Helping Churches Support Their Missionaries Worldwide
Jean Ellis looks back on the way the Lord led her to serve in Austria. GBM’s support for Jean ceased as she reached 70, though she continues to serve the Lord in Austria as a ‘pensioner’!
Can the death of a baby really be part of God’s plan?
They say that when in Rome, do as the Romans do. In summer months, that means leaving Rome for the seaside in a desperate attempt to escape the heat. Yet on 28 June, the Rome Envision Team was doing the exact opposite.
Graham and Sally Jones work in Western Kenya, partnering with local churches to train and mentor their pastors. Caleb is one of the pastors they seek to help.
‘This is Caleb,’ said Pastor Daniel.
Colin Grimwood (Grundisburgh Baptist Church) describes the joys and challenges of a visit to today’s India.
India continues to fascinate me: the busy streets, the continuous hooting of the traffic, the numerous small shops and street stalls, the simple uncluttered homes, the bright colours (of saris and houses) and the friendliness of the people (they always respond to ‘Vanakkam’ with hands held together and a bow of the head).
Ian Flanders of GBM Radio was invited to visit Togo in West Africa, which is sandwiched between Ghana and Benin, and two countries west of Nigeria. Christians there regularly listen to Ian’s French language radio programmes. This was an important opportunity to connect with his audience.
‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.’ Arequipa is certainly well supplied with mountains. Jim Sayers introduces us to a hillside community where Anthony and Roxy Green have started work.
Jim Sayers made a field visit to Arequipa, Peru, in March, to visit our workers. Ronny and Rocio Tipismana now lead the church in Simon Bolivar, which is growing fast. Here Jim gives his reflections on what is happening in the church.
So it turns out moving country isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do. We arrived in November and three out of five of us wanted to go straight back home within a month! It is an odd feeling, being unsure about almost everything you are doing. It is even harder when you have your family with you and you feel completely responsible for the tears and tantrums caused by upping sticks and leaving everything and everyone you know behind.
Daniel Caballero was based in his native Peru until 2019. He married Ellie in May last year, and then encountered visa problems getting back into the UK to start a PhD. He and Ellie are now based in Ireland. Here he reports on what he has been doing in Peru.
Jason and Andrea Murfitt returned to the UK last summer after twelve years’ service in Brazil. Here Jason reports on a visit to Madeira, to investigate the possibility of serving there and planting a new church.
I was twenty-five years old when I met Ban Forsyth (then in his late 90s; he lived to be over 100).
James Hammond has served in Bordeaux for four years, focussed mainly on ministry to students through GBU (Groupes Bibliques Universitaires). He has also been involved in Bordeaux Church, an international church in Central Bordeaux. Now he has joined the leadership of a new French church-plant in the centre of the city, Eglise Bordeaux Chartrons.
How does your church organize their giving? We were contacted recently by one church pastor, David Campbell, who told how his church in Preston had come up with a simple but different idea to share the load of funding world mission. Here is his story:
At the AGM of North Preston Evangelical Church in November 2017 I reported on the financial difficulties then facing Grace Baptist Mission.
OneHundredFold is a ministry of UFM that uses a range of media platforms to provide ministry resources for use across the world. This summer they ran an Envision team with GBM in Mission centre in Abingdon.
Our radio studios in Mission Centre in Abingdon are one of GBM’s undiscovered treasures.
Our two Envision summer teams in 2018 went to Poland, to work with Andrzej and Monika Kempczyński, and to Wick in Caithness, to help the Harbour Mission Church where former GBM missionary Gilbert McAdam is pastor. We were disappointed that teams to Latvia and Italy had to be cancelled due to lack of volunteers. Here the two teams tell their story.
Partnerships are often crucial in the work of mission. In recent years, Derek French of GBM Radio has had a fruitful partnership with Gerard and Philippa Chrispin and their prison ministry. Here Derek and Gerard explain how that has been working.