For the nations By James Vaughton, CEO TEN
More on the new mission resource for church groups. Imagine a mission study resource for church groups that not only explains God’s plan for the world but also connects online with Christians in Eastern Europe for conversation and inspiration. We are working on just such a resource with the help of Rachel Graham, one of our Ambassadors in Northern Ireland. A big ministry casualty for TEN last year was the cancellation of team trips between the UK and Eastern Europe. These have been the mainstay of building relationships with people from churches in other nations. Whilst we anticipate that short-term trips will once again be part of the picture, we cannot assume things will just return to normal. At TEN part of our vision is to help mobilise the church for mission. In Acts 1:8, Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes, his followers will be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Our hope is that the resource will inspire a new generation and open a gateway to enabling UK Christians to go; in prayer, in support and in person. 21
This only happens when in Acts 8:1 persecution arrives and the followers of Jesus flee. God uses a painful situation to spread the gospel. The call to be witnesses to the ends of the earth still stands and we are empowered to do this by the Holy Spirit. God can use the pandemic restrictions to spread the gospel today through online communication. The proposed six-session study will enable home groups, youth groups and mission groups to actually link up with church groups in Eastern Europe for a couple of the sessions. The study will focus on Jesus as the Saviour for all nations, God’s plan and our response. We are really excited by this development and will be testing it over the next few months before releasing it later in the year. Our hope is that the resource will inspire a new generation and open a gateway to enabling UK Christians to go; in prayer, in support and in person. If you want to know more about this please do email me: james.vaughton@ten-uk.org.