M A G A Z I N EO C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

C R O S S L I N K S

G O D ’ S W O R D T O G O D ’ S W O R L D

Josh BellAlanna CreightonAlex and Susannah Maclean Rob MartinHarrison Mungai Chris and Lotta Strajnic

W I T H C O N T R I B U T I O N SF R O M

GOD’S WORDS

‘For what does the Scripture say?

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted

to him as righteousness.”’ Romans 4:3

Faith.

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Published byCrosslinks 251 Lewisham Way, London SE4 1XF

Tel 020 8691 6111Fax 020 8694 8023Prayerline 020 8692 5321www.crosslinks.org

Mission DirectorAndy Lines alines@crosslinks.orgOperations DirectorGiles Rawlinson grawlinson@crosslinks.orgBritain and overseas circulationcmt@crosslinks.orgIreland circulationIreland@crosslinks.org

Crosslinks works with over a thousand churches in Britain and Ireland. Founded in 1922 as BCMS (TheBible Churchmen’s Missionary Society), Crosslinks isan evangelical mission society facilitating partnerships largely within the Anglican Communion. In fellowship with churches in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Canada and Australia, it provides personnel, sponsorship for theological students and support for local mission wherever it happens.

Crosslinks policy is to use all funds received for the purpose to which they are designated. Crosslinks retains the right to use any surplus funds at the end of deployment or at the end of a project, at its discretion for gospel purposes.

Registered Charity number 24 99 86.

Taking God at his word

‘Taking God at his word is not easy. The promises he makes are outrageous.’ So say Alex and Susannah Maclean in their article on page 12. And they’re right, aren’t they? Isn’t the gospel too good to be true?

We continue our series of magazines looking at the vocabulary Christians use and the specific meaning of some words. This issue we explore FAITH. What is it? What does it expect of us as followers of Christ? How do we get it wrong? Is it just a matter of belief?

We hear from people just starting to step out in faith in response to God’s challenge, from people who can reflect on serving God faithfully for many years, and from those for whom having faith means a daily reliance on God’s promises. Different experiences – same faith.

Mark Gillespie Communications Manager

COMMENTO C T O B E R 2 0 1 5

God’s words: FAITH Alan PurserGoing out in faith Rob Martin

Living for Christ wherever Alanna CreightonStaying the course Josh Bell

Faith in magic Harrison Mungai Cross culture Chris and Lotta Strajnic

Where next? Alex and Susannah MacleanFaith on the streets of China Jo

‘The plans I have for you...’ Jeremiah PaulThe last word Andy Lines

Crosslinks diary and prayer meetings

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C O N T E N T S

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“In its essential nature... Scripture is quite simply God communicating, God talking, God teaching, God preaching: God telling us things about himself which call here and now for faith....” writes Jim Packer in the introduction to his study of God’s Words.

Faith is our key word this quarter – a word that is so foundational that to be a follower of Jesus can rightly be described as belonging to the Christian faith. But today the word is also widely used to refer to anyone with a worldview that is not purely materialistic – so the adherents of the various major world religions are said to belong to ‘faith communities’.

In the Bible the idea of faith has a long history, reaching back to Abraham in the Old Testament as the archetypal man of faith. It is also an important New Testament word. So, when the Apostle Paul wrote to believers in Rome about faith being the vital response to the truth proclaimed in the gospel, it was to Abraham’s example that he turned (see Romans 4 and Genesis 12-15). Abraham trusted God’s promise and obeyed his command, so that the essence of faith is that it takes God at his word and acts accordingly.

For the Reformers, Sola Fide (i.e. Faith Alone) was essential – and it is no exaggeration to say that their insistence on justification by faith alone was the rock on which the western church split. To the objection that this teaching would discourage believers from making effort either to please God or to love their neighbour they pointed to the Apostle Paul’s declaration that God had ‘prepared good works for us to walk in’ (see Ephesians 2:10). Similarly the Apostle James asserted that ‘Faith without works is dead’ (James 2:17). Packer sums it up succinctly: ‘What saves is faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone; it is always working through love’.

In this issue of the magazine we explore the practice of authentic faith, and chart the impact of that faith as it prompts Crosslinks’ mission personnel totake God’s word to God’s world.

A L A N P U R S E R

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‘GOD’S WORDS

Alan Purser is Crosslinks Church and Member Team Leader

‘ f o r w h a t d o e s t h e s c r i p t u r e s ay ? “ a b r a h a m b e l i e v e d g o d ,

a n d i t w a s c o u n t e d t o h i m a s r i g h t e o u s n e s s . ” ’ r o m a n s 4 : 3Faith.

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Rob Martin, Bishop of the Diocese of Marsabit, and his wife Sue retire in the spring of 2016.

Here Rob reflects on their 40 years of Christian service.

Abraham was the great man of faith, willing to leave family and home, and go out into the unknown because God spoke to him. He trusted, went and God provided. Again and again the Bible shows us God choosing people, enabling, using and protecting them.

Ever since I gave my life to the Lord at a Michael Green mission I have wanted to go where the Lord sent me. Coming from an army family, I was used to living overseas. I was also gifted with a language gene and loved using foreign languages.

I trained as an accountant, because that was my plan before conversion, but had no idea how the Lord could use it. Soon I sensed the Lord calling me abroad, and found I could use my qualification in the overseas church. My wife Sue, a Nightingale nurse, with a seven-month old baby and no language gene (her words!), and no real experience of living overseas, was happy to go. Money didn’t seem important; the Lord had always provided. So we trusted and went.

Having offered ourselves to BCMS/Crosslinks in 1978, we were ready. They planned to send us to Uganda under Bishop Brian Hurd, but Idi Amin expelled him, so plans changed. Instead we went off to Kenya, arriving the day President Kenyatta was buried and the country faced an unpredictable future.

R O B M A R T I N

G O I N G O U T I N

Faith.

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Over the next nine years we had our moments – a coup in 1981, held at gunpoint in Nairobi, a black mamba on the veranda, a poisonous spider in our son’s mosquito net, malaria and serving a bishop who made himself unpopular with the government. But always the Lord was faithful and life amazing. We saw the church grow phenomenally under the leadership of Bishop Gitari, a lifelong inspiration and mentor to us. What a privilege to be in a beautiful country, accepted, used by local people, and part of a growing church.

On leave in 1982 we felt the Lord prompting us to ordained ministry in Britain after our second tour ended in 1987. After a theological degree at Trinity Bristol and a curacy in Kingswood Bristol, we settled in Frome in 1995 where I was Vicar of Holy Trinity. What a blessing for us as a family and hopefully for HTF as it doubled in size. But the call back to Africa was strong, and on sabbatical in 2005 I was asked to return to northern Kenya as a missionary bishop.

Was this really from the Lord? We were older (late 50s) and it was considered dangerous, a hardship area far from ‘tourist’ Kenya. The diocese was vast (nearly the size of England) with no legal identity, almost no money, having lost its two previous bishops in plane crashes, prone to tribal fighting, banditry and terror threats.

And yet we never hesitated. It has proved an amazing experience and the Lord has protected us every step of the way. Joshua 1:9 encourages us in tough times, and also Psalms 121 and 23:4. Yesterday we were in Karare, confirming 19 youngsters, then enrolling into Mothers Union 29 women covered in beads - a glorious riot of colour, song and dance. We drove back along a road frequented by elephants. What joy!

The Lord has enabled us to set up a new diocese, build churches, schools, training centres, train clergy and evangelists, and raise the funds to provide for more than 90 staff. The Lord has used my gifts of language, accountancy and administration; Sue’s faithfulness in supporting me; our desire to share the gospel and, of course, the gifts and prayers of so many generous partners around the world.

Do Sue and I have any regrets? No, though it has tested our faith. But the Lord always enables. Next May we retire, back with our children and grandchildren in England; back to being ‘normal’. But how we will miss the beauty, the adventure, the wildness, the different cultures, people, birds, animals and being at the heart of a growing church!

But the Lord has something new for us. He has been faithful, and we trust him.

CYou can read more about Rob and Sue at www.crosslinks.org/mission-partners/rob-and-sue-martin

GOD’S WORDS

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In the UK we often have a sense of being in control of our destinies. In Nigeria the fragility of life is much more apparent: election violence, Boko Haram, dangerous roads, armed robbery, inadequate healthcare. The people we know here live with these realities every day.

The material risks may be greater, but the truths that our lives as followers of Christ are built upon are the same anywhere in the world. Do we believe:• that Jesus is to be trusted when he says ‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33)?• in his promise that he will judge fairly and that this will be a source of joy for all of creation (Psalm 96)?• that as we have already been united with him in his death, so we will be united with him in his resurrection (Romans 6:5)?

Since we have been in Nigeria he has been faithful in helping me deal with many things - suspected malaria, scorpion stings, the tension of an election. The hardest thing for me has been the shame of taking counter-cultural lifestyle decisions – living with the disapproval of many people I love, and the knowledge that our being here causes them sorrow. In each situation God has given grace to keep on trusting him and confidence in his control of events.

Meanwhile, the joys have far outweighed the difficulties: seeing the enthusiasm of the students as they explore the solid foundations for their faith; sharing fellowship with people whose life experience and thinking are so different from mine; having my eyes opened to some of the flaws in our own culture.

Two joys stand out above all are knowing the closeness of Christ as I trust him more and more and tangibly experiencing the truth of his words as I put them into practice.

LivingRick and Alanna Creighton are Mission Partners in Nigeria. Rick teaches at the ECWA Theological Seminary, Kagoro, while Alanna’s prime focus is on looking after the family. Complex changing political circumstances add uncertainty to their future in Nigeria, but here Alanna highlights ongoing certainties.

A L A N N A C R E I G H T O N

FOR CHRISTWHEREVER

You can read more about the whole family at www.crosslinks.org/mission-partners/rick-and-alanna-creighton

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It couldn’t have been easy for Abraham to stay the course. He believed God but had to wait decades to see the initial fulfilment of God’s promise to give him innumerable descendants.

We know from the story of Hagar and Ishmael that Abram and Sarai were tempted to try and realise God’s promise by their own strength. Ishmael was not God’s answer; Abraham had to wait another 14 years before Isaac would be born in fulfilment of that promise. From these early chapters in the Bible we see God’s grace shining through as he makes good his promise.

Belief in God’s faithfulness has been a real challenge and an area of growth as the Lord has asked us to trust him to make clear when and where we should minister. For many years, I felt the Lord’s prompting to go back to my country, Zimbabwe, and serve his Church in local pastoral ministry. Although this much was clear, the path to getting there and the practical steps needed to move forward were not so easy. I often wondered how any doors could open for us in a country with massive unemployment and an Evangelical Christianity that is dwarfed by prosperity and syncretistic movements.

What comfort we gain from God’s faithfulness to Abraham! Christians can be encouraged, knowing that God’s grace overflows even in times of weakness. Becky and I believe that the Lord can use us to extend his kingdom as his word is made known, but we are learning that God wants us to trust him, not our own efforts, to open the right doors. Now, the Lord has opened an opportunity in Zimbabwe to work among youth in a Baptist church for the better part of a year. Although this is a short-term commitment, there is scope for longer-term work in the same church later. As we look to the future, our prayer is that we will continue to believe in the Lord’s promises to establish his work in Zimbabwe and we go on asking to be a part of it.

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Staying the courseJ O S H B E L L

C Find out more about Josh and Becky Bell and read their prayer letters at www.crosslinks.org/short-term/people/joshua-and-rebecca-bell

What comfort we gain from God’s faithfulness to Abraham!

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I N M A G I CIn Kenya there is a longing for ‘the good life’. This Kenyan dream means having a family, a house, a good car, medical cover, owning some rental units or a business and being able to shop in the many upcoming malls dotted around the country. Put simply, most Kenyans, like most people in the world, want wealth, health and happiness.

But this is not the reality for many. The majority of the people are classifiable as ‘poor’ and very few Nairobians own their own homes. Most of the people rely on the public health service, public schooling and public transport. None of these services are much to write home about so many would opt out if they could. Life is generally risky in comparison to western countries.

What is the cause of this mismatch of expectation and reality? I believe it is a matter of the heart. We are naturally greedy and want to accumulate as much as we can. Our fallen human natures want more.

Also, I suggest that a culture of corruption is to blame for a false belief in easy riches. One only needs to land a lucrative supply contract, or be a middleman in a huge transaction and over you jump from the shores of need to the gardens of affluence. Public office is often not so much an opportunity to serve as much as a platform for self-gaining networking. With it also comes a narrative of impunity – that one can get away with anything.

But there is another unlikely culprit – Christian preachers and their message. With the advent of tele-evangelism, a new wave of preaching began to spread. It started off as a move towards raising the self-esteem of the listeners by giving them a ‘possibility narrative’ but quickly became an ‘ego-pumping-all-is-possible-with-prayer’ message. Today’s blatant claim is that wealth, health and happiness is all yours if only you give your money to the preacher.

It is said that the easiest way to make heaps of money is to start a church. Claim a supernatural calling.

H A R R I S O N M U N G A I

T H E C H A L L E N G E O F T H E P R O S P E R I T Y G O S P E L I N K E N YA

Faith.

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Gather a few loyalists. Preach a prosperity message. Promise heaven to your listeners. Emphasise enthusiastic personal testimonies of ‘miracles’. Soon there will be a beeline to your bank account. Dress in a flashy way and drive the latest car to prove the narrative is true (at least to you) and convince the hearers their day in the Land Rover Sport is coming. They just need to sow a seed.

So widespread is this message that even mainstream denominations pepper their sermons with a hint of it in order to keep their members. It gains real acceptance among a people whose faith in the supernatural is almost cultic. Kenyan theologian SK Mbiti says that Africans are hopelessly religious, connecting everything to the supernatural; every event is a ‘God ordained moment’. You don’t ‘bump’ into people in town or just get sick – there is a real metaphysical connection to all of life. This is to the extent that medical diagnoses are denied because ‘that is not my portion’. Is it any wonder that it appeals largely to the wider end of the economic pyramid?

Kenya is a fertile ground for the prosperity gospel. But it is false, cruel and hopelessly naïve. It has led to many being disillusioned when their miracle healing, car or life partner does not arrive. The message of Christianity is treated with contempt by some because of the loud, insupportable claims of prosperity preachers.

Thankfully there are voices speaking out against this wrong teaching. In their recently revised book Gaining the World, Losing the Soul, two Kenyan pastors (Ken Mbugua and Michael Maura) argue that prosperity preaching is a distortion of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ because:

• It portrays God as a means to an end and not the highest delight• It diminishes our greatest need to a material thing• It empties the gospel of its power• It robs God of his glory

One way to cast out this darkness is to open the scriptures and let them speak, rather than speaking our message into them. Teaching the faithful handling of God’s word is where we begin to do that. iServe Africa is working hard to encourage faithful exposition of God’s word through our ministry training course and the Raising the Bar Preaching Conferences.

Harrison Mungai is the Team Leader for iServe Africa and has recently completed a Master’s degree in Theology, supported by the Crosslinks BEST scheme. Previously, Harrison was an apprentice at All Saints Crowborough in Sussex, UK.

Website www.iserveafrica.org www.crosslinks.org/projects/iserve-africaBlog www.mondayupdates.blogspot.co.ke

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1 You’re not to believe you are anything special.

2 You’re not to believe you are as good as we are.

3 You’re not to believe you are smarter than we are.

4 You’re not to imagine yourself being better than we are.

5 You’re not to believe you know more than we do.

6 You’re not to believe you are more important than we are.

7 You’re not to believe you are good at anything.

8 You’re not to laugh at us.

9 You’re not to believe anyone cares about you.

10 You’re not to believe you can teach us anything.

T h e 1 0 r u l e s o f J a n t e ’ s l a w

In Scandinavia there is an unspoken code know as Jante lagen (‘Jante’s law’). It describes a condescending attitude towards individuality and success: a group mentality that discourages singular effort and places emphasis on the collective,

often ridiculing those who stand out as achievers or who have different ambitions. Jante’s law still has a lot influence on Scandinavian culture.

C H R I S A N D L O T T A S T R A J N I C

C R O S SC U L T U R ET O B E A N e v a n g e l i c a lb e l i e v e r

i n s w e d e nt o d a y

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In effect these unspoken rules put pressure on individuals not to distinguish themselves from the bigger group, even though today’s society is happy to celebrate ‘differences’ such as same-sex relationships or other preferences accepted by the majority. But fluid and fickle popular attitude does not tolerate Christian views as they deviate from what has become the cultural norm.

We can see this in recent examples: there is a proposal that all the Lutheran priests will lose their right to contentious freedom, i.e. no priest will be allowed to object to marrying a same-sex couple (or other accepted preference). If they object they may be removed from office and no new priest will be trained and ordained with that opinion. As the political group working toward this said, ‘We are even astonished that there are such people today opposed to these human rights.’ Another

group is lobbying that any church denying these rights would lose all state benefits and grants. If this thinking prevails, and it is a great possibility that it will, I can see a time when the majority of evangelical mission agencies will be closed down.

How are we going to deal with this complex situation? How will the believer remain faithful to his calling? These questions are not yet being properly addressed in the Swedish church.

Will the ‘Jante’s law’ mentality make it more difficult for the Evangelical Christian tomorrow? Yes. Will it make it make preaching God’s word impossible? Absolutely not, but it will be different and we need to be aware of that every believer will meet resistance in one way or other. As the pressure grows we need to be proactive in finding new ways to reach out with the gospel and stay true to our faith.

CChris and Lotta Strajnic are Crosslinks Mission Partners in Uppsala, Sweden. Read more about them at www.crosslinks.org/mission-partners/chris-and-lotta-strajnic

Whether ‘Jante’s law’ has a significant influence on the Swedish mentality or not, the ethos it

cultivates does make demands of a Christian believer; eg, you are not supposed to have any

convictions that contradict the majority.

As Swedish culture increases its demand that Christians abandon biblical morality, anxiety about evangelical identity and nervousness about reaching out to neighbours with the gospel become real.

Andreas Eldh

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Really? Is the gospel really worth leaving everything for? Is it worth missing that promotion or leaving that graduate job for? Susannah and I would love to return to East Africa to train pastors for ministry. We spent much of our childhood there; our parents worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators (Tim and Liz Raymond) and Crosslinks (Andrew and Caroline Maclean). Following a one-year stint in Tanzania we are now training at Oak Hill Theological College, London, to prepare for the as-yet unspecified work that we hope to be a part of. So we currently live with lots of questions about our future. Will we go to Tanzania or Congo or Uganda or elsewhere? How long for? Will it be safe? Will there be schooling for Annabella? Or good hospitals? As Susannah already speaks French, could Alex learn it? Will Susannah have time to learn the local language? Will we make meaningful relationships, and be effective in telling others the gospel? God knows all of our worries; Abraham’s example is one that we need to keep looking at. Taking God at his word isn’t easy, to the world it seems ridiculous, but because of what we know about our God, it is the only sensible way to live.

We don’t know everything about how our lives will play out as we seek God’s glory, but we do know what the result will be! So please pray for us to keep trusting God’s promises and not worry about the future.

Alex and Susannah Maclean were short-term volunteers with Crosslinks in Tanzania. Alex was training young pastors for the task of teaching the gospel, and Susannah taught English and computer skills and was involved in women’s bible studies.Please pray with them for God to make his plans clear for their future service.

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EREN

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TAK ING GOD AT H I S WORD I S NOT EA SY : TH E PROMIS E S H E MAKE S AR E OUTRAGEOUS . Jesus says: ‘Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’ Matthew 19:29.

A L E X A N D S U S A N N A H M A C L E A N

GOD’S WORDS

‘...but because of what we know about our God, it is the only sensible way to live...’

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‘Without faith it is impossible to please God!’ (Hebrews 11:6) is a very worrying verse for perfectionists like me! I’ve always been afraid of not hearing God properly or doing something that isn’t in his ‘Plan A’. When I went out to China I was convinced that God had sent me but not always sure of what exactly he wanted me to do.

Sitting comfortably in my flat in China I read that Jesus met with tax collectors and sinners; when I looked out of the window I saw the brothels on my street and wondered what Jesus would do here. For me, living a life of faith has meant believing that God would guide me by his Holy Spirit as I read his word; but the idea of reaching out to these girls felt too much of a risk: I could fail, I could embarrass myself, it could be dangerous, it would definitely be complicated….

So a team of us started prayer-walking around the red light areas. The first time we visited the girls we took them gifts of sticky rice and on our second visit they were eager to invite us in and tell us their stories. Developing relationships was easy; they were lonely and bored. The girls desperately needed to hear the gospel – that Jesus loved them and was interested in every part of their difficult, messy lives. Practical good news for these girls was a new job, and so we partnered with an organisation that was able to provide them with work - making jewellery for export. We have seen the girls transformed, commit their lives to Christ, get baptised, get married, have kids… but we have also seen a few girls return to the brothels. Life is messy, and there is trouble, and we have made mistakes but there is so much joy!

Now I am back in the UK faith is needed again – to trust and not worry, to step out and see what God will do next...

But faith doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect and it doesn’t mean that we won’t have trouble. It means not worrying but stepping out and trusting God with the results.

J O W A S A M I S S I O N P A R T N E R I N C H I N A F O R 1 9 Y E A R S . N O W B A C K I N T H E U K S H E C A N T E L L H E R S T O R Y .

ON THE STREETS OF CHINA

J O

1 4

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Jeremiah Paul used these bible verses to begin his first report as a Crosslinks Study Partner (he hadn’t yet done his Old Testament exegesis course!). He was born into a Christian family in western Ethiopia, an area greatly affected by the civil war in neighbouring Sudan. Jeremiah trusted the Lord to guide him in his life and the use of his skills and, over the next seven years, he trained for ordination and became a respected church leader in his home diocese.

In 2011 he and his young family moved from rural Gambella to the sprawling city of Cairo, Egypt, initially struggling to settle in a very different environment. Supported by a Crosslinks bursary, Jeremiah enrolled on the Bachelor of Theology course at the Alexandria School of Theology. Although possessing strong linguistic gifts, he needed to become academically competent in Arabic, his third language, in order to complete the course.

‘FOR I KNOW THE PLANS THAT I HAVE FOR YOU, DECLARES THE LORD, PLANS FOR WHOLENESS AND NOT FOR EVIL, TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE.’ JEREMIAH 29:11

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Alongside his theological and language studies, Jeremiah looked for ways to help at All Saints Cathedral, Cairo, particularly among the large Sudanese refugee community in Egypt. With others, he set up local fellowship groups and established a pastoral and evangelistic ministry to Sudanese university students.

More recently Jeremiah and his family have suffered because of sickness and accidents. Throughout all, Jeremiah has been inspired by his studies and fellowship within the church family, and thrown his all into pastoral and teaching work among needy people. This summer, having graduated from AST, he and his family returned to Ethiopia to support the training of local clergy at the newly-established St Frumentius Theological College.

In his most recent report Jeremiah wrote, ‘We are called to serve God, his people and those

outside the wall of the church as well. Our love for God must be seen at every opportunity, and

whatever we do, we do it because of Christ.’

BEST (Bursaries Enabling Strategic Training) is Crosslinks bursary partnership scheme enabling theological and ministry training for clergy and key church workers worldwide. For more information see www.crosslinks.org/best

J E R E M I A H P A U L

THE PLANSI HAVE FOR YOU..

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wordA N D Y L I N E S

15Andy Lines is Crosslinks Mission Director

THELASTWORD

Abraham may have taken God at his word but that was not true of most of his descendants. Hundreds of years after Abraham, God’s people found themselves as slaves in Egypt and yet experienced the wonders of being spectators, as the God who had ‘heard their groaning’ acted in judgement on the Egyptians and in grace towards Israel. How did many of them respond? Jude reminds us that ‘the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe’. Even though they had seen plenty of evidence of the power and grace of the Lord in Egypt and the wilderness, when confronting superior military forces in the land of Canaan, they did not take God and his promises at face value.

That is a warning and challenge to all of us in Crosslinks as we seek to serve in God’s global mission. The chapter ‘Is it worth it?’ by Osmund Peskett in the 1952 BCMS Symposium ‘For the sake of the name’ records how the ‘superior military force’ that he confronted in South China included the climate, loneliness, the destruction wrought by years of civil war, the depredations of Nationalist and Communist governments, and the knowledge that in all probability, his wife Freda’s life had been shortened because of being unable to get out of China in time. “Oh! The agony of that last period of enforced waiting, knowing that the passing of each week greatly lessened the chances of a final recovery”. She said of her years in China, “It was all worthwhile. If I could live my life over again I should make the same choice.” How could they have such an attitude in such circumstances? They trusted in the one in whose Great Commission they were engaged.

The ‘superior military force’ faced by others today might be the apathy and hostility encountered in Europe, or the lack of finance to train godly

leaders, or the lack of godly leaders. But if we take God at his word then we will be content to spend and be spent in obedience to the call to be faithful disciples taking God’s word to God’s world.

I N M I S S I O N

M E E T I N G SP R A Y E R

If you think you could start up a Crosslinks prayer meeting in your region, get in touch with Abbi McClure amcclure@crosslinks.org (London) or Val Ellis vellis@crosslinks.org (Ireland) and we will help and support.

BELFAST2 November at 8pmCrosslinks Ireland Office, 32 Montgomery Rd, Belfast Contact Rev Trevor Cleland on + 44 (0) 28 9265 0134

BOURNEMOUTHSecond Tuesday of each month at 10.30am St Paul’s Church, Throop, BournemouthContact Douglas Newport on 01202 397342

BROOKEBOROUGH1 September, 3 November at 8pm Aghavea Church Hall, 21 Aghavea Road, BrookeboroughContact Rev Gary McMurray + 44 (0) 28 8953 1210

CHORLEYSt Paul’s Church, Bury Lane, Withnell PR6 8SDEmail avril_fowler_746@hotmail.com for more details

DONEGAL14 December at 8pmDonegal Parish Centre, Donegal TownContact Ven David Huss on 00 353 74 9721075

DUBLINSecond Monday of each month at 8pmContact Janet Craven on 00 353 1 2194595

DUNGIVEN19 November at 8pmDungiven Parish Hall, DungivenContact Val Ellis on +44 (0) 28 9079 6028

FRINTON-ON-SEAFirst Thursday of each month at 3pm 34 Ashlyn’s Road, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex CO13 9EUContact Tricia Hamilton on 01255 676376

OXFORDAt St Ebbe’s Church, OxfordContact cmt @crosslinks.org or 020 8691 6111

RIPONFirst Saturday of each month at 1.30pm 2 All Saints Square, RiponContact William and Ruth Deeth on 01765 690366

STONEYFORDThird Friday of each month at 8pmWatson, 2 Stoneyford Road, LisburnContact Margaret Sharkey on + 44 (0) 28 9266 5996

WARINGSTOWN9 November at 8pm 78 Murray Wood, WaringstownContact Rev Jim McMaster on + 44 (0) 28 3882 0741

WEYMOUTHSecond Monday of each month 7.30-9pmContact Derek Saunders on 01305 779510

ARCTIC FELLOWSHIP – OADBYContact John Tonkin on 0116 281 2517

E V E N T S

C R O S S L I N K S

AUTUMN PRAYER CONFERENCEThursday 19–Monday 23 November Whitemoor Lakes Centre, Lichfield, WS13 8QT

This long-established five-day annual conference presents an opportunity to pray for God’s mission around the world, with input from Crosslinks Mission Partners, staff, and daily bible readings by Mathew Payne from the book of Titus. Make new friends, meet up with old ones and take time to relax and enjoy the facilities of the conference centre. Includes the ‘Pray, Give, Go’ conference on Saturday 21 November. For more information see www.crosslinks.org or email cmt@crosslinks.org

PRAY, GIVE, GO: The priority of local and global missionSaturday 21 NovemberWhitemoor Lakes Centre, Lichfield, WS13 8QT 10am-4pm

A day conference for churches and individuals wanting to be more involved in God’s local and global mission. The day includes presentations from Ishaya Baba (chairman of the board of trustees of Abuja Bible College) serving Mission Partners, Crosslinks staff, and three seminar options to choose from.

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WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH?Saturday 27 February 2016Armagh City Hotel, 2 Friary Road, Armagh BT60 4FRKeynote Speaker: Kevin DeYoung Further info: Contact Val Ellis vellis@crosslinks.orgor see http://www.crosslinks.org/deyoung

Kevin DeYoung has been the Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church, Michigan, USA, since 2004. His main responsibilities include preaching, leadership, and administration. He has published a number of books including one that captures the theme of our conference ‘What is the Mission of the Church?’

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