I G N ITE SPARKING PASSION FOR THE GOSPEL ACROSS THE UK
The prodigal son returns AMAZING JOURNEY TO FAITH
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WELCOME 7
Welcome to your brand new edition of Ignite. You will notice some changes… Ignite is bigger We wanted to create space for fuller articles, such as Bob Telford’s excellent piece on ‘preaching for a decision’ (page 12). Each new edition will carry a feature article that will help focus our hearts and minds on a need, an opportunity, a challenge, or an issue in the area of sharing the gospel in the UK today. Ignite is quarterly Each new edition will be produced to coincide with the seasons of the British calendar. This pattern will also help us to focus on seasonal aspects of Counties work and UK evangelism. We are not ashamed of the gospel In each edition, we plan to continue sharing first-hand stories of lives changed through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Somewhere in each story, we will discover that God has used a Counties evangelist or resource as part of the story. Partner with us Counties is a ministry of the local church. We want to support you in your work of sharing the gospel. Will you pray for us? Thank you for your partnership in the gospel, as together we make Jesus Known. Martin Erwin, CEO Counties
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News in brief News
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A look at Counties finances News
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Neighbourhood Chaplains is piloted News
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Former drug addict finds new hope in Christ Life Stories
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Preaching for a response Evangelism Tips
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 this newsletter to you. Every additional contribution will help us continue in our mission. Editor: Helen Rimmer - helen@teaforthree.co.uk Design: www.hullocreative.com
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Church builds links with schools through GSUS Live News
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Just a Minute with Richard Canham News
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4 N EW S IN B R IEF
NE W S IN B R IE F 5
FA R E W E L L T O G LY N D A V I E S The chair of Counties trustees Glyn Davies is stepping down from his position after nearly seven years in the role, with deputy chair Richard Canham taking the reins. Glyn will leave Counties trustees at the end of April to take the role of chair at the JW Laing Trust. As a result of that appointment, he will step aside from his role with Counties to avoid any conflict of interest.
Glyn said: “The work which Counties was set up to do over a century ago is needed today as much as ever it was. This country needs the gospel! The methods have changed but the message is the same, and it’s been a privilege to play a part in this great work.
Hundreds enjoyed the recent Counties Day Conference at Langley Grammar School, near Slough. Guest speaker, Lindsay Brown from the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) led the main talks: ‘Shining like stars, living out the Gospel in an ever increasingly dark world.’ Lindsay Brown commented: “I was greatly impressed by the quality of the people, and all the strategic and creative thinking!” A supporter wrote: “What a precious and inspirational time together and what a blessing to listen to Lindsay Brown as he shared with us! It is indeed a privilege to be part of the Counties wider family.”
Martin Erwin, CEO of Counties, said: “Glyn has done a tremendous job as chair and has been a huge help to both staff and evangelists alike, as well as representing Counties very positively with other organisations. He leaves with our prayers and thanks.” Glyn and his wife Pam had worked on outreach activities with Counties evangelists in South Wales for many years before Glyn joined the trustees. An accountant by background, Glyn has been involved in a number of trusteeships and similar roles in Christian ministries.
H U N D R E D S I N S P I R E D AT C O U N T I E S D AY C O N F E R E N C E
Lindsay Brown preaching at the event
Glyn Davies steps down from his post
“I’ve very much enjoyed working with evangelists, the staff team and my co-trustees, and I’m grateful for their support and fellowship. Pam and I will continue to take a keen prayerful interest in the work and in the Counties family, which we’ve been very glad to be part of.”
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D AT E S F O R YOUR DIARY Counties Training Day with Bob Telford ‘Preaching for a response’ - Tuesday 16 May, Solihull Counties weekend conference with guest speaker Stephen McQuoid from GLO – 27-29 October, Daventry Court Hotel, Daventry
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GOD IS OUR PROVIDER Each year, Counties treasurer Simon Bennett reports to the AGM about the finances of the charity. Ignite catches up with Simon to get an update on Counties finances. Has the last year been a good year in terms of finances for Counties? It was very encouraging to see the General Fund income increased by 4.9% when compared to last year. We were delighted to receive notification of a £65k legacy just before the year end which has been included in the accounts and helped to keep the General Fund deficit at a modest level.
the new Key to Life resource and we are always grateful to the team at Westbury, through their hard work and careful management support costs only represent 6.6% of our expenditure. What have been the challenges? One of the consequences of the growth in Counties work in recent years is that overheads or support costs have grown. This is necessary to ensure the efficient running and utilisation of the exhibitions and also to provide support to the evangelists such as the annual conference in the autumn. How can people help support the work of Counties? If God hadn’t provided in recent years in terms of legacies, trusts, churches and individuals we would not have been able to spend what we did in the last year on the exhibitions. Our new legacy guide pack contains lots of useful information on how easy it is to leave a gift in your will to Counties.
Volunteers from Brinnington Church in Stockport go out chatting to their neighbours.
DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY Churches in five regions across the country are learning how to be good neighbours – thanks to Neighbourhood Chaplains from Counties. Volunteers from the pilot churches will visit their local communities through the scheme which aims to equip churches to visit people where they live.
“So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord Will Provide’. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Genesis 22.14 NLT
Jenny Rossiter, Counties resources officer said: “We are happy to say that Neighbourhood Chaplains continues to show promise as the scheme is created and reviewed. In addition to the initial pilot schemes in Bedfordshire and Manchester we are now running a trial in Hereford, with three further trials to commence shortly in Swansea, Barnstaple, and Forest of Dean.
Where has the money been spent? We are very grateful to the Stewards Company for partnering with us to fund the £264k of improvements to GSUS Live. We invested £183k into
“We hosted a successful (and fun!) training day to ‘train the trainers’ attended by seven regional trainers who will go on to lead training in their own areas. The purpose of these trials is to collect feedback and evaluation data,
which we will use to improve the scheme prior to national launch later in 2017. Watch this space!” If you would like your church to sign up once the scheme is open for membership or for any other details, please call Jenny Rossiter on 01373 823013. Photos by Bernadette Delaney
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A FA M I LY ’ S P R AY E R S ANSWERED AFTER FORMER ADDICT IS BAPTISED
LIF E STOR IE S 9
Justin Battiste’s life was out of control thanks to a cocktail of drugs and mental health issues which led him in and out of prison. But his Christian family never gave up on him and prayed continually for his salvation. Today they are praising God after 44 year-old Justin from Ipswich made a remarkable transformation through his new-found faith. He was mentored by senior Counties evangelist Victor Jack and recently baptised at West Road Church in Bury St Edmunds. Here Justin shares his story on how God turned his life around: “At school I was always quiet, shy and somewhat withdrawn. I felt different and struggled with interacting with other people. In my last ten years at school I rebelled because I felt let down and harshly treated.
loved the drugs more than life itself. I met my wife to be in 1999 but we later split up and this totally derailed my whole life. I ended up in a secure physical unit where I almost lost touch with reality. When I came out I never really managed to take control of my life again.
“One morning I woke up and looked outside and watched with amazement the sun rise in beautiful blue skies. I’d never seen anything so beautiful and so natural before. A change started to take place in my life and I know it was because people in my church had been praying for me.”
At that time, I started hanging around with teenagers older than me. I often felt that I fitted better with them and as a result of peer pressure I started smoking fags, which soon led on to cannabis. I left school at 15 and started work while at the same time my drug addiction began to take over. My life was now in a downward spiral as I started taking speed, acid and ecstasy. Drug addiction took me into prisons and mental hospitals and I nearly took my life on many occasions. The drugs stripped me of all morals and values. I didn’t value my life; I actually
After we separated I fell deeper into the darkness of drugs using heroin and crack cocaine on a daily basis. I’d almost lost contact with all of my original family and everything I said I would never do, I did; such as injecting drugs and stealing from my family. Through my whole life, I brought nothing but shame and misery to my family. I could only see as far as my next hit and I would go to any length to get it. One day I attended a court appearance in Bury. My father spoke up for me and said I needed help for my addiction rather than being sent back to prison. I was given a drug treatment and rehabilitation order. continued
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“One verse in the Bible which means a lot to me is; ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.’ This sums up what has happened to me.”
Ignite spoke to Counties senior evangelist Victor Jack about his oneto-one mentoring with Justin. Counties evangelist Victor Jack (left) outside West Road Church with Justin.
One morning I woke up and looked outside and watched with amazement the sun rise in beautiful blue skies. I’d never seen anything so beautiful and so natural before. A change started to take place in my life and I know it was because people in my church in Ipswich had been praying for me. My mother noticed a change in me and I spent my first Christmas at home free of drugs. I continued my drug rehabilitation. In the summer last year, my mother took me to West Road Church where I met Victor Jack and later committed my life to Jesus. There were tears that day and I know now that with God’s help I can do anything I put my mind to. I have managed to make amends to my family. Thank you God for making my life whole again and for shedding
light on my once darkened life. You have set me free from the chains of my addiction and I love life now, more than ever before. My mother and father have prayed a long time for my salvation. Through times of despair they never gave up hope. I love God and I love worshipping Him with others in West Road Church. I now see His creation with new eyes and marvel at it.” When Justin was baptised, his mother Sandra spoke to a packed church saying: “You will never know how much heartache and division my son caused our family. I never lost hope and I have prayed constantly for him for over 25 years. Today is a miracle.” Photos by Keith Mindham
How did you meet Justin? I was asked to fill a pulpit in Ipswich as the pastor was away. At the end of the service a dad and a man came to me to ask for prayer. They poured out their story about their son and told me that when he came out of prison he wanted to break away from his drug cronies and move from Ipswich to Bury. They asked me to look out for him. I met him in town and suggested he came to our church. His mother brought him the following Sunday. At the end of the service he came to me and said he wanted to give his life to God. Have you seen a change in him? Since Justin’s baptism he hasn’t looked back. He is now clear of drugs and never misses church on Sundays, attending both the morning and evening services. He is actively involved in our home group, and reads his bible regularly. He has become such a positive and cheerful person. He hasn’t faltered since
Victor and Justin regularly meet in Bury St Edmunds.
becoming a Christian and has shared his story in several different contexts. I keep in touch with him each week. What would your advice be to other Christians who may be mentoring addicts and feel overwhelmed or need encouragement? Listen to them and love them for Jesus’ sake. They need massive doses of encouragement and constant reassurance that God loves them. We need to involve them in some practical work at first in the church so that they feel valued and accepted. We need to assure them that we are always available to help them without letting them become dependent on us. What’s the next steps for Justin? Justin has been baptized before a packed church and the next step is to see him grow in his faith and in the confidence that God’s way is always best.
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PREACHING FOR A RESPONSE Counties Warwickshire and national evangelist Bob Telford has more than 40 years experience of preaching. He believes that preachers should have an aim each time they speak and that they should preach so they encourage people to respond. In the first of a two-part special, Bob writes about the need to preach for a response. His second article will
appear in the next edition of Ignite and this will focus on the do’s and don’ts and the practicalities of making evangelistic appeals. “If we aim at nothing…” I suspect that most of us are familiar with the dictum that, ‘If we aim at nothing, we will be sure to hit it.’ All preaching, not least evangelistic preaching, should have a goal – the preacher should, as John Wesley expressed it, “take aim”.
One time pastor of Westminster Chapel G Cambell Morgan, wrote about purposeful “There is a sense, he wrote, in which preaching is a conflict with our hearers. The preacher is not (merely) asking the congregation to discuss a situation, consider a proposition or give attention to a theory. He is, whether evangelising or teaching, out to storm the citadel of the will and capture it for Christ”.
people with the impression that there is no urgency attached to the business of making up their minds. To give that impression is unhelpful and dangerous! ‘Drip Feed’ It can take a long time for the spiritual ‘penny to drop’. For me it was three years from when I first had the Christian faith carefully explained to me to the time when I did something about it! I was, in what I now think of as a ‘drip feed’ process. Just as in a hospital medication and nutrition is fed in small amounts into a patient who is unable to receive solid foods or drugs so, in the same way, God was ‘dripping’ into me little doses of truth. We must be aware of this process going on in the lives of our contacts and those who are perhaps, on the fringe of our churches.
Underline the aim! I still write at the top of each sermon’s notes my aim in preaching that particular message. The act of physically writing or typing out my aim reinforces my sense of what I want to see happen as an outcome. A sense of purpose and expectancy will have grown in me during time spent in preparation. The context and content of the passage will have ‘nudged’ me, to a sense of what God wanting “It is vital, of course, that we to do on that particular encourage people to think about occasion.
what is said. Making a commitment
“Go away and think to follow Christ is inarguably the about this” Is what we have become most significant decision a person rather good at saying. can ever or will ever make!” We have developed in our churches a ‘culture of reflection’. Saying, “That is what God says, now go away and think about it”. Process should lead to Crisis It is vital, of course, that we encourage Deliberation and debate, are not people to think about what is said. though, an end in themselves. They Making a commitment to follow Christ are meant to lead to a decision. Maybe is inarguably the most significant we have so bought into the truth that decision a person can ever or will conversion is a process, and not just ever make! Jesus was very clear about a crisis, that we have tended to forget the foolishness of pressing people to about the need for a crisis at all. The make a premature and unconsidered continued commitment, but we must not leave
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however, will also be some who may have started out sincerely thinking about Christ and who now do not need to know anything more so much as to do something about what they know! “We’re not seeing anyone converted” A Christian whose church has good and ongoing contact with a lot of unsaved people said this to me recently. Her contacts were happily attending, community events and some Sunday services. She was mystified as to why none of them had responded to the Gospel. I asked her, “Do you ask them to, do you give them an opportunity to respond?” “No” she replied. I said, “Ask them to. Invite them to receive Christ and give them a chance to do so” When I saw her last she was thrilled to report that some people had been happy and ready to respond. statistics about how long on average, it takes for a person to be saved from when they first hear the Gospel are sound (approximately three years) but we must understand that whilst it may take that long or even longer, it doesn’t have to in every case. The “fields” may be “whiter” than we think! If we are preaching to people who have been hearing the message for a while and for whom there has been prayer, then we should be challenging them to do something about what they have heard, and to do it sooner rather than later. We may well be surprised at just how ready to come to Christ our hearers are! There’s no ‘one size fits all’ In any audience there may well be people who require more time to think things through. Sitting alongside them
It’s not difficult – it’s really not! It’s really not difficult to preach pointedly and with urgency to a disparate congregation. It is about acknowledging as we speak that some of our hearers need more time to reflect and, that we respect that. But alongside that acknowledgement we must also say that for some of them it is probably time, that they made up their minds and did what deep down they know they should. Many people have told me that they had known for some time that they should turn to Christ, and had been waiting for someone to explain what they must do and give them the opportunity to do it! Done properly, calling on people to make a decision can be helpful to some and should be off-putting to none.
I probably speak at more entry-level, seed-sowing events, than most people. I ‘get’ the need to sometimes ‘make haste slowly’ but I think we are inclined to underestimate people’s readiness to hear and respond. ‘Drawing in the Net’ In the next article I will explain when and how to make an appeal i.e. call for a visible response and consider how to prepare people and churches for an appeal and follow through with those who respond.
Bob Telford will be talking on this subject - ‘Preaching for a Response’ at the next Counties Training Day for church leaders, evangelists and supporters. The free event, including lunch, will take place at Solihull Gospel Hall, Solihull on Tuesday 16 May. For more details email office@countiesuk.org
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“It’s great for them to have the chance to learn about the Christian faith in a different way.”
GSUS LIVE HELPS CHURCHES BUILD LINKS WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS “Thank you for entrusting us with a brilliant resource!” – says youth ministry leader Andy Morgan, who joined other churches in his area to host GSUS Live for six weeks. Andy, from Chichester Baptist Church, says he had a great response from both pupils and teachers who stepped on board the multi-media classroom.
“The pupils were all engaged, even the normally disruptive ones.” GSUS Live is a free resource from Counties aimed at helping secondary school pupils explore the themes of fear, forgiveness and rejection through the teachings of Jesus. It uses story
animations, contemporary Christian music plus short films on historical and famous public figures. Said Andy: “All the pupils enjoyed themselves and the RE department were very grateful. In particular, we had some great Q and A’s at the end of the sessions with the chance to discuss forgiveness, unanswered prayer, nailing down what a Christian is, how we hear from God and the problem of suffering. “It was a great excuse to see all of year 7-9 and get to know many of them, and re-connect with some students who used to attend one of the local church youth groups. Having done it twice, the school now trust that when we offer something to them that we will deliver it, and it will be of a good standard – might not always
Photos by Simon Hadley come with an amazing lorry and pop up interactive screens though! It was also really positive to work with four different churches for the week, and I hope this was a good witness too!”
area. This is great news! We are hoping the GSUS Live visit to one particular school will lead to a weekly Christian Union and possible assemblies – we are waiting to hear.
“Several parents of students from my church came up to me on Sunday and thanked me as their boys had really enjoyed the experience and came home talking about it.”
“My advice to churches trying to connect with schools in their area is to keep trying to get in, try to meet face to face with the key people in the school and if you decide to host GSUS Live choose your presenters wisely.”
Counties Hampshire evangelist Gordon Curley was also involved in the running of the unit for the six weeks. He said: “All the schools we visited are linked to a Christian worker or local church who has some contact with the school (i.e. takes assemblies or after school club). One of the schools though had very little local links but now allows GSUS Live in via myself representing the churches in the
YOUR LOCAL EVANGELISTS
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JUST A MINUTE – WITH COUNTIES NEW CHAIR OF TRUSTEES RICHARD CANHAM
ESSEX
EAST YORKSHIRE
HERTFORDSHIRE
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Charles & Elizabeth Addoco Andrew & Rachel Mugford ill & Lynne Andrews W Kim & Jo Hobbs
SUFFOLK
Tim & Joy Ayrton Tony & Ruth Hood
NORTH DEVON
As part of a new series, Ignite will feature one of its evangelists, staff or trustees in a short, informal interview. Here, we meet the new chair of trustees Richard Canham: Can you briefly describe your new role as chair of trustees at Counties? I see the role of chairman as to lead the trustee body and to ensure it fulfils its responsibility for the work, growth and governance of the organisation. To work in partnership with Martin Erwin, our CEO, and helping him and the office team to achieve the mission and goals of the organisation. Also to have regular liaison with the evangelists and resources team in order to deepen the relationship between them and the work and trustee body. What are the best bits about working with Counties? Working with people! I have been a trustee since 1998 and continue to really enjoy every aspect of it. It’s great working with people who have a passion for serving the Lord. I have a real passion for the work, its variety, and of course hearing how the Lord is using the work to bring people to Himself.
Do you have a full-time job? Just over two years ago, I took early retirement from business. For almost my entire career I worked in the retail finance industry for Lombard (part of Nat West) Blackhorse (part of Lloyds). Can you describe your journey to faith? In the mid-sixties a friend at school took me along to the local church, where I became a Christian and was then baptised. I can’t say I became a Christian on a particular day but it happened over a period of time. How did you get introduced to Counties? An older member of our church named Albert Jay used to get us lads involved in all sorts of Christian work including the North London Mobile Unit, stewarding at the Counties and Echoes days at Westminster Central Hall. I then became involved in the North London Regional Fellowship committee, (now called Counties Link Groups) and became the chairman for a number of local evangelists. Favourite Bible verse and why? I suppose I like many and find it hard to choose, but if I was forced to pick any it would be Philippians 2 :14 -18. It just reminds us how we are to shine for Christ in the sad, dark world in which we live today.
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