e c o l l a r g e t s u p . He an d t h e c o n g r e g a t i o nexchange o b v i o u s l y r e h e a r s e d p h r a s e s from a book o r p a mp h le t. Somewherei n t h e s e r v i c e h e g i v e s an a d d r e s s on som e p a r t o f t h e B i b l e u s i n g anu n f a m i l i a r v o c a b u l a r y . Ho w o f t e n d o e s t h e a ve ra ge p er so n h e a r s u c hwords as Holy Ghost, redemption an d a s c e n s i o n ? ) I n t e r s p e r s e d throughoutj o y l e s s songs are sung to th e same k i n d o f mournful music h e a rd b e f o r e ,and a g a i n , many o f t h e w or ds a r e a r c h a i c o r a r e unk now n and s o m e a n i n gl e s s to t h e v i s i t o r . T h e n t h e r e i s th e t i n k l i n g o f b e l l s and t h i sd r e s s e d - u p f e l l o w s w i n g s ar ound s o m e t h i n g s m e l l y . Then i n s m a l l g r o u p sp e o p l e f i l e up t o t h e f r o n t t o d r i n k and e a t s o m e t h i n g . No s m a l lc h i l d r e n a r e i n t h e s e r v i c e . The c o n g r e g a t i o n i s m a i n l y made up o fw e l l - d r e s s e d m i ddl e c l a s s o l d e r f o l k and some middle-aged women. Thev i s i t o r i s g ra te fu l f o r t h e e n d and v o w s n o t to r e t u r n s u r e t h a t h i sn e e d s c a n b e b e t t e r m et e l s e w h e r e . On h i s w a y o u t h e n o t i c e s a b o x

C o n t i n u e d o n t h e W i g s t o n p a g e i n s i d e


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P L A T T B R I D G E R E P O R T

M e l i s s a and J im DahlmanS a r a h

s t e p s o f fa ithOver t h e l a s t fe w m o n th s we h a v e

b e g u n to see s o m e o f our fo l kmaking s teps in t h e i r f a i t h an d int h e i r l i v e s . W e d l i k e to tell y o ua b o u t a f e w of t h e m a n d a s k fory o u r prayers fo r them.

J o h n P a r k i n s o n wh o w as bap t i zeda few years a g o i s no w an e igh teeny e a r o l d young m a n a n d h a s j u s tjo ined the army. He w i l l be t r a inin g as a R us s i a n i n t e r p r e t e r . Wea re hop ing t h i s w il l b e a g o o d

m a t u r i n g e x p e r i e n c e fo r h im b u t we a r e c o n c e rn e d th a t h is fa i th w i l l b es o re l y t r i e d . He h a d been o f f a n d o n in h is church a t t e n d a n c e b u t w a svery f a i t h f u l in th e w e e k s b e f o r e h e w e n t a w a y perhaps beca use o f th ec o m in g ca ree r move. P r a y not o n l y t h a t J o h n s f a i t h w i l l e n d u r e b u t w i l lgr ow s o t h a t h e w i l l b e a v alu ab le w i tn es s fo r C hr is t In th e fo rce s.

O ur t een gr oup i s w e l l a t t e n d e d dr a wing te n to f o u r t e e n each S u n d a yn i g h t . We have q u i t e a m ix of y o u n g p e o p l e m o s t of whom n e e d to make af i r m d eci s i o n about J e s u s . Annette an d L o r r a i n e a re from a broken homel i v i n g with t h e i r m o t h e r . They h a v e come to S u n d a y s ch o o l in th ep a s t a nd a re r e g u l a r s n o w . De n i s e L y n d a a nd Tracey a re all r e l a t e d tochurch members an d have been comi ng to c h u rc h and Sunday s c h o o l v i r tua l lya l l t h e i r l ives . They know th e fac t s as it we re b u t w i l l soon be a t th ep o i n t o f m a k i n g s o m e c h o i c e s abou t t h e m . P l e a s e pray t h a t t h ese t e e n sw i l l make t h e i r s ta n d s fo r th e L o r d a s soon a s p o s s i b l e . Also pray fo rS h a r o n who was bapt ized l a s t a u tu m n and ill and C la i r e tw o g i r l s f r omth e H in dl ey ch ur ch who were b a p t i z e d l a s t J u n e an d come to th e t e e n group.T h e i r f a i t h a n d knowledge i s g r o w i n g and t h a t o f c o u r s e n e e d s t ocontinue

We ve w r i t t e n a b o u t J an et b ef or e who j u s t sh o w ed u p o n e S u n d a y l a s ty e a r an d has been c o m i n g e v e r s i n c e . S he i s n o t s u r e in w hat w ays b u tshe r e a l i z e s s h e i s s omehow moving c l o s e r to C h r i s t e s p e c i a l l y in h e ra t t i t u d es a b o u t l i f e and o the r p e o p l e . Please p r a y t h a t s h e w i l l s o o n bele d to a d e c is io n fo r J e s u s so she can keep growing c loser to th e Lord.

F i n a l l y p l e a s e pray fo r G i l l a g o o d f r i e n d o f o u rs e v e r s i n c e w ea r r i v e d . S h e has been work ing in a b a n k s i n ce she left sc hoo l s ix y e a r sago b u t no w i s cons ider ing a m a jo r m o v e b o t h in w h a t sh e d o e s an d wher eshe l i v e s . Pray t h a t th e L o r d gu i de s h e r c h o i c e s o v e r th e ne x t fewm o n t h s .

J I M MELISSA S B H


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TUN Ri GE WELLS REPORT Meeting A NeedBec au s e o f Brown i e s , Cubs

Guide s , Scou t s , dance l e s s o n shomework , l i v i n g a d i s t a n c e f romthe church bui ld ing , kara te l e ssonsand o the r community c lubs , e tc . , itj u s t was no t po s s i b l e to haveweekly ac t i v i t y fo r those ch i ld renwe have c o n t a c t wi th ove r th e ageo f e l e v e n . I n f a c t , we havef i n a l l y had to s c r ap ou r Sa tu rdayMorning C lub due to non-at tendanceBut we knew t h e re was still a verydefinite n e e d for a club for thoseover the age of e leven .

So, what could we do?We have h i t upon an idea which meets the need: the Once-a-Month Club

Guess how o f t e n it meet s? ) t i s open to ll ch i l d r en who do no t comto any of our o the r c lubs . Being only once a month, we can plan morunusual ac t i v i t i e s and make the c lub hours more f l e x i b l e , as wel l as themeetin g d ay s.

The first two c l ub s were on Sa t u rd ay s . The first was a p r og r e s s i v elunch on a beaut i fu l ly c lea r day where the kids walked miles very l i t e ra l ly ) fo r t h e i r b it s of lunch a t f iv e d i f f e r en t homes. (Desse r t in onhome, a drink in anotherand none in the correct order.) The second clubfound the group a t the church building paint ing scenery backdrops for theEas t e r program. The Apr i l Club w i l l be on a Tuesday dur ing th e Eas t eho l i d a y s and we a re going to a l o c a l beau ty s po t - - a mile o r so ou t oTunbr idge Wel l s . . . walk ing , o f cou r s e .

In th e p la nn in g works i s a t r i p to Gatwick Ai r po r t , a t o u r t h roughl oca l choco la te f ac to ry mmmmm , a t r ip on the Thames and var ious othej aun t s around town.

The k i d s a re enthusi stic and h a v e h ad f u n t t h e first tw o . B u t m osimpor t an t l y , we have mainta ined and r e - e s t ab l i shed con tac t with ovef i f t e e n ch i ld r en of ages where , t r a d i t i o n a l l y , they s t a r t to d r i f t awafrom the churchespec ia l ly i f t h e i r parents are no t Chr i s t i an and int h i s case , none are ) . We saw a need and developed a program to meet t h aneed . So, we a re t h r i l l e d God gave us an i dea t h a t answers th e ques t i ono f how we c a n s e r v e th e children o f this a r e a to o u r Lo r d s h o n o r andg lo ry .

GAI

Curt NordheilmGail Burn s


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CHAIN OF EVENTS

WEST BROMWICH REPORT LINK MI First Sunday, New Yearand we d r a w names o f c h u r c h membersand promise to pray e s p e c i a l l y fo rt h a t person f o r a month. Tim hasd r a w n uli a n d h e r turns toc o l l e g e w i t h i n a c o u p l e o f days .A n n i s , J u l i e s mother , i s t o p r a yf o r T i m .

LINK TWOAnnis s e n d s a n o t e o fencouragement to Tim towards t h ee n d o f t h e m o n t h .

LINK THREETim i s i n a p r a y e rgroup a t c o l l e g e . On r e c e i v i n gAnnis ' n o t e , he spends t h e n e x tweek i n e a r n e s t p r a y e r f o r J u l i eand h e r h usband , L os.

L I N K FOURLos m e e t s a n o l dschoolmate who i s a C h r i s t i a n . He i n v i t e s Los t o a g o s p e l s e r v i c e .

LINK FIV E Los and J u l i e a t t e n d t h e s e r v i c e and Los i s c o n v i c t e d . Hemakes it know he w a n t s to f o ll o w J es u s . He w a n t s t o know what it means t ob e a C h r i s t i a n . HALLELDJAHThis i s a quick look at f ive of many l in k s t h a t had a p a r t in beingused by God to bring Los to this point. Prayer has always been vital andw i l l be even more so as we s t u d y w i t h Los l e a d i n g to and a f t e r h i sbaptism We are so joyfulespecially to have another man in the churchPlease pr^ J.B.

J a n a n d P e te BowenB a r e t h a n d David

Icpistle frmit tnglanbzo o E Js 9fs0n. Wast/ngion IL 5I57IJi m S M e l is s a D u n i m a n4 Ruskin C f es cen rAoram. WiganLanes. WNZ 5P X

D'Ck S Yvonne Suir M a r e o e l iAmington. TamwnnS talls B7T 4NA

P a l e i Ja n Bowen4 t H a r e O e nAmington. Tamwo/iiiS t al l s B r T 4 NA

Dan a Amy Yarnel l101 P e d s l o n g CloseC h u f ch Hitl N o n nBeOOitcn. WorcsB 9 B a A F

l i i r mIlk i l l

S ue H a t t m a n46 A s h b o u t n e Boat}W'gston. Leicesle/LE B 1F E

Ji^nel Baines ^cw HincMiey Church ol ChrisTiinly Lane. Hinckley. LeiCSIE 10 I f l e

Curr j Linga NofOnielm13 S i J a m e s P a r k7ur7t}riageWoUsK on r T NI 2 L a

Gail Burns S Pila lOe2 0 Cul ' reraon P a r k S o s dTunbr'dge WellsK en t T H4 90 Y

AMERICAN CORRESPONDENTSMr i Mr s 0 C Notanielm2 00 E J elf er s o nWasnmgton. IL 615US A

M i s s i o n S e r v i c e sR p s o u r c e Dept.P 0 Box 2 4 2 7K n o x v l l l e TN 37901

BULK RATEU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO 61

WASHINGTON. IL 6

ADDHESS COHHECmON REQUESTED


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WIGSTON REPORT(CON T. RO RONT P GE

THE BAD S IDE

marked C o n t r ib u t io ns re ce iv ed h erfo r a new s t e ep l e and th e da t e oth e nex t rummage s a l e whose p roceeds go toward the same t h i ng(Most denominat ions w ould h av e somchurches who s e services resemblt h i s example.)AT T I T UD E S OF CONTENTED NON

BELE I VERS - - N o n - b e l i e v e r s w ho arc o n t e n t w i th their existence ofteth ink t ha t the church i s made up othose who a re weak, hypoc r i t i c ao r th e r e l i g i o u s t ype . They se

t hemse lve s as mora l peop le who can cope wi t h life and who would nopurposely hur t others . They have met some Chris t ians who f ree ly goss inever seem to laugh, often c r i t i c i z e denominations d i f fe ren t from the onthey belong to and who chea t or l i e . They rea l i ze tha t some nice , normpeople do go to church and they are known as the re l ig ious - type . Thealso know tha t churches a t t r a c t people with persona l i ty problems, as thea re of t en qu i t e voca l about th e f a c t th a t they a t t end . Sometimes t hesn i ce contented non-be l ievers wi l l teach in Sunday School or lead organz a t i on s such as Cubs o r Gi r l Guides . By so doing they f e e l they havthen fu l f i l l ed the i r r e li g iou s ob li gat ion s even though they rarely at tena service

RELIG IOUS SECTARIAN ISMThe violence o f Ireland is often associatewi th th e chu rch even when it s been obv ious ly more po l i t i c a l in na t u rMany people have e i the r been di rec t ly affected by t ha t fea r and violenco r have had r e l a t i ve s who were , or are be ing upse t by it The medr egu la r ly br ings us updates of the problems and v io len ce in I re land ano fte n fe atu re the vocal churchman Ian Pa i s l ey . These so -ca l l ed Chr i s t i aactions an d attitudes create a real barrier to e v e n casual conversatioabout th e fa i th . They also preven t some people from consider ing ser iousGod s lov e th ro ug h Je su s as t h a t seems th e oppos i t e o f what they havexper ienced o r heard in connect ion with the church.

I m so r ry t ha t so many n eg at iv e h ur dle s ex i s t and must be leaped fothe gospel to even get a hea ringbut th ey do exis t . nd unfor tunat leywe have s e en th e c r i t i c i sm s a re o f t e n j u s t o r con t a i n a t l e a s t somt ruth. So, why should anyone at tend a church service? Read next monthEp i s t l e to f ind ou t Meantime, please keep praying fo r the minis t ry teamhere who r egu la r ly confron t these kinds of problems.

SUE HARTM

Bob and S u e Har tmanKarl and Christopher


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R E D D I T C H R E P O R T

Dan and Amy YarnellD a v i d

W Y AHEAD?

Recen t ly our cong rega t i on inRedd i t c h has f a c ed some v e r ydifficult s t r u g g l e s a n d p rob l emsAs i d e f r om t h e v e r y commondifficulites f a c ed d u r in g th ewin te r months o f w h i c h i l l n e s s an dd e p r e s s i o n a re th e most f r e q u e n t ,w e hav e f a c e d some other issues

One o f t h e s e i s a prob lem inma r i t a l breakdowns . During th ep a s t tw o to t h r e e mon t h s tw om a r r i a g e s h a v e fa l l en apar t and a reo n th e road to d i vo r c e . Perhapsd i v o r c e i s much m o r e c o m m o n in th ec h u r c h in Am e r i c a or elsewhere inth e wo r l d bu t fo r ou r v e ry sma land few cong rega t i on s he r e e v e none such m a r i t a l breakup is a tremendous s i g n o f discouragement f o r th e

church and th e C h r i s t i a n community as a whole.Even with some good teach in g on C h r i s t i a n p r i n c i p l e s of marriage an dwith some counseling, these two r e l a t i o n s h i p s showed l i t t l e hope. This

part icular problem is only highlighted by th e f a c t t h a t i t i s by f a r th em o s t common exper ience o f those wh o l i v e on t h e C h u rch Hi l l h o u s i n gest te

Another problem which al s o affec ts the ent i re church f a m i l y i s tha t oucongregat ion s e e ms to b e f in din g o ur se lv es in a ru t a t t h e moment. t i sdifficult to a s s e s s how m uch of t h i s i s d u e to th e ha r s h w i n t e r wea t h ewhich keeps people from t ravel ing o u t , an d how much of it i s du e to a needfo r a fre sh vi si on. t hi nk th e l a t t e r i s the most necessary and the mosimpor tan t .

Therefore, though we are a t t e mpt i ng as a church community to be lead byth e H o l y Sp i r i t in our l i f e t oge t he r we need o r se e m to need a f reshp ic tu re o f th e way a h e a d - - a p a th o u t o f th e s t ruggles o f th e moment,h i g h w a y l e a d i n g from th e d e p th s o f despa i r to th e h o r i z o n o f h e av e n ,road from ruin to renewal. In other words, we need to see c l e a r l y the waahead fo r our ch urch so we can mature an d grow.

I t is to t h i s v i s i o n t h i s p i c t u r e t h a t we re que st the readers to bin prayer . O ur conf idence l i e s in th e L o r d of th e church an d th e L o r d oh i s t o r y . But we also need to see and experi ence some of the f ru i t o f th eharves t now to sus t a in us fo r th e g o a l o f shar ing th e g o s p e l and seeingth e c hurc h grow as th e Lord o f th e ha rves t des i res . P l e a s e pra y w i t h ufor the r i g h t way aheadfor growth in maturity, for growth in more beingadded, and fo r growth in our c a l l i n g as God s people.

D AN


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pi tle from Cnslanti A report from ministries ctiallenging apost Christian nation with the ciaims ofChrist

VOL 13, NO. 6 MUr 1986

IV 1 lllil POSITlVli: SIDEWhile i t is perfectly true that the church in Britain has been in decline formany years, i t is also the case tha t there are signs of rea l vi ta l i ty Last

month we focused on those factors which seem to have been responsible, at leastin part , for the decline. This month we would l ike to look at those signs ofl i fe and new hope that are also the experience of Christians in Britain.The f i r s t sign is related, in fact , to the decline. I t is the nature oforganizations to become more self-sufficient as they grow, and thereby moreinsular. Decline sometimes brings dx>ut th e opposite effect . I t certainly hasin Britain Christians from mar^ denominations are now in much closer contactwith caie another than they were, say, a generation ago. While i t is true thatthere are some very real doctrin^ differences between these denominations, thereis a willingness to emphasize the similar i t ies and work together to find thesupport and strength necessary for a ll churches to grow. The decline, coupledwith closer inter-communion, has caused many Christians to rethink their fai th,their t radi t ions, and their doctrines. In many cases, i t has brought many Christ i ans back to the Bib le i t s e l f as a sourcebook fo r church reform and renewal .

This questioning of tradition and return to the scriptures has had anothereffect on the church here. Coupled with a renewed interest in the presence andpower of the Holy Spirit, i t has been used by God to breath new l i fe into many adead congregation. Over the past ten to fifteen years, thousands of Christianshave rediscovered basic New Testament Christianity and have become excited aboutputting that into practice. Some groups, to tal ly dissatisfied with formalism,traditionalism, and l ifeless religion, have developed outside the traditionalchurches, so that the House Church Movement or, as i t prefers to be called, theRestoration Movement ) is currently a rapidly growing and vi ta l element in thel i f e o f th e church here Other Chr i s t i ans have f e l t ca l l ed to Remain with intheir congregations and be used by God to transform the traditional churches. I tis therefore no t unusual to find Anglican and Methodist believers seeking to beimmersed. Worship, in particular, has been revitalized by this development. Newchoruses are constantly being written, dance and drama are becoming acceptedforms, and worship services are increas ingly character ized by freedom and widecongregational participation. No one could walk into one of these services andconclude tha t the church i s dead. There are o ther resul ts Chris t ians are beingencouraged to read their Bibles, to give significant proportions of their income, to witness to those around them, and to take the Lordship of Christseriously. Of course there has been problems: clashes with more traditional

CONTINUED CN THE WIGSTCN PAGE


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P L A T T B R I D G E REPORT

i . i

M e l i s s a and J im DahlmanSa rah

TWO D O W NONE TO G O

O ne o f th e c h u r c h s m o s t f ithfu l w o r k e r s, and one of o u r b e s tfr ie n d s s in c e we have been h e r e ,i s a young l a d y named Gi l lCol l i e r . She s t w e n t y - t w o now.She was baptised 8 years ago,af te r at t endi ng th e Pla t t BridgeSunday School fo r s e v e r a l y ear s.Her p a r e n t s , Bi l l an d Margaret,were both A nglic an an d nei thercou ld s e e th e need f o r theiry o u n g e s t daughter s dec is ion .Both r e f u s e d t o go to th e b a p t i sm .

Over th e years . G i l l s paren t s mellowed to th e poi nt where

M a r g a r e t came to the occa s iona lw o r s h i p serv ice . She was usual lybusy, however, in h e r job as an u r s e in a h os pita l p sy ch ia tr icward. Then l a s t y e a r , Margaretw as d i a g n o s e d with b reas t cance r .She s t o p p e d wo rk in g a n d a shadowfell

She f e l t awkward, unworthy,about p r a y i n g an d coming t ochurch: s he had n e v e r paid Godmu c h a t t e n t i o n b e f o r e a n d to a skhim fo r help now would be, in a

w a y , d ishones t o r u n fa i r . J ul ike th e p r o d i g a l son, it seemShe wa s in th e r ight frame o f mto come to God: hu m ble an d fee l iundeserving o f an y favors he mig i v e . An d s o she c a me to chuand h e r prayer l i f e in tens i f i eThe whole c hu rc h p ra ye d fo r hh e a l i n g .

And in ear ly March came th e wfrom th e spec ia l i s t : as fa r asc o u l d t e l l , sh e was healed . Sgoes back fo r r e g u l a r check-ufor f ive y e a r s , bu t she i s ag o i n g back to w o r k . The shadhad pa sse d, an d we a l l p r a i s e d Gwi t h h e r and h e r f a m i l y. A couo f n i g h t s l a t e r . Gil l came oa n d a n n o u n c e d t h a t h e r mom wanto be bapt i zed .

W h e n I c a l l e d on h e r th e nday to make arrangements, BiM a r ga r e t s husband, was th er e.w a s n t p la n n in g to come to se e hw i f e bapt ized: h e d i dn t h aa n y t h i n g agains t re l ig ion ,sa id , implying tha t he ju st d idhave a n y t h i n g FOR it e i the r . BM a r g a r e t p o i n t e d out , t ha t was hsh e f e l t when Gil l wa s b a p t i z eH e l l come*, sh e a ssu r e dL i k e Gi l l an d I sa id , tw o doand one t o go .

On Palm Sunday ma rn in g ,Margare t Co l l i e r w as i m m e r s e d i nher Lord and we re jo iced . BColl ier wa s w a t c h i n g . Jus t mat ha t was h is own f i r s t s t ep .

When I a s k e d M a r g a r e t what mher f i n a l l y d e c i d e to be bapt izea f t e r a long cons idera t ion ss in? ly sa id , G od gave mel i f e , so I thought I d g i v eback t o him. Who co u l d p u tb e t t e r ? J


21/60

REDDITCH REPORTWh a t A Ch a n g e

In l as t month's Epistle, Bob Hartmanwrote of some of the negative factorswhich influence our attempt to bring theGood News o f J e s u s Ch r i s t t o th o s ecaught In the s lavery of s in One ofthe factors he mentioned was the largecold, heavy buildings in which many ofour chu rch es meet. I f you are a fa i thfu l reader of these pages (and surelyyou are ) you wi l l remember that we havebeen in the process o f r en ov ati ng ourrather large, cold and Tieavy Victorianbui ld ing . Gone I s the ext remely d ar k

Dan and myYarnell panelling on the walls nd the very darkp . Stained doors. In their place are warmsof t colors which look Invit ing. Gone

are the very ineffect ive electr ic h ea ti ng b ar s which, since they were suspendedfrom the ce i l ing burnt the top of your head while your f ee t froze. In t h e i rplace I s an e f f ec t i ve heat ing system. Gone i s the an cien t l igh t ing In i t splace i s a suspended ceil ing with modem recessed l ighting. Gone is the bare,well-worn floor which was Impossible to get clean. In i t s place is carpet whichmakes i t nuch quieter and warmer.

Have we no t i c ed a d i f f e r ence in th e re ac tio n o f nonChr l s t l ans? Withou t adoubt Two events stand out in my mind which confirm th i s fact . Our Easterserv ices were wel l attended by nonChrls t lans . In the middle of the serv ice wehad a bredc for some coffee and tea and because the building was physclally warmaid invit ing, we had trouble getting people to s i t down to continue th e s erv ic e.They wanted to move about and talk .The second e\^nt happened on th e day of writing this. I was talking to twononChristian parents who have attended a number of our services and they commented that i t was no longer a struggle to come. Since the building was warm andat t ract ive, they said, i t was much l ike s i t t ing in their living room. We had,according to them, brought the building into the twentieth century.

Since the completion of the major portion of the building, we have had fa rmore contact with unbelievers. I am no longer embarrassed by the in te r io r Wedo not have chandeliers or expensive wallpaperbut we do have a building whichdeclares in unm i st ak ^l e l anguage: 7oa are welcoaeI mention this for the simple fact tha t many in Brltlan see Christianity as are l ic with church buildings being the museums which house the relic. By makingour building more attractive, we have Increased people's awareness that Christ iani ty Is alive in th e twentieth century. Of course, I would never say that th ebuilding alone makes the church. But often the building is the nonChrlstlans'f i rs t impression of the church and Christianity. At no time have we regrettedthe work we have done. Rather we have seen i t as the quie t moving of God tobring people to a better understanding of h imse lf . CUET


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Jan and Pete BowenBareth and David

WEST ROMWi H REPORT Gpaveclo thesAs s in takes i t s to l l on our societyhere i n Br i t a i n , we are se eing an in -creasing number of l ives that are brokenwounded. We know that in JesusV // % Christ there is forgiveness and healing.This is the message that those around usneed. But how is i t to ^t to them?. wA* God has chosen that i t be e }q>ressed ^; .T S through the church, the body of Christ. /a callednot only to tell the message, but also to express it through ourI* P together. For that to happen ther J reality of the cross needs to be worked^ out in the church amids t the s t ruggles of l i fe . At the cross we find love,forgiveness and acceptance from God. AsJan and Pete Bowen God has dealt with us, so we are calledRaroth anH Hav/iH i th each Other, so that we setDdieui diiu udviu Qjjg another free to grow and mature.Jesus raised Lazaru s f rom the dead, but he told the disciples to take off thegraveclothes. When we bel ieve in Jesus, we are raised from the dead but we ares t i l l in graveclothes. We are s t i l l weak, wounded, s in torn, unlovely people.The church is God's place for us to be se t t ing one another free from our graveclothes. One w^ in which we do this is when we share God s love, acceptance andfo rg ivness wi th each other . To f a i l to do th i s i s to keep our se lves and oneanother bound up in the clothes of death.As we think of the church in Bri t ish socie ty , we see in lo ts of vays i t hasfa i led to have an impact . I f we claim to have new l i f e , but still have the^pearance of death, i t is hardly surpris ing that few take any notice. Britainis tired of empty religion, but i t does have a hunger for reality. People aroundus do not need to see perfection, but they do need to see new l i fe emergingsomething of the love, forgiveness and acceptance of God 'f le shed out ' amongst usso that they can believe that God loves them and can do something for them intheir need and pain.Why am I saying this? Because this i s where we are at as a church r ight nowand i t is hard However, we rejoice because God is at work with us to create theright environment for wowthan environment where his love, acceptance andforgiveness a re known and shared. PETE

Epistle from Snglanb20 0 Je eon. iVssftingWn. IL fitSTi

DicK a Wonna Sui t41 Ha / oM IAmngion, Tamwonnsum. BT 7 M

Oan i Amy Y ar ne lit o t R t ds i on t Clos eChurch HiWNonhPeMilcfi . Wo r n .B9 8 9A F

9o 6 i Sue Harrmen46 AsfJboufne AoMfWigsiofi. Ltiet t lerL B IF C

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Call Burn t i Un a MM20 Cu tuVon P a rk RoMiTunbnage WellsKenl TN4 MV

AMERICAN CORRESPONDENTSMr, S Mrs. 9. C. Nordnieim2 00 E Jef ferscnWasf)/ng/on. /L S1S71US A

Mission ServicesResource DeptP 0 Box 2427KnoKville 37901

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED


23/60

WIGSTON REPORTr CONTINUED FUOM JRONT PAGEk Christians, accusations of sheepP t^/yi stealing, and the development ofjt*; WM . A ' some groups which are extremelyw authoritarian and sectar ian. By^ l^rge, however, this renewal

jJM amongst British Churches has been aposi tive exper ience , God's savinggrace exercized In the midst of asp i r i t u a l deser t and a s ign of1 1 ^ real hope for the future. To thisHfij point, the greatest effect of this

^ development has been the churchIL' uaTii Itself. But In the last few years.Bob and Sue Hartman particularly with Billy Graham'sKarl and Christopher Mission England and Luis Palau sMission London, i t has spil led over

into a renewed interest in evangelisnv Churches are asking, How do we grow? ,How do we mature our members? , How do we equip them for ministry? Mdce nomistake. The church in Bri ta in has been through some hard tim es. But i t isf a r f rom dead. The Lord has s een to th a t Blessed be t i ie name o f the Lord

BOB H BTM N

A MUSICAL L iFTEaster came early this year and althougih the weather wasn't much to celebrate, the services were. Our Wednesday Growth Group provided the specialmusic for the day. The group worked hard preparing this music which was a verywelcome addition to our worship. In fact , i t looks as i f th is Growth Group isgoing to develop into our choir cum worship leading group. All of those whocome along have a musical interest . Four play the guitar, one plays the fluteand the rest have nice voices. Indeed, Fred Jennings and his daug jite r Son jawere involved with a music group in their previous congregation. What we planto do i s spend par t of each Wednesday in prayer and Bible study and par tlearning new worship songs which we wil l f i r s t sing and then teach to thecongregation. The Wednesday group took a long time ^ t t ing off the ground.There was a time when we even t hou^ t o f c an ce ll in g i t But God has taken i tand used i t to provide something new for our congregation, and at the same timetaught me that groups take time to develop and need the f lexibil i ty to findt h e i r purpose.

Spewing of groups, there is one more to report on. Following a successfulse r i e s of t a lks on I Corinthians Harold Merr i t t le ctu re r a t SpringdaleCollege, wil l be doing a second series onyou guessed i tII Corinthians. Theexciting thing is that this group will meet in the home of Dawn and Wally Kind(a new group venue) BOB


24/60

T A M W O R T H R E P O R T

O n To W i g s t o nThis Is being w r it te n i n e a r lPH April on the eve of our departurfrom America, where we have enjoye| ^ family and church reunions and

warm-weather furlough.' r I least a couple o1f\ ^|k r y y weeks before we were due to leav, i .jpflL that Yvonne and I both noted l \ ^ f strong feeling of homesicknesJ 1M S VifeA for England. At flight time fromDick and Yvonne Stitt Phoenix, however, bolstered bp r a y e r f rom m i n i s t e r S t e vRichardson and the entire s t a f f of our F i r s t Christian Church, i t was ver

d i f f i c u l t to say goodbye to paren ts , chi ld ren and grandchildren, plus mul o v e d f e l l o w hristiansWe do not plan to r e t u r n fo r a t l e a s t two years; we also Informe

family and f r iends t h a t i f I t i s God's w i l l , we are prepared to spend thr e s t of our working l i v e s in England . . . one day a t a t ime

We are e x c i t e d about two f u t u r e d i r e c t i o n s : th e prospe ct o f workinwith Bob and Sue Hartman at Wigston and then standing in for them witt h e i r v i t a l i t y - f u l l congregation whils t the Hartman's are on furlougr e p o r t i n g to t h e i r sponsor ing congregat ions .When they return on August 1 s t , we w i l l happily begin what we hope iGod's plan for a long association with the lovely people of the Wall EnChurch of Christ , Kirkby-ln-Furness. We pray as well t h a t he w i l l providspace so that our home near the Lake D i s t r i c t can be a regular R center f o r o t h e r m i n i s te r s a n d families

We had been announced a t our home church as having come f o r R RYvonne c o r r e c t l y d e f i n e d t h a t t e r m a t t h e end o f o u r v i s i t a s Run anRun . We were busy; we were quite t i re d at departure time. But we weru p l i f t e d f a r beyond our expectat ions by the love and i n t e r e s t and a c t i vconcern of a l a r g e congregat ion. Our forwarding agents , David and GenevStone, were t i r e l e s s in thei r giving (as I suspect a l l forwarding agenttend to b e .

But we came away w i t h a new a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r our C h r i s t i a n b r o t h e r s ans i s t e r s i n England i n a way we simply h a d n t n o t i c e d b e f o r e . Some American Christ ians seem committed to a sociable gospel , t h a t i s , church it h e s o c i a l l y a c c e p t a b l e t h i n g t o do.

I n the U.K. , C h r i s t i a n i t y i s c l e a r l y n o t the th ing to do, so those whbear the name of C h r i s t i a n and witness to t h e i r f a i t h may very wel l havedeeper committment to C h r i s t than some o f t h e i r American b r e t h r e nSomething t o ponder DICK TVMN


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Cpistlt from Cnglanb A report from ministries challenging ap o st -C h ri st ia n n a ti on w i th th e c la im s o f Christ.

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13 NO. 7 JOfS 1986AChange of FashionMany of the s tereotypes which are u s u a l l y conjured up in the minds otravellers to Britain are now being replaced. This is especially so in regarto fashion. In th e past men s, women s, and children s clothing styles weusually associated with the weatherdrab, grey and cold. Tod^, however, thclimate, at least in th e fashion world, is bright and colorful.Much of the influence of this change can be seen by the incorporation of neideas, especially by th e w ^ of TV advertisements and fashion trends of Europand America. But equally influential has been th e th e very diverse nationalit ies which have come to make their home in England. For exacple, the Indiawomen have retain ed thei r colorful wrap-around dr esses and the men thei r tu rbans, w hile s ee in g the ir children in s ch oo l u ni fo rms or contemporary fashios t y l e s . Each world is being influenced by the o the r.Women s fash io n s are now very b r i g h t an d c o l o r f u l . Many items whicAmericans wore in the past few years would have been loud and bright and woucause one to stand out in the crowd. But the shops and th e women who shothere ar e adorned with these new colorful changes. Most young women can bs ee n w ea ri ng dresses or s kirts as oppossed to trousers or jeans (though thitren d is changing . These young mothers and wives even wear t he ir s ki rt s whilcleaning th e house. When trousers ar e worn, they are often rolled up above thankles ai d worn with bright colored high heels or ankle boots.Men s fashions, though s t i l l by and large conservative, are also experiencing some rad ical changes. Color c oor dina tion ha s not alw ays been a l a r gmotivation factor for men to look well- dr essed. Often tweed t ro us er s, p rin te

shi r ts and a striped t ie would be seen to g eth er which would make one takesecond l ook. But curren t a p p a r e l seem s to be matched w i t h some s e n s e oc oo rd in at io n o f co lo rs and designs.Teens, of course, are on th e forefront of th e fashion scene. Trendy ith e appearance and desire of a ll young people, which seems to be generallanything which is bold, bright, and loose fitting. Earrings ar e also commoamong both men and womenusually more than on e se t at a time.Even the young children ar e more fashion conscious aid know how they want tdress. Therefore, children s clothing is also fashionable and very much ikeeping wi t h p re se nt tr en ds .One would not do j u s t i c e to th e fa sh io n scene w i t h o u t a mention o f the w orlof punk rockers. Of course their fashion involves much more than clothingHair colors and styles, makeup ai d jewelry ar e a ll important to th e image beinportr^ed. The h^r style typically has various colors and spikes, and thgirls can spend up to two hours each day putting on a large amount of makeuwhich r a d i c a l l y al ters the i r appearance. AMY YABHEISOME OF US W O WOR HERE IN ENGLAND WILL BE AT THE COMBINED NACC/NMC IN JULAND THEY WOUID LOVE TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO MEET YOU WE WILL BE AT BOOTH NUMBE8A5/847. PLEASE COME AROUND AND SAY HELLO


26/60

PLATT BRI D G E R E P O R T

M e l i s s a a n d J im D a h l m a nS a r a h

H o w D o W e S a y ThisW h en M e l is s a a n d l a n d e d i nEngland in Febr uar y 1982, we

k n e w this w o u l d n o t b e o u rp e r m a n e n t home. al way sp la n n e d to spend betw een f i v eand t e n y e a r s w o r k in g o u rs e l v e s o u t o f a j o b . Wea g r e e d w i t h t h e c h u r c h l e a d e r sto e v a l u a t e a f t e r f o u r y e a r s ,to d e te r m in e w h e th e r to s t a ya f t e r a n o t h e r y e a r . T h a t e v a lu a t i o n h a s c o m e , an d b a s e d o ns e v e r a l f a c t o r s , M e l i s s a an d w i l l be l e a v i n g P l a t t Br idge byJ u n e 1 , 1 9 8 7 .The church here has respondeda s a l l g o o d f r i e n d s do whent h e y know a s e p a r a t i o n i s co mi n g . They say they u n d e r s t a n d ,and i n a sense they do, butt h e i r eyes t e l l a n o t h e r s t o r y .And e a c h t i m e s o m e o n e tells u sho w s o r r y t h e y a r e to s e e u sg o , we a s k o u r s e l v e s a g a i n : a r ewe d o i n g th e r i g h t t h i n g ? Eacht i m e , t h e a n s w e r s e e m s t o b ey e s , b u t w it h c o s t s .

We d e c i d e d t o make t h e d e c i sio n and announcement e a r l y soth e chur ch l e a d e r s could beginl o o k i n g f o r a n o t h e r m i n i s t e r .

J u s t as I m p o r t a n t , we wan t ed toa v o i d a s much c o n f u s i o n a sp o s s i b l e a n d t o h a v e t i m e t oh e l p th e c hurc h a d j u s t and growth r o u g h th e t r a n s i t i o n . F o rv a r i o u s r e a s o n s , t h e c u r r e n tB r i t i s h s i t u a t i o n s e e m s t o n e e dl o n g e r a d v a n c e n o t i c e t h a n f o rAm eri can m i n i s t r i e s .

We h a v e t h r e e m a i n r e a s o n sf o r moving on. F i r s t l y , o u r sh as been a g r o u n d b r e a k i n g ministry a n d w h i l e we h a v e n o ta c c o m p l i s h e d e v e r y t h i n g wehoped we m i g h t , we t h i n k weh a v e h e l p e d s e t t h e c h u r c h o ni t s way. y th e same t o k e n , wea r e n o t s u r e t h a t o u r p a r t i c ul a r g i f t s a r e t h e o n e s n e e d e db y t h e c h u r c h f o r t h e f u t u r e .P l e a s e p r a y f o r t h e c h u r c h a sit s t r u g g l e s to push i n t o t h i sn ew p h a s e .

T h e s e c o n d r e a s o n a l s o h a s t odo with g i f t s . Var ious s i g np o s t s and a s s o r t e d e n c o u r a g em e n t s f r o m o t h e r C h r i s t i a n ss eem t o c o n f i r m a g r o w i n g s e n s eo f n e e d i n g t o b e i n v o l v e d i na n o t h e r k i n d o f m i s s i o n * . Wedo n o t y e t know w h a t it w i l li n v o l v e , s o t h e r e a r e n o d et a i l s t o g i v e . We do a s k f o ry o u r p r a y e r s f o r G o d s l e a d i n g .

F i n a l l y , t h e r e i s a p e r s o n a lneed to be c l o s e r to f a m i l yb e c a u s e o f t h e i r h e a l t h . T h i si s e s p e c i a l l y f o r S a r a h s s a k e .We know y ou w i l l u n d e r s t a n dt h i s d e c i s i o n and a p p r e c i a t et h e fact t h a t w e will stilln e e d t o be s u p p o r t e d i n a l l t h eu s u a l w a y s u n t i l we l e a v e n e x ty e a r . Thank you f o r a l l y o u rh e l p and encouragem ent g i v e no v e r t h e y e a r s , and w i l l g i v ei n t o t h i s l a s t y e a r o f m i n i s t r ya t P l a t t B r i d g e . JIM


27/60

RED D I TCH R E P O R T

Dan and Amy Yarnell

ft\v vVThe l i ve s of many people in our

church and in ou r community ca n bedescr ibed in o n e w o r d : brokenFrom th e d e m i s e of a d iv o r c e to th eloneliness of l iving alone andra i s ing chi ldren th e e f fec t s o fs in an d a l o s t wo rld s urr ou nd ush e r e

The c h u r c h o f c o u rs e is n o texempt from th e dest ruct ive n a t u r eof sin s power. e ar e counselinga l a r g e number of people a t themoment who are broken by t he i rchoices and their past experiences.

B ut a l l i s n o t gloom anddespair. For the gospel message is concerned with hope and healing. Andnuch of this can be experienced here aid row.Two young families have been hurt by sin. They both had ini t ia l lydecided to give up their marriages and throw in the towel. Each one hadbeen so bruised and destroyed by their past that there was little hope ofgoing ahead. But now thanks to the healing power of the gospel of JesusChrist those young lives are beginning the process towards healing oftheir lives and their relationships. They need however the prayersupport of brothers and sisters in Christ in order to make i t . Will youp r a y fo r Les a id C a r o l an d Dave an d Denise.Some however have already moved past the s t^e where the relationshipcan be helped. This is especially true of another member. Sue. Her hurtsare very deep and go beyond the breakup of her marriage and her presentcircumstances. Her past like a ll of ours colors the w ^ she responds toth e hope of the gospel and the healing of brokenness. She also needs yourprayer s uppor t f o r herse l f an d h e r t hr ee c hi ld re n.

P er fe ct h ea li ng will never be found this side of glory. But we areconvinced t h a t the good news o f J es us C h r i s t i s about reconciliationnotonly between ourselves and God but also the broken relationships we livein each day; including our own self-esteem.Our desires point us beyond this world to th e d^ when fullness andmaturity will become a reality: the day when God will wipe away everytear from our eyes. The day of hope will be the d^ of victory fo r thesestruggling sain ts as well as every m e of us.

DA N


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WEST BROMWICH REPORT A New oor OpensIn the a r t i c l e Moving Ahead

(Feb. 1986), I mentioned t ha t wewere moving towards another approach to a local community centerto rent the building for meetings.The vision for using this buildinggoes back severa l years . t hasnow become a real i ty .

Wi t h reflections on how P a u ll e f t the synagogue in Ephesus to

, j i A i-i share God s word using the lectureJan and Pete Bowen Tyrannus Acts 19), w leftBareth and David St. Stephen s church hall to beginmeetings on Thursdsy evenings at th e center. On Sundays we now have housemeetings in both the morning and evening. These are mainly geared forbelievers and are for worship, teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread andprayers . Thursdays are aimed more for outreach.A children's hourthe sT (for Jesus) Teambegins the evening. Inthe f i rs t four weeks at the center we have seen our regular l i t t le groupof eight or nine children grow to seventeen. During those same weeks ouradult meetings, held l a te r in the evening, has seen five non-Christiansattending. Only one of these had ever attended any of our meetings beforea t St. Stephen's .

We be l i eve t h a t t h i s t r i ck l e i s th e first f r u i t s o f a f lood t h a t Godwants to draw in as t ime goes on. Meanwhile God is preparing the churchfor the growth that wil l come. Please continue in prayer for us. roiE

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BULK RAUS POST

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WASHINGTON

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29/60

W I G S T O N REPORT

B o b and Sue Har tmanKarl and Christopher

Don t TheyGrow Fast?

Don t t hey grow f a s t ? Foury e a r s ago we w e r e i n u n d a t e d with acrowd o f t e e n a g e b o y s . Fu l l ofadolescent energy and fully exposedt o a do le sc en t problems they formedth e co re of o u r or ig ina l t e e ngroup. Now they are in t h e i r e a r l ytwentiesyoung men with jobs g i r lf r iends re spons ib i l i t i e s Don tthey grow f a st ?

M i k e Benne t t i s one o f th e s el a d s - t u r n e d - y o u n g men. He wasbaptized in the spring of 1983 ands ho rt ly t he re af te r sensed that th e Lord was calling him into full time

ministry. At die time he was seventeen employed at a local supermarketand enrolled in their managerial training program. His parents who areno t Christians were not keen on the idea of Mike going off to study forth e ministry at S pi ng da le C ol le ge . They fe l t th at he should st i c k withhis job and finish the training program. After much prayer that is what ike did. In th e next three years a lot happened. ike completed thecourse and is now Assistant Manager of a small shop just outside Wigston.Springdale College purchased a building and for the f i r s t time ever isable to of f er i ts own ac com mo dat ion to young single students. Mikematured in his f aith and went through some up s and downs with the Lord.And the Lord s response? Apparently he j u s t kept callin g . And soe a r l i e r this year Mike decided that th e right time had come to answert ha t c a ll . He prayed talked with our church leaders vi s i t e d theSpringdale staff spent a week of his holidey living at the college andattending l e c t ur e s and decided a t the en d of i t to e n r o ll in th e fu l ltime training program. Mike s parents we re most unhappy at f i r s t . But al o t of prayer cracked that wall in l a t e April and they accepted hisd e c i s i o n

We would like you to pray fo r Mike. This is a bi g step fo r him. e isleaving a good jo b with a promising future. P r^ that he receives th ef i n a n c i a l support he needs to a tt en d c ol le ge . Pray t h a t he has theconfidence to do well in his course work. Pray that h is parents w i l l no tjust accept his decision but see his reason fo r making it . And alongwith us o f f e r a prayer of thanks to the Lord because the goa l ofproviding British ministry for British churches is now one step closer tobeing achieved.

BO B


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TAMWORTH REPORT

^ vDick a n d Yvonne S t i t t

I t i n e r a n t InsightAs we begin new m i n i s t r i e s so

I t i n e r a n t pending our August mto Kirkby-in-Furness , we are gae r i n g o p t i m i s m f o r t h e f u t u r et h e c h u r c h i n this be utifc o u n t r y .

Mos t s t r i k i n g was o u r firv i s i t f o r a f u l l day a t Wigstowhere we w i l l s e r v e during BobSue H a r t man s a b s e n c e f r o m m i d - J ut o e a r l y A u g u s t . Our g r e a t e

l i f t came from a Sunday evening teen meeting which we had forgottabout and weren t too keen on attending on that p a r t i c u l a r night Mthan a dozen young people from fourteen to twenty years old meet weeklythe Hart man s home for fel lowship and serious study of biblical teachinand how to apply them in t h e i r l i v e s today.

There was a l l th e n a tu r a l v iv a ci t y of youth combined w i t h a senserealism about the world they l ive in. And they desire a sound Christresponse to the problems of d a i l y l iving. There was nothing s u p e r f i cabout t h e i r discussion. I f these young people, and countless others l ithem, keep growing in the f a i t h and come along th rough the years inleadership posit ions, there is hope indeed. The wide range of ages inWigston congregation and mid-week growth groups is encouraging as well.

Kirkby-in-FumessCurt Nordh ie lm was the speaker f o r th e 160th a n n i v e r s a r y of the WEnd Church of Christ , which we w i l l join as ministers in August. And

the choice of speaker was: Curt had been on s tudent mission teams in te a r l y 1 9 7 0 s i n t h a t a r e a .

We at tended th e Saturday s e r v i c e b e f o r e heading t o Burnley, wherepreached fo r t h e i r Sunday s e r v i c e s on t h e i r 97th anniversary .

Kirkby, too, provides grounds fo r opt imism. The e l d e r s are readyo u t r e a c h . Two teen lads are t a k i n g i n s t r u c t i o n from one o f the e l d e r sbaptism and memebership, and a you th program i s high on t h e i r p r i o r ilist There a r e p l a n s f o r a c o f f e e - a n d - c h a t group f o r l a d i e s of tv i l l a g e as w e l l as ideas f o r exte nd in g th e f r i e n d s h i p and love of tchurch to those who are lonely . We expect to f ind our m in is tr y t h er e bdemanding and f u l f i l l i n g . (We have spent three days in Kirkby lookinga house. Few a r e a v a i l a b l e and they are e x p e n s i v e . P l e a s e pray f o ranswer to o u r hou sin g n ee ds .)We are g r a t e f u l f o r the s i z e and s t r e n g t h and v i t a l i t y of the Wigschurch and hopeful f o r Kirkby and the church i n England. DICK Y W


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ptsftle from Cnglanb A report from ministries challenging apost-Christian nation with the c la ims of Christ.

VOL 13, NO JULY 1986Bo n n e s Vacances

The great Bri t i sh pastime that which they have developed to ana r t form t ha t which goes on twelve months a year (peaking duringChris tmas, Eas te r and the summer) i s hol iday-ing . There are nogreater savorers of holidays than the Bri t ish. They are wil l ing to goanywhere and do an thingall in the cause of having a good vacation.Now it i s t rue that the average Bri ton who goes abroad seeks out thesun; therefore, sunny places l ike Spain, Portugal , I ta ly , France, Greeceand Yugoslavia (not to mention Cyprus, Malta, the Seychelles, Sri Lankaand the Canary Is lands are r i f e with Bri t i sh t our i s t s . But Bri tonsalso l ike sightseeing and souvenir col lect ing (Elgin brought part of theParthenon back with him from Greece in the 1800's) and are game fo r themore exot ic places in the world.Those who s tay in t h i s count ry wi l l still

grav i t a t e to the seas ide , or go mountaincl imbing in the Scot t ish Cairngorms, or hi re asel f -cater ing cottage somewhere in the wildsof Wales or Cornwall , or hike , o r go campingor hang-gl ide or go to a hol iday camp wherethe whole family i s inexpensively catered fo rwith r id e s , con te s ts , shows and scads of ctivities

The average Bri ton gets anywhere from th reeto s ix weeks o f vaca t ion per year . And t h a tt ime i s of ten sp l i t between a Christmas ho l iday (somewhere warm and sunny preferably), anEaster holiday (somewhere warm and sunny preferably) and a summer hol iday (somewhere warm and sunny prefe rab ly . I t i s very seldom t ha

vacat ion t ime i s spent at home s i t t ing in the back yardSo keen i s the hol iday s p i r i t tha t during a long weekend (SaturdaySunday and what i s known as Bank Holiday Monday), which occur four t imesbetween Easter and August, town s t ree ts are deserted, shops and storesare clo sed (w ith a few except ions) and neighborhoods are quie t . Why?Because just about everyone is enjoying themselves on these brief vacat ions . Sta te ly homes, zoos, amusement parks, beaches (even i f onlyhope of the sun coming out exi s t s and grandma's is descended upon.

Ah, yes, the Br i t i sh not only l i ke t h e i r t ea , they t ru ly l ik e t he iholdiays GAIL U N


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TUNBRIDGE WELLS REPORT ThatAwtul Agea lways d i f f i c u l t to ex -MfjL plain why Sunday School In Brl-^^BeEElb tain has never developed into aI p rog r am t h a t I n clu de s te en s anda d u l t s . But i t h a s n t and, most

p r o b a b l y ^ n e v e r wi l l . Thereforewe have th e in te res t ing d ilemmao f how to ke e p th e chi ldren in -^ t e r e s t e d in th e church when theyl e av i ng th e

Sunday S c h o o l abou t twe lve o rC urt Nordhei lm thirteen years old .Gail Burns Curt has been teaching thel O s and up Sunday S c h o o l c l a s sand he h a s had a pre t ty goodclassthe attendance ha s been basica l ly c o n s i s t e n t . The di s c us s i onsthey have had have been encouraging and shows t h a t the c hi l dre n arethinking. But the oldest member Gary who is thirteen, is coming lessfrequently. ou see, he s reached that age . What can we do to bridgethat gap between Sunday School and church attendance? Well, to beh o n e s t , w e r e n o t s u r e .

But try we do. Some teens will be our helpers in Little Kids Campand V a ca ti on B ib le S c h o o l . Some a re invo lvedin the O n ce -a -M o nt h C lu b, bu t t h e r e i s stn ot much t e a c hi ng/ l e a rni ng involved. Come th isautumn Instead of telling the children a l i t - |t ie s tory a t the s t a r t of our worship se rv ic eand then sending them out of the building towa it in g p a re n ts we a re g o in g to e n d e a v o r to work ou t a program where a ll the children part- i c l p a t e in the opening of our worship service.We a r e a l s o g o ing to t ry to i n v o l v e th e olderchildren in a special service where they will participate in the morningworship. e are searching for a way to help these young teens keep anin te res t in the God who loves them. Whatever i t is i t must be interesting, i n s t r u c t i v e , have r e a l q u a l i t y and be fun to attend. Whateverwe do we must meet t he i r needs, not ju st have another club to f i l l t he i rand our time. God knows what w i l l work, so we pray for tha t v isio n tostep out and offer t hes e teens that which they need to keep them walkingdown the path of discovering Christ.


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REDDITCH R E P O R T

Amy and Dan YarnellD an a n d David

A T i m e T o P r a yP r a y e r h as o f t e n b e e n d e s c r i b

a s t h e l i f e b l o o d o f t h e c h u r cY e t it s e e m s t h a t t h e c h u r c ht o d a y h as o f t e n f o r g o t t e n t h ifundamental p r i n c i p l e of the f a i t hOne o f the r e a s o n s fo r th e apparent demise of the l i f e of prayi n t o d a y s c h u r c h s e e m s t o be t htyranny of the urgent. Everythins e e m s t o be p r e s s u r i n g us t o dmore and m or e ex ce pt p ra y.

Ho w i r o n i c t h a t J e s u s w o uo f t e n spend many long p erio d s ip r a y e r e s p e c i a l l y p r i o r t o aadvancement of h is m in is tr y o r inm a j o r d e c i s i o n . Y et s o fe w C h r i stian believers today can find any time, or only a small fraction of timefor the most important expression of our l i f e in Christ .Some of our members have faced the dilemma of not being able to pray athey likeusually due to some inhibition. Others struggle with thimportance of prayer, regulating i t to the occasional, Lord, help me

We have been attempting to spend more time in prayer with peopleOften I have found myself p ray ing o ve r the phone, on th e sidewalkwhere ve r th e need f o r prayer a r ose .But the real issue of prayer is the fact that on a spiritual plane thChristian church is facing a very difficult battle with the enemy Ep6). One British C hr is ti an l ea de r has suggested that prayer does not leau s t o t h e b ttleit is t h e b ttleIn the l i g h t of t h i s on June 2 1 s t C h r i s t i a n s a l lover B r i t a i n w i l l be g a th e rin g t o g e t h e r to pray forthis nation. This day the longest day of the yearhas t r a d i t i o n a l l y been a day f o r w i t c h e s and t h o s e inth e o c c u l t to pra y a g a i n s t th e e f f o r t s of th e c hurc h.Chri st i a ns are being c a l l e d together to f i g h t t h i sthrough the power of prayer.Many of our members will be joining in this effort to he lp re ve rs e thwork of Satan and reestablish the Kingdom of God in this country. Wiyo u j o i n wi t h us in t h i s b a t t l e f o r a r e a l r e v i v a l o n e which w i l l toucthe l i v e s of every person who l i v e s in t h i s country and one which w i lbring victory over the work of the enemy.We r e j o i c e i n what God has done an d i s doing o fte n as the d i r e cr e s u l t o f p r a y e r . Won t you j o i n w ith us to f u r t h e r th e cause of C h r i sthrough your continued prayer support. The time for prayer is NOW D


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WEST ROMWI HREPORT n^vvIN OWI am a NOW p e r s o n . When t h e r e^ is something I want, I want i t now.

^ l I not good a t wait ing p a t i e n t l yf o r t h i n g s . 1 was t h e same as a * child. I hate waitingHp . J Well, I am in a situation wherevT ^ h a v e n o choice I a m in the1^ ff process of buying a house and that*y calls for a lot of perseverance and

p a t i e n c e i n t h i s c o u n t r y . At p r e - sent I am s ta ying w ith a member ofJan and Pete Bowen q j (Îûr^h, Janet, until things goBareth and David through.1 g e t i m p a t i e n t when we a s a

church have some growing p a i n s . Iw a n t t o h u r r y and g e t t h e m o v e rw i t h and so I f e e l i m p a t i e n t w i t h t h o s e who might be c a u s i n g them.

Y e t , I know i n ray h e a r t t h a t God i s o v e r s e e i n g a l l . T h a n k f u l l y he i sp a t i e n t and work ing o u t h i s p u r p o s e . I do know t h a t when I f e e l th ef r u s t r a t i o n b u i l d i n g up, going to God with it i s the b e s t thing I can doThis i s because I can then acknowledge t h a t w h i l e I c a n t see h i s purposei n t h o s e e v e n t s , I know he h a s one and t h a t all c o n c e r n e d w i l l b e n e f ifrom t r u s t i n g him t h r o u g h it a l l . So w h e t h e r it i s buying my h o u s egrowing p a i n s i n th e church, r e l a t i o n s h i p s , o r whatever , God i s Lord oveit a l l and s e e k i n g him through it a l l w i l l b r i n g b l e s s i n g . JANET

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APDUESS COlUiECTION l iKQUESTED


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WIGSTON REPORT

Bob and Sue HartmanKari and Christopher

Gift Day JoyWe were a l l fee l ing jus t

littl b i t down. At t endancehadn t been good. Some of oukey members had been away onv a c a t i o n . And we h a d n t hadsunny day fo r e igh teen monthsGLOOM Ahead loomed ou r irstever Gift Day a Bri t i sh churcht r ad i t i on t ha t gives memberschance to make a special offeringto th e work o f th e chu r ch . Backin Janua ry , th e Diacona te haddecided that two Gift Days wouldbe he ld t h i s year and t ha t theproceeds would go to paying off the remaining debt on our building. Ifthe response was good enough, we hoped, we could burn the mortgage atour sixth anniversary service in September. In the midst of the currentlethargy, however, we feared that the responseboth in numbers andpoundswould be low and create even greater discouragement. In anyevent , we prayed and went ahead. And the resul t s? Fantas t ic Theweather was reasonable (i.e., i t was mostly overcast, but never actuallyrained), the attendance was good (forty-six in all came and enjoyed thebarbecue and games at a member's house) and the offering was great($365). Next day, the sun actually shone and both morning and eveningservices were very well attended. I preached on The Meaning of Commitment and the great bulk of the congregation was there to hear and thenrecommit themselves to Christ and his body. That weekend was just whawe and the congregation needed before leaving for six week visit to theStates. praise the Lord for his kindness, for his encouragement andespecially for his sense of timing. BOB

PRAYER REQUESTSTony has had bre

epistles from england team-1986-england

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