News from the Belgian Evangelical Mission
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February - March 2015 Bimonthly newsletter Issue 52 The Belgian Evangelical Mission Bld. Lambermont, 158, 1030 Brussels Belgium
BEM Info On the sand or on the rock? by Luc Salsac
Not long ago a USA opinion poll (*) found that 23% of Americans had not read a single book during the previous year. As for the Bible-reading habits of those who regularly attend church, 18% confessed that they never, or scarcely ever, read the Bible, 22% read it at least once a month, 14% once a week, 26% a few times a week and only 19% every day. This means that less than half of American church-going Christians read the Bible regularly during the week. If these figures reflect the same reality in Europe, it may also indicate one reason for the lack of spiritual maturity and commitment in our churches. Seeing the figures, I am reminded of two passages in the Bible: the first is in 2 Chronicles 34-35. During some repair work on the Temple in Jerusalem the book of the law was rediscovered. On reading it, King Josiah realised the gravity of the situation. This resulted in a time of repentance, a public reading of the law, a renewal of commitments, and a national turning to God which translated into real action (idols were destroyed and the celebration of the Passover was re-started…) The second event is in Nehemiah 8 and following. After the return from exile there was a public reading of the law followed by an explanation by the scribes. On hearing it, the people returned to God, which again resulted in reforms being put into action. It’s the reading of the Word heard and understood that moves us to act.
The MEB has set up the Bible Exhibition because we believe that our contemporaries need to discover (or rediscover) these writings in which God speaks and transforms lives. The Word heard and understood will always set us on the way, transform us and have an impact in our lives and that of the world. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock….But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” Matthew 7 v.24,26 In this New Year 2015 that has already started, what will be the place of the Word in our lives? If we want to see things moving forward, we need, perhaps to begin at the beginning. We need to let ourselves be moved by God’s Word so that it is this that will shape us and transform us, rather than the thinking of a world that rejects it. (*)http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/october/biblicalilliteracy-by-numbers.html?start=5
The flemish Bible exhibition
rejuvenates The barges, which currently house the Flemish Bible-Expo, are up for sale; there is no full-time coordinator in view and we’ve been wondering more and more whether this Bible-Expo is still usable in the 21st century. Does it belong to the past, only to be mentioned in the annals of the Belgian Evangelical Mission? Matthias Valenta, one of those responsible for this ministry, shakes his head vigorously to show his opinion on this question and to convince us of the contrary. Is the Bible-Expo your main occupation in the Belgian Evangelical Mission? No, I am a church-planter and pastor in Deinze where we’ve often used the Bible-Expo. But I lead the Bible-Expo work-group consisting of representatives from each region. We meet regularly. The barges are going. Does this mean that the Bible-expo will also be going? Certainly not. Unfortunately, we need to sell the barges because we don’t use them enough; the amount of use is disproportionate to the cost of their upkeep. So from now on, the Bible-Expo will be on show in public venues and in churches. To replace the barges we hope to be able to buy a van that can be used both to store and to transport the material. Your slogan is ‘up to date’. Ten years after its inauguration, is this still true of the Bible-Expo? It’s true that the Bible Expo was developed in 2005, so much of the material is now old, but we’re going to do something about it. We want to invest in new material – new display cases, new computers, new audio stations, and new panels. This means that almost all the exhibits will be replaced, except the big Gutenberg printing press. For example, the heavy old display cases will be replaced by others that will be modern, lightweight and easy to take apart. The computers will be replaced by large flat touch-screens. We hope to have everything ready for the beginning of the new season in May.
“What a fantastic initiative! Thank you for your welcome. An exhibition that’s been put together very well and is easy to follow.” (Anon)
A team of m issionaries committed to
“Thank you for a great guided tour. PS. By the way, the Bible verse from John 3:16 that we printed out has now been put up over my desk. ”
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Bijbel-Expo.be
(Anon)
Is it realistic for you to take on the management of the Bible-Expo in addition to your church-planting ministry? Organisation is one of my gifts and I enjoy it, but this doesn’t mean that we don’t need a coordinator. The executive committee is there to support that person. However, all the members of the workgroup are also occupied with their own ministries, so their time and levels of involvement are limited. We’re looking for a full-time coordinator, someone who will motivate the churches to invite the Expo and who will manage the logistics. The Bible-Expo has its own website and Facebook page. Is this because the BEM also seeks to reach the younger generation? Yes, indeed. Most of our visitors are at school or college, so they are very young members of the population. They belong to this era of touch-screen media and we don’t want to forget that. I’ve noticed that our website is consulted regularly (www.bijbel-expo. be), and that many ‘like’ our Facebook page. That’s what we want to see more of!
“Really great and very interesting. Thank you.” (A pupil of Topsport High School)
Coordinator Bijbel-Expo Every year, by means of the Bijbel-Expo, many schools and individuals from different age groups are touched by the Gospel. 17000 visitors and many conversions later, it continues to be an excellent evangelistic resource for the churches of Flanders. BEM is looking for a coordinator for the Bijbel-Expo, someone to be responsible for organising the travel arrangements and to manage the multi-media material. Our coordinator will be: – trustworthy, able to work well in a team – flexible with regard to time and place – sociable, good communication skills – passionate for evangelism – capable of facing challenges – motivating and keen to inspire churches and local Christians NB: as this ministry takes place in Flanders a Dutch-speaking candidate is preferred.
Discover the Expo in French: www.expobible.net
Support the Bijbel-Expo Please support the Flemish Bible-expo rejuvenation project by helping us buy the van to stock it in and to transport it! Send a cheque to: See contact address for UK or US on the back
Belgium o building Christ’s Church in
About a century ago, God called Ralph and Edith Norton, an American missionary couple, to proclaim the Gospel in Belgium. The Belgian Evangelical Mission was born. But what motivated them, what were their fears, what inspired them? In the issues to follow, we will turn our attention on their lives and see God at work at this time in history.
15 London, 19
Early in 1915 – Edith and Ralph Norton look for a place where they can welcome soldiers, and they open a coffee-bar close to Charing Cross station in London. The servicemen crowd in. Ralph and Edith take them through the New Testament and guide them to repentance. They teach them to pray and to share the gospel. As soon as the soldiers return to the front-line, they are replaced by another small group of Belgian soldiers on leave. Soon there are the first letters from the trenches in Belgium. They have many questions; they ask for prayer and for Bible portions. They describe their prayer meetings in the dirty muddy trenches. “If only you could join in one of our prayer meetings,” writes one of them. On March 25th 1915, the Nortons resign from the Chapman Alexander Mission, and begin raising funds to found their own organisation, which would become the Belgian Evangelical Mission.
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Belgian Evangelica l Mission e Every second month there will be an episod of the Nortons’ saga on www.b-e-m.org
Belgian Evangelical Mission - UK Enterprise number: 0410.278.623 Bld. Lambermont, 158 - 1030 Brussels
+32 (0)2/241.30.15 - information@b-e-m.org
www.b-e-m.org
PO Box 617 Epsom KT17 9JQ BEMUK@b-e-m.org
BEM, Inc. PO Box 2255 Buford, GA 30515 678-408-2361 usbem@bellsouth.com