At Sheffield

(Pictures of St. Thomas auditorium at the third service, and the small Iranian meeting later at 1:30 PM)

I first heard of St. Thomas in Sheffield, England while a student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This ministry grew from a small church of 50 to a congregation of 1700 meeting in two different locations. Ever since learning about St. Thomas I've wanted to visit and see it for myself, especially since "churches in Europe do not grow" this large. This past weekend we were in the area and were able to visit the church.

Here are a few of my personal observations of the Philadelphia Campus church:
1) The church is located at the cities' center, in a depressed area; obviously the church has learned to reached out into this community.
2) The (Philadelphia) campus was a disjointed group of buildings--none of which looked like a church-- most of which had been business institutions or warehouses. The auditorium was a very large warehouse that was spacious (could seat around 700) but not elaborate.
2) The music was contemporary but not "edgy;" most of it was choruses I've heard in contemporary churches of America (e.g. "Our God is An Awesome God"). There was a praise band with three miked singers (one with a guitar), a drummer and two other guitarists. At the front of the auditorium several "praise members?" were "dancing" with the music; a bit distracting for first time visitors, but not greatly so. (The rationale behind this practice would be interesting to know)
3) Though much planning had obviously gone into the service, it was not done with precision--excellence was not the goal. No one seemed to mind. I wondered whether this was a studied effort not to be too formal. For example, there was a constant lag in the Power-point presentation of the words of the songs. there may have been a lack of excellence, but there was not a lack of planning. Apparently, excellence was not the goal; being informal and casual was.
4) The first song was sung for the kids, was up-beat, fast and moving. The kids were encouraged to come down to the front and "dance" to the music. They were taken out to a different worship service after the first song.
5) The announcements ("notices") were done by two young adults, a male and female, who did them with a casual flair, looking up to the screen now and then.
6) The dress was casual for everyone. The two leading pastors wore jeans and polo shirts--one with a high collar. I was the only one with a suit (no tie). There was one man with a suit and tie, but he was a foreigner. (grin)
7) Communion-in the Anglican manner-was served to the 600+ in attendance, by provided several "stations" throughout the auditorium. (One corner of the building served wine without alcohol).
8) The message was simple, biblical and well delivered by Rich Robinson, one of the pastors.
9) There was an informal invitation to accept Christ or to come forward for "prayer or for healing."

St. Thomas church has learned how to do the work of evangelism among their people. In the process, this has attracted people who do not live in this area to the church. People like a winner.

AS THE WORK GETS TOUGHER, THE TOUGH GET TO WORK

Just returned from a meeting with the leadership team at the Oasis in Athens, Greece. They are continuing to carry on their work in the face of the threats on their life. And the Lord continues to deliver them from their enemies. The threats, however, have discouraged most Iranians from coming to the meetings (this intimidation is practiced all over Europe) but other Farsi speakers continue to come in large numbers. In addition to the refugee work, the building of a new congregation of Farsi-speaking believers, the leadership believes they need to start a Bible Institute for those who are passing through the area. They have a passion that Persian-speakers not only hear the gospel right, but that they live the gospel as disciples of Jesus Christ. This is a big undertaking, but they believe it to be a mandate. Pray for them.

IT'S FALL!

The leaves are turning already in England and the air is getting nippy--good weather for catching a cold. But our hearts are warmed--warmed by the prospects of a fulfillment of the Father's promise to pour out His Spirit on us and those we are working with that we would be effective witnesses, be fruitful and be able to reproduce.

We met an Iranian couple who live in the next village over, a place called Rugeley (Seen in the distance from the Chase). Faiza has had 3 by-passes and has three stints in his heart and is rapidly aging. I don't know how long he has but we know the time is short and we ache to share the everlasting gospel with he and Kayani his wife. Hope we can have that talk with them soon.

We are praying that the Lord will answer our prayer for harvesters in the UK. It is the only hope for America and for Europe in the face of global Islamic resurgence. May the Lord give a viral answer to our prayers based on Luke 10:2b.

IT'S SUMMER

Ken has been busy traveling with Daniel Shayesteh, former Hezbollah member and now a Christian apologist. Churches have received their ministry well. We have also done a few missions conferences, one of which was in Bozeman, Montana. What a place!

Ken has also continued to compete his dissertation on "Developing a Strategy for the Defense and Propagation of the Faith Among Muslims." This has been a grueling project and each time we travel somewhere, must be started over.

We are also working with a small group of Iranians we've met in the Kansas City area. Please pray that they will read the Scriptures we have given them and that the Holy Spirit will give them light and life.

Carrie got to visit her mother in Tennessee with daughers, Mychelle, Becky and Ruth. Did I forget to mention that they took along 10 grandkids, eight of whom were five and under? What a trip! (see the wooden spoon? : )