Some real encouragement from Wales! And thanks to Richard Hall at Connexions for drawing it to the attention of the Methodist blogsphere.
The BBC programme "Week In Week Out" used an entire 30 minute slot to look at the growth and work of three relatively new independent Evangelical churches. It is available on iplayer and is well worth half an hour of your time.
Now like all churches there are some bits that I don't feel comfortable with. Churches are, after all, composed of human beings and we sometimes get it wrong. I've yet to meet an absolutely perfect Methodist Church.
But the message from Wales, if this programme is accurate, is that it is possible for UK believers to attract young congregations which are actively involved in their communities with such projects as furniture recycling and food banks.
They attract congregations of up to 400, many of whom were young (though I noticed some very happy grey haired people present), they prayed for the sick, and worshipped in a way that was similar to our Methodist forefathers and fore mothers. They were working hard to spread the gospel, getting people to read their Bibles, to pray regularly, and to care for one another. All the things that a good church should be doing.
It was a real joy to hear a young girl and her biker father explain how they had come to faith. Their lives had been turned round and the young girl was determined that she would abstain from sex until she was married to the right person: something that was the norm just forty years ago. And the witness of the young woman being baptised was enough to bring tears to the eyes of anyone who knows what it really means to be born again.
Needless to say there were negative comments from the established church with an Anglican bishop doing his best to belittle the movement, but then others external to the Evangelical churches - a parish priest and a university professor - take a more mature view.
All in all, worth watching. I think the iplayer will stay on the BBC website for a few weeks so watch it while you can. And be encouraged. God is working his purpose out and sometimes He uses flawed vessels. So look for the positives. Let God deal with the negatives.
One thing those of us who work, worship and lead in failing Methodist churches, must not do is to assume that the growing Evangelical churches have absolutely nothing to teach us. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!
Posts
3 comments:
Thank you for this account of what is happening among evangelicals in Wales. It is very much in contrast to other reports which cast the growth and work of these congregations in only a negative light.
Thanks Earl. There is a tendency in established churches to look for reasons to put down the independent Evangelical churches. Sometimes it is snobbery (look at me I'm a reverend) other times it is fear of God blessing someone else's initiatives (I find this disturbing and sinister).
I joined Methodism because I found a church very similar to the ones featured in the programme.
However I then saw how a large section of Methodism re-acted to anything that was different.
That is the reason it is now a rarity to find a Methodist church with a substantial proportion of its membership under 50. There has been a 30 years war against the young (and Evangelical and Charismatic) in Methodism.
There are some poor souls who don't understand that the war is over or that they are sadly the losers.
Thank you for metioning this programme. It was very heartening to see people so alive with desire for the gospel, especially the young. I agree that we can be very snobbish about such lively expressions of faith, yet there is so much that we can learn from these churches.Even if some of us feel uncomfortable with aspects of their beliefs, we have to remember that we are all part of the church on earth, and we worship the same King.
Post a Comment