On many of the modern reality game shows there is a process of voting that encourages phone-in votes, and a heightened sense of anticipation. Excitement and uncertainty builds as one by one the contestants are told that an eviction, a task, or a challenge might be in their near future. They are told, “it could be you.” For some, this is a comment that they expect. For others there is shock. I have often watched this and saw some connection to the call that many people expect in relation to serving Christ, particularly on mission for Him in another context. The greatest need to the church in Ireland is not necessarily preachers or pastors, not academics or high achievers - we need normal people - maybe normal people like you! In fact, as we share with people who talk about the jobs they do, the interests they have, or the experience they have lived through, they often respond with shock as we encourage them that it is individuals like them who the church here needs to live out the Gospel in Ireland.
In a context like Ireland, being a committed follower of Jesus who takes seriously the claims of the Gospel and the commission that it implies, is something that is all too uncommon, particularly in rural areas. Of course, we have people in ministry, preparing studies and sermons, kids clubs and ‘outreach.’ Yet, what is needed are people who can demonstrate both the credibility and plausibility of a life lived for Christ.
Ireland is deemed an unreached country in missiological terms. Here is one definition:
Unreached peoples and places are those among whom Christ is largely unknown and the church is relatively insufficient to make Christ known to its broader population without outside help.
For many people, including ourselves, this seemed like an unbelievable statement to conclude in relation to Ireland. I mean, we have St. Patrick, the tradition of Celtic spirituality and are the land of Christian saints and scholars. However, this second half of this statement is the one which I want to address; that the indigenous church is “relatively insufficient to make Christ known to its broader population without outside help.” In the last few decades this help has been mainly in the arrival of foreign missionaries, yet this has posed some challenges. Firstly, it has meant a culture of Christian professionals coming in, and the expectation that it is the ‘experts’ who are meant to do the work of ministry. Secondly, it has imported a Christian culture which is more accessible to ‘outsiders,’ those who are from a context who understand this. Finally, with the changes to VISA requirements, it has proved a challenge to have people come to serve in Ireland with the same freedom of entry as religious workers, meaning that terms are much shorter (2-3 years) and people much less likely to come under that uncertainty. Now, as much as these things have been a challenge for churches in Ireland, it also provides an opportunity, as one of my mentors said, “it’s almost as if God wants us to reach and train Irish people rather than rely on outsiders.”
As much as this statement is true, in light of what we discovered previously there is a need for ‘outsiders,’ but in a very strategic way. What if those who come in from the outside aren’t there as professional missionaries, but ordinary Christian who work jobs, raise families and are a part of the local community as well as the local church? What if a nurse, a teacher, or a barista was able to come and live in a community and through missional engagement and discipleship, invest their lives for the advance of the Gospel in Ireland, but also the training of the next generation of the indigenous church? In our community there are multiple opportunities for healthcare workers, work in a cafe, barbers, and those who can teach musical instruments. These are roles that we know of personally, and are both opportunities for work and Gospel ministry. These might seem random opportunities, but what if we thought less about mission as professional ministry, and more about creating connections to give credibility and plausibility to the Christian life, and the blessing of the local church?
This is a question that we are now pointedly asking, but also one which you could both pray about and consider. Are you, or someone in your circle of influence, burdened for the work of the Gospel in Ireland, but would not consider yourself a ‘missionary’? This challenge might just be for you. Are you a church leader who want to cast vision for unreached places like Ireland, and can see the broader need for people in your church to move and plug into Gospel work here? Then we might be able to begin a conversation on how you could facilitate this as a blessing to the Irish church.
To see Ireland reached for Christ, we rely on God to move in our hearts, and the hearts of those we are sharing our lives and the Gospel with. Of course, we are called to pray that this would happen. Yet, what if you are the answer to those prayers, or even your own prayers, that as you are reading this post, God might be saying, “It might be you!” Maybe get in touch, let’s have a chat, and know more about the opportunities for service to see the Gospel transform rural areas across this nation.
Yorumlar