“Tell Them What You See!” by Oliver Greenwood

For Tim’s article about his trip to London click here.

Matthew 11:2-6
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

It has been an amazing time here in London, a real blast! We have been to the States for training, had our brother Tim Kernan come over here to help us, with our board and dealing with other issues in the church. We are now firmly involved in helping the Kinshasa Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Tim stayed for a week helping them also. What is the result of all this? Growth!

A little while ago me and Eugenie went to see the disciples in the States Portland, Oregon. It was mind blowing! We learned a lot from the guys there, about the ministry and having vision for the London Church, we want to take it higher. The woman’s ministry was just so incredible, it blew me and Euginie away. Elaina and Lisa work so hard for that ministry, it just cranks, it’s so inspiring! It showed me the importance of how women need to impact women. I looked at Kip’s example of how he runs his ministry, I absorbed a lot, but specifically how he encourages the women’s ministry really hit me.

Now we are back, me and Eugenie have been putting a lot of what we learned into practice. As a result a lot of fruit has been produced for Christ. However I don’t think we have been cranking the way we should have been. Its one thing to go to another church that is doing great and it is another thing, all together, to have someone actually come and help us to get there step by step.

So a missile landed in London and its name is Tim Kernan from the infamous Toronto Church! Having a guy like Tim come in and see how we do things here, is a great blessing. He has been able to help the guys get to grips with their roles and responsibilities, which has helped me a great deal in getting the church up and running. I have complete trust and faith in Tim, it’s been a great encouragement for me to have a brother who works with me as a leader.

If our church was based on an autonomous system, this relationship would never have worked. Our church would never have learnt about how to deal with financial issues, like making sure that everything we do is totally transparent and accountable. Tim has made sure that the board members know their individual roles and how to keep financial records and why. Anyone who wants to know where or how we spend the churches money will have full confidence, knowing from the records we keep; where the money has come from and gone.

Tim also got with the marrieds and single ministries, helping them to move forward for Christ, by using a couple of devotionals. There were a few character conflicts that were getting in the way of the mission. Tim smashed through these and now these conflicts have been resolved, bringing lots of peace and encouragement to the church.

I wanted multiple Bible talks, but was unsure of how best to do that. So Tim coached us and set up a second Bible talk, with James and Deidre Morgan as the leaders. Tim and Argo Lipps, from Estonia, have been working thoroughly with James in getting him ready for his position in the church. A few days ago James and Tim met with Jack, a brother who has been a disciple since the 80s. He placed membership that day! Jack, until recently, was leading the teens.

Jack brought a sister along to see the church. So, after the service, Tim got time with her, along with Jack and she also placed membership! The news doesn’t stop there, Janice an awesome sister, was restored as well, we now have three new members! Tim is not walking, he’s sprinting away with fire!

Before my relationship with the Portland fellowship a lot of brothers were able to show me what I was doing wrong. However I got in touch with Kip and started being discipled by Tim six months ago. They have taught me two things: what I shouldn’t do and what I should do! By becoming more like Jesus we have had fruit galore! We have increased by 500% in the last six months! We are but a Hare’s breath from breaking Toronto’s record.

As I said before, Tim also went to Congo. He faced a number of challenges, that would scare any western disciple! When he came back from the Congo I was expecting him to be a nervous wreck, but instead all I saw was zeal and passion! Just like a true man of God, he did not shrink back, he was fired up and excited that there is a new church in Africa. I was mugged a little while ago, so I understand the fear he went must have gone through We are totally for and helping Toronto with supporting Kinshasa. Amazing, this church in Africa, has had over five baptisms in two weeks! Wow what a church, what disciples! They are a real example for us and we are trying to imitate their evangelistic example.
In conclusion I would like to just express how good it is when God works with us because of our repentance. As it says in Deuteronomy 30, God gathers his people when they repent. My prayer is that we continue to be repentant and we do not start to take God for granted as we did in the past.

To God be the Glory,

Oliver Greenwood