Speahead Summer 2011
Why Europe?
Gospel Literature Outreach
Contents:
Spearhead Summer 2011 Issue Editorial: Why Europe (Stephen McQuoid) Europe – A lonely Mission Field (by Eleanor Ricossa) Why Europe? (by Stephen McQuoid) European Secularism (by John Hunter) Miracles in the Mayenne (by Mike Packer) Eastern Europe (by Roger Brind) Country Profile - France (by Pierre Bariteau) GLO Bookshop (Andrew Lacey) Tilsley College (Mark Davies) First Serve / Learning to Lead / Summer Teams
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Europe – A Lonely Mission Field
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European Edition
Spearhead is published twice yearly to report on the work of GLO in Europe and around the world and to promote mission interest. GLO exists to engage in evangelism, church planting and training. This is done in partnership with missionaries and national leaders in many countries. There is no subscription rate for Spearhead but readers are welcome to send gifts towards postage and production.
was taken aback a few weeks ago when reading the new edition of ‘Operation World’ to discover that for every one evangelical Christian in Europe there are 10 in Africa. While I thank God for the tremendous growth that has taken place in Africa, not least because I grew up there, I lament the tremendous spiritual dearth that exists in Europe. Something urgently needs to be done about this and it is for this reason that GLO Europe exists. In this edition of Spearhead we are asking the question ‘Why Europe?’ It is an important question to ask. Why should Europe be such a priority in mission? We will think about the impact of secularism within European culture and the challenge which Europe poses to the church. But there is also good news, because many Europeans are becoming Christians and the church is experiencing growth. As you read please pray that God will use the ministry of GLO to do something to reach the many Europeans who know nothing about real faith. Stephen McQuoid GLO General Director Facebook: GLO-europe Stephen McQuoid
Leaving a Lasting Legacy Many 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, 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.
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If you would like further information on the use of legacies then write to: Stephen McQuoid GLO Centre 78 Muir Street Motherwell ML1 1BN
God laid Italy on my heart while I was still young, during a holiday with my parents. I later returned on a GLO team to Rome during Holy Year in 1975. I continued doing GLO summer teams, until 1989 when I began to serve the Lord full time in Italy. After three years I married my Italian husband Adino, and moved up to the north of Italy. It took me years to realise just how few Evangelical Christians there are in Italy. 70% of the 80,101 communities have no Evangelical witness. What does this mean in practice? Often friends ask: “We are coming to Italy on holiday, where is the nearest Evangelical Church?” Usually we need to say “it’s two hours or more from where you are staying”, because there is no Evangelical
church in many of the big towns. Europe is a wide open mission field but few are willing to come. Knowing you are in the right place, gives God’s peace. We have faced the challenges of starting a new work, and the feeling of loneliness is particularly acute when problems arise. But while we can be lonely, we are never alone; God has never disappointed or let us down. He has sent folks all along the way to give advice and help, much appreciated as we are over 600 km from our nearest GLO colleagues. We work with a church in Brusasco with 25 attendees, from a four year old to an elderly gentleman of over 84. Most are from a Roman Catholic background and have a lot of “baggage” which takes
years to undo. Adino does a fair amount of the teaching and almost all of the visitation and home Bible studies. For the first time in Italy, Bibles are on sale at some supermarkets for €1.50. This is really good as for many years Italians were prohibited from reading the Bible. In our area it is not easy to do door-to-door work because of the many local J.W.’s and it is prohibited to put literature in the letter boxes. Crescentino, our local town has a population of 15,000 with no Evangelical witness. We give thanks that the council of Crescentino have given permission to have the book table at the market on Fridays. They have refused other organisations, saying our presence was enough. The gospel calendars go into many homes in the wider area, through the book-table. Mission is about people, whether it is taking someone to a hospital appointment, answering their questions or encouraging someone with a phone call. We give thanks that God has called us, and has been faithful in meeting all our needs, (practically, financially, and spiritually) over the last 18 years. We push on with patience, faith and love despite the loneliness of our calling.
By Eleanor Ricossa
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Gospel Literature Outreach
“ A great city like London contains every nationality in the world and 60% of church attendees are from ethnic minorities”
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hen the modern missionary movement began in the late 19th century, hundreds of young European Christians threw caution to the wind and set sail for some of the great missionary destinations of the world such as Africa, Latin America and the Far East. The tremendous success of their efforts can now be seen in the fact that these parts of the globe are now home to literally millions of believers. Indeed the latest edition of Operation World reports that the number of evangelicals in Africa has now exceeded 182 million (p.32).
Things have now gone full circle to the point where Europe is now one of the most important mission destinations on earth. Operation World informs us that there are only 18 million evangelicals in Europe, only one tenth of the number in Africa. Europe is also a tough mission field. It is an expensive place to live, its peoples are generally secular and hard to reach with the gospel and church growth moves at a very slow pace. Nevertheless, despite the challenges, it remains a key mission destination that deserves our focus. Why should we see Europe as a priority in mission? The first reason is the sheer spiritual need of the continent. It seems that wherever you look there are major spiritual challenges that have to be addressed as Europe is a spiritually barren place. Indeed more than 700 million of its inhabitants have no personal
“ Things have now gone full circle to the point where Europe is one of the most important mission destinations.” 4
relationship with Christ. While it is true that Europe has had a great Christian past, what remains of Christendom within the continent shows little sign of spiritual vitality. A brief survey of the European religious landscape reveals the extent of the problem. The island nations of the United Kingdom and Ireland aptly demonstrate the collapse of Christian influence. The UK which is largely Protestant has been greatly blessed in the past by revival and a history of great Christian leaders. Now, however, the UK is engulfed by a tide of moral relativism that gives evidence of a spiritual vacuum. Ireland meanwhile has seen in recent years a significant erosion of the once dominant influence of the Roman Catholic Church. If our focus moves north to the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland we see nations that superficially are among the most Christian in Europe with the State Church enjoying
a high membership. However this merely masks societies that are dominated by materialism, secularism and liberalism where evangelicals are a tiny minority. Moving down to mid-western Europe, the heartland of the Reformation, we find The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. Germany, Switzerland and The Netherlands are religiously divided between Catholics and Protestants, but much of the Protestantism is influenced adversely by liberalism. Austria and Belgium are nominally Catholic, although 31% of Belgians now claim to be atheist or non-religious. The sunshine states of the Mediterranean such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta are amongst the most spiritually needy countries in Europe. France is the second largest country in Europe and one of the most influential. The French are justifiably proud of their intellectual achievements and their sophistication, but it is essentially a secular state where there are ten times more people earning a living from occult practices than there are evangelical pastors and missionaries. Italy is likewise spiritually needy, as is Spain, which is now one of the world’s heaviest users of cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Turkey is an almost entirely Islamic country where the church is proportionately miniscule. Greece is dominated by the Orthodox Church and evangelicals find themselves persecuted. Eastern Europe is just as needy. Countries such as Poland, Hungary, Albania and Slovenia have very few evangelicals, the latter numbering just 0.01%. Orthodox or Catholic churches predominate apart from Bosnia and Albania which are Muslim. But it is not just the sheer spiritual need that demands we make Europe a focus of missionary endeavour. Other reasons are also significant. Europe still has a role to play on the world stage. It remains an economic and military
powerhouse and the largest free trading block in the world. But it is also a continent of ideas, many of which have been exported to the rest of the world. If Europe does not become Christianised once more, then European secularism is liable to spread to the rest of the world and make other parts of our planet as challenging to reach as Europe is. Moreover, Europe enjoys relative prosperity, political stability, and an unparalleled education system. It has a colonial past that affords strong links with every corner of the globe. The church in Europe, though small, has benefited from 400 years of theological reflection since the Reformation. It does not require great imagination to see how these factors make Europe a great potential launch pad for further missionary endeavour if the Church were to experience revival. Evangelising Europe today might mean another great European missionary movement tomorrow that could be a great vehicle for the expansion of the kingdom of God. Finally, it should not pass our notice that Europe is a place where peoples from other parts of the world and other religions can be reached safely. Immigration has meant that the world has come to Europe. A great city like London contains every nationality in the world and 60% of church attendees are from ethnic minorities. 8.5% of Londoners are Muslim, many of whom originate from countries with oppressive governments where evangelism is all but impossible. With European freedoms, however they can be reached and their presence should be seen as a great bonus for world evangelism. For all of these reasons we need to make Europe a great focus of mission. It should be at the top of our priority list and we should have an earnest desire to see Europe’s peoples reached for Christ. By Stephen McQuoid
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Speahead Summer 2011
Why Europe?
Gospel Literature Outreach
Life in
Secular Europe
n 2010 a Gallup Poll asked in several counties in Europe the question: “Does religion occupy an important place in your life?” Less than 40% of people surveyed gave a positive response. While Christianity once underpinned Europe’s entire culture, state authorities have caused it to largely disappear across the continent. Because we live in an imperfect world with its mix of political systems and, sadly, the abuse of many of them, a fusion of church and state is not always a thing to be desired. But the wholesale abandonment by governments in Europe of a traditional form of belief in biblical ethics has left national voids in the rule of societies into which flooded all kinds of other beliefs, including secularism – the belief that governments should exist separately from religion. All this stemmed from The Enlightenment which was a deliberate attempt to side-line religion to the margins of personal experience and remove its influence over national governments.
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5 million people pilgrimaged to Lourdes 6
Two centuries ago a group of thinkers decided that Christianity was an outdated belief system. They thought that religion was mere superstition and instead wanted mankind to live by reason alone. These men, such as Voltaire, Diderot and Kant, are still revered today as great minds. No longer should the Bible or the Church set absolute standards of belief or morality but rational thought would now determine what was right and wrong. A continent’s formal ditching of Christianity and its embrace of secularism has produced the Western Europe we have today. And while an emphasis on rationalism has given us the modern world of materialism and agnosticism, it has also ushered in the secular belief that God, if there is one, has no place in the life of nations nor in their affairs of state. He is to be
“ People now look for other things to fill their lives.”
“ In Europe the anti-religious force of secularism remains strong.” confined to one’s personal and private experience alone, if at all. People now look for other things to fill their lives and to get over ills which are in themselves never addressed, while a secular culture offers nothing but tired formulas dressed up as real variety. This secular view has gradually but securely taken root in the thinking of succeeding generations to the point where it has appealed most to a present mid-life generation of Europeans, the once baby boomers of the 1950’s and 1960’s who emerged from the austerity of the War Years. They have sought security, prosperity, and well-being in money and material goods and an ever-increasing standard of living while, at the same time, getting rid of Bible and Church ethics. In national life there is no longer any fixed authority that defines who we are or what we should be. This is a failure of our self-understanding in the context of the spiritual. Not content for The Enlightenment to banish religion from our idea of European history, militant secularism continues to claim that progress lies with the secular mind-set and to push for the complete eradication of all things spiritual from contemporary society and to wish away Christianity. This was pithily articulated by Alistair Campbell in 2003 when, as spokesman for the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, he said to a journalist, “we don’t do God”. A lady interviewed recently in Edinburgh about matters of faith said: “Oh yes, I believe there is a God, but I don’t know where he is or what He does!” She still, apparently, regards herself as a “Christian” but her belief is not active or life-changing. She is what might be called “a cultural Christian”, but not a true believer. For 2000 years Christianity has produced societies with order, structure and a sense of moral purpose and, more importantly, has provided individuals with a spiritual focus in their lives. But all is not as bleak as it seems! It
appears now that real awareness of a need for the spiritual is returning to a younger generation of Europeans. For Christianity, didn’t disappear with The Enlightenment and reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. A rising generation want a God-dimension to their lives even if governments do not dare to speak His name. This leads to the conclusion that secular belief has not satisfied and its godless direction is not to be followed. Truth, as opposed to materialism, has become important once again - the spiritual, rather than the secular more to be desired. Last year 5 million people pilgrimaged to Lourdes and 2 million went to Fatima! Every week last summer 6000 young people went to the Taize Community in France. The skies of Europe are filled with people travelling to such places of religious experience, their journeys, evidence of a search, a hope, a feeling. Searching for meaning in life seems rooted in our human nature. Such travels can be expressive of deep conviction but many also give room for the ‘not sure’ – hoping to find something on the way or at the end. Our forebears lived in a Europe within generally Christian societies; societies that looked back to Creation and forward to the Heavenly Kingdom. Europe has largely lost that belief. But what replaced it – secularism, materialism, modern industrialism – have now proved to be nothing but empty dreams, false promises in the wealth of nations. Hopes of political paradises have collapsed. May be this is why an ever increasing number of young Europeans feel such journeys have to be made. Without the promise of a future what can one do except live in the present. And that is what many are doing and finding it entirely dissatisfying. And so they search for what will satisfy. This is therefore, potentially, a significant moment for Christianity. If we are able to live and share our Christian hope, then we can offer
something for which people are searching and crying out in Europe “come over and help us.” Help us find the way, find the truth, find the life. The call of Europe in the 21st century is the same as it was in the 1st century. We believe GLO has a part to play in answering the call and taking the message of real enlightenment to a dark continent. In Europe the anti-religious force of secularism remains strong. It has brought a spiritual emptiness to modern European life while in other parts of the world the message of Christ is flourishing. As Lord Rees Mogg once said “those whose European experience has led them to believe that God is dead seem to be making a most provincial as well as a preposterous mistake.” By John Hunter
Below: The Taize Community in France.
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Speahead Summer 2011
Why Europe?
Gospel Literature Outreach
Miracles in the
Mayenne Bernadette’s story “ The only thing she was sure of was that she would die one day. Everything she succeeded in still left her with a bitter taste”
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ernadette was brought up in a Catholic family and went to a private Catholic school. But after getting married and moving to the West of France there wasn’t the same opportunity to meet with other Catholics and for 30 years she stopped all contact with the Catholic Church. Her professional life as a teacher was always fulfilling and family life continued with the birth of two children. However as the years passed Bernadette felt increasingly frustrated that her life was racing by and she didn’t know where she was going or how her life would finish. The only thing she was sure of was that she would die one day. Everything she succeeded in still left her with a bitter taste of being unfinished. For over 30 years the Bible had been on her bedside table, yet hardly ever opened. She felt the time had come to open the Bible to better understand the world in which she was living. “Morning and evening I read the Bible, savouring each moment and for the first time becoming convinced that God existed. I wanted to worship and praise this great God and as I was a Catholic I went back to the Catholic Church but it wasn’t then that I trusted the risen Jesus Christ. During the school holidays I read the Bible even more, devouring the
text, until one day my whole life changed. I was very stressed waiting for an important ‘phone call and I couldn’t concentrate on my readings in the Old Testament. So, I just opened the Bible and fell upon John’s gospel. I was totally amazed! What I read was personally addressed to me, it was a true revelation. The living Jesus was speaking to me, His message was for me, it was relevant and spoke profoundly to me. The same day I met the parents of a pupil in my class and they spoke to me about a Bible study they attended on a weekly basis. Seeing my interest they asked if I would like to go. I answered “YES” and then asked what I needed to read beforehand. They told me it was a passage in John’s gospel, the same passage I had just read when Jesus Christ revealed himself to me. I was astounded; the Lord had prepared a path for me to follow, a new life had started. Here is what I wrote in my diary “Jesus Christ you came into my life this Wednesday morning. You are alive, fill my heart with your presence. You know the trust I have in you and you say to us“…apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5” Bernadette
Annie’s story “I
was brought up in a normal Catholic family where the basic religious rituals, Catechism, First Communion, weddings, baptisms and funerals, were respected, yet we never spoke about God. For me God existed, but He was up in the heavens and I would see Him after my death if I didn’t do anything too bad like commit murder or steal. I met Michel and we had two children (now 20 and 13 years old). When we arrived in Chateau Gontier, Michel started to drink heavily and our whole life revolved around how he was. If he was having a bad day, we had a bad day, if he was having a good day, we had a good day. In 2006 Michel’s father was diagnosed with throat cancer which needless to say depressed Michel and caused him to drink even more. It was the year that we had our house built, the year when I was at the end of my tether. I had committed myself to 30 years of debt to pay off our house with a man who I found increasingly difficult to live with and two children whose future needed to be taken care of. Then one day I met Chantal, an artist who gave art classes with a local
association. She was a friend who I could confide in and she often spoke of her faith but also that she hadn’t found a Christian fellowship similar to the one she had attended in Picardy. I had previously met Chris (Hall) and as he was a pastor I put him in contact with Chantal. As time went by Chantal spoke to me more and more about God and what God had done for her. She encouraged me by saying God was there and that I could talk to Him, that He wanted to listen to us and console us. I found it all a bit strange to start with, but little by little I felt that I was no longer alone, but I thought that it was due to the fact that I had found a friend who would listen to me and comfort me. Chantal also spoke to me about another couple, Christian & Catherine (Moreau) who organised Bible studies. I went along with Chantal several times and this provoked a lot of questions for me. Sadly one morning in December we learnt that Michel’s father had died. Everything seemed to happen very quickly, Christian came to our house and prayed with us before we left and I was very touched by this. As a family we spent five very special days
together; it was as if I was upheld by a supernatural strength. As we sat in the church it was there that I said in my heart “it is God who is upholding us”. When we returned home I knew my heart was open to God’s calling; I had a thirst to know God better. I started to read, then devour, the Bible and went along to the Bible studies. The first verse of the Bible that really spoke to me was “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” Psalm 119:105. I was no longer alone, I started to give my problems to God and felt as if my heart was freed from burdens. The problems I had in my life were still there, but God was there as my Saviour and friend and the problems were less difficult to bear. The hope that nothing was impossible for God was sufficient to reassure me.” Annie
By Mike Packer
“ I was no longer alone, I started to give my problems to God and felt as if my heart was freed from burdens.”
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Speahead Summer 2011
Why Europe?
Gospel Literature Outreach
The Challenge of Eastern Europe C
hange and instability have dominated the lives of the millions of people who live in the many countries that now make up Central and Eastern Europe. The majority of these countries came into being as a result of war and revolution in the last century. At the beginning of the twentieth century three great powers dominated the region - a newly united Germany, Czarist Russia and the AustroHungarian Empire. This did not mean that Slovaks, Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Czechs, Serbs and many more groups did not exist, but they were minorities within the three empires. Some, like the Poles, boasted a long tradition of nationhood but others had never existed as independent nations. The minorities all sought, but were denied, full national, linguistic and cultural recognition by their political masters. The Treaty of Trianon which brought the formal end to the First World War established new countries 10
but introduced as many problems as it solved. Many minorities were not fully recognised and others – especially the Hungarians, Slovaks, Ukrainians - and the Balkan minorities were, and still are, very bitter at the way they were treated. This situation affects attitudes to the gospel in these countries even today. Firstly, the main guardians of the language and culture of the minorities was the dominant church. In Poland for example there is a saying “to be a Pole is to be a Catholic and to be Catholic is to be a Pole.” This dates back to the time when Poland was divided up by the Russians, Germans and Austro-Hungarians. Each Empire imposed a different language on its subjects, but the Catholic Church kept the Polish language alive and active. The Orthodox Church in Romania, Bulgaria, and eastern Ukraine and in many areas of what was the Soviet Union did the same. In what is now western Ukraine, where Ukrainians are the majority, the Greek Catholic Church dominates and
supports the nationalistic and linguistic aspirations of ethnic Ukrainians. This means when a person accepts Christ as Saviour and seeks to live as a Bible-believing Christian they are considered to not only to have left “the old faith” but to be a “traitor” to their nation. Secondly, there are many areas where there are large minorities who speak totally different languages to the majority. This is particularly true of all the countries which border present day Hungary where many Hungarians still live. This is a legacy of the Treaty of Trianon which redistributed 72% of the land that formerly belonged to Hungary. Effective gospel outreach has to recognise that although most speak the “national language” the hearts of the people are only reached by those who understand and respect these cultural and linguistic differences. Christian work in the Transylvanian Province of Romania is an illustration of the response to this need. There are two main ethnic groups, the
Romanians and Hungarians. In addition there is a large gypsy population and settlements of Slovaks, Saxons (German speakers) and Czechs who all cling to their “home” cultures and need to be evangelised, ideally in their own language, but undoubtedly in a way that is culturally sensitive. Transylvania is very proud of the fact that it was the first area in Europe, and probably the world, where religious freedom and the toleration of other beliefs was established in law. In 1568 Unitarians, Protestants and Catholics were accorded this right by the King, János Zsigmond, a right that has never been repealed. However it is interesting to observe that each faith system has established its own areas of dominance and jealously guards what it sees as its rights. This means that the newer evangelical groups are regarded with hostility and those who find Christ as a living Saviour are often discriminated against. Evangelicals, however, recognise their responsibility to reach out to “all the world”
and many work very sensitively to achieve this. A number of Romanian speaking fellowships have been established as result of the work of Hungarian speaking groups. In Cluj Napoca, for example, the large Hungarian Brethren Church worked with the Romanians in their fellowship and established the Romanian Church there and assisted them in setting up church plants in a number of the villages. (Many of the villages have only one language group living in them). There are a few churches where both Hungarians and Romanians fellowship together and use Romanian as the means of communication but give believers the opportunity to pray and sing in their mother tongue. Another example of sensitive co-operation is the work among the Gypsies. By a strange quirk of the changing history of Transylvania, many gypsies speak a form of Hungarian in preference to Romanian or their own Zigeuner (Gypsy) Language. Many live in communes of their own, close to other communities and are feared by the locals.
They need a very specialized outreach, most cannot read and are suspicious of outsiders but are reached when love, care and respect is shown for their culture. This article only scratches the surface of the distinct character of the Eastern half of Europe. I find it hard to even understand what all the political changes have meant to those who live under them. Think about what one elder in Cluj Napoca said to me – “Roger, I have lived in Cluj Napoca, Kolozsvár and Klausenburg. I have lived under Romanian, Hungarian, German, Soviet, Communist and now free Romanian rule and have never moved house!”
By Roger Brind
“ I have lived under Romanian, Hungarian, German, Soviet Communist and now free Romanian rule and have never moved house!” 11
Speahead Summer 2011
Why Europe?
Gospel Literature Outreach
Book Recommendation
A Message from the Bookshop
Country Profile –
France Is France still a Mission Field? If France is still considered as a mission field by some European mission agencies, it is strange that France no longer attracts missionaries from European countries. Why should this be? Culturally, European countries are quite close to each other and living standards are more or less the same. The standard of education is similar, and transport is now very easy and cheap. Language is a barrier, but that would be so for any field that a missionary candidate is considering.
“ France needs to see 4,500 new churches established!”
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A need for new churches As we consider what has happened over the last 40 years, we have much to
be encouraged about. The number of Evangelical churches has increased from 769 to 2068. These local churches have a combined attendance of about 600 000 people. Today, a new church is “planted” every 10 days in France, 35 a year. But this reality can hide the great need. The newly formed “CNEF” (Conseil National des Évangéliques de France) a national entity that, for the first time ever in France, gathers under one umbrella 70% of the French Evangelical Churches, has formulated the target of “One church for every 10.000 people”. To put it simply, with an overall population of 66 million, France needs to see 4 500 new churches established! At today’s rate, it will take over 120 years! A need for new workers The many missionaries that came to France after World War II and played a key role in planting new churches in France have retired or will soon do so. The churches they established are now looking for full time workers, but to pastor the church not to plant new churches. We have never had so many French students in our Bible Institutes and churches are putting a lot of energy and money into training, but even so, there is no way they will be able to replace the retiring church planters, for several reasons: • there are more churches looking for a pastor than trained candidates
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• a qualified full-time worker is able to choose between 5 churches upon completing his studies. • the task of church planting is hard and specific, not many want to go that way. What is the solution? • Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers. • We need to create a vision for “mixedresidential-teams” ready to move to a new town to start a new witness. Teams which are made up of full-time workers, evangelists, missionaries, students, professionals, retired people, and who will also be the nucleus of the new church. As a European citizen, you can find out how you can join in the adventure of church planting in France working with the existing network that is now well organized and able to provide help and direction. by Pierre Bariteau
hristian bookshops Street’ rent and rates. And also to the throughout the United staff, who have worked hard to build up Kingdom are currently the store here, and are now being asked facing a great challenge. to do much more on fewer hours and There has been a very significant resources. We also thank many friends in decline in the numbers of bookshops local churches who have actively come on the British ‘High Street’ and further to us and supported us, accepting that afield. The reality is that competition they might be paying a bit more than from the internet and other channels Amazon etc- but also understand that is causing major problems, and in the the ‘extra’ is a wise investment in the last few weeks alone, we have heard work of God. We are not complacent, of another eight shops closing, and and recognise that we face very serious major redundancies at one of our challenges in the weeks and months that main warehouses. So we are deeply lie ahead. In particular, we have seen concerned at the loss of ‘High Street’ our contribution to the ‘wider work’ of Christian witness. Bookshops are GLO halved in recent years, and this has places where hope, help and Christian a significant impact on the ministry we encouragement are available to a needy seek to support. public at times when the doors of most Although we service sales throughout church buildings are shut. the UK (and the world!) via our own In recent years, there have been a number of ‘Days of Prayer’ for the UK Christian Book Industry. We would be grateful if you would make some time to join with us in prayer about this challenge. For those who have access to the internet, we have available on our ‘Facebook’ pages some specific prayer pointers and also a ‘Christian Bookshop Manager’s Prayer’, which gives an insight into the challenges that are faced. For those who do not have access to the internet, we would be delighted to send this information out to you - please don’t re Gospel Literatu hesitate to get in touch. op h Outreach Books It is important to point out that, f the Joint Winners o Year in the GLO Bookshop, we are in the of the fortunate (blessed...) position of being ‘Large Retailer warded financially secure. We give thanks for 2010’ Award- a ources the faith shown in previous years that y ‘Christian Res b has enabled us to operate from our own Together’ premises, rather than having to pay ‘High
A Life Worth Living- Tom Glover £6.99 ‘Spearhead’ Special Price- £6 with FREE post & packing This latest book from Tom Glover reflects a passion for the ‘simple things’ of discipleship. It is divided into three easily understood sections, ‘Obedience to the Call of Jesus’, ‘Encountering the Holy Spirit’ and ’God’s Purpose for You’. It will challenge and encourage Christians both young and old in their pathway of discipleship.
“Biblical, relevant and balanced, a book that I believe the Holy Spirit will use to bring people into a greater reality in the Lord.” George Verwer
website and various mail-order facilities, we would always encourage you to use your local Christian bookshop first and foremost. Where there is no local bookshop, or the facilities you need are not available locally, we would be happy to help or assist in any way. So we would encourage your prayer support, and also your continued custom whenever possible. by Andrew Lacey
Follow Us
“ Bookshops are places of hope when the doors of most church buildings are shut”
Contact us: Tel +44 (0)1698 275343/252699 Email- books@globookshop.com 13
Speahead Summer 2011
Why Europe?
Gospel Literature Outreach
Tilsley College acing the needs of Europe in the 21st century, we should be challenged by the task of how to communicate Christ more effectively. Making this personal, it raises the questions - how can I be better prepared to serve Christ in my generation, whether in my home town or in some other locations throughout Europe? Am I equipped to do this? If not, then training has to figure as a crucial step in the process of mission in Europe. Tilsley College has been engaged for over 30 years in providing a way of preparing mind, body and soul as part of personal growth and development in Christian work. It has been steadily producing new generations of mission workers with a particular
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E: college@glo-europe.org W: www.tilsleycollege.com T: 01698 266776
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“ this course offers you that longed for chance to get to grips with understanding your faith” focus on the needs of Europe. Our one-year cycle of training starts in September and is now an accredited Certificate in Biblical Studies and Christian Mission. While some folks are already signed up for the course, we have a few places remaining The September to mid-June college year, will give you the opportunity for some in-depth study of the Bible, Christian theology and the story of church and mission down through the centuries. In the busy schedules of our modern lives many struggle to commit time to read and study the Bible regularly – this course offers you that longed for chance to get to grips with understanding your faith better and discovering how to communicate it to others more effectively. But Tilsley College is no ivory tower! The academic aspects of the course we offer are balanced with very practical ‘hands-on’ engagement in local church life and mission within the UK and abroad. Take a look at some of the experiences our students have been through this
year. They illustrate how the training we offer at Tilsley is both practical as well as academically rigorous. You will have the chance to grow in your relationship with Christ by engaging in study and mission. If you can’t commit to a whole year of study at this time, then consider coming for a month or even a week. We run most of our study units on an “open access” basis and the student body appreciates the enrichment of having occasional and part-time students joining the class. Perhaps you could “taste and see” this year? We are looking to God that he would bring the right people to join us at Tilsley College this September. We have accommodation for both singles and married couples with an ideal group size of 15-18 people of various ages. The small-community training environment means you will make new friends with whom you can have plenty of opportunity for personal interaction and growth. Why not make this your year? by Mark Davies
Albania
West Midlands
Italy
Brighton
“From the very start of the course we have always been challenged to think outside our own cultural bubble. It has also been enriching to be taught by people that have spent time on the mission field... So our teaching is often grounded with experiences, not just from home life but from other cultures too.” Nathan
“Our team evangelism week gave us many opportunities to take the good news about Jesus to many people who knew little or nothing about him. Working with Lakeside Church, Brierley Hill, Tilsley students were involved in schools work & evangelism. They took part in open air preaching and personal door to door visits in a multi-ethnic environment.” Allan
“One month in Siena was an amazing experience. The ‘harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’ is so true, especially in Italy and all over Europe. I realised the great need in this country for evangelism and missionaries. What I love about the course is the balance there is with theoretical teaching and practical placements.” Fiona
“I took part in a ‘Passion Play’ project in Brighton for my Field Term. I was so inspired, and fulfilled on this project, as Creative Ministry is what I hope to get involved in. Working with Christian professionals was a Master Class for me in what God can do with willing hearts, creative gifts, and a whole heap of Faith!” Vicki
“Learning to Lead” GLO Mission becomes “Follow Teams 2011 the Leader” Spaces are still available on the following teams:
Together we can go further O
ur leadership training course “Learning to Lead” has been extensively revised and updated. It still focuses on the need to produce great leaders but it incorporates the modern emphasis on the need to produce great followers. Someone has said “organisations are successful or not partly on the basis of how well their leaders lead, but also in great part on how well followers follow”. This is certainly true of churches whether growing or long-established. There is a crisis in leadership today. Churches are crying out for strong, visionary, spiritual leaders. But they also need courageous, committed, spiritual followers. If there is an urgent need to train leaders, there is an equal need to train followers.
It is in recognition that leaders and followers need to learn the skills of working together that our new course “Follow the Leader” has been produced and, as the slogan says, “together we can go further”. “Follow the Leader” will be offered on the internet beginning in September/ October 2011. It will have particular relevance for key workers and emerging leaders. The internet delivery has the benefit of allowing people to study while remaining in work or ministry. If you are able to give two or three hours a week to developing your leadership skills in a church ministry context then this course could be for you. For further information please check our website: www.tilsleycollege.com or contact us at college@glo-europe.org
Team Hereford, England Renfrew, Scotland Laval, France Marseille, France Dunkirk, France Soria, Spain Naples, Italy Alencon, France Enniscorthy, Rep. of Ireland Belfast, N.Ireland Domos, Hungary Vlore, & Girokaster, Albania
Dates 1/7 – 10/7 2/7 – 9/7 13/7 – 26/7 15/7 – 23/7 20/7 – 30/7 22/7 – 30/7 27/6 – 6/7 6/8 – 15/8 6/8 – 20/8 13/8 – 21/8 27/8 – 4/9 10/9 – 17/9
For further information and details of team places still available contact Anna McRobert:
T: 01698 263483 E: admin@glo-europe.org W: www.glo-europe.org
FirstServe is an exciting discipleship and missions gap year programme for 18 – 25 year olds, which includes a brief introductory course, a short placement in a UK church and a longer overseas experience. Experience other peoples and cultures in locations such as Thailand, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, Zambia, Romania and Lebanon. FirstServe is not simply an overseas travel experience; it’s intended to inspire and provide space and time to learn and grow spiritually. For further details visit the FirstServe website: www.first-serve.org.uk or contact Hollie: hollie@first-serve.org.uk 15
Speahead Summer 2011
Why Europe?
Glo European Members
Mark Davies mdavies@glo-europe.org 01698 266776
Stephen McQuoid smcquoid@glo-europe.org 01698 267298
Admin office admin@glo-europe.org 01698 263483
Sam Gibson samuel.gibson@ntlworld.com 02890 777404
Ian Smith ismith@glo-europe.org 01698 263483
College Office college@glo-europe.org 01698 266776
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
Contact Details
For further information or up-to-date details of team places still available please contact Anna McRobert: Tel: 01698 263483 E: admin@glo-europe.org W: www.glo-europe.org
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