A Mission to Make a Mission Team: by Tim Kernan

Nehemiah 17-18
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

I love this passage. It shows the capacity of the Holy Spirit to inspire leadership to make bold decisions and inspire the people of God to action. In a time where their enemies were armed and nearby, the spark of belief caught and started to kindle into a flame. Even with all the confusion, danger and ambiguity of their time they set out to do what is right and build up the Kingdom. Nehemiah did not arrive with a mission team, the Holy Spirit built one after he arrived.

The books that fire the church in London up the most are the gospels, the book of Acts and Nehemiah. I know when I preach from these books the ember of faith in the disciples here is blown into flame. We’ve now been here in London for just over five months. Its been one of the most special and meaningful times in my life. I was so frightened that I would not be able to spend time with the disciples in Canada for a while but the Spirit ensured that I was able to be there for a full five weeks! I am so encouraged by their faith and perseverance in tough times where leadership is stretched and money is short. In the absence of rain little plants put down deep roots that benefit them when times of plenty come. You guys have my heart every day. I was worried that I would not be able to spend time with the disciples in Kinshasa but the Eugene church payed for my tickets. I would have been happy just to spend time with them and encourage them in the mission but God blessed us with a service of over 240 people. The European churches have really grown closer as well. We now have disciples vacationing at one another’s churches and we are meeting more and more often to encourage one another in the faith.

When we came to London it was truly a Holy Spirit mission team. A group of sincere British disciples invited us here by name because they needed help. When we landed we had virtually no money, only a few disciples and “The Gathering” conference to put on in one month. By the power of the Holy Spirit we multiplied several times and had over 100 people to a very successful conference. Lianne and I literally went through the first principals with nearly every member. It was a massive effort to really build a mission team, in place, that would take on London. The bible says that “those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy” (Psalm 126: 5). Truly this is a church that has taken on a massive challenge. In tears they are sowing with everything they have and not just their overflow. Since we believe the bible is the Word of God and that He keeps His promises we believe that we will soon reap with songs of Joy.

The effort to build a mission team culminated this weekend on the east coast of England at our Evangelism and Bible Talk Builders Workshop/Retreat. We arrived Friday night at the beautiful cottages a short distance from the sea and unpacked as Lianne and Jeanette were brewing tea and making snacks for everyone. Friday night we relaxed and spent a great time as a family. On Saturday morning we woke up early and started the day watching the sun come up as we spread out two by two to have quiet times on the paths around the cottages. It was so beautiful. After a hearty breakfast we started our classes. Phil preached about the “Motivation to Evangelize”, Niyi preached about “Team Evangelism”, Steve preached about “Overcoming Discouragement in Evangelism”, Jacques preached about “Turning a Cold Contact into a Hot Contact”, Lianne preached to the women about “Evangelism in the Women’s Ministry” and Oliver preached about “Going after our family, friends and fallen away disciples”. I think it blew everyone away to see that these disciples have now become formidable preachers in their own right. We will put the video sermons up soon. The sermons were touching and convicting. All of the disciples hearts were on fire. The disciples in general have shown perseverance in life and doctrine, maturity and full commitment. By their commitment and gratitude for Christ they have sacrificed so that I can now say the church is financially self sufficient for the first time. I am so happy to say that as of this weekend the mission to make a mission team is now resoundingly accomplished and we are moving into a new phase of the plan.

We have made a number of strategic actions to support our change from a “mission to build a mission team” to just a straight up “mission team”. 1: We put our money where our mouth is and had the awesome workshop/retreat last weekend. 2: We have moved our Sunday services and midweeks location to the Euston Station area (229 Great Portland St.) right at the center of four major universities with 90 000 university students. 3: Lianne and I are moving into the same area so that we are virtually always available in the center of the mission field. 4: We are sending Chris Van Stadn to LA for more training and a fully ready Phil McCallen will now lead the campus ministry. 5: We have inaugurated five new “outside bible talks” at specific locations to bring the bible talk experience out of the houses and into the campus areas. The outside bible talks also give certain brothers who are interested in leadership a chance to learn about leading bible talks without having to look after a full fledged bible talk group. We will announce other actions in the coming weeks.

There is a palatable tension in the church as we now take on this incredible mission to capture the hearts and minds of London for Christ. Every disciple has their head in the game and their eye on the ball. We know that we must build loving, close and energetic bible talks in all corners of the city and we know that we must personally take responsibility for reaching out to the lost and the fallen away of this city. Satan has already hatched many schemes and we have taken many wounds from them. We are also sure he has many more wounds planned for us. That being said we are willing to take wounds in both hands and both feet on the cross to accomplish the mission that they Lord has set out for us. We did not choose the place or the time, it was the Lord who chose London in 2008 as the point where our souls would be tested, all we can do is submit to His will and bring glory to Him, here and now.

God is awesome,

Tim Kernan