News from the Belgian Evangelical Mission
4
August - September 2015 Bimonthly newsletter Issue 55 The Belgian Evangelical Mission Bld. Lambermont, 158, 1030 Brussels Belgium
BEM Info
You are... the light of the world! by Kurt Maeyens Summer, for some a time of rest and recuperation, for others evangelistic campaigns, camps etc. When I think of summer, I think of sun and heat. True enough, the world seems different when the sun is shining and we are enjoying its warmth. Do you remember what you are in God’s eyes? For God, we are important. He wants us to be His hands and His feet. Matt. 5 v.14 tells us clearly, “You are the light of the world.” A radical thought! He Who is the Light of the world (John 8 v.12) also calls us to be the same. But how can we reflect the divine love? I was thinking about the bicycle lamps that only light up if you pedal away enabling the dynamo to function.This requires a certain amount of strength, of power in your legs. It is the same in our lives: of ourselves we cannot shine forth the light, but if we let the power (dunamis) into our lives, the light of God will shine out. The Spirit of God is our power. Acts 1 v.8 tells us “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses.” In Matthew 5 (verse 15) we are told not to leave our lamps under bowls, not to give up. There are different ways of hiding our light:- By being ashamed of our identity as children of God. - By conforming to the world, accepting compromise,
being lazy. Remember that it is He Who gives us our daily bread. - By having a false image of Jesus and of the power of His resurrection. - By retreating from the world. We need others in order to obtain the strength that will enable us to fulfil our primary objective- to be the light of the world. We are the light of the world. God wants us to be ambassadors of His love. He wants to use us to reflect His love in this world of darkness. Does this alarm you? A friend once said to me, “God does not ask us to be the sun. He is the sun. He calls us to be like the moon that shines in the night. The moon is not the source of the light; it reflects the brightness of the sun.” May we also reflect the love and all the virtues of God. I pray that you might recharge your batteries from the Holy Spirit and walk in His light.
R
h ut
Anne Z.
Catherine Anne M.
Deb, o
rah
Summer again, hundreds of children in Wallonia have again been able to hear the message of the Gospel, and the B.E.M. has had some small hand in this. For about 15 years, our Children’s Department – better known under its official name of ‘La Courte Echelle’ (‘Boost’) – has been developing evangelistic activity programmes for 5-12 year olds. On the job, under the leadership of Anne Z., are a foursome: Catherine with her excellent writing style, Anne M., whose speciality is developing large group games, Ruth, the crafts expert, and Deborah, the youngest member, who has lots of innovative ideas. How do you create an activity programme?
I’d like to use the programmes**, what ** please note that these do I need to know?
Our team meets for one full day each month. We begin by deciding on the theme and the objectives for the new programme. Together we brainstorm ideas, and then select the best ones. Each member of the team is allotted a task on which they will work at home. At the next meeting, we evaluate, re-adapt, and keep making improvements until the programme is ready. It is then tested during the summer campaigns and any final changes are made at the beginning of autumn.
The programmes are intended for children outside the churches (camps, parks, on the street). Any Christian group that wants to reach children with the gospel through this sort of activity is invited to make use of our programmes. They are designed for a team of at least 5 – 6 people minimum. ‘Pirates’ and ‘Circus’ are on sale in Christian bookshops, but the other dossiers, and all the material, are available from Anne Zander (info@la-courte-echelle.be). You can hire the props, puppets and other accessories (available for collection) or create them yourself. We also send our programmes to France, Switzerland and Canada.
So the time required to create a programme is about 2 years. How do they work?
programmes are in French.
A scoop, perhaps?
Our ten programmes are intended for use over one week, with a minimum of three hours’ activity per day. While it is, of course, better to use the full programme, it’s also possible to do one day at a time with programmes like ‘The Jungle’ or ‘Carrot-Top’. Each programme includes songs, crafts, a drama which develops the story-line, bible stories, group games, plus some purely educational based on general knowledge. Most also contain a workbook for each child.
An entirely new programme is being prepared, on a timeless theme. It will be tested during the summer of 2016 and will be available to the public in two years’ time. La Courte Echelle seeks to give a ‘boost up’ to all those who are wishing to evangelise children by supplying tools that are age-appropriate, well thought-through and thouroughly tested. These activity programmes are designed to be used principally outside the local church (street, camps, parks…).
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For
For
BIGGER
the
little
ones
The jungle (5-8 year olds) – the little monkeys and the giraffe discover sin and salvation.
children
Inspector Duchmol (9-12 year olds) investigation of this Jesus of Nazareth.
Carrot-top (5-8 year olds) – follow our little red-headed friend in his day to day adventures.
The knights (9-12 year olds) a journey through time seeking the King of kings.
For
ESSENTIAL needs We need to find a new site where we can store our material – it needs to be spacious and dry. We would like ‘La Courte Echelle to be better known in the churches and for our material to be used more widely in the camps, in church camps and all other children’s events outside the churches. We would love to welcome a new member onto our team to bring in fresh ideas.
a
WIDER
age-range
All aboard (6-12 year olds) – Jesus, the captain of our lives.
The Circus (6-12 year olds) – the pillars of family life.
The Indians (6-12 year olds) – the God Who reveals Himself in the ‘Bark Book’.
Around the world (6-12 year olds) – we travel across the five continents to decode a very important message.
Pirates (6-12 year olds) – the life of a fierce pirate is totally changed. www.la-courte-echelle.be
A strange lab (6-12 year olds) – a crazy professor meets the Master of masters.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
that whoever believes in
(John 3 v.16) We all know this verse; we often quote it. It is the heart of our faith in Christ Jesus. Now, in Belgium, several million people have never had the opportunity either of hearing or of really understanding the Good News. The EAV (The Flemish Evangelical Alliance) - of which the BEM is a member - has initiated a great evangelistic outreach planned for March 2016. You have just read its name –‘3-16.’ Throughout the month of March, churches and Christian organisations, from the four corners of the land, will be organising campaigns and activities under the name of “3-16” and one logo will serve as its distinctive emblem. In addition, March next year will include Holy Week and Easter, so it will be very natural to be talking about the essential messsage of Easter.
During this campaign, we aim to:1. Proclaim the message of John 3 v.16 to those in Belgium who do not yet know Jesus. 2. Make the message of John 3 v.16 visible – using posters, banners, flyers, concerts, meetings… 3. Renew a passion for evangelism in Belgium 4. Encourage the Christians and build up their faith 5. Bring together Christians and Christian organisations from all sides 6. encourage Christians to discover and make use of their talents and gifts, and see new initiatives starting up We can’t wait to see the great things that God will do through this campaign!
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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. How to make these men know what was his meaning in offering them the strange little books? No knowledge of a modern language other than his own, left him helpless in face of this great opportunity. There was but one thing to do, and that was to master a few useful phrases that would give him access to these Belgian soldiers who were more and more pulling at his heartstrings. A year before, I had been led to take up the study of French. However at this juncture my knowledge of the tongue was yet rudimentary, and my husband refused to yield full confidence to my linguistic acquirements. He repaired, therefore, to Jacques, hotel porter at the hotel where they lodged, a Swiss, a Christian and a master of several languages. “Tell me”, said Mr. Norton, “how shall I say to these soldiers, ‘will you accept this Gospel please?” Painstakingly in his room Mr. Norton practiced this preliminary phrase, until he could repeat it with confidence. But he found out that all Belgian soldiers do not speak French, many speak Flemish. Therefore to his last day, before entering the hospital at the time of his last illness, he always carried French Gospels in one pocket and Flemish in the other.
Support evangelism in Belgium Please contribute financially to the different evangelistic efforts throughout Belgium. Send a check to:
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Send a check to the Belgian Evangelical Mission:
Belgian Evangelical Mission cal Mission Belgian Evangeli
see below
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