The last year has been a challenging one as we have set up a new ministry, while struggling with Cath’s illness. We are so grateful for all the support from our friends and family. It is a miracle that we have been able to make such progress during a difficult time. And we have never had so much home-cooked food in our freezer as in the last year!
From September, we have been able to focus our energy on pressing forward into the vision of The Ephesus Initiative. The initial emphasis of the work was to monitor and respond to growing hostility towards Christians in western secular societies.
Nicholas has been travelling and building relationships with people who are influential in our area of interest, including politicians, academics, church network leaders and businessmen. He has met some fascinating people, and has learnt that being a Christian means something very different to some than to others! He has been challenged and encouraged by many outstanding people.
We are blessed to have a board of directors who are passionate about the work. They are highly experienced in running non-profit organisations, and are Spirit-filled men who can guide us and keep us accountable. If you would like to read about them please see our website www.theephesusinitiative.com
A Challenge to Our Hearts
In the last two months, the Lord has been speaking to us clearly about the way we run the ministry. Cath was led to re-read Loren Cunningham’s book on the founding of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and here we were reminded of the mission heart - obedient and service-orientated. The Father has gently but powerfully shown us that our hearts have been misplaced and that he wants us to be missionaries to the West. He is drawing us back to seek His voice every day, giving Him control and acting in obedience. Meetings, connections, networks, etc. will follow, but they must be by His hand. It is easy to write these words, but the process has been hard! Our work with The Ephesus Initiative actually started in May 2009 In Hong Kong, at a global mission gathering, Call2All. Millions of lost souls, and the inheritance of the sacrifice of so many missionaries past, cry out for us to turn our eyes and hearts to our own culture. Our heroes in the faith have always been people such as Jackie Pullinger and Heidi Baker, who have laid down everything for the lost, rather than the wealthy mega-church leaders. We have been challenged to assess our heart and our focus. Do we want to chase after political influence and worldly connections?
This challenge was brought to a head during Nicholas’ time in Washington DC at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he was disturbed by the hold of money and political power on many Christian ministries represented there.
We have prayed earnestly into this, and we want to move away from the “corporate non-profit” structure and emphasis that we had originally pursued. We do not want our work to be a 9-5 occupation. We feel that this is our vocation and as such is something we are giving our life to, and following as a whole family.
The Way Forward
From this point, our aim is to run The Ephesus Initiative as a mission organisation. We see our vision as being “Mission to Secular Society”. We will use our research to identify key strongholds of hostility towards Christianity in secular institutions or areas in the western world, and focus on breaking them down through Spirit-led prayer, sacrificial service, believers moving in Spirit-filled power and a culture of honour.
We will train volunteers for missions targeting secular institutions or areas. Through learning to hear God for specific strategies, ministering through sacrificial service, and being “naturally supernatural” in the secular world, to spiritual warfare and growing favour through honour, the team will be equipped to make a difference in key areas of hostility in their area.
We are producing training and guidance material for Christians desperate to know how to respond in situations of hostility. Our training is divided into the following areas:
- Personal responses (repentance and prayer as a weapon in dealing with anger, rejection, mockery and judgement; historical knowledge; basic Christian world-view)
- Prayer responses (hearing God – focussed prayer, spiritual warfare, intercession)
- Influencing culture (representing Jesus, service, sacrifice, honour, power, passion, purpose, Joseph and Daniel as examples)
- Corporate responses (all of the above in a corporate strategy and practice).
Through these responses we will see Christians awaken, not to defend themselves against secular culture, but to go on an offensive of Christian service, love and power.
Through this approach we see the church moving from reaction and judgement, to active service in secular realms. Christians will regain ground for the Kingdom and fill the moral and spiritual vacuum that the church has allowed to ebb away in the last 60 years.
We believe this will be a positive and powerful way to combat the spread of hostility towards Christianity in the secular world. Mark Anderson of Call2All, the international missionary movement, said this in a recent letter:
“The United States of America still sends out workers in foreign fields, but it has also become one of the largest mission fields. Over 200 million people don’t walk with Christ. Church attendance has rapidly dropped over the last 3 generations to the place where less than 4% of this latest generation are involved in church life...Many are coming from across America, but I would like to ask you from foreign countries to pray about joining us as well. The USA needs help now from nations around the globe.”
Short-Term Goals
Our aim is to build up an organisational base in the United Kingdom over the next six months. This will involve drawing together a team of trainers and advisors experienced in practical ministry, producing basic training materials and identifying key areas of hostility to target with planned short-term missions that will lead to long-term local Christian engagement. We will make use of volunteers from our church networks or local Christians to run these missions, and we will provide support and training for the missions and follow-up.
We have sensed the Lord calling us to run this organisation in much the same way as YWAM:
- listening to God for clear guidance for each strategic step and acting in faithful obedience;
- raising funds in faith from friends who believe in us rather than from faceless super-funders whose support often comes with an underlying spiritual agenda;
- encouraging each person involved in the work to raise their own funds in faith;
- training and raising up leaders all over the world so that the work is decentralised, empowering and global in focus.
Nicholas and I began this journey in faith nine months ago, when we decided to pursue the work full-time. Since then we have sold our possessions of value and lived off the proceeds, as well as investing much of our savings into the setup and operating costs of the organisation. We have been supported financially by one-off gifts from friends and family and anonymous donors who believe in what we are doing. The Lord has been so good to us, and we have never been in need! We are now looking to fund the next six months of our work after which we will reassess and ask the Lord how he would like us to continue in terms of our support.
If you would like to be involved in supporting our work, any gift will make a huge difference to us. The bank account details for the Initiative are listed below. If you would like to make a secure online payment from overseas, please go to www.ephesusinitiative.blogspot.com and click donate. If you are willing to make a monthly commitment that would be an added blessing!
Your heart-felt prayers are the most valuable thing you can offer us. We do not want to “spam” your inbox, so if you would like regular updates of how things are progressing please reply to this email with “Ephesus” in the subject, and we will add you to our email update list. We particularly need a keen knowledge of the Holy Spirit’s leading, wisdom and protection over our family.
If you do not want email updates, but would still like to keep abreast of our progress at your own leisure, you can always find the latest news at our new blog site www.ephesusinitiative.blogspot.com and on Facebook and Twitter.
We look forward to testifying of God’s work in breaking through into secular cultures with his power and salvation!
Blessings
Nicholas and Cathy
____________________
The Ephesus Project
HSBC
Sort Code: 40-31-24
Account: 82637510
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment