9 Ways to Encourage the Church in the UK

Dear All,

I’m afraid I don’t have anything new to share about the immigration application with the British government.  I continue to covet your prayers for this and for the whole process of pursuing ministry in Newport.  However, as I mentioned at the end of my last blogpost, I want to offer some ways that you and I as Christians in the United States can help the Church in the United Kingdom grow and thrive.  I've put together a list of nine practical ways you can help, or can encourage help for the Church in the UK below.  Please prayerfully consider these and any other ideas you may have.  You never know what opportunities God might give you if you're paying attention.

As a quick footnote, I want to offer this article about some of the mistakes Americans can make when doing mission work or trying to support Christians in other countries.  We can easily make a mess of things and not even realize it if we don’t think critically about the context and unintended consequences of our work: http://dbouchelle.blogspot.com/2013/12/frequent-missteps-of-americans-in.html  (from the blog of Dan Bouchelle of Mission Resource Network)

“Of course, I don’t mean you should give so much that you suffer from having too little.  I only mean that there should be some equality.  Right now you have plenty and can help them.  Then at some other time they can share with you when you need it.  In this way, everyone’s needs will be met.  Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this?  ‘Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.’”

                                                                                        -2^nd Corinthians 8:13-15 (NLT)

Top 9 Ways to Help (Practically)

9. Learn More

Take time to learn more about the British Church, their cultural context, and history.  You won’t know how best to serve until you learn a little more.  Here are a couple websites to start learning:

-The Christian Worker (like the Christian Chronicle for the UK; check out their directory of CofCs in the UK)

-Wikipedia (Wikipedia’s page on the UK; very informative)

-Current Events (story from the Telegraph about the decline of Christianity in the UK)

8. Meet Some British People

They are among us, lurking in the shadows….not really.  Actually, there are a large number of British visitors, students, and immigrants in the USA at any given time (about 680,000 this past year).  Look for opportunities to meet them and talk with them about their home and (where possible) about their faith.  You could learn a lot.

7. Trade Your Preacher

I know many of you have been looking for a way to ‘nicely’ get rid of your local preacher.  Well, here’s your opportunity! (just kidding, but really…). I have heard of a least one situation where a congregation in California and one in the UK swapped preachers for a 6 month to 1 year time period.  See if your preacher and his family would be interested in a temporary change of venue.  You never know, you might learn a lot from a British preacher as well.

6. Write a Letter of Encouragement

Find the address of a congregation in the UK (see Christian Worker website above) and write a letter of encouragement to them.  Tell them you are praying for them.  Ask about their worship, ministry, and outreach.  You never know what impact you might have (and postage is no more than about $2 for a regular letter sent to the UK from the US).

5. Take a Trip to the UK

Many of you have been looking for an opportunity to visit Europe on vacation.  Why not visit the UK, and add a Church of Christ to your list of places to visit (preferably when someone is there)?  Your presence would be a significant boost to many congregations in the UK and you never know what connections you might make.

4. Plant a Seed

Do you know a young person who is considering missions?  Or maybe someone who is retiring and looking for meaningful retirement work?  Or maybe someone who is looking to do a non-ministry job in a foreign country?  Talk with them about helping buildup the Church in the UK!  You might not be able to go yourself, but you could plant the seed in someone else’s heart with God’s help.

3. Plan a Mission Trip

Talk with your youth, college, or senior minister about a short-term mission trip to the UK.  It can be relatively inexpensive with some good planning (check out my favorite airline for Europe, Aer Lingus).  Remember that medical missions or building houses are probably not necessary in a highly developed country like the UK.

2. Give Money

This could be to a missionary or to a specific congregation in the UK.  There is a great need for this as it is quite expensive to live in the UK.  Ask me if you’d like some suggestions for missionaries or congregations to support in the UK.

1. Pray for the Church

Finally, make sure to pray for the Church in the UK.  They need our prayers so much and truly God is the One who can accomplish most there.  Make sure to pray specifically for things like: strength, unity, their relationships with outsiders, deeper knowledge of the Gospel, and encouragement.

Sincerely in Christ,

Chris

5 Reasons Not To Give Up On The United Kingdom

Ever since I started this journey towards sharing the Gospel with young people in the UK (and even before that), I've noticed something interesting about mission work in Europe: mainly that it is almost non-existent.  Perhaps non-existent is too strong a term, but in comparison to the vast numbers of missionaries and resources being expended to win people to Christ in places like Africa, India, and Central America, non-existent seems an appropriate word (I do know of a handful of people and Churches from the States working in the UK and Europe).  I believe there is a general assumption

St. Woolos Cathedral in Newport, Wales

that stands behind this within the minds and hearts of many American Christians: Christianity in Europe is a lost cause.  And after spending some time there and studying the culture I can understand the roots of this belief.  Europe is often called “Post-Christian” or “completely secular,” because many people there are not interested in Christianity or are even antagonistic towards it.  Hundreds of Church buildings stand empty, and hundreds more will soon as their congregations dwindle into the grave.  It is a fight just to survive for most congregations, and few converts have been seen over the last 15-20 years.  But has God given up on Europe?  Does He want us to give up on the soul and the people of Europe?  Let me humbly offer five reasons why I think we shouldn’t give up on United Kingdom or Europe.  But first, a brief update on immigration.

Unfortunately, the sponsorship certificate has not yet been approved for the Newport Church of Christ.  I heard recently from them that they continue to go back and forth with the immigration folks, particularly in the areas of hierarchy (which Churches of Christ are suspiciously lacking in the eyes of the UK government) and accounts.  Please continue to pray for me and for the Church in Newport as they try to sort things out and as they struggle with the financial burden of this process.

One of the things recently which inspired me to share these five reasons was a reflective piece in the Christian Chronicle newspaper entitled “The Faith I Have Found in ‘Post-Christian’ Europe” by Erik Tryggestad (check it out by clicking on the article title).  He speaks about a recent trip he made to

visit Christians in Brussels, Belgium and the way that he was encouraged not to give up on Europe.  In truth, I am not nearly as familiar with the rest of Europe as I am with the United Kingdom (I’ve briefly visited Spain, Ireland, and Italy) and so the five reasons I offer here going to be from a British

context (however, I think many if not most of these are transferable to other parts of Europe).  So here are my top five reasons not to give up on United Kingdom (or Europe):

1. Christianity is not dead, yet.  I am reminded of a quote from the very silly Monty Python’s “The Holy Grail” in which a character yells: “I’m not dead, yet!”  This is also true of Christianity in the UK.  It’s true that the Church has fallen on hard times here, but it’s not done-for yet.  I have been amazed by the resiliency of Churches in the UK and the way that they “soldier on”                                                                 despite great adversity.

2.  There is enormous potential for rebirth.  I believe that the Church in the UK shares a good deal of the blame for where it finds itself now.  Too many times throughout history the Church (I speak generally of the Christian Church) has chosen power over love, money over service, and cultural conformity over counter-cultural living.  Perhaps it is good that the Church here has been so humbled, because now it has the opportunity to become again what it is supposed to be.  God, I believe, wants to renew the Church in the UK if we will let Him.  It is from this place of deep humility that God will lift us up (the American Church has yet to learn this).

3.  The world is coming here.  If you want to reach those from the Middle East with the Gospel, come to the UK.  If you want to reach those from South and Central Asia, come to the UK.  If you want to reach those from Africa, come to the UK.  This may seem counter-intuitive, but so many immigrants are coming to the UK every day from these regions that the UK is becoming a great place to reach them.  Not only is the UK closer and safer than many of these countries, but you have the opportunity to share the Gospel openly with them instead of in secret (as you would have to in many countries).  And not only is this true in London, but more and more cities like Cardiff and Newport are receiving large numbers of immigrants.  The world is coming to the UK.

4. If we give up on the UK, we give up on the next generation in the US.  It is true that Europe and the US are two very different places and the US will probably not exactly follow the path that Europe has taken.  However, there are just too many similarities between the way teens and young adults in America are thinking and the general thought processes that dominate Europe to ignore.  The Church in the US needs to engage the very significant conversations going on in the UK right now (like “what is true?”, “who is God and what really matters to Him?”, “what does my faith have to do with my everyday life?”, and "why does the Church matter?" for example) so that it has something to say to teens and twenty-somethings in the States.  The Church can’t ignore this group forever and the UK has plenty to teach us about how to engage with our ever more post-modern culture.

5.  God has not given up on the UK.  If ever there was a nation God should have given up on it was Israel.  Yet we find these words of God spoken through Hosea to God’s people: “How can I give you up, Ephraim?  How can I hand you over, Israel?... My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.  I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.  For I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you” (Hosea 11:8a, 8c-9).  God's heart is turned to compassion when He sees the brokenness of the people He loves (that is not to say that God's love excludes His judgment at times).  And God sees things that we don't see.  Again and again throughout history He turns evil into good, and the impossible into possible for the glory of His name.  I believe that God wants to do this in the UK, and His Spirit is at work if we will trust Him and seek Him.

Hope these five reasons encourage you not to give up on the UK either.  I don’t know what will ultimately come of my pursuit of doing youth ministry in the UK, but I am hopeful that God is at work there.  Next time I blog I hope to offer a few practical ways you can help the Church grow and thrive in the UK and Europe.  Until then…

Sincerely in Christ,

Chris