CoMission 2013 by Assemblies of God

CoMission The official mission magazine of AoG GB

Women are strategic

Stronger Together in Mission

Why women are needed to fulfil the Great Commission

It’s time to think big!

Missionary work is not just for leaders and missionaries

Venture into the unknown Ron Hibbert urges us to get out of our comfort zone

Responding to disaster

How AoG GB’s Incare relief arm helps thousands

Incredible transformation

AoG is going back to its mission roots AoG MISSIONS WORLD NEWS • WATFORD, DONCASTER & PORTISHEAD CHURCHES

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John Partington A

s I sit in my office penning these few words for CoMission Magazine, I am totally amazed by the overwhelming opportunities presented for us to engage in the matter that is closest to our Lord’s heart … mission! I was recently privileged to engage in a conversation with someone whose passion relates around the relevant topic of human trafficking, and I was amazed to hear the stories and statistics that related to this subject in our own nation. The needs are great and yet the Church, by and large, fails to rise to the challenge and so injustice increases. Unless… Next, I met with a dear friend whose work with Compassion takes him around the globe. I was stirred as I heard about the millions of starving, uneducated children for whom there is little hope. Unless... Then, I had a conversation about church planting and the opportunities that are on almost every street corner, yet buildings previously used to worship God continue to be closed down and everything seems so helpless. Unless… Unless we as the Church again take the seriousness of becoming totally mission orientated then things will only get worse and the influence of the Church in this country will continue to decline. Assemblies of

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God, under my leadership and that of my team, is once again desiring to take us back to our original purpose. This fellowship of churches and believers must again realise it really isn’t about us, but about a loving God whose desire is for his gospel to be preached at home and in the uttermost parts of our world, so that his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Mission is not the central part of our mandate – it is the start and the finish too! We no longer have a missions department, but rather we seek to become a truly missional movement! Yes, the opportunities are everywhere, but I implore you to not just ‘see’ them, but in some way, through giving, praying or participating, become a part of the solution. As each of us does whatever we can to get involved in mission, then the result will be a fellowship of churches that are beginning to grasp again the truth of us being ‘stronger together’.

Your friend John

CoMission is published by Assemblies of God in Great Britain, National Ministry Centre, Mattersey, Doncaster, DN10 5HD. Email: info@aog.org.uk. Tel: 0177 781 7663. All content is copyright and must not be reproduced without permission

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Incredible tran Assemblies of God in Great Britain is returning to its Pentecostal missional roots, writes Director of Mission Gary Rucci

he needs in our world today remain overwhelming. Here in the UK, many families are still suffering under the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis and Europe struggles under the strain of a weakened eurozone. Even though London has more than 4,000 churches, only eight per cent of the population attend church, while the national average remains less than five per cent. Globally, more than 80 per cent of the world lives on less than $10 per day while 800 million people starve each day. Despite abolition efforts, there are still 27 million slaves in the world, while 884 million people do not have access to clean drinking water. What is our response to the crisis we see in our world? Are we doing enough to advance the cause of Christ? I believe Jesus’ last command must once again become our first priority. The world is changed by the actions of sacrificial and dedicated individuals. The mandate of AoG Mission is to mobilise the local church for mission. We want to help you fulfil your God-given role in the Great Commission. Mission is not meant to be delegated to an impassioned few or a handful of dedicated missionaries. Each one of us must respond to God’s call to make disciples of all nations. So where do we start? What needs to change? We need to pray corporately and agree on a common goal. Every reformation and revival was birthed in prayer. The New

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Testament is laden with examples of God responding powerfully to the prayers of the Church. We need a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit. Acts 1:8 teaches us a simple truth – if we are Pentecostal then we will be missional. We all need to embrace our three core values to be apostolically led, relationally connected and missionally focused. We cannot embrace one without the other. They are interdependent and essential to the establishing of the other. The term apostle means ‘sent one’. If we are apostolically led we will be missional, but we will never be apostolically led without being connected in transparent and fruitful relationships. We need a new structure, one that reflects the centrality of mission. Mission is no longer on the periphery but at the core of our denomination. Structures, finances and programmes are servants to the main reason for our very existence. They facilitate the implementation of the vision. Without them we will fail to make progress and get the desired results. We have to make a fresh commitment to mobilising the majority. We need to redefine discipleship not as creating committed churchgoers but Christ-like followers who turn their world upside down regardless of vocation and education. We have to reverse the 80/20 Pareto principle in our local churches and release an army of witnesses. This will also require us to develop a national training strategy that develops a new generation

sformation! Gary Rucci

of leaders that minister effectively in a multifaith world both locally and globally. On a practical level we are focusing on four objectives this year. We are strengthening our partnerships with other mission organisations. We can greatly enhance our ability to engage in effective mission projects and strategies by forming alliances with credible organisations who have greater skills and experience than we do. For example we are not a Christian relief and development organisation but Compassion, World Vision and Tearfund are. By working with them we can improve the strategic nature of Incare, while Micah Challenge and IJM can help us respond to matters of justice. Historically we have formed strong relationships with apostolic leaders in other nations. Whether we are church planting, seeking to transform communities or developing leaders, forging partnerships with the wider body of Christ will be a key to our success. We are working closer with our missionaries. We are improving our pastoral

care and practical support for them but more importantly we are seeking to broaden their level of connectivity to our local churches thereby increasing their support network. We also want to improve their finances by implementing ideas that will create income streams that lead to being partially or fully self funded. We want to help with project development and assist in the creation of strategies by harnessing the experience and wisdom of local church leaders and other partners. Throughout this year we will be holding forums for likeminded leaders who share similar interest and enthusiasm for the same region of the world or to address the same cause. Various forums will be held to share our experience, combine our resources and intentionally develop strategies. Nobody wants more meetings, but the end result of these gatherings is more effective mission mobilisation. Forums will include Europe, Asia, Africa, reaching the Muslim world, church planting locally and globally, leadership development, poverty alleviation and minimising human trafficking. Finally, all of this will of course require finance. This is the reality. The gospel is free but it takes money to deliver it. At this time we are asking each local church to become a 365 partner and give just one pound, each day, for mission. That’s £365 per year from their annual income. Exodus 36:5 says: “The people brought more than enough for the work the Lord commanded them to do.” What has the Lord commanded us to do as a group of local churches? Mission. CoM i ss i on

Updates from AoG missionaries around the worldâ&#x20AC;Ś Italy

Vincent Borromeo, who runs Youth Alive in Italy, held the History Maker Conference at the famous Manzoni Theatre in Milan in September. More than 150 young people made a decision for Christ at the event after Aaron Partington, from Liverpool, preached the gospel. Planetshakers were in attendance to lead worship. A similar event is planned for 2013. The Yout h Conference in Milan

Spain

Gabriel and Daniela Corradini have been planting churches in the Asturias of Spain since 1994. Sent out from AoG GB, the couple planted the first evangelical church in one mining town before starting another in 2000 in Oviedo. They planted a church in Aviles in 2007 which has grown significantly. Their dream is to start more churches throughout the nation.

The Corradini family who are planting chur ches in Spain

Colombia

Former prisoner David Taylor and his wife, Dary Luz, run Colombia ChildCare Ministries. They are ministering to some of South Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neediest children and they also run a church. David served God in Costa Rica and Guatemala before moving to Colombia in 1999.

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Children saved in Colombia

Slovakia

Mark and Liz Holdcroft, along with two children, Jessica and Noah, have lived in Slovakia for six years. Mark, a policeman, and Liz, a teacher, gave up their professions to answer the call of God. They started by holding evangelistic services for teenagers and children in the city of Sal’a and now run a church there for all ages. The couple are also part of the team that is opening Slovakia’s first Pentecostal Bible college.

Mark and Liz Holdcrof t with Jessica and Noah

Craig and Cris tine Burr ows

Philippines 3 2

4 5

Kenya

Craig and Cristine Burrows continue to reach some of the world’s most deprived children in the Philippines. Many of the kids live on a rubbish dump, and Craig, who has been in the nation for almost 30 years, runs multiple organisations with the street children and young adults. They run several centres for the youngsters along with an elementary school.

Veteran missionaries Clive and Mary Beckenham have served the nation of Kenya for 23 years. They oversee family homes, day centres and medical centres for needy children. They have faithfully provided love, care, food, clothing and education to thousands of Kenyans. Also working in Kenya is former Muslim Masai Kahindi and wife Karen. Masai works with Youth With A Mission and is also the National Co-ordinator of the Alpha Course for prisons in Kenya. He leads evangelism projects and also holds pastors’ seminars.

Some of the children cared for by the Beckenhams in Kenya

For news from our 100+ other missionaries, visit www.aog.org.uk

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When it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission on a local or global level, women are strategic, writes AoG minister Nikki Rucci

t the turn of the Millennium, 189 nations agreed to work together to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. This led to the formation of the eight Millennium Development Goals. Four of these goals cannot be achieved without a strategic focus on women – universal education, gender equality, maternal health and combating HIV/ AIDS. In her book, Why Women Mean Business, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox says: “Their position as consumers, employees and leaders is being recognised as a measure of health, maturity and economic viability. Countries and companies are urgently seeking policies to enable women to fulfil their potential.” Do our mission programmes empower women to fulfil their potential in God? In terms of mission mobilisation, women are strategic. About 20 years ago, Gary and I sat in a conference in Australia listening to Dr Yonggi Cho speak about the growth of Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, which at the time numbered close to a million members. I remember him saying that he started a revolution by releasing the women in the church to areas of service. The church had 50,000 small groups, of which 45,000 were led by women! Many local churches would more than double their volunteer and leadership base if they focused on the women in the congregation. Over the years, we have seen countless women effectively mobilised for mission both locally and globally. I’m reminded of Debbie, a mother of five with a small interior design business who was released to 8

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pursue her passion to minister to inmates in the women’s prison. Her ministry led to an amazing transformation of the prison facility. I think of Fiona, a young nurse who came with us on three consecutive short-term mission trips before serving with Samaritans Purse as a nurse in Mozambique. Today, she is committed to being salt and light through her own immigration business. I can also recall Jenny, who, through her own crisis in the neo-natal unit, used the experience to establish a support group for other women. When it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission on a local or global level, women are strategic!

Th i nk m i ss ion th i nk wom e n

Building extra church muscle Matt Bird, Chairman of the Cinnamon Network, introduces the organisation that is passionate about strengthening the muscles of the local church

he story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five small loaves and two small fish leaves me asking myself and others: “What has God put in your hands to feed the hungry?” Another way of asking the same question is: “What has God put in the hands of your church to put the lonely in families, educate excluded young people, employ the unemployed, free addicts and liberate people trapped in debt? Or to bring peace in discord, house the homeless, care for the vulnerable elderly, bring wholeness to communities and to feed the hungry?” The Cinnamon Network can help your local church to step out and step up to help those people most at need in your community. There are three practical ways that we can help you: 1. Signpost you to 24 exemplary and replicable churchbased community transformation projects. 2. Give your local church, or group of churches working together, a seed grant of £2,000 to help start one of the 24 recognised community transformation projects.

3. Encourage you in your grassroots partnership with the churches in your locality in order to address more social breakdown issues and achieve greater community transformation. The government has made a substantial grant to The Cinnamon Network to make this seed grant programme possible. Government Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd MP, said: “The Cinnamon Network is an exemplary example of civil society and at the cutting edge of what the Church is doing to the help @cinnamonnetwork We are people most faith based not faith biased. Faith motivates us but our at need in our community services should communities.” be for all people regardless Currently, 2,038 churches – five per cent of the 40,000 churches in the UK – are engaged in community transformation through a replicable model. Together, those churches are positively impacting the lives of over 400,000 people every year. Our aspiration is that 10,000 churches – or 25 per cent of the churches in the UK – will be positively impacting the lives of over two million people every year. Why not join the movement today and make it 2,039 churches? More info: www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

Mission tweets

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Reaching a community and the world from

WATFORD

Watford Community Church doesn’t have a mission department, because it is a mission department, writes Pastor Tim Roberts

very few months in our vision evenings for newcomers, I get excited by sharing a profound truth that undergirds our work here. Using the classic ‘cruise ship/battle-ship’ analogy, we assert that in Watford Community Church we do not have a mission department. We don’t believe in relaxing in comfort while handing off outreach responsibilities to a committee who will reach lost people for us. We don’t believe in sending a few pounds each month to a missionary we don’t really know so we can rush back to singing ‘Shine, Jesus, Shine’ until we glow in the Spirit. If the Great Commission means anything to some Christians, it must mean everything to all Christians. We should be as compelled to reach out in witness as we are inspired to reach up in worship. Here in Watford, the butt-of-jokes market town just off the M1, we are on a journey of discovering how much God loves our nearby neighbours. God loves Watford, and has called us to work with others locally to transform our community. We play a leading role in ‘Christians Across Watford,’ a unity movement engaging 50 churches, charities, agencies and businesses who are learning to be ‘one Church’. This is not cold ecumenism; it is dynamic, relational and outward-looking. This mission inspired a 22-church Pentecost torch relay last year, a 500-hamper project to bless

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the hardest-hit homes at Christmas, and over the years we have grown to identify our part as a local church whose ministry is intrinsically connected with other kingdom-minded people. We also believe the ‘ends of the earth’ are ours to reach, and some of our best work is a long way from Watford. Our emphasis overseas is on serving in mutual partnerships with trusted apostolically-gifted friends whose work is grounded in establishing thriving local churches. We are privileged to be working with a key missional leader in Ethiopia, a church-planting educator in Sierra Leone, a church-planting couple in Slovakia and a church in Burkina Faso who are amongst the most missionminded people I ever met. In all of these cases we don’t just send money. We swap prayer requests and visit them in person every year, sometimes more than once. This is the life! Joyful friendships and a life-changing, church-planting legacy. I believe it is possible. In fact, it is imperative that every fellowship in AoG engages with this challenge, gripped afresh with the commission to ‘go’. Now!

CHURCH NOTICE BOARD

Legacy Church, Doncaster 2012 with a Legacy Church was re-birthed in ers, plant or lead 0 1,00 raise to n visio ear 20-y er 10,0 00 repurpose 100 churches and gath ple. peo caster, The church’s headquarters is in Don tions in rega cong r othe with , shire York th Sou Wales. The nearby Barnsley and Briton Ferr y, d young tage dvan disa with s work also ch chur er. cast Don near , people in Edlington n: Pastor Grayson Jones told CoMissio is it nting eme impl but “Vision is exciting, about what hard work. We’re very intentional church had ys alwa we’re doing and have and I Del, , wife My . DNA our in ting plan

have planted churches throughout our ministry. Some have worked and others haven’t. But it’s what we feel God has called us to do. We don’t just plant churches in areas where ches but there are already lots of other chur have a we are looking to places where we wants God feel we re whe relational link and us. s and in “We’re looking at fairly needy area ch whereas some cases it will be classic chur of church. in others it will be a different form we are full It’s a long vision over 20 years but pen.” hap will it that nt teme of faith and exci

Pl an t more

ch urch es Vintage Community Church, Por tish

ead

Vintage was planted by Chris and Sarah James in 2010. Since then the church has incorporated two othe r locations, one in Bristol and the other in Weston-super-Mare, with plans to start more! The church focuses on gathering s, where people come together to worship, community groups, whe re discipleship and pastoral care takes place, and missional living. The chur ch is involved in homeless outreach , toddler groups, youth and young adults programmes, a Foodbank and Street Pastors, as well as muc Proj ect h more. Pastor Chris said: “Church planting is vital for the health and grow th of Christianity in the UK today. Healthy churches must replicate in order to reach more peo ple in a relevant and fresh way. “To have a movement of churches enables us to be stronger together, to be part of building God’s kingdom but also to reach more for Jesus as we conn ect with communities across our area.”

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It’s time to think The Great Commission is not just for church leaders or traditional missionaries, but for everyone, says central area missions leader Rachel Issitt

e must become bigger thinking ‘global’ Christians! This means having a passion for the lost across the street, those in our workplace and for the 43 per cent – almost three billion people – of the world’s population who are considered unreached with the good news of Jesus Christ. I am passionate to see Christians involved in having an active concern for all nations. More than 2.9 billion people need to know Jesus, and it is going to take all hands on deck to see this accomplished. Plug into the power of the Holy Spirit and into God’s heart for the nations. Ask him today to show you how you can be more involved. If someone very ordinary, like me, from an ex-mining village in Derbyshire can be used in missions, then so can you! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, God wants to expand your influence for the kingdom. There is a big world out there which needs Jesus. Now is the time to ask God to expand our hearts so we can lovingly reach those who need him. Here are three ways to get involved:

Pray Why not get the latest copy of Operation World by Jason Mandryk which gives a comprehensive prayer guide for every nation of the world? The website, www.joshuaproject.net, highlights an unreached people group of the day to pray for and important statistics on mission. Watch the

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news on TV through new eyes, take an interest in global issues and start praying for leaders of nations.

Go I wish that every Christian could go on a short-term mission and have their worldview expanded. We need to lift our eyes to the needs of the nations and get a passion for the lost. It has never been easier to travel than it is today; the nations are waiting for you! For some, God may be calling you to invest years of your life living in another nation.

Give Reaching 2.9 billion people requires money! We must each seek God as to what we should give on top of our tithe to our local church to the global mission cause. The AoG has launched a ‘365 Partner’ scheme where you can give a pound a day for missions. There may be other causes that God burns on your heart to give to.

Edward Issitt’s top tips Leadership: Ensure you have a mission coordinator. Pick someone responsible with an excellent reputation. Location: Pray where to go and establish a good contact in that nation. Always ask the opinion of your church leader. Aims: What is the target for the trip? You and your host need to have an understanding of what is expected.

BIG Rachel and Edward Issitt

for organising a short-term mission trip Price: You must give everyone an accurate budget. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget visas, insurance, spending money and unforeseen contingencies! Recruitment: Comprehensive application forms, multiple references, CRB checks, relevant medical history and emergency contact details are all important. Training: The team must bond before the trip. Give out theological training, prayer and outline

practical issues. Mission: It is good practice for the team leader to lead a time of reflection, briefing, debriefing and devotion each day. Debriefing: Research has shown that personal devotion and purity suffers after a mission. The team needs to reflect on what the trip has meant to them and what God might be saying about their future. CoM i ss i on

Our lifeblood Mission shouldn’t just be about work overseas, but it should be the backbone of every church and Christian, writes Scotland Mission Leader Chris Greenhalgh

oG Mission is on a journey to recapture the essence of Pentecostalism: Spiritfilled transformation of people and communities. How does such transformation begin? By renewing our thinking! We should not think of mission just as ‘something that happens overseas’ but as the very lifeblood of any Christ-centred Spirit-filled church. With this in mind, our local church has launched what we call M3, or M-Cubed. This stands for ‘Making Mission Missional’, and attempts to reshape our church in three dimensions. All-of-life mission Every sphere of our lives are arenas in which to reflect the glory of God, not just the spiritual or churchy ones. It dismantles the disease of SSD (the Sacred-Secular Divide) by celebrating all spheres of life as opportunities for mission. It teaches disciples to model and practise the values of our King in the natural and social networks to which they already belong – home, family, neighbourhood, workplace and leisure. It refuses to allow church life to be regarded as more important than the rest of life, and rejects the idea that being a pastor or elder is more holy or meaningful than a plumber or a

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nurse. The most godly calling is to be what God has made us to be. All-of-life mission re-imagines what a disciple of Jesus should be like in the street, the marketplace, the office, the gym and on Facebook! Local church mission projects We are called to cross barriers into networks, communities and groups to which we do not yet belong. We have a responsibility to engage with those who are not ‘our kind of people’ or those we would not naturally associate with. Our goal here is to match our own skills, interests and passions with the needs and opportunities in our community and to bring faith into the public square. That is easier to do together. Global mission investment Every church has a global responsibility and it is incumbent on all disciples to respond to Jesus’ commission to go to the ends of the earth. Global mission, though, is not just a financial arrangement, but comprehensive investment. It is real relationship, genuine partnership, deep friendship and shared responsibility with quality people doing excellent work throughout the world.

A leap

of faith

What is your motivation as a believer, asks West Country Mission Leader Andrew David

few years ago, I had an interview for a job in Canada. It was tough and the pressure was on. One of the questions that made me stop and think was: “What motivates you?” My response was simple: “Seeing people reach their potential.” Since then, I have become the Director of World Christian Ministries, taking over from my father, Roy David. Now I find myself in a very different environment, but if you were to ask me the same question today, my answer would still be the same – to see people reach their potential. During a recent trip to the Philippines, I had the opportunity of meeting with a number of AoG missionaries there. Listening to them get excited as they explained about their projects gave me a real sense of being part of something great! I felt privileged to spend time with them, encouraging them, listening to their problems, praying with them and buying them coffee. I hope that maybe this short time together will have encouraged them further to reach their God given potential. Some of the projects they are running or working for are truly incredible. Lives are being impacted and

people are hearing that Jesus loves them and that God sent his only Son to die for them; simple but so essential. Some of these missionaries are working amongst people living on rubbish dumps, or on remote islands where there is no written language. Across the world, AoG has some incredible missionaries, but they had to start somewhere. When God called them to step out of their comfort zone and travel to the other side of the world it took huge steps of faith, leaving friends and family behind. It must have been so difficult but they are committed to being a part of the Great Commission! You may never travel to some of the countries where we have missionaries but you can still support them. All you have to do is pray for them. When you finish reading this magazine I would @WorldVision: Think like to challenge there’s no hope for the poor? you to pray for our 700,000 fewer children under missionaries. Go age 5 died in 2011 than in on, it won’t cost 2010 #Survive5 you anything!

Mission tweets

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If we want to see and experience new things, we must be prepared to change and venture into the unknown, writes AoG veteran Rob Hibbert

Out of our comfort z T he Children of Israel were poised to enter the land that God had promised and claim their inheritance. In order to do this, they had to leave their comfort zone – God’s daily provision was about to cease and they had to face organised enemies living in fortified cities. Now at this critical moment, they were confronted with yet another radical change. Moses was taken from them and Joshua took his place; it was going to be different. They had approached the borders of the Promised Land before, but the steady hand of Moses and the comforting predictability of God’s provision had not taken them into the land. Now, once again, under new leadership, destiny beckoned. It is my firm belief, that for the new leadership team of Assemblies of God Mission, we have another opportunity to press through into the fullness that God wants for us. God wants to take us to places we have never been, show us things we have never

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seen and experience that we have not experienced so far. But in order to go, to see and to experience, we have to be prepared to do things we have not done, in ways that are different, and this means taking some risks, embarking on some new adventures of faith, for, truly, ‘we have not been this way before’. Risk is not a foolish leap in the dark, it is a calculated assessment of the situation, it

Mission tweets @garyrucci: Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter #missionmatters

is obeying God’s Word and it is a stepping out in faith! As for me, I am tired of business as usual. I still want my ‘hill country’. If Caleb can do it, so can I! I have yet to see a fulfilment of all that God has promised me. That is why, at the age of 74, having spent over 40 years in missions endeavour, I have given myself, wholeheartedly, to

the vision that is AoG Mission under the leadership of Gary Rucci. I feel a renewed sense of purpose and a genuine excitement about what God is going to do. Why not join us as, together, we walk forward into ways we have not travelled before? It is very true that ‘beaten men walk beaten paths’. Despite my passionate belief in the missions vision of a local church, that is leadership driven and not congregationally driven, I also believe in the corporate destiny that AoG offers. This is a genuine partnership which does recognise that we are ‘stronger together’. However, as we look at ways to partner together, as we strategise in the face of ever-changing challenges, we must listen to the voice of the Spirit and hear the heartbeat of a God who never changes, but who is always on the move. We must work to the agenda of a missionary God, expressed through the life and words of Jesus Christ. Now is the time for common sense

APOSTOLIC PARTNERSHIP

one

Ron Hibbert

recognition of world realities. There can be no justification for worn out sending practices dating back over 100 years. Three years ago, I had the privilege of ministering to Evangelical leaders in Turkey, drawn from across the spiritual spectrum. This is one of the most needy countries in the world and the statistics offer stark proof of the ineffectiveness of working to yesterday’s revelation and a methodology which is past its ‘sell by’ date. Nearly a century ago, Roland Allan argued, as a prophetic warning: “Our missionary methods are in danger of departing in

important ways from those of the Apostle Paul. This can lead to oppressive structures that exercise power through money. They maintain a status quo with a passion and are unwilling to change.” A mark of our success must never be ‘how many have we sent?’ but ‘what are they actually doing?’ Serving the Lord is an unsatisfactory and incomplete answer and many fine people around the world are trapped in the time warp of yesterday. We must recapture the vibrancy of missions that first motivated our forefathers to blaze a trail to Africa and India in the first half of the 20th century.

Apostolically led, relationally connected and missionally focused. Quite familiar words? They describe an aspiration, a goal that we want our churches to work towards. If we genuinely aspire to these principles, it must follow that we seek out and partner overseas, with those of like minds, regardless of denominational labels. One such example, amongst many, would be the partnership we are building with the Kasr El-Dobara church in Cairo, in name Presbyterian, but in reality a New Testament church. We can see three distinct ways this kind of partnership can work. 1. If we seek in the future to send UK personnel to that region of the world, it would have to be on the basis whether they were actually needed and could effectively accomplish something that the people there could not achieve themselves. This would be assessed by both Kasr El-Dobara and ourselves. 2. As there are currently very few places in the Middle East where UK personnel could be effective, we will partner with them, to send their own people. This would involve sponsorship of such personnel, by AoG and would be devoid of the usual cultural and linguistic problems. 3. As they also carry the vision to send people to the UK, to reach people of other faiths, we will help them locate such personnel, in order to work with our churches. We will also be prepared to offer some form of status with us and help with sponsorship as required.

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R ES PO N D IN G TO D ISASTE R INCARE, the relief arm of Assemblies of God in Great Britain, continues to help thousands of people affected by worldwide disasters, reports Gary Rucci

ver the years, INCARE has raised thousands of pounds to assist people across the world who have been impacted by disaster and crisis. Significant contributions were made to the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, which was responsible for 230,000 deaths in Banda Aceh alone. Our churches gave generously to those affected by the devastating drought in East Africa and, more recently, the monstrous tsunami in Japan. Thousands of lives have been impacted by the money we have generously given in recent years. Sadly, it’s only a matter of time before another crisis will hit our television screens and move us with compassion again. As we respond to these situations in the future, we want to increase our ability to respond strategically and with greater effect. Even though we can raise large sums of money for any one of these disasters, the amount we give is relatively small compared to what is raised internationally by governments, companies, celebrities and large relief organisations. But we do have the unique opportunity to place the money we raise intentionally into the hands of local church leaders within the devastated areas who have the knowledge, connections and capacity to strategically

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deliver both kingdom and charity outcomes. Over the years, AoG GB has established many key relationships with apostolic leaders and churches around the world. When we feel we cannot identify a local church with the capacity to deliver the required outcomes, we will partner with other mission organisations with the infrastructure, ethos and integrity to do so. We are continuing to establish and increase the number of formal partnerships we have with other mission organisations. We are not a relief organisation or a development agency. Responding to every international crisis or implementing 15-year development plans for a region are not AoG GB’s core activities. However, we can partner with those who are experts in these fields. Like Jesus, we want to respond to both the physical and spiritual needs of people. During times of crisis, we must not be silent, and our faith, compassion and actions must be loud. We want to see his kingdom come to earth. Please keep your ear to the ground for our INCARE appeals. We encourage you to give generously on every occasion with the knowledge that many lives are being helped. ● For more information, visit www.aog.org.uk

AoG member Becky Murray runs humanitarian organisation One By One and speaks to CoMission about how the charity recently opened its first orphanage in Kenya When did you develop a passion for the mission field? I had a love for the poor and unlovely as a tiny girl. I’d always want the broken toys, the teddy bear stuck under the shelf that had its nose missing! I believe God put this in me to care for the poor and needy. I went on my first mission trip when I was 18. How did One By One begin? I held a feeding programme in Sierra Leone in 2006. Since then we have run similar projects in Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, India and even in the UK. We have worked with orphans, widows, prostitutes and the poor. The heart of the ministry is based on John 4, where Jesus stops for a woman at a well. He takes time to stop for one life and because of that, an entire village Becky Murray meets orphans in Kenya

is changed. That is my prayer, that as we stop for ‘the one’, towns, cities and nations can be impacted! Tell us about the time you preached in a brothel. I was invited to share about Jesus to a group of ladies in a brothel in Lagos, Nigeria. I was so nervous, but the Holy Spirit dropped a word in my heart the night before I was to speak. He said: “Tell those girls that no man can pay for their life because I have already paid the ultimate price.” To my surprise, when I arrived, not only were the women there but also the men who were waiting for me to stop talking! I initially turned my back to the men and judged them in my heart but God convicted me and I ended up speaking to everyone in the room and many responded and gave their lives to Jesus. What a privilege to take the light of the gospel to the darkest places! And what about your orphanage? King’s Children’s Home opened in December 2012. We have 63 precious children who have grown up in horrific conditions. It is now our responsibility to house them, feed them, educate them and let them experience God’s life-changing love. ● More info: www.onebyone.net

Experiencing God’s life-changing love CoM i ss i on

Astonishing adventure How a local church is responding to a modern day Macedonian Call, writes London and East Mission Leader Mark Wiltshire

n October 2010, I was sitting in the back of an old people carrier heading towards Bulgaria over the mountains in eastern Macedonia. This ancient country was the gateway of the gospel into Europe, but now has only a handful of Christian believers – the lowest population proportion in Europe. The air was fresh and crisp, and in the back of the vehicle, the local pastor and I talked about the challenges facing the Church in Macedonia. The pastor asked bluntly: “Do you want to support a couple and help plant a church in Macedonia?” I admired his tenacity and directness, but I needed a little time to think. On returning to Britain I thought about the challenge I received in the back of the car. It would only cost £150 per month to cover the rent for the couple living in Tetovo, a university town in western Macedonia. They had been living by faith for more than a year already, but it was hard going financially. Spiritually, this town of 100,000 people is barren. It is 85 per cent Muslim, has 20 mosques and virtually no believers. Here in the UK it seems that some

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pastors have taken their eyes off the needs and challenges of mission overseas. Many are working hard to maintain local relevance and others experience the pressure to demonstrate their effectiveness by driving growth one way or another in their community. But the Bible calls us to look beyond what we know and to go where we are uncomfortable. Our church’s decision to support the young couple has been the start of an astonishing adventure. We asked a number of people to commit the financial equivalent of one cup of coffee each month, which covered the rental costs. We have been regularly connected on Skype and this year sent 14 people with the crazy idea of painting a footbridge as a way of connecting with the community. There was an astonishing response. Within five days, Muslims had given their lives to Christ and many others wanted further contact. The team funded the cost of opening a place for regular fellowship and in November 2012, a newly painted and equipped location opened for the first time!

CoMission caught up with Rachel Field, who oversees the global missions team at The Hub Christian Community Church in Rotherham, South Yorkshire

I love serving God Rachel, tell us a bit about yourself. What do you do? I love serving God in whatever way possible! I get to manage an amazing centre called The Hub Christian Community, a church that runs lots of activities for its town and wants to give people as many opportunities as possible to connect with Jesus. How has the church developed links with the local community? One of my lecturers at Mattersey Hall Bible College told me: â&#x20AC;&#x153;To reach your local community, you need to have a newspaper in one hand and a Bible in the other.â&#x20AC;? I had no idea what he meant then but I am beginning to understand it now. I read the newspapers of the local community to find out what is going on. When Rotherham Hospital won an award I sent a congratulations card, when the Fire Service had a tough weekend I sent a letter encouraging them that they are doing a good job. Every Christmas I write to our MPs and councillors and thank them for the work they have done and are doing on behalf of the community. As I walk to church I talk to the council workers, people from the local estate and other charities we work with. It is such an amazing way to meet new people, to keep up links with existing connections and to be one of the faces that people connect to The Hub. People in crisis also get referred to our

church from various organisations within Rotherham for emergency food parcels. This has significantly increased our links to organisations and individuals and is a fantastic way of demonstrating the love of God. How does the church invest time and resources into global missions? I oversee our Global Missions Team which we call HubWorld. We identify, inspire and train people into mission, creating opportunities to serve and introducing them to great people on the mission field. Short-term mission is very much a part of this process. In 2012, some of our members went to Zimbabwe, Macedonia, Holland, Poland, Slovakia, Singapore and Romania! We also have people from The Hub serving long-term in Zimbabwe, the Netherlands and South Africa and another on her way to Kenya this year! We count it a privilege to play a support role to people who have been called across the world.

Mission tweets @compassionuk: Poverty is not actually just about a lack of money. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about a lack of opportunities, a lack of choices.

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SEEK JUSTICE God has called us to be the answer to injustice in this world, writes Terry Tennens, Executive Director of International Justice Mission

Raman and his family live in freedom

he Bible frequently makes reference to the need for justice and we – God’s Church – are actively called to join with him to ‘seek justice’ on behalf of those who otherwise have no advocate, by being his hands and feet. It is out of this belief that Gary Haugen set up International Justice Mission (IJM), a human rights organisation, whose aim is to protect people from violent forces of injustice by securing rescue and restoration and ensuring public justice systems work for the poor. IJM works to not only rescue victims of violent oppression, but ensure that millions are protected and are never abused in the first place. As a Christian organisation, IJM is committed to answering God’s call to seek justice. Our plan to end the abuse of the poor and vulnerable

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may seem ambitious, but we know that as we walk on the journey with God by our side, transformation can come to the lives of individuals and whole communities. Such transformation was true for Raman. Born a slave in a rice mill, he later started his own family; they too were destined for a life of slavery. But after IJM partnered with the local government to conduct a rescue operation, Raman and his family were freed. As a result of IJM’s legal advocacy, the abusive rice mill owner was convicted and imprisoned. Today, Raman is not only free, but a leader in his community,

successfully advocating with the government to improve the village’s conditions. One man’s obedient response to God’s calling achieved this transformation for Raman, as well as thousands of others we have helped. IJM now has 16 field offices and, bit by bit, we are ensuring justice prevails around the world. ● More info: www.ijmuk.org

Mission tweets @IJM_UK “In 2012 Americans spent $370 million on Halloween costumes for their PETS! This equals the national budget for Central African Rep #injustice”

Pentecostal or Persuasive? As we seek to become missional, we must not forget the power of the Holy Spirit, urges Eliana Whyte, of the International Bible Training Institute

n 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, the Apostle Paul makes one of his most missional statements. He says: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Paul, in a very indirect way, highlights the danger of producing, through our own eloquence and persuasive words, a kind of religious and well-meaning philosophy. On the contrary, he emphasises the absolute necessity to preach a gospel which in its own message and method of presentation reveals the power of God and therefore produces real faith. This is indeed the real mission of the Church today. In days where one of our major challenges is to raise a missional generation, we need to analyse our training methods and the content of our teaching. As we look at the words of Paul again, we find that a specific result is brought about by its particular source: God’s power produces real faith, and eloquent and persuasive words produce human wisdom. But is it always wrong to foster human wisdom? Is human wisdom not a gift from God? Has he not

given us a natural wisdom which is necessary to understand and cohabit with natural laws? Of course! We act in a human, limited and logical manner because we live in a habitat of natural laws. God gave us, as human beings, a wisdom that is necessary to understand and cohabit with those natural laws. The problem isn’t having human wisdom, but it becomes one when we use it to limit God and his power. Human wisdom will always look at potential circumstances, the perception of danger, what we think about ourselves and the instinct of looking to leaders. But God’s power will produce in us faith, decisiveness, authority, a right understanding of what is good, humility, trust, an expectation of good things, a desire to submit to God, a refusal to fear, prophetic declaration, internal conviction and an assurance of God’s presence. Today, you and I are called to be real – in a real world – and to share a gospel of power which is missional at its very core and produces a faith that is supernatural, not intellectual.

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BOOK REVIEW

Make the right mo Missional Moves – 15 Tectonic Shifts that Transform Churches, Communities and the World Authors: Rob Wegner and Jack Magruder Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2012 Review by Leigh Goodwin, Assistant to AoG Mission Director his book seeks to philosophically explore the major paradigm shifts required by the contemporary Church to become truly missional in a post-Christian context rather than just include the term ‘missional’ within the local church’s vision statement. However, it is not just an academic approach examining the problems of being missional church, it is intended to be a guidebook for practitioners to apply transformational principles. The book is a challenging reminder that many Christian churches and organisations are currently trying to embrace structural change, but that is not enough. The book raises five important paradigm shifts to move the Church missionally and allocates a chapter each to explain them. They are: From Save Souls To Save Wholes, From Missions To Mission, From My Tribe To Every Tribe, From Or To And, From The Centre To The Margins. The next part of the book moves from paradigms to pragmatics by examining five centralised shifts: They are: From Top Down To Bottom Up, From Diffused To Focussed, From Transactional To Transformational Partnerships, From Relief To Development and From Professionals To Full Participants. If the AoG GB is to be a truly missional movement

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again then we cannot maintain a culture of transactional partnerships that revolve around maintaining our brand name. We have to engage in transformational partnerships where the winners are the un-reached people groups, communities and individuals. AoG Mission has a core value motivating what we do and that is to see the mobilisation of every believer and not just professional long-term missionaries. This book helps us to see some missionaries metaphorically as being like ‘special forces’ operatives with highly developed skills but that every believer could be and should be involved in missional church. The final section of the book takes five decentralised shifts where the people of God are on mission. The first shift is from formal to fractal leadership. A fractal is defined as the smallest repeatable pattern of any given system. The more sophisticated a system is the harder it is to replicate, the simpler it is then it can be more readily reproduced. Jesus gave the Church a simple fractal missional structure of discipleship but we have made Church very complex. The authors use the Granger Church as a missional church exemplar built round seven metaphors to illustrate the church’s missional fractal core. My two favourite metaphors that resonated with me were: Become a highway planner building on ramps rather than dead ends. Become a gardener: cultivating grass-roots movements. The next shift was from institution to movement.

ves

Wegner and Ma g r u d e r’s book Missiona l Moves

Any church stream can easily become an institution. This book brings a timely warning that we need to wake up and become a true movement of the Spirit whose heart is mission. The third centralised shift is from mega and multi to mega, multi and micro. This chapter demonstrates the reality that reproduction, multiplication and disciple making are best outworked in a micro context. The fourth decentralised shift is a very empowering mobilising practical chapter entitled ‘From We Can Do It, You Can Help’ to ‘You Can Do It, We Can help’. The last decentralised shift is From Great Commission to Great Completion. This brought about an appropriate sense of focus and urgency in my heart as I read this chapter. The Great Commission is not intended to be an eternal open ended challenge for the Church that will always be incomplete. We will probably never understand the eschatological timeframe of the Great Commission but the reality is that it is a task that God has given to the church to do not to defer.

Mission tweets @Micah_2015: Each minute 250 babies are born. 113 are born in poverty. “How can we remain passive when millions die needlessly?” Tony Blair #speakup

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Let’s take a stand on global injustice Our response to the poor and needy shouldn’t be a sideshow, but a Christian necessity, argues Joel Edwards, of Micah Challenge

avid Bosch, in his book ‘Transforming Mission’, writes: “In our time God’s yes to the world reveals itself, to a large extent, in the Church’s missionary engagement in respect of the realities of injustice, oppression, poverty, discrimination and violence.” I love that expression ‘God’s yes to the world’. The Great Commission really is getting involved in what God himself is up to in our world in our time. I believe justice and care of the poor is the mission of God currently experiencing fuller bloom. It’s a global mission and is entirely consistent with the Bible: care of the poor is pure and faultless and in harmony with people whose good works shine before men who then glorify the Father. As always, God’s people flourish when they’re fully immersed in his plans. I think we’re getting good at it. From the Foodbank frenzy and sacrificial Street Pastors to counselling CAP clients, fighting poverty through acts of kindness is rapidly entering our DNA. Yet we’re less confident in challenging the systems that keep injustices thriving. We prefer providing practical service while hoping, praying and giving in order for specialists to do ‘politics’. All very important. But Micah Challenge wants to nudge the Church a missional step further. Taking its name from the prophet, our watchword is Micah 6:8 – to do

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justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. To do justice is to be synchronised with God’s heartbeat for the poor. It’s not a minority interest for NGOs, policy experts or even oddballs in the congregation! Doing justice means righteousness responding to wrong; the Bible is littered with examples. Sometimes we respond practically, sometimes prayer feels like all we’ve got. But I’m convinced that advocacy – speaking up on behalf of others – is a crucial missional component too often misunderstood or ignored in a Church context. If mission is God’s ‘yes’ to the world then our global outrage at injustice – now reaching unprecedented exposure – should empower us to become more deeply involved in what God is already doing. ● More info: www.micahchallenge.org and

www.useby2015.org/aog

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