Called To Proclaim

When considering places in the world in need of Gospel labor, where would England land, if a list were to be compiled? I am not sure, considering all the needs that could be listed, but certainly the need is great. In our hearts, there is no list of places, but there is one Island – one place where we are called, one Gospel to share, one Church to grow, one place to be family, one place to call home. The following is a portion of a page of the story God has written for this time and for this place. 

It is humbling to be called to serve the Lord in this place. It is the place where Narnia was sung into existence by the pen of C.S. Lewis. It is the place where legends were made. J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote: “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.”

Although this is only a quote from Tolkien’s work, The Lord of the Rings, the last line aptly describes our prayer and the focus of our labor in England. We pray that the One who is crownless now in the hearts of many in this place, would indeed be crowned and sit upon the throne of their hearts; that the sound of singing, the sound of His praises would be heard in the old streets and parishes in this generation.            

We are blessed to be able to serve with World Witness in Chelmsford, England. Because of the Lord’s provision, through World Witness and our loving supporting churches, we have made this place in Essex our home and the people here our people. 

We ask you to pray for us (Ben and Trish) as we both serve at Chelmsford Presbyterian Church and for Ben, as he preaches at the church and works in three schools. He is a university chaplain, giving talks to students on such topics as, “Who is Jesus?” and is also a guest lecturer, in an upper school (17–18-year-olds), on the topic of religious education from a Christian perspective. Ben regularly speaks for an assembly of 120 children at a local primary school. Sadly, most of these children do not have Christian families, so it is a wonderful thing to be present and answer their questions about our great God. Lastly, pray we would see families, especially British families who do not know Jesus, come to believe the Gospel and be united to a church family. Many British families are two to three generations away from the last person in their family committed to a local church.