eVision spring 2015

Spring 2015

GLO EUROPE 40 Anniversary Edition th

Gospel Literature Outreach

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

4

In the Beginning A Changing Continen

John Speirs David Goold John Hunter

Looking back

3

The French Connection (editorial)

Stephen McQuoid

6

Sam Gibson Philippe Perrilliat Mike & Alison Packer

Serving God in Ireland

A look back to Viewpark

10

11

John Stanfield

Growing GLO in Italy

8

Robert Hamilton Patrizio Zucchetto

Training for Service

David Buchan

Ray Cawston Mark Davies

40 years of short term mission

Receiving and Resourcing

Europe 40 years on

14

16

18

Nelson Logan Senga Lake

Geoff Ruston Ian Smith

This magazine is published twice yearly to report on the work of GLO in Europe and around the world and to promote mission interest. There is no subscription rate but readers are welcome to send gifts towards postage and production.

GLO is a charity registered in Scotland: SC007355 If you would like to contribute financially to the work of GLO this can be done directly using the bank details below or by contacting our Finance Director Ian Smith (ismith@glo-europe.org).

12

Stephen McQuoid

Leaving a lasting legacy M

any people have a concern about what the long term impact of their lives will be on others. As Christians this is a big issue because the Bible encourages us to live our lives in view of eternity. GLO,

BANK OF SCOTLAND, 72 BRANDON PARADE, MOTHERWELL ML1 1UW ACCOUNT NAME – GLO TRUST SCOTLAND, SORT CODE – 800915 ACCOUNT NUMBER – 00400636

2

along with many other Christian organisations, benefits greatly from legacies that people leave behind. It is a way of significantly helping the work of the kingdom by organising your giving after you have gone.

We have produced an information booklet on the use of legacies and if you would like to have one then write to: Stephen McQuoid, GLO Centre, 78 Muir Street, Motherwell ML1 1BN smcquoid@glo-europe.org

Looking Back 1

975 was a very interesting year for all kinds of reasons and one filled with momentous events. In the realm of popular culture the movement known as punk rock began with the formation of the Sex-Pistols. While their career was short lasting, other longer term news items dominated the UK tabloids. The so called ‘troubles’ were still raging in Northern Ireland; in this year it resulted, amongst other things, in the kidnapping and later release of the Dutch industrialist Dr Tiede Herrema.

Across Europe there were also significant political machinations which included a referendum in the UK over European Economic Community membership. 67% of voters supported the Labour Government’s campaign to stay in the EEC despite opposition from prominent Labour politicians such as Tony Benn and also the TUC. The relationship between the UK and Europe was not helped by the outbreak of the so called Third Cod War (November 1975 – June 1976) when Iceland declared that the ocean up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its coast fell under Icelandic authority and no one else could fish there.

Meanwhile in Spain the dictatorial rule of General Franco was brought to an end with his death after some 36 years of him presiding as head of state. Germany was also having its own troubles with the violent actions of the home grown ultra-leftist Baader-Meinhof gang. 1975 saw a tense stand-off in which the Gang stormed the German embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, holding 11 hostages, shooting two and setting the embassy

ablaze. France had some better news playing host to the very first G6 Summit held in Rambouillet. The leaders of France, West Germany, the USA, Japan, Italy and the UK came together to discuss issues such as employment, economic recovery, monetary stability and relations with the Eastern Bloc.

It was also a great year for the film industry with the release of such classics as Jaws, The Towering Inferno, The Godfather II, The Return of the Pink Panther, Tommy, and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

In the midst of all of these momentous events affecting the lives of millions of European citizens, a small organisation began its operations from its European base of Motherwell. That organisation was GLO Europe.

GLO actually began in Australia in 1965 by Colin Tilsley who came to the UK in the early 1970’s and inspired people with his vision for GLO. The first UK based GLO worker was Robert Kilpatrick who, along with his wife Eileen, opened a Christmas bookstall during the month of December in the Hamilton Missionary Fellowship building in 1973. This led to the opening of a Christian bookshop in Brown Street in Hamilton. The current GLO Centre, which had originally been an abandoned Church of Scotland building, was then leased and later purchased to be the administrative centre of GLO in Europe, with the first GLO Committee meeting occurring in late 1974. However the first full year of operations was 1975 and

by this stage literature, training and short-term teams’ ministries were all functioning. This special edition of e-vision celebrates the founding of GLO Europe in 1975 and the ministry that has taken place since.

Some of the key people in GLO’s history share memories of the events that helped to form the early life of GLO Europe. These reflections cover the various aspects of the ministry of GLO. Some are memories from the Motherwell Centre as the book ministry, coffee shop and Training Centre took shape. Others are memories of summer teams that brought the gospel to various parts of Europe. Still others are of Resident teams that came together to evangelise and church plant in places such as Marseille, Laval, Enniscorthy, Viewpark and Naples.

Over the years many people have been involved in the history of GLO Europe and a great deal of work has been done to reach people for Christ and plant and build up churches. It would be impossible to tell every story or mention everyone who has been involved. This special edition can only give a taste of what has happened over the past 40 years.

However it celebrates what God has done through GLO and points forward to what we pray God will still do in the future. As you read we hope that you will pray for us and perhaps even work with us as we try to reach Europe for Christ.

It would be impossible to tell every story or mention everyone who has been involved. This special edition can only give a taste of what has happened.

3

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

4

In the Beginning A Changing Continen

John Speirs David Goold John Hunter

Looking back

3

The French Connection (editorial)

Stephen McQuoid

6

Sam Gibson Philippe Perrilliat Mike & Alison Packer

Serving God in Ireland

A look back to Viewpark

10

11

John Stanfield

Growing GLO in Italy

8

Robert Hamilton Patrizio Zucchetto

Training for Service

David Buchan

Ray Cawston Mark Davies

40 years of short term mission

Receiving and Resourcing

Europe 40 years on

14

16

18

Nelson Logan Senga Lake

Geoff Ruston Ian Smith

This magazine is published twice yearly to report on the work of GLO in Europe and around the world and to promote mission interest. There is no subscription rate but readers are welcome to send gifts towards postage and production.

GLO is a charity registered in Scotland: SC007355 If you would like to contribute financially to the work of GLO this can be done directly using the bank details below or by contacting our Finance Director Ian Smith (ismith@glo-europe.org).

12

Stephen McQuoid

Leaving a lasting legacy M

any people have a concern about what the long term impact of their lives will be on others. As Christians this is a big issue because the Bible encourages us to live our lives in view of eternity. GLO,

BANK OF SCOTLAND, 72 BRANDON PARADE, MOTHERWELL ML1 1UW ACCOUNT NAME – GLO TRUST SCOTLAND, SORT CODE – 800915 ACCOUNT NUMBER – 00400636

2

along with many other Christian organisations, benefits greatly from legacies that people leave behind. It is a way of significantly helping the work of the kingdom by organising your giving after you have gone.

We have produced an information booklet on the use of legacies and if you would like to have one then write to: Stephen McQuoid, GLO Centre, 78 Muir Street, Motherwell ML1 1BN smcquoid@glo-europe.org

Looking Back 1

975 was a very interesting year for all kinds of reasons and one filled with momentous events. In the realm of popular culture the movement known as punk rock began with the formation of the Sex-Pistols. While their career was short lasting, other longer term news items dominated the UK tabloids. The so called ‘troubles’ were still raging in Northern Ireland; in this year it resulted, amongst other things, in the kidnapping and later release of the Dutch industrialist Dr Tiede Herrema.

Across Europe there were also significant political machinations which included a referendum in the UK over European Economic Community membership. 67% of voters supported the Labour Government’s campaign to stay in the EEC despite opposition from prominent Labour politicians such as Tony Benn and also the TUC. The relationship between the UK and Europe was not helped by the outbreak of the so called Third Cod War (November 1975 – June 1976) when Iceland declared that the ocean up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its coast fell under Icelandic authority and no one else could fish there.

Meanwhile in Spain the dictatorial rule of General Franco was brought to an end with his death after some 36 years of him presiding as head of state. Germany was also having its own troubles with the violent actions of the home grown ultra-leftist Baader-Meinhof gang. 1975 saw a tense stand-off in which the Gang stormed the German embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, holding 11 hostages, shooting two and setting the embassy

ablaze. France had some better news playing host to the very first G6 Summit held in Rambouillet. The leaders of France, West Germany, the USA, Japan, Italy and the UK came together to discuss issues such as employment, economic recovery, monetary stability and relations with the Eastern Bloc.

It was also a great year for the film industry with the release of such classics as Jaws, The Towering Inferno, The Godfather II, The Return of the Pink Panther, Tommy, and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

In the midst of all of these momentous events affecting the lives of millions of European citizens, a small organisation began its operations from its European base of Motherwell. That organisation was GLO Europe.

GLO actually began in Australia in 1965 by Colin Tilsley who came to the UK in the early 1970’s and inspired people with his vision for GLO. The first UK based GLO worker was Robert Kilpatrick who, along with his wife Eileen, opened a Christmas bookstall during the month of December in the Hamilton Missionary Fellowship building in 1973. This led to the opening of a Christian bookshop in Brown Street in Hamilton. The current GLO Centre, which had originally been an abandoned Church of Scotland building, was then leased and later purchased to be the administrative centre of GLO in Europe, with the first GLO Committee meeting occurring in late 1974. However the first full year of operations was 1975 and

by this stage literature, training and short-term teams’ ministries were all functioning. This special edition of e-vision celebrates the founding of GLO Europe in 1975 and the ministry that has taken place since.

Some of the key people in GLO’s history share memories of the events that helped to form the early life of GLO Europe. These reflections cover the various aspects of the ministry of GLO. Some are memories from the Motherwell Centre as the book ministry, coffee shop and Training Centre took shape. Others are memories of summer teams that brought the gospel to various parts of Europe. Still others are of Resident teams that came together to evangelise and church plant in places such as Marseille, Laval, Enniscorthy, Viewpark and Naples.

Over the years many people have been involved in the history of GLO Europe and a great deal of work has been done to reach people for Christ and plant and build up churches. It would be impossible to tell every story or mention everyone who has been involved. This special edition can only give a taste of what has happened over the past 40 years.

However it celebrates what God has done through GLO and points forward to what we pray God will still do in the future. As you read we hope that you will pray for us and perhaps even work with us as we try to reach Europe for Christ.

It would be impossible to tell every story or mention everyone who has been involved. This special edition can only give a taste of what has happened.

3

GLO Europe

GLO Europe First GLO Committee

by John Hunter

I

t was a Friday night: 13 September, 1974.

I found myself in Selkirk Street Evangelical Church, Hamilton. A week or so earlier I had heard about the visit of an Australian missioner, Colin Tilsley, who had founded an organisation called Gospel Literature Outreach. I had never heard of either. He was due to speak of his experiences in mission work overseas and how to approach such Christian service from a different perspective. I thought the topic interesting and decided to go.

I had married and qualified as a lawyer the year before. Rae and I were members of Ebenezer Hall, Motherwell and involved in a few ministries. I wanted to have my horizons widened and to know

In the Beginning Personal Reflections on Colin Tilsley

by John Speirs

I

n all our lives there are moments in our personal history that shape and direct our own future. Such a moment took place in my life in 1974 when I first met Colin Tilsley. God used Colin to speak right into my soul on the steps of Selkirk Street Evangelical Church in Hamilton where he had been speaking at Robert & Eileen Kilpatrick’s commendation service. In his own inimitable and direct style,

Colin said, ‘we need you in the work’. Cathie and I had sensed God working in our lives for two years prior to this occasion and so the door for full-time ministry opened up for us to join GLO in its infancy and to serve in harness with Robert & Eileen Kilpatrick.

In our home village of Forth, at our own commendation service to full-time ministry, Colin Tilsley was one of the speakers and his message was from the text in Joshua 14:12, ‘give me this mountain’. His vision, his optimism and his motivational style deeply impressed my own heart.

Later that year, Robert and I joined David Prosser, Fred Kelling and others from New Zealand together with Colin Tilsley for the first GLO Europe Conference. Robert and I travelled from Aberdeen having completed an outreach weekend with 50 young people, motored to Bournemouth and then sailed to France for the first GLO Workers’ Conference which was held in Rheims. Colin Tilsley’s enthusiasm was so infectious in this small group of workers that we left this conference ready to conquer Europe.

Colin and Cynthia returned to Australia at the end of 1974 and for the next three years communication was maintained constantly through airmail

letters - I still have dozens of these letters in my possession. The next major influence that Colin had in my life was in 1977 when he encouraged me to go to India and arranged a six-week programme of teaching and preaching all over India. That visit proved to be one of the most significant experiences in my life and opened the door for an involvement to the present day in the Lord’s work in India.

Those of us based in the UK were excited about Colin’s planned return to the UK in 1979, however, we were shocked to be advised that the visit had to be postponed due to medical tests which ultimately diagnosed that Colin was suffering from motor neurone disease.

Colin’s book, “Through the Furnace” telling his deep personal struggle in these days again made a great impact. I was privileged to visit Australia in 1981 and to have the opportunity to bring comfort to Colin’s widow, Cynthia. I will never forget the moment I stood at his grave and recalled the very powerful words, ‘only one life ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last’.

My personal friendship with Colin, his encouragement and his inspirational vision played such a significant role not only in my life and Cathie’s, but also in the formation, growth and development of the work of GLO. We are honoured to have so many memories of such a man of God.

by David Gould

O

ur origins with GLO go back to the Christmas / New Year mission in Fiji in 1968/69. Several on that team, led by Colin Tilsley, ended up in Rome, France, Zambia and other places.

Our Resident Team left New Zealand end of February 1971, by ship, the Achille Lauro. We arrived in Genoa early April (5 ½ weeks later) where we were met by the Rome team and then took the train to Marseille. I’m sure we were the last of the down-under missionaries to travel to their destination by ship!

more of what the Lord was doing across the world.

So, that evening, I sat in Selkirk Street. I had no expectations of the night other than to expand my awareness of Christian mission abroad and perhaps hear something new and thoughtprovoking. Colin began to speak and as he went through the report of his life and background, set out his vision for vacation and resident mission teams and mass literature distribution, delivered his challenge to young people - to make your life count for God - I felt a stirring within my spirit. Here was a man, a dynamic winsome man, nothing tired or staid about him, convincingly declaring the blessings and fulfilment of Christian training and service. And, he was bringing the opportunity for serving the Lord in overseas mission within the grasp of a new generation, a younger generation, my generation.

At the end of the evening Colin was at the door bidding goodnight. As I shook his hand I did something I’d never done before and I’ve never done again. I gave him my name and contact, said I was a lawyer and if I could be of any help to him having absolutely no idea of what help I might be - then to let me know.

The next day, he called me. Two days later, he and Fred Kelling came to my office. They wanted to establish GLO in the UK as a legal entity, set up a Charitable Trust and acquire a base for its ministry.

And so began 37 years involvement with GLO.

Early teams were not intended to be church planting teams. We worked with existing assemblies until beginning of 1979. The idea at that time, was six months’ language study and two years working with the host church. We covered the city with literature at least once and some areas more than once. In addition, we did open airs, films and other outreaches.

We then worked in Aubagne and Grasse before moving GLO into church planting – this was early 1979. Our third child, Steph was a baby and we moved back to the Marseille area. Teams materialised and diversified and churches were established. It was a joy to see so many coming to faith in this challenging context.

In his own inimitable and direct style, Colin said 'we need you in the work'. Cathie and I had sensed God working in our lives for two years prior to this occassion.

4

5

GLO Europe

GLO Europe First GLO Committee

by John Hunter

I

t was a Friday night: 13 September, 1974.

I found myself in Selkirk Street Evangelical Church, Hamilton. A week or so earlier I had heard about the visit of an Australian missioner, Colin Tilsley, who had founded an organisation called Gospel Literature Outreach. I had never heard of either. He was due to speak of his experiences in mission work overseas and how to approach such Christian service from a different perspective. I thought the topic interesting and decided to go.

I had married and qualified as a lawyer the year before. Rae and I were members of Ebenezer Hall, Motherwell and involved in a few ministries. I wanted to have my horizons widened and to know

In the Beginning Personal Reflections on Colin Tilsley

by John Speirs

I

n all our lives there are moments in our personal history that shape and direct our own future. Such a moment took place in my life in 1974 when I first met Colin Tilsley. God used Colin to speak right into my soul on the steps of Selkirk Street Evangelical Church in Hamilton where he had been speaking at Robert & Eileen Kilpatrick’s commendation service. In his own inimitable and direct style,

Colin said, ‘we need you in the work’. Cathie and I had sensed God working in our lives for two years prior to this occasion and so the door for full-time ministry opened up for us to join GLO in its infancy and to serve in harness with Robert & Eileen Kilpatrick.

In our home village of Forth, at our own commendation service to full-time ministry, Colin Tilsley was one of the speakers and his message was from the text in Joshua 14:12, ‘give me this mountain’. His vision, his optimism and his motivational style deeply impressed my own heart.

Later that year, Robert and I joined David Prosser, Fred Kelling and others from New Zealand together with Colin Tilsley for the first GLO Europe Conference. Robert and I travelled from Aberdeen having completed an outreach weekend with 50 young people, motored to Bournemouth and then sailed to France for the first GLO Workers’ Conference which was held in Rheims. Colin Tilsley’s enthusiasm was so infectious in this small group of workers that we left this conference ready to conquer Europe.

Colin and Cynthia returned to Australia at the end of 1974 and for the next three years communication was maintained constantly through airmail

letters - I still have dozens of these letters in my possession. The next major influence that Colin had in my life was in 1977 when he encouraged me to go to India and arranged a six-week programme of teaching and preaching all over India. That visit proved to be one of the most significant experiences in my life and opened the door for an involvement to the present day in the Lord’s work in India.

Those of us based in the UK were excited about Colin’s planned return to the UK in 1979, however, we were shocked to be advised that the visit had to be postponed due to medical tests which ultimately diagnosed that Colin was suffering from motor neurone disease.

Colin’s book, “Through the Furnace” telling his deep personal struggle in these days again made a great impact. I was privileged to visit Australia in 1981 and to have the opportunity to bring comfort to Colin’s widow, Cynthia. I will never forget the moment I stood at his grave and recalled the very powerful words, ‘only one life ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last’.

My personal friendship with Colin, his encouragement and his inspirational vision played such a significant role not only in my life and Cathie’s, but also in the formation, growth and development of the work of GLO. We are honoured to have so many memories of such a man of God.

by David Gould

O

ur origins with GLO go back to the Christmas / New Year mission in Fiji in 1968/69. Several on that team, led by Colin Tilsley, ended up in Rome, France, Zambia and other places.

Our Resident Team left New Zealand end of February 1971, by ship, the Achille Lauro. We arrived in Genoa early April (5 ½ weeks later) where we were met by the Rome team and then took the train to Marseille. I’m sure we were the last of the down-under missionaries to travel to their destination by ship!

more of what the Lord was doing across the world.

So, that evening, I sat in Selkirk Street. I had no expectations of the night other than to expand my awareness of Christian mission abroad and perhaps hear something new and thoughtprovoking. Colin began to speak and as he went through the report of his life and background, set out his vision for vacation and resident mission teams and mass literature distribution, delivered his challenge to young people - to make your life count for God - I felt a stirring within my spirit. Here was a man, a dynamic winsome man, nothing tired or staid about him, convincingly declaring the blessings and fulfilment of Christian training and service. And, he was bringing the opportunity for serving the Lord in overseas mission within the grasp of a new generation, a younger generation, my generation.

At the end of the evening Colin was at the door bidding goodnight. As I shook his hand I did something I’d never done before and I’ve never done again. I gave him my name and contact, said I was a lawyer and if I could be of any help to him having absolutely no idea of what help I might be - then to let me know.

The next day, he called me. Two days later, he and Fred Kelling came to my office. They wanted to establish GLO in the UK as a legal entity, set up a Charitable Trust and acquire a base for its ministry.

And so began 37 years involvement with GLO.

Early teams were not intended to be church planting teams. We worked with existing assemblies until beginning of 1979. The idea at that time, was six months’ language study and two years working with the host church. We covered the city with literature at least once and some areas more than once. In addition, we did open airs, films and other outreaches.

We then worked in Aubagne and Grasse before moving GLO into church planting – this was early 1979. Our third child, Steph was a baby and we moved back to the Marseille area. Teams materialised and diversified and churches were established. It was a joy to see so many coming to faith in this challenging context.

In his own inimitable and direct style, Colin said 'we need you in the work'. Cathie and I had sensed God working in our lives for two years prior to this occassion.

4

5

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

The French Connection GLO in Marseille

by Sam Gibson

T

he earliest GLO missionaries came to France in the 1970’s from Australia, New Zealand and the UK, working with national leaders in cities such as Grenoble and Grasse in the south and Caen and Paris in the north.

Some of these folks came together in the late seventies to work in Marseille. There were few evangelical churches for a city of around 1 million inhabitants so the choice for church planting was good. David and Jean Goold, with John McConnell from New Zealand, Christine Roy from Switzerland and Helen Johnston from N. Ireland were the initial team with Mark and Ann Louise Critchlow from England helping part time. The initial focus of the work was a large housing development in North Marseille known as La Solidarité. Literature was a significant feature of the work and the need arose for a printer in Marseille to provide the tracts. This need was filled in 1982 by Doug and Alison Prescott.

This was an exciting development with the printing press producing half million tracts per year to be used by teams all over the country.

Once the work in La Solidarité became more established and the team grew further, the decision was taken to find a new location for evangelism.

This resulted in a small nucleus of Christians meeting in an area in the north of the city called Les Aygalades. This never became an established church but when another church was planted in the centre of Marseille, called La Source, the group from Les Aygalades was absorbed into it. La Source grew into a thriving Christian community with a wide variety of activities and outreaches. One key couple who were converted as a result of the work there was Philippe and Marie-Christine Perrilliat who became GLO workers sometime later.

The work in La Source grew sufficiently to allow some of the GLO team to branch out into the south of the city. Andrea and I, along with Mike

and Alison Packer and Marilyn Beer began a new work called Le Rocher. Meanwhile in the east of the city another church plant emerged called Le Cep. Working in this church were three couples, Philippe and Marie-Christine Perrilliat, Graham and Alison Black and Terry and Shona Cobham.

Eventually the leaders of Le Rocher and Le Cep felt that they would be helped and strengthened by forming one single congregation, keeping the name ‘Le Cep’. A more suitable building was also found for this now larger church.

In 1992 a new church plant began in Aubagne, a town 25km east of Marseille. Three couples were initially involved in this work, Paul and Isobel Graham, Brian and Hazel Crockett and Peter and Sharon Cawston. After the Crocketts and Cawstons left, Garry and Kim Blair and Daniel and Isabelle Corones joined the team. As some people came to faith in Aubagne, services were held there once or twice per month. It was subsequently decided that consolidation was necessary so the small group in Aubagne was absorbed into in Le Cep. Many have come to faith over the years through the work in Marseille; people of many nationalities and religions from North and Central Africa, the countries around the Mediterranean, French speaking Asians and of course France.

The overall picture in France is very encouraging at the moment with a new church starting every ten days and a wider acceptance of evangelical Christians who are often treated as a sect. But the evangelicals still only represent around 1% of the population and there are thousands of towns with no evangelical witness. Please continue pray for France.

by Mike & Alison Packer

F

irst contact with GLO in 1981 meeting a young missionary called Sammy Gibson who spoke with such passion and conviction about his ministry in France. First GLO summer teams in Le Mans in the North West of France led by John and Carol McConnell and David Sutherland. Meeting ‘ordinary’ Christians sent out on short term mission by an extraordinary God was an amazing experience, we could make an impact in world mission!

First GLO Conference attended at Pilgrim Hall 1985 - what it would be like, who would be there…?

The reality of a group of dedicated Christians whose heart beat for mission in Europe was clear to see.

First time leaving the UK to serve God in France,

Mike running through the French metro with all his worldly goods to try and catch his train to Albertville where he would learn French. Wedding 20th September 1986 - First time in Marseille as part of a GLO Resident Team on the 25th September 1986.

Led and look after by Sammy and Andrea Gibson.

First flat in Marseille, up very narrow windy stairs, shared toilet on the landing, shower in a cupboard of the kitchen, that home didn’t last long!

First follow up visits after the summer GLO team distribution, talking about the Bible in limited French to a man who collected big knives - stressful and not easy! First Bible studies in South Marseille, amazed to see people (through the cigarette smoke) from such different backgrounds so interested in

the gospel. First conversions, first baptisms, first disciples, first church - realization that although we are weak He is strong and is able to use very ordinary people to change Europe.

1999 - first experience serving the Lord in a rural context in Mayenne North West France. First time using music in Mayenne to reach out with the gospel - first practices, compositions, concerts, reactions.

First contact with life threatening illness, days, months, years, tears, joy, weakness, strength.

First day as a prison chaplain in Laval - freedom to speak to 100-150 men about the life changing gospel! First recordings of children’s songs, first website to give access to the new material. What will be next…?

by Philippe Perrilliat

I

There were few evangelical churches for a city of around 1 million inhabitants so the choice for church planting was good.

6

became a Christian, along with my wife Marie-Christine, through the work of a Resident GLO Team led by Sammy Gibson and David Goold. In 1990 we asked these same two men about how to get into full-time Christian work with GLO. I will never forget the answer, ‘In order to work with GLO, you have to go to Motherwell for a year at the Missionary Centre (now Tilsley College)’. This did not sound logical at first: to be trained in Scotland to evangelize Marseille, the very place where we were living? The only words which went through my mind were: “My ways are higher than your ways…”

The training and fellowship that we have since received from the people in GLO has been a tremendous support since going ahead with something that at the time was not popular: church planting. The Christian tendency in the 1990’s was:

“what is the point working as a pioneer, planting a new church, when so many existing churches are struggling and are in need of a pastor?”

The vibrant local church planted in Marseille by the GLO team where we have been involved, is happy to pay tribute to the work of GLO: not only because it exists, but because the GLO vision has Discipleship and Mission in its DNA. The new model of church planting in Aix-en-Provence today is the result of an official partnership between the French assemblies and GLO. At the beginning of the 21st century, the vision of Church Planting through Discipleship is widely recognized as “The” answer to the spiritual needs of Europe and the best way to re-evangelise it.

Although methods need to be constantly adapted to our changing world, 40 years ago I believe GLO Europe had the correct vision. I hope it will remain our main focus for the next 40 years ahead!

7

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

The French Connection GLO in Marseille

by Sam Gibson

T

he earliest GLO missionaries came to France in the 1970’s from Australia, New Zealand and the UK, working with national leaders in cities such as Grenoble and Grasse in the south and Caen and Paris in the north.

Some of these folks came together in the late seventies to work in Marseille. There were few evangelical churches for a city of around 1 million inhabitants so the choice for church planting was good. David and Jean Goold, with John McConnell from New Zealand, Christine Roy from Switzerland and Helen Johnston from N. Ireland were the initial team with Mark and Ann Louise Critchlow from England helping part time. The initial focus of the work was a large housing development in North Marseille known as La Solidarité. Literature was a significant feature of the work and the need arose for a printer in Marseille to provide the tracts. This need was filled in 1982 by Doug and Alison Prescott.

This was an exciting development with the printing press producing half million tracts per year to be used by teams all over the country.

Once the work in La Solidarité became more established and the team grew further, the decision was taken to find a new location for evangelism.

This resulted in a small nucleus of Christians meeting in an area in the north of the city called Les Aygalades. This never became an established church but when another church was planted in the centre of Marseille, called La Source, the group from Les Aygalades was absorbed into it. La Source grew into a thriving Christian community with a wide variety of activities and outreaches. One key couple who were converted as a result of the work there was Philippe and Marie-Christine Perrilliat who became GLO workers sometime later.

The work in La Source grew sufficiently to allow some of the GLO team to branch out into the south of the city. Andrea and I, along with Mike

and Alison Packer and Marilyn Beer began a new work called Le Rocher. Meanwhile in the east of the city another church plant emerged called Le Cep. Working in this church were three couples, Philippe and Marie-Christine Perrilliat, Graham and Alison Black and Terry and Shona Cobham.

Eventually the leaders of Le Rocher and Le Cep felt that they would be helped and strengthened by forming one single congregation, keeping the name ‘Le Cep’. A more suitable building was also found for this now larger church.

In 1992 a new church plant began in Aubagne, a town 25km east of Marseille. Three couples were initially involved in this work, Paul and Isobel Graham, Brian and Hazel Crockett and Peter and Sharon Cawston. After the Crocketts and Cawstons left, Garry and Kim Blair and Daniel and Isabelle Corones joined the team. As some people came to faith in Aubagne, services were held there once or twice per month. It was subsequently decided that consolidation was necessary so the small group in Aubagne was absorbed into in Le Cep. Many have come to faith over the years through the work in Marseille; people of many nationalities and religions from North and Central Africa, the countries around the Mediterranean, French speaking Asians and of course France.

The overall picture in France is very encouraging at the moment with a new church starting every ten days and a wider acceptance of evangelical Christians who are often treated as a sect. But the evangelicals still only represent around 1% of the population and there are thousands of towns with no evangelical witness. Please continue pray for France.

by Mike & Alison Packer

F

irst contact with GLO in 1981 meeting a young missionary called Sammy Gibson who spoke with such passion and conviction about his ministry in France. First GLO summer teams in Le Mans in the North West of France led by John and Carol McConnell and David Sutherland. Meeting ‘ordinary’ Christians sent out on short term mission by an extraordinary God was an amazing experience, we could make an impact in world mission!

First GLO Conference attended at Pilgrim Hall 1985 - what it would be like, who would be there…?

The reality of a group of dedicated Christians whose heart beat for mission in Europe was clear to see.

First time leaving the UK to serve God in France,

Mike running through the French metro with all his worldly goods to try and catch his train to Albertville where he would learn French. Wedding 20th September 1986 - First time in Marseille as part of a GLO Resident Team on the 25th September 1986.

Led and look after by Sammy and Andrea Gibson.

First flat in Marseille, up very narrow windy stairs, shared toilet on the landing, shower in a cupboard of the kitchen, that home didn’t last long!

First follow up visits after the summer GLO team distribution, talking about the Bible in limited French to a man who collected big knives - stressful and not easy! First Bible studies in South Marseille, amazed to see people (through the cigarette smoke) from such different backgrounds so interested in

the gospel. First conversions, first baptisms, first disciples, first church - realization that although we are weak He is strong and is able to use very ordinary people to change Europe.

1999 - first experience serving the Lord in a rural context in Mayenne North West France. First time using music in Mayenne to reach out with the gospel - first practices, compositions, concerts, reactions.

First contact with life threatening illness, days, months, years, tears, joy, weakness, strength.

First day as a prison chaplain in Laval - freedom to speak to 100-150 men about the life changing gospel! First recordings of children’s songs, first website to give access to the new material. What will be next…?

by Philippe Perrilliat

I

There were few evangelical churches for a city of around 1 million inhabitants so the choice for church planting was good.

6

became a Christian, along with my wife Marie-Christine, through the work of a Resident GLO Team led by Sammy Gibson and David Goold. In 1990 we asked these same two men about how to get into full-time Christian work with GLO. I will never forget the answer, ‘In order to work with GLO, you have to go to Motherwell for a year at the Missionary Centre (now Tilsley College)’. This did not sound logical at first: to be trained in Scotland to evangelize Marseille, the very place where we were living? The only words which went through my mind were: “My ways are higher than your ways…”

The training and fellowship that we have since received from the people in GLO has been a tremendous support since going ahead with something that at the time was not popular: church planting. The Christian tendency in the 1990’s was:

“what is the point working as a pioneer, planting a new church, when so many existing churches are struggling and are in need of a pastor?”

The vibrant local church planted in Marseille by the GLO team where we have been involved, is happy to pay tribute to the work of GLO: not only because it exists, but because the GLO vision has Discipleship and Mission in its DNA. The new model of church planting in Aix-en-Provence today is the result of an official partnership between the French assemblies and GLO. At the beginning of the 21st century, the vision of Church Planting through Discipleship is widely recognized as “The” answer to the spiritual needs of Europe and the best way to re-evangelise it.

Although methods need to be constantly adapted to our changing world, 40 years ago I believe GLO Europe had the correct vision. I hope it will remain our main focus for the next 40 years ahead!

7

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

Growing GLO In

Italy

by Patrizio Zucchetto

I

was converted in November 1993 during my military service in Florence and baptized a year later in my own church in Fuorigrotta, Naples. Once back in Naples I was discipled

by Robert Hamilton and developed a desire for Christian ministry. I went to Tilsley College in 1997 with the idea of joining GLO and working in Naples alongside Robert and Muriel. My year at Tilsley 1997/1998 was one of the best years of my life enjoying studying the Word of God in depth. The Lord used that year as a foundation for my Christian life.

I joined the Resident GLO team in Naples, led by Robert, working in a church planting with my wife Jennifer for ten years in a town near Naples called Pozzuoli. Those years were very intense but seeing a church being born and growing to over 90 people was exciting. We praise God for the Pozzuoli church.

In many years of service now together with my wife Jennifer we have experienced the most rewarding thing, being used by God among people who are perishing. To see people become interested in the Gospel then converted, baptized, discipled and growing spiritually and taking responsibility in the church and mission is a great joy!

The Lord has used me as a Bible teacher all over Italy organizing youth camps and speaking at conferences. I have done many GLO summer teams in Italy, Ireland and Scotland. We have encouraged young people to take mission seriously and created opportunities to serve God here in Italy. After our time in church planting Jennifer and I began working in Naples with an established church and have been there six years now, reaching a community of about 140,000 inhabitants and just a few small evangelical churches. It is a huge task

8

to reach a city like Naples with so many beautiful sights but social and political problems also. I enjoy teaching and preaching the Word of God as an elder in a small church of 70 members.

We are also now reaching villages and towns with no church in the greater Naples area. We do this by mobilising local Christians who have a heart for evangelism and identifying every village and town with populations from 600 to 12,500 inhabitants in the province of Avellino. There are 119 villages and towns and only 30 have a church.

A massive task breaching places full of idolatry, tradition and Catholicism. We started 3 ½ years ago to distributing a John’s Gospel and a reply card in every home in every town with no church. So far we have reached about 27 of those 89. We have good contacts to follow up. Our method is to have a ‘mission day’ one Saturday a month using young people from Italy and also the UK. We go from village to village distributing, doing open airs and talking with people who are interested. We have made our presence felt in one of the most strategic towns called Solofra with 12,000 inhabitants, well There is a great need in Italy for church planters, known for its leather industry.

Bible teachers, Christian writers / apologists, church We have had the privilege of hosting the Tilsley leaders and with the Lord’s help we are making our College students for their mission exposure week. contribution.

With other pastors and Bible teachers in the Naples region I am involved in a churchbased training programme called IBCFT (Istituto Biblico In many years of service now together with my Cristiano Formazione Teologica) which seeks to train wife Jennifer we have experienced the most leaders or potential leaders in rewarding thing, being used by God. our region.

Newtownards to Naples and back again!

by Robert Hamilton

I

magine the scene! August 1988, leaving Newtownards, Co. Down in a little yellow Austin Metro (you remember them?) being tail-ended by Scrabo church minibus in which were all our worldly belongings!

Muriel, myself and three little kids (aged 5, 4 and 3) getting the Larne-Stranraer ferry on our way to Motherwell to do the one-year GLO ‘Training for Service’ course with a view to going to Italy as part of a GLO Resident Team the following year. And indeed one year later with an extra two kids on-tow (twins Philip and Steven born in the meantime), we find ourselves in Perugia, central Italy to study Italian at the University for Foreigners in that city. With Muriel and I alternating classes three months at a time, we get some sort of a grasp on at least the rudiments of Italian grammar but far from fluent we move to the huge city of Naples to work alongside the inner-city church at Fuorigrotta in January 1991.

Our commitment was for one year and if things went OK to stay on for a further three! It must have been good because we ended up staying 17 years in one of Europe’s most chaotic yet charming cities.

Challenges for us in moving there and living there?

• Language – learning a language is never easy for an adult (unless you are one of that small percentage of gifted linguists). Further compounded by the fact that spoken Neapolitan is hugely different from classic Italian.

• Church – in initial years a lot of internal conflict and struggles especially in leadership.

• City – high social deprivation and all that goes with that. Environmental problems with waste disposal services being a constant problem.

Difficult school system especially later on when the kids were at high school level.

Blessings? Yes, many!

There was and still is a relative openness to the gospel, willingness from people to talk about spiritual matters, the joy of seeing some conversions, the church grow and a sister church planted at Pozzuoli!

• Practical blessings too - pleasant climate, great food, warmth of the people, Italian football!

‘Newtownards to Naples and back again’ – just as our outgoing route took us via Scotland (Motherwell), so our return route has taken us via Scotland. These last seven years, we’ve had the

privilege of serving alongside Deeside Christian Fellowship in Aberdeen but this summer, God willing, we will return to serve with the church that sent us to Italy 27 years ago – Scrabo. The three kids that we left with have become five + spouses and 11 grandchildren!! But in this entire journey in association with the GLO Family, from student to Board member, from Newtownards to Naples and back again, God has been both good and faithful.

9

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

Growing GLO In

Italy

by Patrizio Zucchetto

I

was converted in November 1993 during my military service in Florence and baptized a year later in my own church in Fuorigrotta, Naples. Once back in Naples I was discipled

by Robert Hamilton and developed a desire for Christian ministry. I went to Tilsley College in 1997 with the idea of joining GLO and working in Naples alongside Robert and Muriel. My year at Tilsley 1997/1998 was one of the best years of my life enjoying studying the Word of God in depth. The Lord used that year as a foundation for my Christian life.

I joined the Resident GLO team in Naples, led by Robert, working in a church planting with my wife Jennifer for ten years in a town near Naples called Pozzuoli. Those years were very intense but seeing a church being born and growing to over 90 people was exciting. We praise God for the Pozzuoli church.

In many years of service now together with my wife Jennifer we have experienced the most rewarding thing, being used by God among people who are perishing. To see people become interested in the Gospel then converted, baptized, discipled and growing spiritually and taking responsibility in the church and mission is a great joy!

The Lord has used me as a Bible teacher all over Italy organizing youth camps and speaking at conferences. I have done many GLO summer teams in Italy, Ireland and Scotland. We have encouraged young people to take mission seriously and created opportunities to serve God here in Italy. After our time in church planting Jennifer and I began working in Naples with an established church and have been there six years now, reaching a community of about 140,000 inhabitants and just a few small evangelical churches. It is a huge task

8

to reach a city like Naples with so many beautiful sights but social and political problems also. I enjoy teaching and preaching the Word of God as an elder in a small church of 70 members.

We are also now reaching villages and towns with no church in the greater Naples area. We do this by mobilising local Christians who have a heart for evangelism and identifying every village and town with populations from 600 to 12,500 inhabitants in the province of Avellino. There are 119 villages and towns and only 30 have a church.

A massive task breaching places full of idolatry, tradition and Catholicism. We started 3 ½ years ago to distributing a John’s Gospel and a reply card in every home in every town with no church. So far we have reached about 27 of those 89. We have good contacts to follow up. Our method is to have a ‘mission day’ one Saturday a month using young people from Italy and also the UK. We go from village to village distributing, doing open airs and talking with people who are interested. We have made our presence felt in one of the most strategic towns called Solofra with 12,000 inhabitants, well There is a great need in Italy for church planters, known for its leather industry.

Bible teachers, Christian writers / apologists, church We have had the privilege of hosting the Tilsley leaders and with the Lord’s help we are making our College students for their mission exposure week. contribution.

With other pastors and Bible teachers in the Naples region I am involved in a churchbased training programme called IBCFT (Istituto Biblico In many years of service now together with my Cristiano Formazione Teologica) which seeks to train wife Jennifer we have experienced the most leaders or potential leaders in rewarding thing, being used by God. our region.

Newtownards to Naples and back again!

by Robert Hamilton

I

magine the scene! August 1988, leaving Newtownards, Co. Down in a little yellow Austin Metro (you remember them?) being tail-ended by Scrabo church minibus in which were all our worldly belongings!

Muriel, myself and three little kids (aged 5, 4 and 3) getting the Larne-Stranraer ferry on our way to Motherwell to do the one-year GLO ‘Training for Service’ course with a view to going to Italy as part of a GLO Resident Team the following year. And indeed one year later with an extra two kids on-tow (twins Philip and Steven born in the meantime), we find ourselves in Perugia, central Italy to study Italian at the University for Foreigners in that city. With Muriel and I alternating classes three months at a time, we get some sort of a grasp on at least the rudiments of Italian grammar but far from fluent we move to the huge city of Naples to work alongside the inner-city church at Fuorigrotta in January 1991.

Our commitment was for one year and if things went OK to stay on for a further three! It must have been good because we ended up staying 17 years in one of Europe’s most chaotic yet charming cities.

Challenges for us in moving there and living there?

• Language – learning a language is never easy for an adult (unless you are one of that small percentage of gifted linguists). Further compounded by the fact that spoken Neapolitan is hugely different from classic Italian.

• Church – in initial years a lot of internal conflict and struggles especially in leadership.

• City – high social deprivation and all that goes with that. Environmental problems with waste disposal services being a constant problem.

Difficult school system especially later on when the kids were at high school level.

Blessings? Yes, many!

There was and still is a relative openness to the gospel, willingness from people to talk about spiritual matters, the joy of seeing some conversions, the church grow and a sister church planted at Pozzuoli!

• Practical blessings too - pleasant climate, great food, warmth of the people, Italian football!

‘Newtownards to Naples and back again’ – just as our outgoing route took us via Scotland (Motherwell), so our return route has taken us via Scotland. These last seven years, we’ve had the

privilege of serving alongside Deeside Christian Fellowship in Aberdeen but this summer, God willing, we will return to serve with the church that sent us to Italy 27 years ago – Scrabo. The three kids that we left with have become five + spouses and 11 grandchildren!! But in this entire journey in association with the GLO Family, from student to Board member, from Newtownards to Naples and back again, God has been both good and faithful.

9

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

T

Serving God in Ireland

by John Stanfield

T

he GLO Resident Team in Dublin in the late 80’s was based at South Hill Evangelical Church and included Guy and Jocelyn Pembroke and Trevor and Julia Chipperfield. South Hill was Trevor’s home church and a frequent destination for GLO summer teams. Linda joined the team in 1995, the year before we got married and then after a year working with Colin and Rosemary Sheldon in Bethany Church in Dublin we moved to Enniscorthy to begin church planting.

Our main focus in evangelism was door-todoor visitation, particularly offering evangelistic videos for loan. People in the town were friendly but wary and this proved to be a very effective way of breaking down barriers. At the end of 1997 we also did a mass distribution of gospel calendars in the town. The following year we began distributing a leaflet entitled ‘Why bother with the Bible?’ and this was completed by the summer team which came in August 1998. There were a number of replies from people requesting Bibles and further literature. We also distributed leaflets at the National Ploughing Championships. The end result of this literature work was a series of Bible studies that were initiated with a young Christian couple and two women who were not believers as well as some Bible Discovery Groups.

Andrew and Lorna Burt joined the team in

10

January 1999 and we began a Millennium survey and exhibition which bore fruit. On our GLO summer mission team that year we ran a children’s Holiday Club from which we started a weekly children’s work on one of the estates in the town. Stephen Blunt (from England) joined the team in 2001 and with his help we were able to start an additional children’s work on a new estate. There was a great response to these clubs with over 100 children and teenagers being reached each week. Parents came along to prize-givings and relationships were further developed through Family Fun Nights.

Trudy Yeomans (from Australia) joined us in 2003 and she and Stephen eventually married. In 2004 a church was established and began to grow.

Andrew’s sister Magdalene joined the team and in addition to her evangelistic responsibilities she leads the worship at church.

As a team, however, we moved on. Linda and I moved to Limerick to join David and Kay Stevens who were working with Mallow Street Christian Fellowship along with Berny Tuccillo (who had also joined GLO). The Burts remained in Enniscorthy and continued evangelising in the town. Shortly after that Berny married Michaela and this made the team complete. Together they ran lots of special evangelistic events, women’s Bible studies, Alpha courses as well as doing literature distribution. These activities were coupled with

street evangelism, schools’ work and friendship evangelism.

In August 2013 Berny & Michaela left to continue their children’s ministry at Shannon while we continued to hep Mallow Street Church in Limerick.

The Burts continue to work with the church plant in Enniscorthy. All three locations continue to see blessing as we reach out and make new contacts.

Viewpark

(GLO Church Plant) 26 years on!

here is no simple recipe for success and no guarantee that you will achieve all that you hoped for. And yet what Viewpark represents is a set of principles of mission that are still relevant today.

Firstly there must be an inner conviction that, as Steve Green’s song stated, ‘People need the Lord’ and need to respond to the gospel. It is God’s remedy for a world tainted by the weary features of our brokenesss: misuse of substances, people and the environment. We need to be convinced that in fact, it’s not supposed to be like this!

Viewpark reminded us that there is a Creator God who is there, who does care and who wants to do something about it as he did when Christ first stepped into time and space to reconcile people to himself and restore their lives. This is the truth of incarnation: God’s fingerprints and footprints already leading the way into our communities, inviting us to join in! Indeed we often felt this from the varied invitations to become involved in the vision: from the neighbouring church at Bothwell and members of the Gospel Hall in Uddingston who lived in Viewpark, from Christians from different backgrounds who had been praying for Christians to come and live in the area, but also from non-Christians who were concerned about their community.

This led to identification and involvement with the local people. It happens to be one of the least popular principles for many who still prefer to drive in and out of local communities. It does take commitment to people and patient identification with them, their concerns and issues. Finally Viewpark taught many of us that it is not really where you go that matters, or necessarily what you do when you get there, it’s the intensity of our presence there.

(The Viewpark Christian Fellowship is now based in neighbouring Bellshill and is called ‘Liberty Community Church’).

by David Buchan

Christ first stepped into time and space to reconcile people to himself and restore their lives.

Early Viewpark Team Members

11

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

T

Serving God in Ireland

by John Stanfield

T

he GLO Resident Team in Dublin in the late 80’s was based at South Hill Evangelical Church and included Guy and Jocelyn Pembroke and Trevor and Julia Chipperfield. South Hill was Trevor’s home church and a frequent destination for GLO summer teams. Linda joined the team in 1995, the year before we got married and then after a year working with Colin and Rosemary Sheldon in Bethany Church in Dublin we moved to Enniscorthy to begin church planting.

Our main focus in evangelism was door-todoor visitation, particularly offering evangelistic videos for loan. People in the town were friendly but wary and this proved to be a very effective way of breaking down barriers. At the end of 1997 we also did a mass distribution of gospel calendars in the town. The following year we began distributing a leaflet entitled ‘Why bother with the Bible?’ and this was completed by the summer team which came in August 1998. There were a number of replies from people requesting Bibles and further literature. We also distributed leaflets at the National Ploughing Championships. The end result of this literature work was a series of Bible studies that were initiated with a young Christian couple and two women who were not believers as well as some Bible Discovery Groups.

Andrew and Lorna Burt joined the team in

10

January 1999 and we began a Millennium survey and exhibition which bore fruit. On our GLO summer mission team that year we ran a children’s Holiday Club from which we started a weekly children’s work on one of the estates in the town. Stephen Blunt (from England) joined the team in 2001 and with his help we were able to start an additional children’s work on a new estate. There was a great response to these clubs with over 100 children and teenagers being reached each week. Parents came along to prize-givings and relationships were further developed through Family Fun Nights.

Trudy Yeomans (from Australia) joined us in 2003 and she and Stephen eventually married. In 2004 a church was established and began to grow.

Andrew’s sister Magdalene joined the team and in addition to her evangelistic responsibilities she leads the worship at church.

As a team, however, we moved on. Linda and I moved to Limerick to join David and Kay Stevens who were working with Mallow Street Christian Fellowship along with Berny Tuccillo (who had also joined GLO). The Burts remained in Enniscorthy and continued evangelising in the town. Shortly after that Berny married Michaela and this made the team complete. Together they ran lots of special evangelistic events, women’s Bible studies, Alpha courses as well as doing literature distribution. These activities were coupled with

street evangelism, schools’ work and friendship evangelism.

In August 2013 Berny & Michaela left to continue their children’s ministry at Shannon while we continued to hep Mallow Street Church in Limerick.

The Burts continue to work with the church plant in Enniscorthy. All three locations continue to see blessing as we reach out and make new contacts.

Viewpark

(GLO Church Plant) 26 years on!

here is no simple recipe for success and no guarantee that you will achieve all that you hoped for. And yet what Viewpark represents is a set of principles of mission that are still relevant today.

Firstly there must be an inner conviction that, as Steve Green’s song stated, ‘People need the Lord’ and need to respond to the gospel. It is God’s remedy for a world tainted by the weary features of our brokenesss: misuse of substances, people and the environment. We need to be convinced that in fact, it’s not supposed to be like this!

Viewpark reminded us that there is a Creator God who is there, who does care and who wants to do something about it as he did when Christ first stepped into time and space to reconcile people to himself and restore their lives. This is the truth of incarnation: God’s fingerprints and footprints already leading the way into our communities, inviting us to join in! Indeed we often felt this from the varied invitations to become involved in the vision: from the neighbouring church at Bothwell and members of the Gospel Hall in Uddingston who lived in Viewpark, from Christians from different backgrounds who had been praying for Christians to come and live in the area, but also from non-Christians who were concerned about their community.

This led to identification and involvement with the local people. It happens to be one of the least popular principles for many who still prefer to drive in and out of local communities. It does take commitment to people and patient identification with them, their concerns and issues. Finally Viewpark taught many of us that it is not really where you go that matters, or necessarily what you do when you get there, it’s the intensity of our presence there.

(The Viewpark Christian Fellowship is now based in neighbouring Bellshill and is called ‘Liberty Community Church’).

by David Buchan

Christ first stepped into time and space to reconcile people to himself and restore their lives.

Early Viewpark Team Members

11

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

Is Training Important for GLO?

by Ray Cawston

by Mark Davies

I

t has been a huge privilege to have served at Tilsley College for the past 10 years, which to some may sound a clichéd way to start this sort of article, but simply true. God has been so good to Shirley and I that we were given the opportunity to have input into the lives of 146 people, most of whom were at the College during a key development point in their journey with the Lord. It has been very hard to walk away from such a valuable ministry, made easy only because of the assurance through the Lord and our fellow workers that there is need for us to be serving elsewhere, in similar training and discipleship roles.

Receiving guidance from the Lord at any stage of life isn’t easy; discerning it through the medium of groups and committees can make it even more complicated, and yet clearly a key way in which the Lord speaks to us personally.

Through 2014 we have been in discussions within GLO, and with our partnering groups in UK such as Counties, Partnership, Church Planting Initiative and Echoes in the National Training Forum. As a result, at the start of 2015, Shirley and I relocated to England. We are continuing as GLO workers engaged in training and mission, but doing so as part of a National Training Network (NTN) to serve churches in England and Wales seeking to help train new generations of church workers and leaders - a big challenge that can only be tackled together in close working relationship with fellow service groups and local church leaders.

The leadership and trustees of Highgate International Church (formerly Cholmeley Evangelical Church) have welcomed us and GLO as partners with them to share some of their infrastructure resources as a base for out itinerant work. It is early days to say exactly what our regular activities will be, but currently we are involved in teaching here in London, in Nottingham and with a re-start of Joshua in Dudley (W Midlands).

Please pray for all of us involved in these dimensions of church-based training, as well as the opportunities that our base in London opens up for GLO in terms of mission teams in UK’s capital city. And please contact us if you feel we can help you in your local church situation!

12

Training for Service

W

Tilsley College Principals

Fred Kelling 1975 - 1984

Ray Cawston 1984 - 1997

David Clarkson 1997 - 1999

Stephen McQuoid 1999 - 2010

Mark Davies 2010 - 2014

Simon Marshall 2014 -

Ministry orientated content, and skills training have been accompanied by varied and challenging opportunities for personal, supervised involvement in public speaking

hy do GLO and training go together? One of the occupations I have especially enjoyed since retirement has been creating and caring for a small garden. This often involves tying, trimming and pruning plants so that they fulfil best the role intended for them. This activity appears to have been the origin of the word ‘training’. To ‘train’ implies that there is a role to fulfil and that we can prepare for it. This is why GLO and training go together. From the beginning, in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, mission has been the core concern. It was and is seen as irresponsible to conceive of challenging and enthusing people for mission without providing opportunities for training.

This role or purpose has shaped the curriculum of training programmes. Ministry orientated content, and skills training have been accompanied by varied and challenging opportunities for personal, supervised involvement in public speaking, street evangelism, work with children and youth, cross cultural opportunities, apprenticeship type experiences, prison visits and situations of social deprivation. This exposure, plus a tutor linked local church involvement make training with GLO something of a unique experience.

However, training a salesperson without familiarising her with the product would be disastrous. In a limited way this is a picture of why a study of biblical content and theology, and a familiarity with resources in general must accompany ministry orientated courses.

There is a model for this training in the life of the Divine Trainer, Jesus himself. He informed, challenged, walked with and suffered with his followers and when he sent them on a mission he sent them out with instructions, with a missiology tailored to the work they were to do (Matthew 10).

The present facilities in Motherwell, with a programme led by Principal Simon Marshall with Academic Dean Allan McKinnon and colleagues, is well placed to provide the training appropriate for men and women aiming for Christian service. Looking back over the years it is hugely encouraging that many who have completed training with Tilsley College are serving across the UK and in more than a dozen other countries. There are church plants established and led by past students within an hour’s drive of Motherwell.

Please pray earnestly that God will continue to use GLO abundantly both in envisioning men and women for Christian mission and service and in providing “training” for this service.

13

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

Is Training Important for GLO?

by Ray Cawston

by Mark Davies

I

t has been a huge privilege to have served at Tilsley College for the past 10 years, which to some may sound a clichéd way to start this sort of article, but simply true. God has been so good to Shirley and I that we were given the opportunity to have input into the lives of 146 people, most of whom were at the College during a key development point in their journey with the Lord. It has been very hard to walk away from such a valuable ministry, made easy only because of the assurance through the Lord and our fellow workers that there is need for us to be serving elsewhere, in similar training and discipleship roles.

Receiving guidance from the Lord at any stage of life isn’t easy; discerning it through the medium of groups and committees can make it even more complicated, and yet clearly a key way in which the Lord speaks to us personally.

Through 2014 we have been in discussions within GLO, and with our partnering groups in UK such as Counties, Partnership, Church Planting Initiative and Echoes in the National Training Forum. As a result, at the start of 2015, Shirley and I relocated to England. We are continuing as GLO workers engaged in training and mission, but doing so as part of a National Training Network (NTN) to serve churches in England and Wales seeking to help train new generations of church workers and leaders - a big challenge that can only be tackled together in close working relationship with fellow service groups and local church leaders.

The leadership and trustees of Highgate International Church (formerly Cholmeley Evangelical Church) have welcomed us and GLO as partners with them to share some of their infrastructure resources as a base for out itinerant work. It is early days to say exactly what our regular activities will be, but currently we are involved in teaching here in London, in Nottingham and with a re-start of Joshua in Dudley (W Midlands).

Please pray for all of us involved in these dimensions of church-based training, as well as the opportunities that our base in London opens up for GLO in terms of mission teams in UK’s capital city. And please contact us if you feel we can help you in your local church situation!

12

Training for Service

W

Tilsley College Principals

Fred Kelling 1975 - 1984

Ray Cawston 1984 - 1997

David Clarkson 1997 - 1999

Stephen McQuoid 1999 - 2010

Mark Davies 2010 - 2014

Simon Marshall 2014 -

Ministry orientated content, and skills training have been accompanied by varied and challenging opportunities for personal, supervised involvement in public speaking

hy do GLO and training go together? One of the occupations I have especially enjoyed since retirement has been creating and caring for a small garden. This often involves tying, trimming and pruning plants so that they fulfil best the role intended for them. This activity appears to have been the origin of the word ‘training’. To ‘train’ implies that there is a role to fulfil and that we can prepare for it. This is why GLO and training go together. From the beginning, in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, mission has been the core concern. It was and is seen as irresponsible to conceive of challenging and enthusing people for mission without providing opportunities for training.

This role or purpose has shaped the curriculum of training programmes. Ministry orientated content, and skills training have been accompanied by varied and challenging opportunities for personal, supervised involvement in public speaking, street evangelism, work with children and youth, cross cultural opportunities, apprenticeship type experiences, prison visits and situations of social deprivation. This exposure, plus a tutor linked local church involvement make training with GLO something of a unique experience.

However, training a salesperson without familiarising her with the product would be disastrous. In a limited way this is a picture of why a study of biblical content and theology, and a familiarity with resources in general must accompany ministry orientated courses.

There is a model for this training in the life of the Divine Trainer, Jesus himself. He informed, challenged, walked with and suffered with his followers and when he sent them on a mission he sent them out with instructions, with a missiology tailored to the work they were to do (Matthew 10).

The present facilities in Motherwell, with a programme led by Principal Simon Marshall with Academic Dean Allan McKinnon and colleagues, is well placed to provide the training appropriate for men and women aiming for Christian service. Looking back over the years it is hugely encouraging that many who have completed training with Tilsley College are serving across the UK and in more than a dozen other countries. There are church plants established and led by past students within an hour’s drive of Motherwell.

Please pray earnestly that God will continue to use GLO abundantly both in envisioning men and women for Christian mission and service and in providing “training” for this service.

13

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

40 Years of Short Term Mission

GLO Team to Rome 1975

by Senga Lake

I

t was the summer of 1975 and I had just finished my first year of teaching in Scotland. The long summer break stretched before me: what would I do with the time?

Having been on a few Easter and summer teams with GLO I heard of the proposed Italian team in Rome planned for the whole month of July. I volunteered and set off with Bob and Eileen Kilpatrick, their three young sons and Janis Cruickshank (now Williams) to drive overland all the way from Motherwell to Rome. It took us two whole days of non-stop driving in a minivan all crushed together. En route we joined with John and Cathie Speirs and their two young daughters. We had all to sleep together in a huge dormitory full of bunk beds in Florence for one night. Bathing and toilet arrangements were funny!! First the girls then the boys, what a laugh, but we were all so tired we slept like logs ready for the final leg of our journey to Rome.

On arrival in Rome we were met by the resident missionaries Dan Pasquale and his wife and another New Zealand couple. We stayed at a hostel and after Bible teaching in the morning we then went to distribute gospel leaflets in four different languages

14

right outside the Vatican where the Pope and Catholics worldwide were celebrating Holy Year, an event that takes place every 25 years.

What an opportunity to share with some who stopped. I could only speak English but we had some on our team who spoke Italian, French and Spanish.

I stayed for the whole month and helped in the transition of the two teams one of which was a huge team from Northern Ireland. On our days off we visited the sites of Rome and at night we enjoyed strolling the streets together learning about the Italian way of life.

It was while there sitting on the balcony of the hostel at siesta time that God called me to go to Bible college to train for future ministry and I returned home, finished my second year of teaching and then started Moorlands Bible College the following September. From there God called us to serve him in Central Africa.

What an adventure that was for a 20 year old wee Scottish lassie and it launched me on a lifetime adventure with God. Thank you GLO for giving me the courage to get out of my comfort zone and launch out into the deep with God.

GLO Teams in Donegal

by Nelson Logan

A

fter some years of working in the South of Ireland with GLD/GLO teams I invited Fred and Ruth Kelling to join us for a team in Co. Donegal in 1978. Ruth had some relatives there so they were keen to bring the gospel to them.

These teams continued each year until 1985.

We then moved back to the South again working in Dublin and later in Navan.

We stayed in large caravans at Marblehill strand convenient to the area we were visiting in North West Donegal and on the islands of Aran, Inishbofin and Tory. I remember one night when we had completed our visits on Tory island the boatman refused to take us back to the mainland, saying he was going fishing. It turned out to be a ploy to get more money out of us.

These teams were very special, it was thrilling to walk across the sand dunes to Marblehill strand early in the morning and see the girls sitting reading the Bible having their quiet time. Each

morning we had challenging teaching from such Bible teachers as Reg Fry, Bobby Wright, Robert Mullan and John McQuoid then good times visiting door to door in afternoons and some evening meetings. God blessed the work and the small local churches were always encouraged with our team visits.

Some of these team members subsequently went overseas to serve the Lord and others served in the UK e.g. Paul & Isobel Graham-France, Dorothy Seed – France, David & Priscilla McAllister – Zambia, Stephen McQuoid and others. In one of Fred’s earliest GLO leaflets he said ‘The greatest need is for young people to give themselves to the Lord and His work while there is time and opportunity to labour in His great harvest field...’

We also had monthly prayer meetings in our home and annual training weekends at Castlewellan Castle organised by a local committee -Gavin McQuoid, Gary Jebb, Alan & David Wilson, Elspeth Mackie and myself.

15

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

40 Years of Short Term Mission

GLO Team to Rome 1975

by Senga Lake

I

t was the summer of 1975 and I had just finished my first year of teaching in Scotland. The long summer break stretched before me: what would I do with the time?

Having been on a few Easter and summer teams with GLO I heard of the proposed Italian team in Rome planned for the whole month of July. I volunteered and set off with Bob and Eileen Kilpatrick, their three young sons and Janis Cruickshank (now Williams) to drive overland all the way from Motherwell to Rome. It took us two whole days of non-stop driving in a minivan all crushed together. En route we joined with John and Cathie Speirs and their two young daughters. We had all to sleep together in a huge dormitory full of bunk beds in Florence for one night. Bathing and toilet arrangements were funny!! First the girls then the boys, what a laugh, but we were all so tired we slept like logs ready for the final leg of our journey to Rome.

On arrival in Rome we were met by the resident missionaries Dan Pasquale and his wife and another New Zealand couple. We stayed at a hostel and after Bible teaching in the morning we then went to distribute gospel leaflets in four different languages

14

right outside the Vatican where the Pope and Catholics worldwide were celebrating Holy Year, an event that takes place every 25 years.

What an opportunity to share with some who stopped. I could only speak English but we had some on our team who spoke Italian, French and Spanish.

I stayed for the whole month and helped in the transition of the two teams one of which was a huge team from Northern Ireland. On our days off we visited the sites of Rome and at night we enjoyed strolling the streets together learning about the Italian way of life.

It was while there sitting on the balcony of the hostel at siesta time that God called me to go to Bible college to train for future ministry and I returned home, finished my second year of teaching and then started Moorlands Bible College the following September. From there God called us to serve him in Central Africa.

What an adventure that was for a 20 year old wee Scottish lassie and it launched me on a lifetime adventure with God. Thank you GLO for giving me the courage to get out of my comfort zone and launch out into the deep with God.

GLO Teams in Donegal

by Nelson Logan

A

fter some years of working in the South of Ireland with GLD/GLO teams I invited Fred and Ruth Kelling to join us for a team in Co. Donegal in 1978. Ruth had some relatives there so they were keen to bring the gospel to them.

These teams continued each year until 1985.

We then moved back to the South again working in Dublin and later in Navan.

We stayed in large caravans at Marblehill strand convenient to the area we were visiting in North West Donegal and on the islands of Aran, Inishbofin and Tory. I remember one night when we had completed our visits on Tory island the boatman refused to take us back to the mainland, saying he was going fishing. It turned out to be a ploy to get more money out of us.

These teams were very special, it was thrilling to walk across the sand dunes to Marblehill strand early in the morning and see the girls sitting reading the Bible having their quiet time. Each

morning we had challenging teaching from such Bible teachers as Reg Fry, Bobby Wright, Robert Mullan and John McQuoid then good times visiting door to door in afternoons and some evening meetings. God blessed the work and the small local churches were always encouraged with our team visits.

Some of these team members subsequently went overseas to serve the Lord and others served in the UK e.g. Paul & Isobel Graham-France, Dorothy Seed – France, David & Priscilla McAllister – Zambia, Stephen McQuoid and others. In one of Fred’s earliest GLO leaflets he said ‘The greatest need is for young people to give themselves to the Lord and His work while there is time and opportunity to labour in His great harvest field...’

We also had monthly prayer meetings in our home and annual training weekends at Castlewellan Castle organised by a local committee -Gavin McQuoid, Gary Jebb, Alan & David Wilson, Elspeth Mackie and myself.

15

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

Receiving and Resourcing Reflections on the Early Years of Bookselling and Distribution at GLO Motherwell

by Ian Smith

O

ver the years GLO Business Ministries have proved to be a vital part of the overall work of GLO. The income that has been generated has purchased millions of gospel tracts, thousands of Bibles and gospel portions and has financed the work of ministry all over Europe. One of the things that has distinguished GLO Europe from other GLO ministries around the world has been our ability to generate funds in this way which has enabled us to do so much as we extend the Kingdom of God. However it is important to look beyond the issue of income generation and reflect on what these Business Ministries have done in themselves. The Bookshop has been of such blessing to Christians all over Central Scotland and beyond and has furnished the libraries of preachers, evangelists and Sunday School teachers alike. It has enabled the Christian public to keep up to date with developments in Christian resources and exposed them to the very best in evangelical scholarship and writing, not to mention music and evangelistic material.

The Coffee Shop has been an important meeting place for all kinds of people: ministers meeting members of their congregation, friends touching

by Geoff Ruston

W

hen we came to Motherwell in 1978 to join the little team of GLO workers who had pioneered the work in UK, the Centre was very different from the superb facilities today – an unused church building, an old church hall and a large wooden hut. The small bookshop, originally started by the first UK worker Robert Kilpatrick in Hamilton was now housed in the church foyer. The annual turnover was £20,000 and we could not have envisaged then that over the next 24 years, the shop would grow to become the leading independent Scottish Christian bookshop with annual sales of £400,000 making significant contributions to the wider mission work - or that Janet and I would have a significant part in that.

However in 1979, the Lord clearly redirected us to concentrate on the Bible and book ministry with Janet taking responsibility for the bookshop and myself running the STL wholesale depot.

From the beginning, there had been close links with Send the Light distributors (part of Operation Mobilisation) in Bromley, and a partnership was established whereby we served over a hundred bookshops in Scotland and the North of England, many of which I regularly visited with a bookmobile and others which we serviced by post. Close friendships were established and overnight hospitality enjoyed when on my travels. For several years the depot was housed in the wooden

hut before this was demolished to allow a new extension. This ministry continued until 1989 when the Bromley and Motherwell depots were consolidated in STL’s new facilities in Carlisle.

A number of factors contributed to the growth of the bookshop in those early years: • The close proximity of the wholesale depot provided great ‘back up stock’.

• A large dedicated group of book agents providing church bookstalls over a wide area.

• The renovation of the church building in 1981, including refurbishment of the bookshop, a new coffee shop and a large auditorium, brought many more people to the Centre.

• Extensive Bible, theology and resources sections.

• A wonderful team of workers too numerous to name – full-time, part-time and voluntary – but all committed to serving the Lord through the medium of the written word.

A Key Centre base for a chat, families having a relaxing coffee and cake together and pensioners just wanting a relaxing atmosphere where they can be together.

The Coffee Shop has also been a vital support to the Conferencing facilities we offer. The GLO Centre is an important venue non-Christians as well as Christians. Churches have hired the auditorium and other rooms for Christian events and concerts. Local government departments have found it to be a useful place for events, we have also played host to art classes, Public Enquiries and even political meetings. All of this has taken place in what is overtly a Christian Centre and we have communicated the love of Christ through our professionalism, hospitality and friendliness.

Also within the GLO Centre there is Tilsley College which has been training people for Christian service for decades. The College is only able to operate because of the facilities provided by the Centre, so too the administration department of GLO. Consequently the GLO Centre is a hub for evangelistic activity all over Europe. God has blessed the ministry that has taken place in the GLO Centre over the past 40 years and we pray that this key Centre will continue to be used by God in the future.

Sales continued to grow and in 1989 the shop moved to its present location in the area previously occupied by the depot.

As we look back, Janet and I are grateful to the Lord that we were privileged to be involved during what is widely acknowledged now to be the heyday of Christian bookselling. In a rapidly changing retailing environment, Christian booksellers today face many different challenges. We need to support them with our prayers and our custom!

The shop would grow to become the leading independent Scottish Christian bookshop, making significant contributions to the wider mission work.

16

17

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

Receiving and Resourcing Reflections on the Early Years of Bookselling and Distribution at GLO Motherwell

by Ian Smith

O

ver the years GLO Business Ministries have proved to be a vital part of the overall work of GLO. The income that has been generated has purchased millions of gospel tracts, thousands of Bibles and gospel portions and has financed the work of ministry all over Europe. One of the things that has distinguished GLO Europe from other GLO ministries around the world has been our ability to generate funds in this way which has enabled us to do so much as we extend the Kingdom of God. However it is important to look beyond the issue of income generation and reflect on what these Business Ministries have done in themselves. The Bookshop has been of such blessing to Christians all over Central Scotland and beyond and has furnished the libraries of preachers, evangelists and Sunday School teachers alike. It has enabled the Christian public to keep up to date with developments in Christian resources and exposed them to the very best in evangelical scholarship and writing, not to mention music and evangelistic material.

The Coffee Shop has been an important meeting place for all kinds of people: ministers meeting members of their congregation, friends touching

by Geoff Ruston

W

hen we came to Motherwell in 1978 to join the little team of GLO workers who had pioneered the work in UK, the Centre was very different from the superb facilities today – an unused church building, an old church hall and a large wooden hut. The small bookshop, originally started by the first UK worker Robert Kilpatrick in Hamilton was now housed in the church foyer. The annual turnover was £20,000 and we could not have envisaged then that over the next 24 years, the shop would grow to become the leading independent Scottish Christian bookshop with annual sales of £400,000 making significant contributions to the wider mission work - or that Janet and I would have a significant part in that.

However in 1979, the Lord clearly redirected us to concentrate on the Bible and book ministry with Janet taking responsibility for the bookshop and myself running the STL wholesale depot.

From the beginning, there had been close links with Send the Light distributors (part of Operation Mobilisation) in Bromley, and a partnership was established whereby we served over a hundred bookshops in Scotland and the North of England, many of which I regularly visited with a bookmobile and others which we serviced by post. Close friendships were established and overnight hospitality enjoyed when on my travels. For several years the depot was housed in the wooden

hut before this was demolished to allow a new extension. This ministry continued until 1989 when the Bromley and Motherwell depots were consolidated in STL’s new facilities in Carlisle.

A number of factors contributed to the growth of the bookshop in those early years: • The close proximity of the wholesale depot provided great ‘back up stock’.

• A large dedicated group of book agents providing church bookstalls over a wide area.

• The renovation of the church building in 1981, including refurbishment of the bookshop, a new coffee shop and a large auditorium, brought many more people to the Centre.

• Extensive Bible, theology and resources sections.

• A wonderful team of workers too numerous to name – full-time, part-time and voluntary – but all committed to serving the Lord through the medium of the written word.

A Key Centre base for a chat, families having a relaxing coffee and cake together and pensioners just wanting a relaxing atmosphere where they can be together.

The Coffee Shop has also been a vital support to the Conferencing facilities we offer. The GLO Centre is an important venue non-Christians as well as Christians. Churches have hired the auditorium and other rooms for Christian events and concerts. Local government departments have found it to be a useful place for events, we have also played host to art classes, Public Enquiries and even political meetings. All of this has taken place in what is overtly a Christian Centre and we have communicated the love of Christ through our professionalism, hospitality and friendliness.

Also within the GLO Centre there is Tilsley College which has been training people for Christian service for decades. The College is only able to operate because of the facilities provided by the Centre, so too the administration department of GLO. Consequently the GLO Centre is a hub for evangelistic activity all over Europe. God has blessed the ministry that has taken place in the GLO Centre over the past 40 years and we pray that this key Centre will continue to be used by God in the future.

Sales continued to grow and in 1989 the shop moved to its present location in the area previously occupied by the depot.

As we look back, Janet and I are grateful to the Lord that we were privileged to be involved during what is widely acknowledged now to be the heyday of Christian bookselling. In a rapidly changing retailing environment, Christian booksellers today face many different challenges. We need to support them with our prayers and our custom!

The shop would grow to become the leading independent Scottish Christian bookshop, making significant contributions to the wider mission work.

16

17

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

EUROPE

40 YEARS ON

2%

by Stephen McQuoid

A

s we look back over the history of GLO Europe it is important to ask the question, what has changed over the past 40 years? Clearly there have been great political changes. The EU which took over from EEC now consists of 28 sovereign nations, up from 9 in 1975. The Iron Curtain has also fallen and former Communist states are now democratic and free countries where commerce and a free press are a given. The most obvious example of this change must surely be the reunification of Germany. Culturally and economically Europe has also continued to develop to the point where the Europeans of 1975 might not easily recognise the Europe of today.

One thing that has not changed is the sheer spiritual need of this great continent. Indeed if anything, it is a much needier continent that it was back in 1975. Overall evangelicals only comprise about 2% of Europe’s 730 million people. That means, for example, there are ten times more

evangelical Christians in Africa than in Europe.

Indeed the global expansion of the gospel over the past century has been in marked contrast to the significant decline of the church in Europe.

As a continent Europe is increasingly secular and certainly less morally conscious as societal disintegration has undermined traditional values.

The average European is now more disengaged from the church than his parent’s generation were and knows less about the Bible than they did as the Bible and the Judeo-Christian worldview has disappeared from the public square. This is part of the reason many Europeans are so resistant to the gospel.

They are ambivalent about Europe’s Christian heritage seeing the great churches of Europe as no more than museums. Some might say that they are Roman Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox, but these designations are generally no more than expressions of cultural identity and do not represent any living faith or practice. In many European countries the prevailing culture has moved so far from the Christian faith that any attempt to evangelise will be met with a suffocating disinterest or open hostility.

There is, however, one very significant religious change that has taken place since 1975 and that is the rapid growth of Islam. Fuelled by immigration and a high birth rate Islam has become the second religion of Europe. It is the largest religion in Albania and Bosnia and of areas such as Kosovo as well as several Russian republics. It is also increasingly influential throughout most of Europe and savvy lobbying for concessions mixed with a political desire on behalf of European governments to work with Muslim sensibilities also mean a high profile for Islam and an influence disproportionate to its actual size. As Muslims integrate into multicultural Europe on their own terms they pose

10x

of 730 million are evangelical

more evangelicals

in Africa

both a challenge to the gospel and an opportunity for evangelism among Muslims under the protection of European laws.

These two powerful forces of secularism and Islam conspire to make the evangelisation of Europe an enormous challenge. In many parts of the world evangelism produces much fruit as people readily receive the gospel. In Europe there is fruit, but it is also very hard ground. It will take both determination and courage as well as creativity to reach this most difficult of continents.

It is on the Europe of 2015 that we in GLO want to focus. We believe that this is the cutting edge of mission! While we rejoice that missionaries, mission organisations and churches are being greatly blessed in Africa, Lain America and the Far East we have a conviction that we need to pour our energies into the evangelism of Europe, despite

the difficulties. We wish to bring Christ to the millions of Europeans who don’t know him and are ambivalent about the Christian faith. Our strategy as we face this huge challenge can be summed up in four words: Evangelise, Establish, Train, Resource!

We wish to engage in evangelism, both personal and mass evangelism to reach as many people as possible. We will use any method that we believe will be effective so as to reach as many people as possible. Our short term mission programme is one of the key ways of doing this as we mobilise people from all over Europe to be involved in teams lasting from a single weekend to a couple of weeks.

We also want to plant churches, establishing them as witnessing communities, reaching out to the lost. Our vision for these churches is that they will be mission minded and wanting to replicate themselves. We also train our own workers instilling in them the DNA of mission and we want to train people in churches across Europe so they too can be more effective witnesses and leadership.

In order to facilitate all of this we resource our ministries and mission as a whole not just by providing books and other resources but also by using the profits from our business ministries to finance mission. Having read this special edition of e-vision, rejoice with us in all that God has done over the past 40 years but pray also that God will continue to empower us in the future as we write the next chapter in the history of GLO. We can do this with your prayers and help.

These two powerful forces of secularism and Islam conspire to make the evangelisation of Europe and enormous challenge.

18

19

GLO Europe

GLO Europe

EUROPE

40 YEARS ON

2%

by Stephen McQuoid

A

s we look back over the history of GLO Europe it is important to ask the question, what has changed over the past 40 years? Clearly there have been great political changes. The EU which took over from EEC now consists of 28 sovereign nations, up from 9 in 1975. The Iron Curtain has also fallen and former Communist states are now democratic and free countries where commerce and a free press are a given. The most obvious example of this change must surely be the reunification of Germany. Culturally and economically Europe has also continued to develop to the point where the Europeans of 1975 might not easily recognise the Europe of today.

One thing that has not changed is the sheer spiritual need of this great continent. Indeed if anything, it is a much needier continent that it was back in 1975. Overall evangelicals only comprise about 2% of Europe’s 730 million people. That means, for example, there are ten times more

evangelical Christians in Africa than in Europe.

Indeed the global expansion of the gospel over the past century has been in marked contrast to the significant decline of the church in Europe.

As a continent Europe is increasingly secular and certainly less morally conscious as societal disintegration has undermined traditional values.

The average European is now more disengaged from the church than his parent’s generation were and knows less about the Bible than they did as the Bible and the Judeo-Christian worldview has disappeared from the public square. This is part of the reason many Europeans are so resistant to the gospel.

They are ambivalent about Europe’s Christian heritage seeing the great churches of Europe as no more than museums. Some might say that they are Roman Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox, but these designations are generally no more than expressions of cultural identity and do not represent any living faith or practice. In many European countries the prevailing culture has moved so far from the Christian faith that any attempt to evangelise will be met with a suffocating disinterest or open hostility.

There is, however, one very significant religious change that has taken place since 1975 and that is the rapid growth of Islam. Fuelled by immigration and a high birth rate Islam has become the second religion of Europe. It is the largest religion in Albania and Bosnia and of areas such as Kosovo as well as several Russian republics. It is also increasingly influential throughout most of Europe and savvy lobbying for concessions mixed with a political desire on behalf of European governments to work with Muslim sensibilities also mean a high profile for Islam and an influence disproportionate to its actual size. As Muslims integrate into multicultural Europe on their own terms they pose

10x

of 730 million are evangelical

more evangelicals

in Africa

both a challenge to the gospel and an opportunity for evangelism among Muslims under the protection of European laws.

These two powerful forces of secularism and Islam conspire to make the evangelisation of Europe an enormous challenge. In many parts of the world evangelism produces much fruit as people readily receive the gospel. In Europe there is fruit, but it is also very hard ground. It will take both determination and courage as well as creativity to reach this most difficult of continents.

It is on the Europe of 2015 that we in GLO want to focus. We believe that this is the cutting edge of mission! While we rejoice that missionaries, mission organisations and churches are being greatly blessed in Africa, Lain America and the Far East we have a conviction that we need to pour our energies into the evangelism of Europe, despite

the difficulties. We wish to bring Christ to the millions of Europeans who don’t know him and are ambivalent about the Christian faith. Our strategy as we face this huge challenge can be summed up in four words: Evangelise, Establish, Train, Resource!

We wish to engage in evangelism, both personal and mass evangelism to reach as many people as possible. We will use any method that we believe will be effective so as to reach as many people as possible. Our short term mission programme is one of the key ways of doing this as we mobilise people from all over Europe to be involved in teams lasting from a single weekend to a couple of weeks.

We also want to plant churches, establishing them as witnessing communities, reaching out to the lost. Our vision for these churches is that they will be mission minded and wanting to replicate themselves. We also train our own workers instilling in them the DNA of mission and we want to train people in churches across Europe so they too can be more effective witnesses and leadership.

In order to facilitate all of this we resource our ministries and mission as a whole not just by providing books and other resources but also by using the profits from our business ministries to finance mission. Having read this special edition of e-vision, rejoice with us in all that God has done over the past 40 years but pray also that God will continue to empower us in the future as we write the next chapter in the history of GLO. We can do this with your prayers and help.

These two powerful forces of secularism and Islam conspire to make the evangelisation of Europe and enormous challenge.

18

19

GLO Europe

Contact Details Stephen McQuoid (General Director) smcquoid@glo-europe.org 01698 267298

GLO Board Members Stephen Cracknell Mark Davies Graham Edwards Richard Elliott Sam Gibson Karen Macrae Stephen McQuoid Mike Packer Philippe Perrilliat Ian Smith Patrizio Zucchetto

Mark Davies (Training Director) mdavies@glo-europe.org 07503 953259 Sam Gibson (Missions Director) samgibson1980@btinternet.com 02890 479411 Ian Smith (Finance Director) ismith@glo-europe.org 01698 263483 Admin office admin@glo-europe.org 01698 263483 College Office college@glo-europe.org 01698 266776 GLO Bookshop books@glo-europe.org 01698 275343/ 252699

GLO SHORT-TERM MISSION TEAMS 2015

Tel 01698 263483 Fax 01698 253942 E-mail: admin@glo-europe.org Internet: www.glo-europe.org

Gospel Literature Outreach 78 Muir Street Motherwell ML1 1BN

Spaces are still available for the following short-term mission teams this year: Avellino Province, Italy Dรถmรถs, Hungary Naples, Italy Rambouillet, France Sรกzava, Czech Republic Enniscorthy, Republic of Ireland Motherwell, Scotland Eger, Hungary Genval, Belgium Aix en Provence, France

11-14 June 27 June - 5 July 29 June -7 July 4-11 July 25 July-1 August 1-15 August 8-16 August 11-18 August 22-30 August 10-17 October

For further information check out our website: www.glo-europe.org or contact Jenny / Allison on: 01698 263483 / admin@glo-europe.org

TRAINING FOR SERVICE

Some places are still available for the Training for Service course commencing in September 2015. For further information check out the website: www.tilsleycollege.com or contact college@glo-europe.org

20