160 men & women in training or considering training options for vocational Gospel work.
Just over a hundred years ago Christian leaders met in Edinburgh to consider how to reach the nations for Christ. The following century was to witness a huge expansion of Missionary endeavour that took the Gospel to more of the world's population than ever before. The 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference met in a city and in a nation that was a bastion of evangelical witness and activity. One hundred years later things could hardly be more different - the 'dark continent' spiritually speaking is no longer Asia or Africa - but Europe. While the gospel is flourishing in many parts of that once unreached world - it is now in 'Christian Europe' where the population is largely ignorant of Gospel truth and claims of Jesus Christ. The prayer for the Lord to 'raise up workers for the harvest field' - is no longer a third party plea for far off heathens - but for those on our own doorstep.
It is this context that makes the FIEC Hub conference both so encouraging and so vital. The Biblical template for Mission need is clear - people need to hear the gospel in order to be saved; in order for that to happen someone needs to tell them; and those who will tell others need to be sent (Rom 10). Simple! But of course drawing the lines between the dots needs initiative and planning. The Hub helps bridge the gap between potential workers, their churches and trainers - giving pathways for the various bits to be connected.
For a start how do churches identify the right people to send; how do individuals know if they should go - and can those 'going out' be supported and best equipped for that task? In response to those many questions the Hub provided a host of seminars including: 'The Call'; 'Will my family survive?'; 'Buy One Get One Free' (i.e. couples in ministry); 'The Small Print'; 'Mapping the Journey'; 'Working without Boundaries' (managing self and time).
For those ready to make a step into vocational Gospel service the Hub brings together a range of training providers (e.g. Cornhill, Porterbrook, LTS, Oak Hill, CMTC, PTS+). Along with this each delegate has a 'one to one' chat scheduled into the weekend with an experienced church leader to discuss their particular situation.
The main theme of the conference was 'Watch your life and doctrine closely'. The teaching from Mike Tindall was that while Gospel Work has at its heart the ministry of the Word - the context for that ministry is always the life of the worker - that is, underpinning any Gospel Work must always and indispensably be Christ-like character.
John Stevens and Andy Paterson both highlighted the vision of FIEC to lead from the front in the evangelisation of the nation through a network of healthy, growing and Mission focused churches - a call to the new generation of church leaders not simply to preserve the church but to seek the lost.
Yes, the task is gargantuan but workers are being raised up and crucially being well prepared for the great challenge of reaching the United Kingdom and beyond for Christ.
Next year's conference is planned for 16-18 January 2015.
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