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Experience Mission
Contents: Spearhead Winter 2009/10 Issue Editorial: Experience Mission The French Connection: A & V Kyle From the other angle: R Hamilton Music for the Soul 2009: C Hall Summer Mission Experience 2009 Welcome to Scotland J Dick Experience Mission through Tilsley College - S McQuoid An African Experience H Peebles Introducing New Workers
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Subscriptions There is no subscription rate for Spearhead but readers are welcome to send gifts towards postage and
European Edition Spearhead is published twice yearly by GLO UK to report on the work of GLO in Europe and around the world. Since 1971, in response to the Lord’s command, ‘go into the world...’, GLO has been serving the Lord in establishing local churches in partnership with assemblies, missionaries and national leaders in many countries. GLO workers are commended to the Lord’s work by their assemblies and are supported on a faith basis.
his summer I had the great privilege of visiting Zambia for two special reasons: Firstly, to join colleagues in GLO Zambia in celebrating 25 years of training and equipping Africans for mission. Felix Muchimba and his team have done a wonderful job in preparing many young people to be used in mission across Zambia and beyond. More than 300 men and women have been trained for ministry through the GLO Discipleship Course. The other reason that I travelled to Zambia was to attend two missions’ conferences. It was inspiring to hear reports from Angola, Chad, Mozambique and many other African countries where mission is such a priority and many are coming to faith in Christ. It is humbling to hear young people telling of their sacrifice and commitment to serve the Lord in mission. One longs for the flame that is spreading through Africa to touch our shores here in Europe. In this edition of Spearhead, from many different perspectives, people are sharing their experience of mission. It reminds me of the Scripture in Luke chapter 10 when Jesus sent the 70 into mission and in verse 17 they returned to report with great joy all that they had seen, witnessed and experienced. John Speirs
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The French Connection I
n 1975, I joined a GLO team in Caen, Normandy. It was my first experience with GLO and my first experience on short term mission. During the 2 weeks I spent on the team I had the very strong conviction that God was calling me to work, one day, full time in France. This needed to be confirmed, of course, and a helping hand in this direction came when I met Valerie (on a GLO team) on another short term team in Caen. She too had received a call to France. Five years later, as a married couple, we arrived in Rambouillet near Paris, to begin a full time ministry in the Lord’s work. The church was very small, so we immediately thought about the possibility of having a short term team. We contacted GLO who gave us a quick and positive reply. This first team was followed by many others down through the 17 years that we worked in this area. We had several aims in inviting teams. Firstly, we were able to accomplish more evangelistic work in 2 weeks than we could have done in a year or more with the few Christians in the church. In fact, some of the activities that the team members undertook would have
been impossible to do without their help. Secondly, we wanted the teams to be an encouragement to local Christians. As our church grew in numbers over the years, we strongly encouraged local Christians to be involved in the work with the teams, in whatever way they could. Some Christians even arranged to take their annual leave to be with the team full time. Thirdly, as we had ourselves been so blessed by our experiences with short term GLO teams (in fact they changed the course of our lives) our prayer was that, by hosting teams we would encourage other Christians to commit their lives more fully to the Lord. We longed for other Christians to take a more active interest in mission. Finally, short term teams were a tremendous boost to us as a family. Our three lads looked forward every year to the teams and got involved in
them from a very young age. Mum and Dad thoroughly enjoyed the fun and the fellowship too! Having moved to Dunkirk and having worked with Petite Synthe, Dunkirk assembly for 10 years, this year we asked GLO to host our first short term team since moving to the town. Our church situation in Dunkirk is very different from our early days of teams in Rambouillet. We couldn’t help wondering if, after so many years everything would go well. We weren’t disappointed. Our church was blessed. We were blessed. Many people had the opportunity to read and hear the gospel message through the efforts of the team members. We pray that the experience will leave a lasting impression on the team members and on many Christians in our assembly. Go on… let’s have another team next year! Why not join us! Alan & Valerie Kyle
Top left: Literature Distribution Top Right: GLO Team 2009, Dunkirk Below: Alan & Valerie Kyle
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Experiencing mission from the “other” Angle! H
aving served as a GLO resident missionary in Italy for some 19 years and having hosted probably around 50 teams over the course of that time, you can imagine how strange it was then to go back this year as a visiting team member! However that is exactly what happened in June of 2009 when 10 of us from Aberdeen went to form a GLO team in the Viterbo area of central Italy. The experience was interesting in the following ways:-
and other churches in Aberdeen. Within a relatively short period of time we had recruited the 10 folks required for the team. Our ages ranged from a 19 year old student up to a guy in his fifties. Because we were all from the one area, we had the advantage of being able to get together on two or three occasions before going out to Italy and, with information that the resident missionaries (Regin and Heidi Guttesen) had sent us, were able to do quite a bit of prayer and preparation work.
Recruiting and Planning Our aim was to “fill” the GLO team in Viterbo with folks from Aberdeen. So from early in the year, we highlighted the opportunity at Deeside Christian Fellowship
“Emotions” upon return It was a bizarre feeling to get off the flight at Rome airport and be picked up by the Giuseppe Longo the resident Italian worker – a task I had done myself many times in receiving visiting teams! Arriving at our accommodation there was great expectation on our part to see what it would be like – in organising accommodation for many years, I had probably forgotten how much that particular aspect means to visiting folks. Within a short time of arriving we received a good team orientation session from the Guttesens and Giuseppe Longo. Again, being on the receiving end of this aspect reinforced to me how important that is in helping the visiting team members “find their feet”.
“The team was of tremendous encouragement”
Frustration I would have to admit to a certain feeling of frustration as we launched into team activities. Having been at the planning end for many years, there was a sense of probably ill-founded irritation that the activities and events weren’t planned in the way in which I may have done it! However
within a day or two I had “settled down” and enjoyed not having the responsibility of organising the programme and yet being able to experience fresh ideas and ways of doing things. Joys I hadn’t been away from Italy for all that long (1 year) but there was tremendous joy in being able to go back into that culture and language that we had obviously grown to love and appreciate. It was especially refreshing to be involved again in overt evangelism in the piazzas and on the streets in a way in which in the UK is perhaps no longer culturally viable (or maybe we have just grown timid and fearful in our approach?) Value Not that I needed convincing but this experience of going back to Italy as a visiting mission team member reinforced to me yet again the value of short-term teams. The team was of tremendous encouragement to the small struggling groups of believers in the Viterbo area, it created an “excuse” for them to have events to which they could invite their non-Christian friends and neighbours, it gave real encouragement and practical help to the resident Italian evangelist, Giuseppe, and indeed the whole experience also brought a lot encouragement to the GLO team members who came. I would say that there is particular value in recruiting an entire team from the one church or locality and going on mission as a group. Here’s to the next time! Robert Hamilton Deeside Christian Fellowship, Aberdeen
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Music 4 the Soul 2009 T
he GLO summer team Music 4 the Soul took place in July this year. It’s the third year we had organised this particular type of team, basing all the events around music and hour and a half length concerts. The first two teams took place in France, but this year we took the risk of exporting the team to the UK. We find there’s an element of stress in the lead up to any GLO team that you’re leading or organising, in that you have no idea who will join the team, what particular skills they will bring to the team, how they will deal with team life, how they will cope with culture and language differences, whether people will respond to invitations, etc. Because of the nature of the Music 4 the Soul team, there are also some particular apprehensions such as: What if we get 10 singers and no musicians? What if we get 10 trumpet players! Will the team be able to pull the songs together in time for the first concerts? Will we be able to get the harmonies? Will the technical side of things work out okay? Will team members manage learning songs in a different language? It has to be said, that
this particular team depends greatly on the team members’ musical abilities. But it’s always amazing by the end of the team to see how everything works together. And it has to be said, that through the 3 years that we have been organising this type of GLO team, God has always provided the necessary abilities and equipment to perform quality concerts which express who he is and his desire for us to be reconciled with him. This year was no different. Perhaps this has also to do with the fact that the majority of those who take part in a GLO team come with a very humble attitude, willing to serve, and ready to have a go at whatever is demanded of them, with the aim of sharing God’s love with others. This has certainly been our experience of GLO team members and this year proved to be no different. As team leaders, it’s a massive encouragement to see God working in the team members. It’s great to see individuals growing in their faith, being challenged in their walk with him, using the gifts and abilities with which he has entrusted them, gaining confidence in those abilities, taking risks, trying new things, and gaining confidence in God as he uses them to
testify to his love and presence in their lives. And their willingness to do these things is itself a source of inspiration. It’s also fantastic to see how appreciative local churches are of the particular evangelistic opportunities offered by a GLO
“It was great to see the enthusiasm of the individual team members” team, to see how churches are encouraged by the individual team members, by their desire and willingness to serve God, and also to see local church members taking part where they can in the life of the team. As team leaders then, a GLO team is an opportunity to see God’s provision, to see him at work in the lives of individuals, to see local churches encouraged, and to see God reveal his love to those that don’t know him through the willingness of his children to make themselves available. Chris & Michelle Hall Chateau Gontier, France
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Experience Mission
“The GLO Team made me totally fired up for God” “One of the best things I have done in my life”!
If you want to make great friends, have an awesome impact on a local community, help others and completely encourage your own personal faith then go on a GLO Team – it was brilliant”! “Amazing experience! The people were amazing, the food was really amazing and it really helped me gain confidence in praying in front of other people!”
“My walk with God certainly deepened during this trip.”
Summer Mission Experiences 2009
“It was such an amazing experience to bring the Lord’s word through music, many people were touched”
“Despite being terrified of meeting loads of new people, the team bonded really quickly and everyone really looked out for each other. I felt part of a community and looked after by the other team members and being prayed for by them was a very special experience.”
“The team was refreshing and a real encouragement to both of us in our personal walk with God” 6
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Join
In For
2010! Location ALBANIA
Vlore
Dates
3/9 – 13/9
AFRICA
Madagascar
1/8 – 18/8
FRANCE
“This was a new experience and it taught us to rely on God.”
Quimper Petite Synthe Dunkerque Laval Alencon
1/7 13/7 2/4 – 10/4 7/7 – 20/7 14/8 - 28/8
HUNGARY
Domos
21/8 - 29/8
ITALY
Fuorigrotta, Naples Reggio Emilia
2/7 – 12/7 4/9 – 11/9
POLAND
Southern Poland
31/7 – 8/8
REP OF IRELAND
Enniscorthy Limerick
7/8 – 21/8 7/8 – 14/8
ROMANIA
Talmaciu Talmaciu: GLO Centre / Lepsa: Teen Ranch “GLO Teams are a reminder of how God can use us”.
Special World Cup Outreach with OM “The 2010 ULTIMATE GOAL CHALLENGE” details can be supplied on request
1/7 – 12/7 27/7 – 9/8
UK
Hereford, England Johnstone, Scotland Renfrew, Scotland Newcastle Upon Tyne, England Crescent Church, Belfast, Northern Ireland Hillside Community Church, Ballymena
2/7 - 11 /7 3/7 – 11/7 24/7 - 31/7 1/7 – 11/7 14/8 - 21/8 24/7- 1/8
For further details or an application form contact Anna Pinney, GLO Admin Office. Tel. 01698 263483. E-mail: admin@glo-europe.org. Or, check the website: www.glo-europe.org 7
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Experience Mission
Welcome to Scotland W
Top left - GLO Team Johnstone 2009 Top Right - Dimity Street Church Group Below - Puppet Ministry
e began hosting GLO teams in 2002 and from that time we have received a variety of team members ranging from those living locally who wanted to be part of this exciting church plant, to those from overseas who discovered the team on a mission form and signed up, not knowing what they were coming to! We have had people join us from Africa, Italy, France, Germany, England, Northern Ireland and from closer to home Paisley, Bellshill, Motherwell, Greenock & Dalry! Many people’s thoughts of going on mission, involve heading overseas to a sunnier climate, diverse cultures and travelling long distance to reach others for Christ, so why would anyone want
to experience mission in Johnstone, Scotland. The many valued team members we have received over the years have come and brought their various gifts and talents to complement the willing volunteers from our own church. As we plan and prepare for the team’s arrival, anticipating great things, we always question, who are these people? Where will they come from? What will they do? And why are they coming? Each year we have seen that the Lord has called and sent the right people to come and be part of this exciting work. We have been blessed by those who choose to invest a week of their lives sacrificing their time and money to serve the Lord. This had an impact on our new Church who recognise that God is using others to come and join them to serve, and that our town is an important part of God’s mission field on a worldwide scale. This has also inspired our young people to take their faith from Johnstone and serve worldwide based on the examples they have witnessed coming to be with
our church in Scotland. All of the team members we have welcomed over these seven years of summer teams have been willing to try new things, fully involve themselves and embrace the local people where they are at. We still have local contacts who every year will ask if we will be having our summer outreach programme and are excited to meet people who value their town, young people and community. These links are so important in our everyday interactions as we work planting Dimity Street Church and seeing relationships established and people saved as a result of our faithfulness to mission here in Scotland. Maybe the Lord is calling you to short term mission in the future, consider a mission closer to home where you speak the language, you can use your gifts and talents and explore what God is doing here in Scotland, changing lives and seeing new churches planted in these days of spiritual darkness in our own nation. John Dick
“We have been blessed by those who choose to invest their time and money serving the Lord” 8
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Experience Mission Through Tilsley College L
ife is full of stereotypes. People make assumptions about lots of things in life, not because they know the reality of what is happening but because they have a stereotypical image in their minds. Consequently the mental image they have becomes their frame of reference. Bible colleges often suffer because of this. When people think of Bible College, the kind of words that often come to mind are things like: academic, theory, ivory tower, detached, bookish and anorak. Of course there can be some substance to this because theological education has at times been about head knowledge and nothing else. This stereotype, however, is not true for all colleges and certainly not true for Tilsley College. Ever since Tilsley College was formed, its focus has been on mission. Not just the theory of mission but its practice also. A key component in mission is the missionary! Consequently the person and his or her character is of great importance. As a result, Tilsley College focuses on three issues as it trains men and women. These can be summed up in the words knowledge, skills and character. We want to produce people who know God and his plans for the world, and know how the mission of God in the world should be carried out. We want students to develop skills that will enable them to participate effectively in mission. But we also want students to have a Christ-like character so that they can engage in mission with integrity. The result of this emphasis is that our course is not just about theory, but also the experience of mission. Students experience mission on the course in a variety of ways. Every week they have practical assignments which will give them an insight into aspects of children’s work, youth work and social care. These real life situations
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are supervised to maximize the training element, but it is real involvement with real people. Throughout the year there are also evangelistic opportunities including innovative outreach in local shopping centres and street-based work, as well as taking services in a variety of churches. At the end of the first term, the students also spend a week, as a group, in a European non-English speaking mission situation. Here they hear about mission from people who are practitioners and get an opportunity to engage in evangelism. At the end of term 4 the students also conduct a 10 day mission with a church somewhere in the UK. This is followed by a field-term in which each student will go to a location of his or her own choosing and spend four weeks working alongside a missionary or local Christian worker. All of these experiences are designed to envision the students with the spiritual needs of the world and give them the confidence to feel that they can make a difference. While the course is immensely practical, it would be wrong to forget that study is a vital discipline in Christian service. If the students are to be effective in mission (whether home
or abroad – as conventional ntional missionaries or missionaries onaries in the workplace) theyy need to understand the he Bible, theology, issuess such as leadership
“Mission iis nott jjustt something we should talk about, it should be experienced” and youth work and be able to use apologetics intelligently. Equally, they need to be the kind of people God can use in His service, and that means they need to be mature, relational and Christ like. The course, through its mentoring system, is designed to work towards this outcome. Mission is not just something we should talk about, it is something to be experienced. I believe an ideal starting point is to spend a year at Tilsley College and experience mission within a training context first hand. Stephen McQuoid
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Experience Mission
An African Experience L
eading a GLO team to Malawi was for me at the same time a totally exhausting and wholly positive experience. Team selection was different from the norm in that virtually all the 7 team members (8 including myself) were personally invited to join the team. I adopted this approach since there are special cultural challenges in visiting Africa that require a measure of emotional stability as well as spiritual maturity. Visiting villages in rural Africa was a real challenge to some of the team although the youngest member was 26. Each team member was specifically gifted and embraced the areas of education, music, drama, sports coaching and preaching. We went to support a relatively new church plant in Blantyre. It was a privilege to work with a mature and very committed group
of young people who were ready to tackle with enthusiasm every challenge presented to them and who gelled together as a unit from day one. This team spirit was helped by a significant amount of coordinated advanced planning. We met for two separate days at home to plan and pray, and had our programme totally arranged in advance on the basis of detailed discussions with Jonathan Newall, the missionary with whom we were working. Leadership responsibility for the significant variety of activities we undertook was allocated to different team members. Every member was responsible for at least one aspect of the ministry and that member was then responsible to produce the necessary ‘ tools’ for each task. (eg 10 netballs, 15 footballs, clothes for dramas, literature for teaching English, haggis for a Scottish night etc!)
Taking the risk of trusting young people with real responsibility and seeing them faithfully and effectively fulfilling that responsibility in a sacrificial way, for the blessing of others, for the glory of God and for their own personal development, was for me an enriching and gratifying experience. Leading a team with focused goals for a specific period is an excellent opportunity for developing leadership qualities within the team members. It is an opportunity to trust the emerging generation to take real responsibility, while being on hand to help if required. Howard Peebles
“Visiting villages in rural Africa was a real challenge for some of the team” 10
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Brian & Liz Hawthorne – Renfrew, Scotland
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rian & Liz Hawthorne from Newtownards, N Ireland are working, in association with GLO, within Albert Hall, Renfrew. They studied at Tilsley College, Motherwell during 2006/07 and subsequently undertook the Second Year Internship Programme before moving to Renfrew. Brian and Liz have three children: Benjamin (17 years), Rebecca (15 years), Grace (11 years). They recently organised a special Christmas programme for schools in association with Scripture Union and their report follows: Over four days, the church welcomed almost 300 primary 6 children from all five primary schools in Renfrew. The two hour programme was packed with a number of short and engaging sessions that would try to help the
children understand the real meaning of Christmas. We began each session with some fun challenges followed by a special Christmas craft time that would involve making a stable, gift or candle from coloured mosaic tiles. The Christmas story, itself, was told using a variety of presentation methods; flash cards, drama, puppets, video clips and there was also good opportunity for group discussions and reflection. As we reflect on the week, we have so much for which to praise God: • We had sufficient and valuable helpers each day. • The response sheets from each of the teachers were very positive. • Each child received the UCB bag of hope along with a gift and an invitation to our special Christmas services.
Brian & Liz Hawthorne with Benjamin, Grace and Rebecca Albert Hall, Renfrew
Introducing GLO Workers
Juli & Ela Muhameti – Vlore, Albania
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e are Juljan and Suela Muhameti from Vlore, Albania. We both became Christians in our teenage years - Juli when he was 13 years old and Ela when she was 9 years old. Ela was brought up in a Christian home in the capital Tirana and after leaving school went to study English at Vlore University. Juli was born and brought up in Vlore and is still waiting for God to save his parents – so please pray about this.
We got married in the summer of 2008 and even at this point in our lives we had a real desire to serve God in Albania. After 2 months of marriage we moved to Motherwell, Scotland to study at GLO. Both of us were aware of our need to learn more about the Bible and to receive good sound training in what it means to serve God with our lives. While at GLO the Lord really touched our lives in many ways and it became clear that God was asking us to serve him in Church Planting in the city of
Orikum which is located just a few miles south of Vlore. We returned to Albania in June 2009 and after settling back into Albanian life started serving God full-time from September 2009. We are involved in the very early stages of Church planting, have a prison ministry and are involved in the work amongst the many students in Vlore. We are so thankful to be serving God in this way and would value prayer as we work full-time with GLO in this service.
Above Left: Vlore, Albania Above: Juli & Ela Muhameti
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GLO European Workers UK: Newcastle upon Tyne Andy & Claire Gibson Johnstone Bobby & Mairi Sneddon John & Fiona Dick Renfrew Brian & Liz Hawthorne Bellshill Colin & Margaret MacPhie #Alasdair & Lynsey Burt MISSIONS: Sam & Andrea Gibson
Tel 01698 263483 Fax 01698 275418 E-mail: admin@glo-europe.org Internet: www.glo-europe.org
Gospel Literature Outreach 78 Muir Street Motherwell ML1 1BN
BUSINESS MINISTRIES & ADMINISTRATION John & Cathie Speirs Jan Goodall Anna Pinney Ian & Jenny Smith TILSLEY COLLEGE: Stephen & Debbie McQuoid Carolyn Baker David & Margaret Clarkson Mark & Shirley Davies Allison Hill Alastair & Ruth Noble
FRANCE: Bagnols-sur-Ceze Pierre & Alison Bariteau David & Sheena Buchan David & Dominique Buc
Laval Mike & Alison Packer Chateau Gontier Chris & Michelle Hall Christian & Catherine Moreau Marseille Philippe & Marie-Christine Perrilliat Garry & Kim Blair (on furlough in Scotland) Marie-Christine Fave Christian & Ruth-Lise Piaget Nante William & Liz Irwin Quimper Yannick & Margaret Ollivier ITALY: Campobasso Regin & Heidi Guttesen
Marsciano Erion & Victoria Pici
Naples Patrizio & Jennifer Zucchetto Pozzengo #Adino & Eleanor Ricossa Tuscany Leo & Angela Isac IRELAND: Enniscorthy Andrew & Lorna Burt Magdalene Burt Limerick John & Linda Stanfield
Berny & Michaela Tuccillo ROMANIA: Talmaciu George & Lidia Sortan Dani & Doina Vasilca SPAIN: Murcia Aurelio & Nani Esquembri
#self-supporting
ALBANIA Vlore Juli & Ela Muhameti DENMARK: Copenhagen Valdemar & Ruth L眉tzen J贸gvan & Elin Jacobsen Andrew & Sara Berghamar FAROE ISLANDS: Torshavn J贸gvan & Unn Zachariassen
For further information or up-to-date details of team places still available please contact Anna Pinney: Tel: 01698 263483 E: admin@glo-europe.org W: www.glo-europe.org 12
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