Lessons from England

Well I just want to start out by saying, "Thank you" to all of you who prayed for the EIM team and I as we traveled to Coleford, England last week to do an Overseas Bible School (OBS) for Coleford Baptist Church. The trip was great and for any of you our there who have the disposable income to travel abroad I highly recommend going to the Forrest of Dean on the border of Wales and England. It is a beautiful place with gorgeous scenery and great historical sites as well.
As far as the purpose of our trip is concerned though we, in our opinions, had a very successful bible school, or "Holiday Club" (that was what the church in Coleford called it). With England being a country in a post-Christian culture we really didn't know what to expect as far as attendance and participation during the week, but we found the church there in Coleford very exited about the possibilities of what the bible school might help do for the church there. Sunday we found out that 33 children had preregistered for the Bible school and when Monday morning arrived we had 45 4-12 years old for our first day. We also very quickly realized that we were dealing with children who really knew very little of the scriptures as well as the Gospel. Altogether for the week we had a high day of 54 children, but probably saw around 75 different children during the week. It was a challenging week for me personally because I helped teach the 6-8 year old class and it gave me the opportunity to condense the Gospel into a way that each of them could understand the truth of Christ. I was very careful though not to water-down the importance of the Gospel, nor their need to except it, and even with some "constructive criticism" I felt that most of the children got a faithful presentation of the truth of their need for the righteousness of God in their lives, through the sacrifice of Christ, because of the sin they have inherited and committed that separates them from God. We did have one profession of faith while we were there but only God knows and time will tell the impact that we were able to make there through the teaching of the Word of God.
Let me say here a BIG THANK YOU to the members of Coleford Baptist Church, your hospitality during the week was better than any of us could have asked for. Also, I want to say Thank you to Pastor Peter for allowing us to come into his church and teach in our awful American accents. Also, I want to thank Peter and Leslie Richardson who opened up their home to my Father and I. We had great conversation, breakfast, hot tea, and a warm bed everyday and it was truly a blessing being in their company. Finally, I want to thank the members of the EIM team for their great work. Chad and Jai Stephenson did a tremendous job with the older group all week, and Chad even found out that he could play the guitar well enough to help me lead the children in music. Andy, Tamie, Kelsey, and Eric Rogers were also a tremendous family to have with us. Andy and Eric did puppets during the week, Tamie taught the 6-8 year old class with me, and Kelsey did a fantastic job of teaching the 4-5 year old group. My sister, Julie and my Dad, Mike (our fearless leader) also did a great job during the OBS. Julie took on the huge task of doing the crafts with the children throughout the week and they loved everything they were allowed to make, color, cut, and glue all week long. Dad did a good job as well of motivating us to never lose sight of what we were there to do no matter how discouraged we got. Finally, (I know I said that already but I really must include this) the BIGGEST THANK YOU of all goes out to John and Fiona Cooke, our dearest of friends there in Coleford. Our relationship with them started just over four years ago in a very providential way and has become a friendship that goes beyond words. John and Fee put their lives on hold for us for an entire week, and having two young children that is no small feat, to make sure that we were taken care of at all times. I love them from the depths of my heart and could never truly put into words what their relationship means to me. They truly are my Brother and Sister in Christ, and being away from them for these last few days has been excruciatingly painful. I miss them, I love them, and I hope that somehow I can see them again very soon.
Quickly, before I go today I want to also say one word about the overwhelming need for us as Christians today to be faithful to tell others the Gospel in a way that leaves non-believers no doubt about where they stand before God and their need to receive the Gospel immediately upon this discovery. On the plane to Birmingham, England I read the book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever. It really was a great help to me in preparing me before hand to be confident about how I felt the Gospel needed to be taught and delivered so that all of the children that I came across would have a clear understanding of what the Gospel really is. I recommend this book to anyone struggling to be a faithful witness for Christ in these difficult times. Too many times today, as I have already wrote about on this site, it seems that people are more concerned with acceptance than telling others, "the hope that is within them." Peter makes it clear in his writings and by the statement I just quoted of his that there will come times that people will ask or we will be motivated by the Spirit to tell them what it is that has set us apart from them and filled us with such great joy. And when those moments come we should not be lacking in our evangelism of the Gospel, but we should be bold knowing that we are the ones who hold the key to the Truths of the Kingdom. No one will ever come to faith by simply being a friend of a Christian, a participant in a church, or a worker in a Bible school unless someone they know to be a Christian tells them how they can become a believer. And this is the way it should happen. Christians should be unashamed when it comes to explaining what it is they believe in and hold to for their salvation, and not overly concerned with what sharing that message might mean for their reputation or cultural acceptance. Stephen, Paul, Peter, and the list could go on and on were not worried about what sharing the True Gospel to others might mean for their lives here on this earth. That's why all of them died doing that very thing. Oh, that we would long more for the everlasting joy of our eternal home than for the fleeting moments of pleasure this earth has for us.
Would you do me a favor this week and pray along with me that we would be a more faithful people in sharing the Gospel? I by know means am perfect in this work and I need your prayers of support to make me more aware of the times and chances that God gives me to share my faith each and every day. Let's also pray that when those opportunities come that we wouldn't shrink down in our telling of the Gospel, but that we would be bold and courageous and tell others the truth of their need to Go to Christ and to Him alone for what they need in salvation. We are not kept here as Christians to get into debates about Global warming, political elections, or any other non-Kingdom concerning conversations we find ourselves in periodically. We are here to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ. We are here to Evangelize, Baptize, and Catechize until the Lord calls us home and can say to us, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"