News from the Belgian Evangelical Mission
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June - July 2015 Bimonthly newsletter Issue 54 The Belgian Evangelical Mission Bld. Lambermont, 158, 1030 Brussels Belgium
BEM Info Where are ‘the fathers’ today? And where are ‘the mothers’? by Luc Salsac
Surprising questions? They came to mind recently while I was preaching. Everyone knows that our world is fast losing its bearings. It seems that moral, family and professional values are being turned on their heads - or are more or less nonexistant. And what of our churches? Are we still on track? In 1 John 2 v.13a, we read this: ‘I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.’ In verses 12 to 14, John speaks of three groups of people, representing three stages in the Christian life – little children, young men and fathers. Each category is described twice - in identical terms. ‘The children’ - young in the faith, they need to be reassured that their sin has really been forgiven through the work of Jesus. This is the liberating message they need to hear again and again. ‘Young men’ – we can compare them to adolescents in the faith. They’re not yet grown up, but they’re no longer children. They’re strong, and headstrong; they think they’re invincible! John reminds them that they have overcome the evil one. Temptations and trials of all kinds may well arise, so they need to hear that victory is in Christ and it’s by abiding in God that they’ll be victorious. ‘The fathers’ - these are those who are experienced in the Christian life. They know very well that they are forgiven and that in Christ they have overcome the evil one. They are there to encourage, to motivate and to look after those who are babes or young in the faith.When John tells them – ‘You know’ this doesn’t just refer to intellectual knowledge, but rather to their putting the Word into practice. Looking through this first epistle of John, we can describe them as those who live in the light, who obey the Word, who lead Christ-like lives,
who acknowledge their sin and fight it, who do God’s will, who show their love for their brethren not just in word, but in deed, being ready to lay down their lives for them. As they walk with God, the children and the young men are called to become fathers, even if, from time to time, they have their adolescent ‘moments’. But when I look at our churches, I sometimes wonder where they are, these ‘fathers’, these ‘mothers’, who really live the Word, who support and help the ‘children’ and ‘young people’ to grow in their walk with God? It’s so much easier to criticise than to help, so much easier to criticise than to get involved. Jesus calls us to make disciples, that is, individuals who will live and behave as He did. Are we ready to take His Word seriously and to live it? Are we ready to be these ‘fathers and mothers’? I believe that if we were really living the Gospel, our lives, our churches, and our world would be very different. The vision of the Belgian Evangelical Mission is to plant churches, but what we really want to do is to bring folk to meet Christ and to grow in Him so they become ‘fathers’, or ‘mothers’. Let’s take care that we too are doing the same! Over the holiday time this summer, may God help us to think about our lives, to seek Him and none other, so that we might really become the ‘fathers and mothers’ He wants us to be.
28th June 2015
will be a historic date for the BEM mission post in Herstal, near Liege. After almost 20 years of service as the pastoral couple, Luc and Suzy Salsac are passing on the baton to the younger generation before joining the new BEM project in Hannut. Thomas is Belgian, Rosie is English. A visit to their house reveals their common passion – cooking. But apart from simple pleasures such as country walks, sharing jokes left, right and centre, cake-making, and a good cup of English tea (“a cup of Rosie Lee” as Rosie tells us), what more can we say about the Geronazzos? See below...
An anglo-belgian recipe for Herstal Thomas and Rosie, tell us a little about yourselves... Thomas: My parents were converted when I was five and I grew up in several churches of different protestant denominations. As an adolescent I believed in God, but preferred to follow my own inclinations. I was converted at 18. After my studies in catering and hotel management, I worked as a part-time volunteer at the Limauges Camp for a year. Then I crossed the threshold of the Belgian Bible Institute (B.B.I) and never left. Rosie: I was born into a Christian family but it was only at University, during a summer camp, that I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour of my life. After I finished my degree in psychology I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to pur-
sue the subject as a career, and it was then that I was asked to go and help the B.B.I. team on a short-term basis. I never left the Bible Institute either. And I still work there part-time as librarian and head of communications.
How did you meet? Rosie: It was in February 2009, on the platform at Ottignies station. Thomas was waiting for a train on his way to the B.B.I. just as he did every day. Ruth Trump*, with whom I was staying at the time, introduced us. *Stephen and Ruth Trump are currently in charge of the BEM mission post at Philippeville.
Thomas: I waited six months before telling her how I felt. Another six months later, I proposed. We were married the following year in England, on January 3rd 2011.
How did you come to join the BEM? Thomas: Several years ago, I attended a young people’s camp at Limauges where Luc Salsac was the speaker. I remember thinking then that, one day, it would be great if we could work together. Rosie: As part of his studies at the B.B.I. Thomas had to do an internship in a church and we contacted the BEM. We spent a year in Binche and then a year – which became two years – in Herstal.
Tell us about your arrival in Herstal. Rosie: Luc put us to work at once and the church welcomed us with open arms. For example, as soon as we arrived, we joined the team organising a week of children’s activities with the programmes from ‘La Courte Echelle’ (otherwise known as the BEM children’s
A team of m issionaries committed to
committee). Following this I became involved in Sunday School and the Youth Group. Thomas: I very soon found myself leading the Youth Group and joining the preaching team. As time went on, Luc delegated more and more responsibility to me.
We rejoice in these conversions, in the interest the young people show in the Word of God and for the Gospel discovery studies that we’ve begun with several of them.
This is a new chapter in your lives and you say that you didn’t get this far How do you envisage the on your own. Is there anyone in particular you’d future? like to thank? Thomas: Above all, we want to ensure a smooth transition as we take over as pastoral couple. The church has known Luc and Suzy for 19 years and, although we know they have confidence in us, we want to ensure stability and continuity before starting new initiatives.
Rosie: Our greatest joy, and our current challenge, is the Youth Group whose numbers have doubled in a very short space of time.
grateful to our brothers and sisters in Wallonia, in Flanders and in German-speaking Belgium: our unity in Christ in spite of different characters and different ministries encourages us to keep an open mind.
We’d like to thank our parents and our friends for their prayers, and all those who support us in one way or another. And a big thank you to the Belgian Bible Institute for the Bible training We want to thank the church and for their flexibility in allowing in Herstal for their welcome and Rosie to continue working there support which enabled us to set- part-time. tle in well. Thank you for your friendship, you’re a real family for Finally, we’re grateful to our God us! Then thanks to Luc and Suzy, for His grace and for the hope that especially for having confidence we have in Him, that we can go on in us when we suggested new ide- from victory to victory. as. Thanks Luc for your patience and your advice. Thanks too to the Belgian Evangelical Mission for having looked after us so well during our internship. We’re
A
sales website for our Flemish bookshops The Belgian Evangelical Mission is proud to announce the opening of a new bookshop in Flanders. And what’s more, this bookshop is open 24/7! No, we’re not overworking our bookshop staff! But our bookshop chain is opening a website for internet sales at www.hetgoedeboek.be . And, at the same time, Peter Hartman has become the new director of Het Goede Boek. For Peter, the ministry of the bookshops will remain the priority : “The website is there to assist the shops” he says. So, although from now on it’ll www.hetgoedeboek.be be possible to buy Bibles and other books online, things like gift vouchers or orders for example, will still be processed in the bookshops. “The site will operate like a bookshop, but with all the advantages of shopping from home” says Peter. The BEM is not a profit-making organisation. Peter again : “We are a mission. The website will just serve as a link with the bookshops.” The BEM encourages the public to go to their nearest shop and look at what’s on offer themselves. There are many advantages in going to the shop yourself – personal service, no postage, discounts for churches, a wider choice and a vast assortment of gift articles and cards. And Peter goes on “This new venture’s just another bookshop – but on the internet. For example it’ll be a great help to those who have difficulty in getting about.” For the BEM, the bookshops are primarily places we receive encouragement in the faith - and in this respect the internet sales site offers no competition!
Belgium o building Christ’s Church in
Every second month there will be an episode of the Nortons’ saga on
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.
www.b-e-m.org
The following is an excerpt of ‘Ralph Norton and the Gospel Mission’, the book Edith Norton dedicated to her husband. These events took place exactly a hundred years ago. It was a summer evening of 1915, July 20th to be exact when Belgium first laid its claim upon us, in the person of a little Belgian soldier, Pierre De Wallens, whom we met in the Strand. Mr. Norton had offered him a gospel. When he was asked if he understood what it meant to receive Christ, “Oh yes,” he said, “I have Him here in my heart.” Pierre begged for a parcel of Gospels to take back to his comrades in the trenches and these we gladly provided him, as well as a package of sweets to take with him on his return journey. Pierre was to survive the war and be restored to his family in Belgium afterward. Me and Mr. Norton were his sponsors at his wedding to a bright English girl, upon one of his furloughs. We had often seen these Belgian soldiers at the stations or in the street. But now as our attention became more forcibly directed toward them we were conscious of the language barrier. How to make these men know what was our meaning in offering them the strange little books?
Support LBL and HGB May we ask you to please think about investing in the ministry of the BEM bookshops in Belgium, in particular by helping to finance our internet sales websites www.lebonlivre.be and www.hetgoedeboek.be ?
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