Map Mission - Latest News Items

Hope Starts at Home

jennyw@habitatni.co.uk (Habitat for Humanity NI) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

From essential tools, a roof, clean water to a complete home there is a gift to suit everyone and importantly every gift will support a child who is without family, shelter or a future.

War, disaster and HIV/Aids are devastating countries worldwide resulting in millions of orphans and vulnerable children. Unable to cope with the overwhelming number of orphans and vulnerable children families and communities are immersed in poverty, living in unhealthy and unsafe environments. Habitat is committed to keeping vulnerable children within their own communities and has developed a holistic programme underpinned by vital shelter and including social welfare and emotional support, health care, education and livelihood support. The support of people from across Northern Ireland will allow Habitat to extend the reach of the programme further, serving thousands of orphans over the next year. Habitat Northern Ireland’s Chief Executive, Jenny Williams: “Our partnership with the Down’s Syndrome Association has been such an encouraging experience for Habitat. We wanted to launch this appeal with those who know firsthand how a simple home transforms the lives of families in need – our volunteers. The very people who dedicate such time and hard work to transforming the lives of families in need and the DSA team are a great example of that. Your support for Hope Starts at Home is vital, so that we can help orphans and vulnerable children have a safe place to call home and a future to look forward to.” Simply log on to www.habitatni.co.uk/ChristmasHope and with one click buy a life changing gift of Hope this Christmas.

Habitat for Humanity - Build Big Romania 2011

jennyw@habitatni.co.uk (Habitat for Humanity NI) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Will you build big in Romania this year?

Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland are calling on volunteers from across Northern Ireland to build big in Romania from 1^st-8^th October 2011.

2011 will be the third year running that Habitat NI have travelled to Romania to deliver adequate, affordable homes to families in need. The Big Build will see 150 volunteers from Northern Ireland travel to the small town of Baltesti, Romania, to deliver 10 homes in just one week.

Big Build 11 brings together people from across Northern Ireland to build not just houses but community and hope. No building skills are needed and people of all shapes, sizes, age and gender are welcome to participate.

Big Build is part of Habitat NI's long term commitment to the programme in Romania, which is focussed especially on supporting marginalised groups including the Roma community.

Housing Need

35% of total housing stock in Romania is in the state of complete neglect and needing urgent repairs. Real wages for working Romanian families have dropped by about 40% and in addition to the economic toil, Romania faces the challenge of thousands of children orphaned under the previous communist regime.
The Roma community suffer high levels of poverty housing, often with 3 or 4 families living in one house. The appalling conditions and lack of adequate facilities results in poor health and adds further to the marginalisation of the families.

How Habitat will help

The One Home: One Future Programme is the most intensive intervention programme yet attempted, tackling the roots of poverty in the small town of Baltesti. Big Build will deliver an integrated project where Roma families will no longer live on the edge of town but beside their neighbours.
The families of Baltesti are caught in the vicious cycle of poverty, where lack of education limits opportunities for families to learn a skill and earn a decent wage. Big Build will help break this cycle; as well as delivering 10 homes the One Home: One Future programme works in partnership with other agencies to deliver social support and marketable skills training.

Over the last 2 years Big Build has already delivered homes to 22 families in need of a safe, decent shelter in Romania. Adela Beres became a Habitat homeowner following the Big Build 2010.

"Thank you so much for giving me this chance of being able to own my own home. You have given me the chance to be born again."

Get Involved

To take part in Big Build 2011 you will need to commit to raising £1750 per person, plus £100 non-refundable deposit. This total covers travel from Northern Ireland, in-country expenses and a donation to Habitat's work both locally and in Romania.
From October 1^st-8^th 2011 Habitat will help 10 families build houses, build community and build hope in Baltesti, Romania.

For further information about Big Build 11 and to register please visit www.habitatni.co.uk/bigbuild

The place of Church History in Christian Education

cmckinley@belfastbiblecollege.com (Belfast Bible College) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Scott Spurlock joined Belfast Bible College in 2010, appointed as a Lecturer in Church History and Historical Theology. Originally from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Scott has lived in the British Isles for over a decade. After completing studies in Ecclesiastical History and Historical Theology at the University of Edinburgh, he held positions at the University of Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh and Trinity College Dublin. Scott also acts as Director of Postgraduate Studies at the college.

The place of Church History in Christian Education

The purpose of Belfast Bible College is the preparation of believers for Christian service. This service may take any number of forms, from missionary service abroad to work within their local church communities. As a core part of this process students are provided with courses on the Old Testament and New Testament, Biblical hermeneutics, pastoral care, ministry experience, and models of missiology and church planting. These are all very important aspects of formation that are included in many institutions. However, sometimes, one of the key components of preparation is neglected and that is where my role at BBC comes in. It is my goal to expose our students to the rich traditions of the Christian church, not only in the remote historical past, but also the rich diversity of faith communities that have taken root in geographical regions beyond Britain and North America.

As part of the college's new undergraduate degree programme through the University of Cumbria, students take a course entitled 'The Story of the Faith’. If this course had a subtitle, it would be ‘a global story’. While the course includes the traditional subjects of the early church, the Reformation and the awakenings that began in the eighteenth century it has a fuller more distinctive approach. In addition to these subjects, it seeks to place nearly an equal emphasis on non-European traditions. For example, we discuss the Nestorian missions that took Christianity to Persia, India and all the way to China by the seventh century. We also spend time addressing the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia that provided refuge to persecuted followers of Mohammed in the seventh century. In doing this we draw together several different perspectives.

First, our European and North American students are exposed to the reality that their own Christian traditions are not the only manifestations of the faith. It allows them to see how their communities and traditions fit alongside Orthodoxy and other Christian traditions. This helps to better prepare them for dialogue in the diverse cultural context that they will encounter. Second, students learn that many of the issues that are pressing for our own situation are not wholly new. Christians in previous generations have lessons to offer us in a number of different and helpful areas. For example, we have a great heritage to draw upon in relation to how Christianity has engaged with the pluralist world it has inhabited since its establishment. In particular, the lives of Timothy of Baghdad (d. 823) and John of Damascus (d. 749) offer us models of how Christians have dialogued with Islam in the past. Third, many of our international students are introduced to the reality that Christianity may have had a long history in their home nations prior to the colonial European missions. This is true for students from India, China, Kenya and elsewhere. Such a perspective enables us to learn from the mistakes and situations of the past, and offers students an enriched understanding of their historical context that may enable them to culturally acclimate their evangelical faiths within the diverse communities that they find themselves.

Besides the intentionally global approach to my teaching of church history, my own research focuses on the Christian traditions of early modern Britain and Ireland; a pretty formative period in the history of these islands. We offer courses on the Reformation in Britain and Ireland, seventeenth century Ireland, and Christianity in Ireland since the Reformation. Like the approach of teaching Christianity as a global movement, these courses offer students a clearer sense of how things in Ireland have come to be as they are. In doing this we unpack the question of whether it had to turn out the way it has and where we might begin as a starting point for change and healing.

Church history is not a collection of old stories and this understanding is core to our presentation of the subject. The story of the church is our heritage and it is our story. The body of Christ is a continuum that transcends history. As John Calvin declared, drawing on Hebrews 12:1, we must emulate the ‘saints’ that have preceded us. In unpacking this the greatest mind of the Reformed tradition spurs Christ’s followers not to be ignorant of their past but to draw upon the example of our progenitors in the faith so that ‘they ought more powerfully to stimulate us’.[1] That is what we are about at Belfast Bible College: Stimulating Christ’s servants to powerfully serve a world deeply in need.

[1] John Calvin, Calvin’s Bible Commentaries: Hebrews, (trans.) John Owen (Edinburgh, 1853), p. 311.

Helping to Reach the Agta people

Info@logosministries.org.uk (Logos Ministries) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Helping to Reach the Agta People

In January 2010 a team from LMI went to the Philippines to minister in seven churches, two school assemblies at Union School International, and to conduct leadership seminars in three areas: Davao Del Norte (Samal Island); Tugegaro City in the Cagayan Valley (Mindanao Island); and Baguio City (Luzon Island).

Approximately two hundred pastors, leaders and church workers attended the leadership seminars. Rev Jonathan Winter (LMI's Mission Associate & Coordinator for the Philippines) said, 'The LMI Leadership Seminars were well received and appreciated by all those that attended in the various locations... [they] were a channel in which to challenge, remind, educate, revive, refresh and inspire pastors, leaders and church workers.’

In addition to conducting leadership seminars and being involved in church work, LMI’s team had the opportunity to spend time with the Agta people, a Filipino tribe that is in the early stages of being reached with the gospel. Rev Winter ministers amongst this tribe, and following the team’s experience LMI launched a Philippine Project to assist the work of sharing the gospel with the Agta tribe by equipping those working to share the love of Jesus with them.

For more information about this project please consult the Philippine Project 2010 leaflet which you can find on the downloads page of LMI’s website under "promotional literature." www.lmi-org.net

You or your church could be a part of helping to reach the Agta people for Jesus!

History of the Agta People by Rev Jonathan Winter.

The Agta people are believed to have been the original inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. They are one of the world’s few remaining populations of pygmies. The Spanish colonizers of the 16th century called them Negritos, a term that is still widely used today. Culturally, they are a very non-confrontational, shy people and nomadic in nature. So when the Polynesians and later the Spanish started arriving in the Philippines, the Agta simply retreated and moved away. After a while, land ran out and there was no longer any place to move away to, so many of the Agta have become intermingled with the rest of society. Unfortunately, they are looked down upon by their neighbours, and they lack any cultural pride so many seem to believe other people's view of them.

Their people name has become an insult - when someone does something foolish, you might call them “Agta”. Sometimes the Agta people don’t like to be “Agta” and therefore have tried to blend into the culture that surrounds them. Many are illiterate and as a result are often taken advantage of by their neighbours.They continue to live in the mountains of northern Luzon (the largest Island of the Philippines), and are primarily hunters and food gatherers, much as their ancestors were hundreds of years ago. The Agta are one of the few remaining unreached people groups in the Philippines, due to the lack of mission, discipleship work amongst them, and the lack of indigenous Agta churches established.

Jonathan Winter will be visiting N. Ireland from 22nd March – 8th April to promote the work of LMI in the Philippines, and highlight in particular the Philippine Project. If you would like him to come and speak in your church about what God is doing amongst the Agta people, please get in touch with Thomas McClean on 02890458362 or 07802824610. If you would like to hear Jonathan speak during his visit a full list of the places and events at which he will be attending will be posted on LMI’s website under “events” nearer the time.

Biblefresh and Scripture InSight

gsec@bsni.co.uk (Bible Society in Northern Ireland) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Since mid-September the Bible Society in Northern Ireland has been revealing the favourite Scripture passages of well known people in Northern Ireland. 'Scripture InSight', a web based project, aims to engage more regular Bible reading from people who read these passages.

Well known names from the world of Church, Broadcasting, Sport, Business and the Public and Charitable sectors have agreed to share with us their favourite passage and why it is important to them, giving us an insight into what the Bible means to them. We have already featured people such as broadcaster Lynda Bryans, football manager Roy Walker, economist Alan Bridle and E.A.’s Stephen Cave. Future weeks will see contributions from an Everest conqueror, an International cricketer and a former Church President among others. Each Monday a new entry appears on the BSNI website at, www.bsni.co.uk/articles/39-scripture-insight, and it is hoped that as people visit and read these personal reflections they will find encouragement for the day and a spur to engage in more regular Bible reading for themselves.

This is just part of the Bible Society’s involvement in Biblefresh, along with other local Mission organisations: Belfast Bible College, Evangelical Alliance, Precept N. Ireland, Scripture Union, Story 4 All and Wycliffe Bible Translators and hundreds more across Great Britain. Lots of useful Bible reading ideas and resources can be accessed on the www.biblefresh.com website or by contacting any of the seven local agencies.
If you would like to get any ideas on how to get people excited about the Bible, contact BSNI on 028 9032 6577 or e-mail projects@bsni.co.uk.

Radio broadcasts hope as floods rage

wmateer@feba.org.uk (Feba) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Radio broadcasts hope as floods rage on Monday 16th August, 2010

As the news of the heavy flooding in Pakistan unfolded, Feba Pakistan staff and their partners put together an action plan for response during the crisis, despite disrupted internet access and downed phone lines. A Feba staff member travelled to Kashmir to gather fresh programme material, including an interview with the director of State Disaster Management Authority, talks with people in the area about their plight in the flood as well as receiving SMS messages from listeners expressing their concern and grief for victims of the flooding.

Last week Feba staff journeyed to flood-affected Charsadda, near Peshawar, for radio distribution and to assist the production team there with interviewing aid workers and people impacted by the floods.

Radio saves lives

Distributing radios to people who have lost everything may seem inappropriate - they can't slake a thirst or provide warmth and shelter – but they can give access to critical, life-saving information. When confusion, anger and fear are overwhelming, radio broadcasts give consistent news and advice, informing people of where to go for aid and the services available to them, reuniting them with friends and family and reducing the spread of disease. Working together with our partners, Feba is producing programme content to address flood-related issues in the national language of Urdu, as well as Sindhi and Siraiki which are spoken in the flood-affected areas.

Not only are we broadcasting these programmes as part of our established schedule, but we are also supplying material to other broadcasting outlets to include in their schedules as well. We are hoping to repeat programmes at different times during the day to give people a greater opportunity of hearing critical information and advice.

Sammy, Director of Feba Pakistan, sent this message to his partners who supply programmes: "Pakistan is facing the worst flood catastrophe in history. Feba cannot continue doing normal programming. We need to tell our listeners that we are a part of this society. So I urge you to do whatever you can. Please suspend your normal programming and produce special programmes responding to the present disaster."

Feba’s long service in Pakistan

We have been broadcasting to Pakistan since 1974 and currently have 8 languages on air. As followers of Jesus, we seek to serve the communities and people of Pakistan by addressing their needs and issues in culturally appropriate ways through our radio broadcasts.

Feba saw the devastation caused by the 2005 earthquake, and the confusion and distress that followed. In response, we distributed radios and developed a programme especially for the victims of that disaster which is still on air helping them through the long rehabilitation process. We also provided specialist radio training for aid organisations working in the disaster zone.

We will keep you informed of the latest news and developments. Donations can be made online at www.feba.org.uk/pakistan.

Prayer Points

Pray for the distribution of clean water and food, and pray against the spread of disease – it is the very old and the very young that are most at risk.
Pray for the provision of shelter as the monsoon season continues into September, then gives way in October to clear skies and cooler nights.
Pray for Feba’s radio programmes – initially responding to disaster, and subsequently assisting with information for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

SAT-7 TURK

skinner.lisam@googlemail.com (Interserve Ireland) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Introducing SAT-7 Turk

Turkey - a land so evocative of Biblical history and with a rich spiritual heritage stretching right back to Genesis. So many places named in the Bible can be found in modern day Turkey – Ephesus, Cappadocia, Bithynia, Laodicia, Galatia, Thyatira – the names conjure up in our minds the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul and the churches that were founded there. Sadly, since those times the Church has all but been extinguished and today 99.8% of the 72 million population is Muslim.

For those inside the Church, the situation is in stark contrast to that of around 2000 years ago when churches flourished. Indeed, only a century ago, 25% of the population of Turkey was Christian; primarily ethnic minorities that could trace their spiritual heritage to the early Church. Today the Syrian, Armenian and Greek Orthodox churches and the Syrian, Armenian, Roman and Greek Catholic Churches make up only an estimated one tenth of one percent of the population. In Turkey, the Turkish Protestant Church today numbers about 3,000. There are about 50 small fellowships meeting regularly for worship and teaching; 20 of these are in Istanbul.

The Turkish government is struggling to understand who these people are. Turkey's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but government officials fear what they don't understand. Persecution and harassment of Christians is not uncommon and there have been some well publicised cases of violence against Christians. Local and national officials use various pretences to try to close down churches and Turkish law restricts home meetings. So, unlike other parts of the Middle East where Christians still make up a substantial, if marginalised, proportion of the population, the Christian church in Turkey has been almost snuffed out.

Consequently many Christian agencies are working to try to support the struggling Church, trying to help them as they reach out to their neighbours with the message of salvation and redemption in Christ. One of these agencies is SAT-7, a satellite television network broadcasting culturally sensitive Christian programmes across the Middle East and North Africa. Its Turkish language service, established in 2003 as TURK-7, in January 2010 became the latest in the family of SAT-7 channels, adding to the existing Arabic and Farsi language services.

It is undoubtedly true that satellite television has the potential to communicate with large numbers of people who would otherwise be unreachable. 96% of the population own a television and 45% watch satellite television. However, with the rapid growth of broadband internet availability in the main Turkish cities, more and more people both inside and outside the Turkish church, are turning to the internet as a way of discovering what the Christian faith is all about. As television services merge in new ways with the internet, people are increasingly able to watch programming on demand using their broadband internet connection.

The website has been very well received. One person who heard about it from a friend wrote saying his family had watched everything on the site that day and found it to be a very useful resource of high quality television, adding that his children had really enjoyed the children's programmes. Another person wrote in to say that she was very happy to be able to watch the programmes over the internet as she doesn’t have a satellite dish.

The programmes that SAT-7 TURK broadcasts are having a life-changing effect on viewers, Christian and non-Christian alike. A man in Istanbul wrote to say, "Last night I watched the 'Words of Hope’ programme. What the host said from the Bible really affected me. My system of belief--the way I’ve been burdened all my life with living under punishment because of the way religion was explained to me—has been turned upside down. I would be very happy if you could help me on this matter, the matter of finding God."

And a mother contacted SAT-7 TURK to say, “There just isn't anything like this on any of the other channels we can get here. The programmes provide such a wonderful opportunity for me to explain to my children what we believe as Christians in ways they understand. Living in a strongly Muslim country as we do, it really is a precious thing to me to have this channel.”

The staff at SAT-7 TURK are praying that God would open the doors to a 24/7 channel on the Turkish owned TURKSAT satellite platform, but while they prepare in faith for such an opportunity they are looking at other ways of expanding the broadcasts and increasing the impact as they develop new and exciting programmes. God willing, 2010 will be a year when SAT-7 TURK, and the Christian community in Turkey, goes from strength to strength.

This article is written by an Interserve partner working with SAT7-Turk. For more information, please visit www.sat7.org

Seize the moment daily

DonHowe@aboutmeco.org (MECO) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Seize the Moment daily

War zones are tough places. In 2006 Hizbollah and Israel were locked in battle, but the MECO team remained in Lebanon, sharing the hardships to show the love of Jesus. Caught between being his hands and feet and the pressure of bombings and gunfire, they proved that "those who wait on the Lord find strength renewed."

During an uneasy peace, a MECO worker visited her local pharmacy. “Oh to find peace with our neighbours, ” said the chemist. Seizing the moment, the worker replied, “I have a book in the car about Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Would you like to read it?” “Yes!” As she returned with the booklet, a crowd of people stood at the pharmacist's counter. He had shouted across his shop, asking if anyone would like to read about Isa (Jesus), Prince of Peace. The Christian worker had only one booklet in her car, but the people announced they would wait while she went to fetch more. On returning she discovered everyone had waited and each took home the story of Jesus.

Only eternity will reveal the result of an offer made through a purpose renewed daily: we are called to advance the gospel wherever we are.

A way of Hope in Albania by Rev. Mark Goudy and Joshua Reeve

charlie.anderson@ecmi.org (ECM) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Back in June 2008 Mervyn Kirkpatrick led an ECM summer team to run a very successful camp for people with learning disabilities called Way of Hope (Rruga e Shpreses). Mervyn was motivated by the desperate need for God's love to be shown to people with learning disabilities in Albania, most of whom are forced to stay at home every day due to a complete lack of services.

In October a group of us who had been interested in supporting Mervyn's work travelled to Albania to talk with disabled people, their families and local churches to see how his vision might be taken forward. We were astounded by the response we received as we talked to people. We spoke to families who wept as they told us how touched they had been by the care and attention their children had received from the team. They were extremely hopeful that the work that Mervyn had started would continue and were more than willing to help! Local churches were also excited about the idea of using their buildings and members to run daily services. We spoke with two churches who have agreed to open up their halls and provide volunteers to run learning disability programmes in the future.

What next? In the short term, the next step is to take another summer team to run a 2 week camp for children with learning disabilities. This will be taking place from June 12th - 26th 2010. If you feel that this might be something youÊ¼re interested in please get in touch with us! (ecm.ni@ecmi.org) Longer term we would like to send a professional out to Albania who would work with us to launch a church-run learning disability service on a more permanent basis.

Please pray with us that God would raise up the right person for this challenging role!

Leprosy Patient gets his life back

skinner.lisam@googlemail.com (Interserve Ireland) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Sandra Boone, Superintendent at Green Pastures tells the story of Buddiman Ale:

Our approach to the treatment of leprosy combines clinical care, pastoral support and community based support to reduce the stigma of the disease and enable our patients to live fulfilling lives.

However, this is no easy task, as you can see from 70 year-old Buddhiman Ale's story. He is from a remote area of Gorkha, and his wife died when he was 28, leaving him with three sons.

Unfortunately, he then developed leprosy. Once his sons were grown up they moved away and refused to have any contact with him because of
this. Due to delay in receiving treatment he lost most of his fingers and toes before getting to hospital in Kathmandu. He was ostracised by his local community, not allowed to enter anyone's house or touch anyone. When his small hut burned down his only option was to live in a local cave for a year.

The local church heard of Buddhiman and brought him to Green Pastures for treatment for the ulcers in his hands and feet. There he experienced love, care, support and acceptance as never before. For the first time in a long time he was happy to be alive. With the help of our INF Community Based Rehab group the local villagers are also beginning to accept him. He
now lives in a hut built by the villagers and the church, is allowed to enter other people's homes, and some will even come and visit him.

Thanks to all this he recognizes that the main change is within him, and that he has got his life back.

Please pray for:

continuing acceptance of Buddhiman in his community

Friends International

cosmin@friendsinternational.org.uk (Friends International, Northern Ireland) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

There are more than 2000 international students in Northern Ireland at any one time. Many come from countries where Christians are not allowed to openly share the gospel: Malaysia, Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia and China. Others are from countries with less than 1% of the population are evangelical Christians: Japan, Spain, Taiwan and Russia. Still others come from countries where the church is growing rapidly: Uganda, Brazil, Nigeria and South Korea. What do we need to do to reach and grow disciples of the 2000+ international students on our doorstep?

We need to begin by welcoming the stranger, showing hospitality to the foreigner as scripture has commanded. In practice that means we need to meet the international students and begin to build friendships. It is through these friendships that Christian internationals can be integrated into church families, grow in faith and our churches can be enriched as they serve. And it is through these friendships that those who do not know the good news can hear it in relevant ways and come to know Christ.

Our ultimate prayer is that international students would be equipped to serve Christ in the future, whether in their home countries or elsewhere in the world. If we can equip them to serve Christ effectively in their work places, families and churches, we can truly make a difference to the church worldwide. For if we disciple them well, they can become effective missionaries to their own people!

Friends International exists to encourage and equip local churches to reach and disciple international students. To see how this has worked out in Northern Ireland visit our local website: fintini.com or check out our resource website for Local Churches & Christian Union at www.fintni.com/iequip

Our Vision… is that every international student in the UK has a Christian friend, giving them the opportunity to respond to the message of Jesus Christ and return home with the desire and skills to spread the Gospel in their own country, and throughout the world.

M’s Story… M came to the Northern Ireland to study business management. Her family, who live in southern China, had high expectations for their daughter. During M’s time here she met a Christian Malaysian student who invited her to a café run for international students. In time, she got to know many Christians and began to ask what made them so different. She decided to join a Christianity Explored group for international students, and it was not long before she gave her life to Christ. She stayed in the UK for another three years during which she grew in her faith, learnt to lead Bible studies and help younger Christians to grow. It was a hard decision to return home because her parents were furious that she had become a Christian. They regularly told her she had wasted their money and shamed the family. Life has not been easy since returning home, living with her parents and adapting to a small church, meeting in a home, with very few older Christians. But praise God she has started a Bible study group for new Christians at her church and she continues to be a witness to her family. It is amazing to see how God has worked in her life.

Partnership… To find out how you and your church could get involved in reaching and discipling international students or support our ministry, contact our local staff worker, Cosmin Pascu (cosmin@friendsinternational.org.uk).

Mr. Cosmin Pascu
Friends International Staff Worker
Belfast
39 Woodbrook Green
Lisburn
BT28 2ZJ
07788411236

Why North Africa?

Ireland@aimeurope.net (AIM International) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Richard Bearce* is a medical worker in northern Africa. Aim International asked him 'Why do you bother?'

This is what he said:

As I wander down the crowded alley of our 1,000 year old city, each one unknowingly headed for a Christ-less eternity. Islam, some consider the world’s fastest growing religion, is rapidly spreading through Africa; dominating the lives of millions in North Africa. Should we care? As I consider my life and my call, it is easy to ask "Why me? Why bother? Do they really listen or even care? Why risk my life or the lives of my kids?" If you discovered the cure for the most deadly disease of our day would you quietly sit back in your sterile home and only inoculate your family and close friends? That would be absurd, downright selfish. I would quickly publish my findings and get the medicine to as many people as possible: share the good news. Why me? Why bother? I have perhaps the most amazing cure ever, the cure of death. Jesus Christ is the only way for life everlasting. Do I sit quietly? No. I must share the good news with everyone. If I truly believe that Jesus is the only way, how can I sit back and let my neighbors, my friends, Muslims, and Hindus, head down the road ending in destruction? There is equality in lostness but inequality in opportunity. Those who do not believe in Jesus are all lost. However, those living in some parts of the world have more opportunity to hear. But there are areas in my country that have never had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus in their own language. This is why we come. God has called us to be light in this dark world.

* Not his real name

Theology at Belfast Bible College

cmckinley@belfastbiblecollege.com (Belfast Bible College) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

When you hear the word 'theologian' what’s the first image that pops into your head?

Maybe you’re thinking of someone old, with grey hair and glasses who’s probably a bit antiquated and ‘dusty’... or perhaps someone who has lots of deep and meaningful books on their shelves, with words and concepts that the average person finds it difficult to understand.... Stereotypes aside, before answering the ‘who’ of Theology, it’s best to answer the ‘what’ - in other words what exactly is theology? The word ‘theos’ means ‘God’ and the word ‘logos’ means ‘word’, so fundamentally theology is ‘words about God’ or in essence, ‘the study of God.’ But Theology isn’t just a theoretical understanding about God, it’s also profoundly practical, equipping us to live our Christian lives in the light of the knowledge of the truth of who God is and what He has done in our lives. Belfast Bible College Principal, David Shepherd shares something of his journey into the study of theology: "After school I took a gap year, and went to a Bible School for a semester.

Although I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do at university, I did know that I wanted to know God better, and studying about Him seemed like a good place to start. As I studied about God, I also found that it ultimately helped me to serve Him more effectively too." This echoes the experience of many of the students at BBC, who soon discover that their time at college equips them to serve God more effectively, wherever they are. The range of biblical and practical subjects on offer at the college equips them for a wide spectrum of ministries and vocations. For some students that means serving God more effectively in their 9-5 job, and for others that means serving in a church or Christian organisation at home or overseas. BBC student Carolyn Blair shares something of her experience: “Theology is definitely not just an academic subject, but with Jesus at the centre, it is study which engages the heart, mind and soul. In my experience, studying theology has been radically life-changing.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about studying Theology on a full or part-time basis at Belfast Bible College, please do contact us by emailing info@belfastbiblecollege.com or calling 028 90629943.