February - March 2014 / Issue 62
sparking passion for the Gospel across the UK
Making the church relevant – Gavin Calver 5
Dying to Meet You
8
Chatroom campaign
11
Christian walks
Ready for NEW things in 2014? If you received some new things over Christmas, I wonder if you’ve taken any bags to a charity shop this month? There’s still big value in ‘old stuff’ according to the numerous TV programmes! So, whilst I don’t want to devalue older people, or long established works, have you noticed how often God celebrates new things in the scriptures? Here are just a few: • “His mercies are NEW every morning; great is your faithfulness.”1 • “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation.”2 • “Behold, I am making all things NEW.”3 Counties has been active for over 100 years, and although our core message is unchanged, our methods continue to evolve. May we invite you to pray for the trustees who are setting aside time to hear from God (9-10 April) as we consider potentially NEW strategies for the coming years? Counties continue to receive enquirers from potential NEW evangelists or trainees and we would love to see the Lord ‘sending (more) workers into his harvest field.’ As we chat on the phone or meet individuals, please pray for us to recognise God’s calling. All Counties evangelists spend time reviewing their ministries every two years with trustees and the CEO. Please ask the Lord to reveal any NEW Gospel opportunities that could be explored or developed further. Over the coming months, we want to continue to be directed by the Lord of the Harvest. There could be NEW trustees, NEW evangelists, NEW counties to serve, NEW projects, NEW supporters, NEW connections… “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a NEW thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”4 If the Lord lays something on your heart for us to explore together, please call or drop me a line. We are all part of this exciting adventure! Yours in hope,
John Wilkes, Evangelist - CEO
Bible references: 1 Lamentations 3.23, 2 2 Corinthians 5.17, 3 Revelation 21.5, 4 Isaiah 43.18
Counties exists to make Jesus known across the UK through our evangelists, exhibitions and resources, in Biblically faithful and culturally relevant ways. Address: Counties 30 Haynes Road, Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 3HD Telephone: 01373 823 013 Email: office@countiesuk.org www.countiesuk.org Thank you for your valued partnership. We are glad to make Ignite available free of charge. It costs approximately £5 per year to produce and distribute six editions of this newsletter to you. Every additional contribution will help us continue in our mission. Counties (formerly Counties Evangelistic Work) is a Registered Charity No. 264278 and a Company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales No. 1041761 Editor: Helen Rimmer helen@countiesuk.org
Design: www.relevantdesign.co.uk 2 | Ignite
Contents
6: Be inspired and equipped at Counties Day Conference in March.
News
4 New study guide launched to help remember Bible stories 5 Helping churches do mission better
Features
6 Popular Christian speaker Gavin Calver 8 Chatroom helps the lost find Jesus
Regulars
4: A year of mission in Hertfordshire.
10 Find out where GSUS Live and Life will be this month
11 Senior evangelist leads Christian heritage walks
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11: John Martin plans new Christian heritage walks. Ignite | 3
News
Talking the word A new study guide which aims to help people engage with the Bible through talking has been launched. Talk the Word has been developed by Walk Through the Bible in partnership with Counties, Scottish Bible Society and Scripture Union Scotland. The resource is a new approach to helping small groups really take the time to consider Bible stories, digging deeply into each passage. Norfolk evangelist Kevin Baldwin was part of an initial pilot group who trialled Talk the Word, producing a helpful resource book which includes six stories, studies and questions. Kevin said: “Talk the Word is an excellent way to delve deeper into Biblical stories,
Talk the Word study guide.
which are full of images. It’s a refreshing way of interacting with the word.” Paul Keeys, director of Walk Through the Bible, added: “It has been great to work alongside Counties. It has utterly transformed my approach to Bible study and I hope it will do the same for others.” For a copy of Talk the Word visit bible.org.uk
A year of mission
The themes and values of the Ten Commandments will be the focus of a new outreach J.John. programme led by Hertfordshire evangelists Will and Lynne Andrews.
Will and Lynne are kicking off a year of mission by taking a look at everyday issues through the popular J.John programme Just 10. They will lead services and small groups at Wymondley Chapel, near Hitchin, exploring themes such as contentment, truth,
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relationships and anger.
Will said: “There are many challenges to living in the 21st century with no easy answers. We hope this series will help people on the fringe of our church discover that the Ten Commandments are not an old-fashioned set of rules but are values which are relevant and essential to modern life.” For more details contact andrews@countiesuk.org
News
Helping churches reach out to communities this Easter Martin Erwin.
An exciting FREE resource aimed at inspiring and equipping the entire church for local mission has been re-launched.
Ideal as an Easter outreach programme, Dying to Meet You, is a comprehensive programme written by Herefordshire evangelist Martin Erwin. Dying to Meet You features small group study sessions on evangelism to help prepare church members for the task of mission and running community outreach events. It also features a follow-on five-week church service programme, where non-Christians are invited to accessible weekly services. Martin Erwin said: “This programme can help churches explore themes such as love, forgiveness, loneliness and life after death in a non-threatening way with their friends and neighbours. It’s a great framework for outreach activities and can be used any time of the year.”
The free DVD-ROM pack includes: • Leader’s manual • Challenging small group study sessions • Ideas for community outreach events • Sermon outlines
Dying to Meet You pack.
It’s a great framework for outreach activities and can be used any time of the year. Phil Davies from Dunvant Christian Fellowship in Swansea recommends the resource. He said: “Dying to Meet You is a comprehensive, ground-breaking resource that usefully combines the increased connection with families in the community with clear Gospel presentation as well as training for all the church.”
• Children’s programme • Drama Scripts and much more!
For a copy of the DVD-ROM contact Counties at office@countieuk.org or call 01372 823013.
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Features
Gavin Calver: We need to make the church relevant! Popular Christian speaker Gavin Calver will be leading this year’s Counties Day Conference on Saturday 1 March 2014. Gavin, national director of Youth for Christ (YFC), evangelist and author, will be leading two sessions on ‘Reaching and Keeping New Generations’ at the free event in Slough. Here, he speaks honestly about the challenges of leading a ministry when so many people in the UK are turning away from Christianity: 6 | Ignite
“
Features
When you preach the Gospel you are in the rejection ministry. For every person who says ‘yes, you are right,’ ten say you are wrong.
of nothing. In your town, maybe it seems like there’s nothing. He wants to breathe life into that nothing. In your town maybe there’s life; he wants more.
However, I can think of a particular encounter which encouraged me. I met a troubled 12-year-old at a YFC residential. ‘Mickey’ was continually cussing, fighting the other kids, and even pulled a penknife on me at one point and threatened to injure me.
But we as a church need to start hoping, believing and praying for more because I am not prepared to accept the recent statistic I read that in two generations time the church will be considered in the past tense in this nation.
When you preach the Gospel you are in the rejection ministry. For every person who says ‘yes, you are right,’ ten say you are wrong. into their lives, it was Mickey who stood up. Six weeks later, his youth worker emailed me with the news that he and Mickey were feeling frustrated that the last four in the group had still not given their lives to Jesus. The thing is, when you get the leader or you get the Samaritan woman or the Mickey, they go home and get their village. We have to believe that God can bring life out
That is not going to happen. God is not done with this island yet! The church needs to really believe that the Christian faith is all about life, rather than accepting decline as inevitable. We’ve done something incredible as a church in this nation. We have taken the most awe-inspiring, life altering, non-politically correct, dangerous leader the world has ever known … and we have made church boring. We need to take this church and make it relevant. And relevance isn’t always fancy gadgets. Just love people. As the church we need to do a better PR on ourselves. What other group would write books like ‘one generation from extinction’ about themselves? We need to start speaking ourselves up and believing that this great God can breathe life into nothing today.
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Yet when it came to the last night of the week, when I preached the Gospel and invited the young people to accept Jesus
Counties Day Conference Saturday 1 March 2014, 11am – 4pm Langley Grammar School, Slough, SL3 7QS
Children’s and youth programme, seminars, prayer, worship, bookstall – all FREE including a snack lunch and refreshments. To book call 01373 823013 or email office@countiesuk.org
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Features
Never Alone campaign to launch
A friendly ear is only seconds away - thanks to Groundwire’s online chat facility.
A Christian chatroom run by Counties evangelists Matt and Nicola Rich is launching a new scheme to reach Matt Rich. more young people with the Christian message. Groundwire plans to give out thousands of free wrist bands and pocket sized cards in the spring with the words ‘never alone – chatnow.org.uk’. Matt explained: “We are very excited about the Never Alone campaign and hope it will enable us to reach even more people and let 8 | Ignite
them know they don’t need to face situations alone, they always have a friendly Christian to chat to whatever time of day or night.” The wrist bands and cards will lead people to Groundwire’s chatroom, where Christian volunteers are on hand to talk privately to people about issues or simply be a listening ear. In the last month alone, Groundwire has received 3500 visitors to the website and engaged in 750 live chats. Matt added: “It’s not all about numbers, because quality conversations are so important, but we have been really
Features
Leanne’s story
It’s great to see Christians actually being there online for people who need answers. encouraged by the increase in chats coming from the UK. It’s great to see Christians actually being there online for people who need answers.” If you can help Groundwire reach more people - whether though volunteering, praying, giving or adding a link to your church website - please contact Matt at: matt@groundwire.org.uk
Leanne was really struggling with her life and had no hope for the future. She had experienced horrendous things many times from someone close to her. Leanne found Groundwire online and began to trust volunteers with her heart-breaking story. She wrote: “Because Groundwire was anonymous it helped me to feel safe to finally tell my secret, a secret that I had been keeping for so long. It didn’t matter what time of day or night I needed help, Groundwire was always there and there was always someone for me to speak to. “Many times I was saved from putting myself into a really bad situation and Groundwire put me in touch with a local church that could help me. “It’s hard to imagine that you can feel loved, accepted, valued and cared for online but I did really feel this from every volunteer I spoke to. My faith has now grown and I attend church every Sunday, getting to know Jesus better.” Leanne has now committed her life to follow Jesus and is growing in her faith. groundwire.org.uk
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Regulars
GSUS Live Men on a mission and Life – Three Counties evangelists are on a mission to inspire people for service in the local church.
Andy Hodson, Paul Willmott and David Brown will speak at The Kingswinford, Dudley, on Tuesday 25 February, 7pm. The event includes a two-course meal at £14 per person. For more details contact brown@countiesuk.org
Building relationships
Ray Dadswell with students.
East Sussex evangelist Ray Dadswell took a group of visitors from the Eastbourne International Cafe for a walk on the seafront at Eastbourne. Ray said: “It gives me an opportunity to tell them something of the history of the town, as well as build up friendships in a more informal setting. Eastbourne is a very ‘churchy’ town, so it is not difficult to include something of the Gospel in our conversations!” 10 | Ignite
where are they this month? Please pray for the GSUS Live units visiting secondary school pupils at: • Olchfa Comprehensive School, Swansea and Queen Victoria Primary School, Dudley: 7-14 February. • St Joseph’s Catholic School, Port Talbot: 14-21 February. • At schools in Weymouth and Bridgend throughout March.
gsuslive.co.uk Counties will be promoting the Life exhibition at CRE Cardiff on 26 March and the exhibition will be at the following venues: • Totteridge Road Baptist Church, Enfield: 6-14 February. • Broadmead Baptist Church, Essex: 3-10 March. • St Peter’s Church, Bury St Edmunds: 13-21 March. • Billericay Baptist Church, Billericay: 24-31 March.
lifeexpo.co.uk
Regulars
Walks celebrate Christian heritage Celebrating Christians of the past and what they achieved for the Kingdom of God – is A URC church on the walk. the theme of several walks planned by senior evangelist John Martin. Family friendly walks in Saffron Walden are scheduled for Saturday, 1 February, with others planned in London on Saturday, 15 March and Saturday, 12 April. John explained: “We will visit a URC church (pictured) which reminds us of how much the first non-conformists suffered. Many of them were Quakers and set us a marvellous example of how to transform society with the love of Christ. “At no.7, London Road lived two sisters who supported the British and Foreign Bible Society, providing Bibles for the poor, of whom there were many in Saffron Walden 200 years ago. They also supported the campaign against the slave trade, although many Christians did not. Some excused themselves by saying: ‘It is a necessary evil for our economic good’. “We talk about William Tyndale, John Wesley, Elizabeth Fry, and many others, using Hebrews 13:7 as our guide: ‘Remember your former leaders... and imitate their faith.’” For more details or to book your place contact John by email: martin@countiesuk.org or phone 01799 501117.
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COUNTIES 30 Haynes Road Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 3HD
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Your local evangelists 1. Charles & Elizabeth Addoco 2. Will & Lynne Andrews 3. Tim & Joy Ayrton Tony & Ruth Hood 4. Kevin & Anita Baldwin 5. Jonathan & Heather Brain 6. David & Lindsey Brown Andy & Isobel Hodson (CPI) Paul & Vanessa Willmott 7. Ian & Sally Carr 8. Tim & Charissa Cooke 9. Ivor & Angela Cooper Bob & Rita Telford 10. Clive & Fiona Cornish Mike & Janet Thomas 11. Tim & Katrina Cracknell 12. Gordon & Penny Curley 13. Ray & Carol Dadswell 14. Phil & Sheila Davies 15. Martin & Rachel Erwin 16. John & Rachel Hardwick 17. Colin & Linda Johnson 18. Mike & Su Strange 19. Matt & Nicola Rich 20. James & Naomi Richards 21. David & Katie Symons 22. Robert & Sarah Watson
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CPI - Church Planting Initiative
Seniors and widows Grace Anderson Tom & Madelene Bathgate Jean Campbell Geoff & Isobel Carr Roger & Hazel Chilvers Lionel & Mavis Clargo
Rose Geary Stephen & Jean Gillham Victor Jack Andy & Miriam Jelfs Phyllis Jenkins John & Hettie Hall Wendy Iliffe
John & Jane Martin Elsie Newman Dennis Pierce Ruby Powell Dick & Betty Saunders Margaret Stokes Gladys Whittern
All Counties evangelists are self-employed, receiving support from our funds, as the Lord provides. We welcome approaches from new evangelists, potential trainees or associates, particularly in vacant counties. Call John Wilkes on 01373 823013 for an informal discussion.
countiesuk.org
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