“By all means, let’s pray for the Shalom of our schemes, but let’s remember that without a return to fearless, faithful gospel proclamation, these places and people are going to remain in darkness. Utterly lost and broken.
That’s why we have such a problem in our country right now. There are no shortage of social work agencies and para-church organisations offering all sorts of social help. The deeper need, however, is for the growth and establishment of gospel-centred churches in which people can truly grow and flourish spiritually, which will be for the benefit of their particular communities.” – Mez McConnell (click here to read the full article; click here to find out who Mez is)
WAYS YOU CAN PRAY:
- It would be so encouraging to have your ongoing prayers for humility and peace. I earnestly desire to honor the Lord in this season of preparing to go to Scotland by having a soft heart at rest in Him.
- Would you join me in praising God for how He has been so abundantly providing for my needs? I’m in awe of His goodness. Praise Him! I would also appreciate prayers for complete funding before I leave in October, if that is God’s will, as well as wisdom for those who are deciding which scheme I will be assigned to. This is all in His good hands!
- We can also ask our good Father that He would send encouragement to all those laboring with 20schemes. Full-time ministry can be very enriching and as well as very draining. Let’s pray that those spreading the light of the Gospel in the schemes would not “grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
PICTURES FOR THIS WEEK:
This is the White family 🙂 Gerald White is the church planter at the 20schemes church in Bingham which serves the neighboring schemes of Bingham & Magdalene. Let’s pray for them this week! And let’s also thank God that their church, Hope Bingham, was able to have an outdoors holiday club for Bingham’s kids (see the last two pictures below) – may much fruit come from the proclaiming of the Gospel to those little people.
“In 2016, three elderly men sat in a Brethren church located in Bingham praying that God would send someone to revive their dying church. Paul McLoughlan, a 20schemes church planter, was the answer to that prayer when he walked through the door. Paul had been exploring the area with the hope of planting a gospel church. This meeting led to the transfer of the building and establishment of a church-planting team. In January 2018, the plant completed a refurbishment of the old Brethren building which now functions as both a cafe and a place for the community to meet. The team is now led by church planter, Gerald White. … We have seen many people saved by Jesus in the schemes of Bingham and Magdalene!” – 20schemes
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
– Isaiah 55:10-11
His Word does not return void,
Claire
Claire in Scotland 