Our Burden for Wales
It's official! We have been accepted by the mission board at Macedonia World Baptist Missions. The next step is to attend a two-day orientation in a couple of weeks, and after that, our deputation begins. That being the case, I wanted to share with you our burden for the people of Wales so you can have a better idea of the need and how to pray for us over the coming months and years.
Wales is a beautiful country filled with glorious mountains, spectacular coasts, crystal rivers, and more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world. The countryside is vast, diverse, and heavily populated by sheep. Overall, the people are kind and caring. Though the residents are proud of their history and culture, there remains little trace of the great revival that took place within its borders in the early 1900s. The latest statistics show only 5% of the population attend church, and that figure includes all denominations. In the past ten years alone, over 100 Anglican churches have closed their doors, and chapels belonging to other denominations are shutting down at a rate of one per week. Many of the Baptist chapels still in operation boast a weekly attendance of 15 or less. Due to the cost of upkeep and lack of attendance, chapels are being sold and converted into homes, businesses, and even pubs, forcing the congregations to rent space in a community hall for Sunday services. A lot of pastors and missionaries literally pack and unpack their church supplies such as Bibles, hymnals, and such every week and pray for an attendance to make the effort worthwhile.
To use the words of another concerned Christian, the pews of the churches and chapels in Wales are not groaning under the weight of worshippers. It's such a sad state as many of the older members can remember the days when the buildings were so crowded, they were forced to set up chairs in the aisles. Now, what few church buildings remain are near empty, and those who are struggling to keep them alive are growing weary.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." That is what's happening in Wales. The people have lost their vision of God, and the workers are losing hope of ever reaching them. The Welsh community is not rejecting the gospel out of ignorance but rather indifference. They simply do not care. In a land whose history includes legends and fables, they dismiss the Bible's teachings as nothing more than fairy tales. When confronted with the reality of hell, they shrug their shoulders and say, "Whatever!" Their hearts and minds need to be opened, and we pray the Lord will use us as instruments to open their eyes to their spiritual need.
Will you help us? We need your prayers and financial support to make it over to Wales and begin working with another missionary couple (Ronnie and Tennille Downey) who have been sowing the seeds there for over twenty years. They need the help, and we need the guidance, so the way we see it, it's a match made in Heaven. But we have to get there first. Over the next few months or years (however long it takes), we will be traveling to churches across the country to present our mission and to ask for monthly financial support. You can see a list of present and upcoming expenses on our website. This will give you an idea how to pray for us, and if God so leads, to offer us financial support.
Individuals, as well as churches, are invited to donate funds toward the work. All the information for doing so can be found on our website. If you are a pastor and would like to have us come to your church to present our ministry, please contact us. If you are a member of a church and think your pastor might enjoy hearing about our ministry, please speak to him on our behalf. Since we will begin with part-time deputation (meaning we will still work our day jobs to pay our bills), we plan to begin with local churches and branch out from there. We have already received an invitation from as far away as Texas, so the Lord is working. We would love to share our burden with you and your church family as well.
For those who can't give, we understand, but we do ask that you pray for us regularly. Pray for our financial needs to be met. Pray for our health and safety as we work during the week and travel on the weekends. Pray for guidance as we strive to follow the Lord's leading. Pray for dear Barnabas as he adjusts to the new "routine." And, of course, pray for the people of Wales and for the many faithful servants who are actively trying to reach them.
We love you all and cannot thank you enough for your faithful friendship. May God bless you richly!
“Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.”