Gospel Work and Other Activities

NORTHERN IRELAND

CO DOWNBangor. Central Hall.The annual open-air tent meetings were held over the two main holiday weeks in July when Ian Jackson faithfully preached the gospel with the full support of the assembly. Close to the site where the gospel was preached was a fun-fair and many of those going to the fair heard the gospel and received a gospel tract.

Newcastle. The annual tent meetings were held in Northfield during the month of July. J. B. Nicholson and Uel Crothers shared in the responsibility of preaching the gospel. The 1000- seater tent was filled to capacity on most occasions and the gospel was preached in power. Many unsaved came most of whom do not normally attend gospel meetings and this was a great encouragement to the believers. In conjunction with the meetings, David Johnson led a team of young people in visitation throughout the area which led to many interesting conversations. Open-air meetings were conducted on the promenade where many heard the gospel and Colin Sheldon conducted children’s meetings in two of the large caravan parks. The response of the children was most encouraging.

Cardy. Charles Davidson and M. McKillen conducted five weeks of gospel meetings in which a good number professed to be saved, one of whom was saved at the breaking of bread meeting. It was very evident that there was a movement of God in power and further meetings are planned in the will of God.

Ringhaddy. R. Pickering was greatly helped preaching the gospel in the tent. Many unsaved attended and heard the gospel preached in power.

CO. TYRONEDunmullan. J. and W. Martin concluded a series of well attended gospel meetings where a number of young people professed faith in Christ.

CO. FERMANAGH Currien. R. Wilson and B. Glendinning held three weeks of gospel meetings during which over a thousand homes were visited and tracts were distributed.

Enniskillen. R. Pickering assisted the local assembly in open-air outreach when two housing estates were visited each evening.

BELFAST AND DISTRICT Newtonbreda. G. Hutchison and L. McHugh concluded a two week effort in the gospel in their own assembly. Many unsaved attended over the period when the gospel was simply and clearly presented.

CO. ANTRIM Ballycastle. Open-air meetings were held each day during the Lammas Fair, where many heard the gospel and a good number of tracts were distributed.

CO. LONDONDERRY Portstewart. Open-air meetings were held at the harbour during the four weekends of August when brethren from a number of assemblies preached the gospel.

SCOTLAND

DUNFERMLINE The assembly which meets in Abbot Hall, hired the community centre in Wellwood and conducted a holiday club over one week of the school holidays.

The ‘theme’ of the week was ‘Desert Detectives’ and each child was placed in a team under the name of a well-known detective. The local Christians worked together, some of them taking a week off work to give help and support to the work of the Lord and the number of children attending was high. Each day there was a time of singing and the children were able to take part in various activities including games, craft, competitions and quizzes. Each day they were given a wellillustrated Bible story and encouraged to learn a verse from the Bible. There was a family fun-day on the Saturday and a family service on the Lord’s Day when the hall was filled. Prizes for good attendance were given out and as a result of this the word of God was taken into every home The event was very well organized and the variety of activities on offer, stimulated interest throughout the week. Pray that the contacts made might develop into closer relationships with the parents and children and that the seed sown might bear much fruit in years to come.

KINROSS The assembly held a week of childrens’ meetings with George Forbes as the speaker. George is very gifted with the sketch pad and brings Bible stories to life through this means. Each home in the town recieved an invitation and a gospel leaflet presenting God’s way of salvation. Several homes were visited in the locality and a personal invitation was extended to come along. Each night the gospel was clearly presented and the children encouraged to learn a memory verse. At the end of the week some of the children could remember all the verses and it was a thrill to hear them reciting the word of God.

One noteable advantage in the work of God here is the reputation of the believers who have lived in the area for many years and are well-known in the community. This is an invaluable tool when asking parents to send their children to the meeting, and is a testimony to the grace and power of God not only to save souls but to keep them in His way for many years and through successive generations.

As a result of the encouragement given by these meetings and the new contacts made, the assembly decided to start a mid-week childrens meeting. Pray that this work will be blessed of God and result in many being saved.

FIFE Ballingry. The assembly erected a tent in the garden of one of the sisters in assembly fellowship and conducted gospel meetings. Over the weeks a good number of unsaved attended the meetings in it and the gospel was faithfully and powerfully preached. One woman was saved, and during the gospel campaign a man was baptized. Many new contacts were made with some coming to the gospel meeting for the first time.

LADYBANK Ladybank was once a very small assembly but has, over the years grown and has been much involved in youth work. Various Bibleclass camps have been held, plus young people’s week-ends, and a coffee club is held each Friday night when many young people attend and hear the gospel. The annual camp was held in North Wales, when fellowship was enjoyed with the local assembly in Johnstown and each day the word of God was taught and the gospel was preached. The attention given to the teaching of the word of God was excellent and the Question Time at the end of the week was most interesting and encouraging. Pray that this work will continue to grow and many experience God’s hand in salvation.

Faskally House. The work continues under the guidance of Arthur and Christine Pollard. Over the summer months, five different camps were held in the house and these were followed by a families’ week. The camp work was encouraging with a number proffessing faith in Christ. Some of these having returned to their local assembly have been baptised and others have been recieved into fellowship.

Faskally is a first-class facility for youth work, assembly week-ends and camps. Throughout the year a number of holiday weeks are held when the people of God come together and enjoy fellowship with each other and at the same time enjoy the teaching of the word of God. Anyone requiring information on any of these activities should contact Arthur or Christine on 01796 474411.

WALES

Cardiff. The Cardiff Gospel Fund is overseen by a group of brethren from a number of Cardiff assemblies who arrange various gospel outreach activities. A room was hired in the Cardiff Friendly Hotel and Eddie Stobbart was invited to come and give his testimony. The stipulation was that everyone who came would bring someone who was unsaved. Around 120 people came of whom around fifty unsaved heard the gospel. Pray for the future of this work.

The saints at Rumney Gospel Hall endeavour to take advantage of special times such as Mothering Sunday, Easter, Father’s Day, etc., and arrange family services to be held on these days. An encouraging number of unsaved friends have attended and heard the gospel being preached.

A two-week gospel campaign was held in Pencoed Gospel Hall with Joe Baxter as the speaker. Pray for the contacts made during this time.

The assembly in Port Talbot was enriched with ministry from Jack Hay and Ian Rees. Mr. Hay continued during the week with ministry on the Levitical Offerings. Trimsaran assembly was greatly helped and encouraged with ministry from Mr. Jim Baker on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. A good number of other assemblies supported the meetings.

Dinas Powys. A new extension has been completed to the building which will accommodate a learning centre. The aim of this work is to reach out to the local district and invite people in with a view to reaching them for Christ. Courses planned include G.C.S.E. preparation and a parenting course. Further plans involve the provision of internet links available to local residents. At the same time they will be able to visit ‘The Oasis’, which is Bethesda’s Coffee Shop. Pray for this initiative that many will be reached saved.

Tenby. Keith Bullock and a team of twenty others held a week of beach mission in the town. There was a real spirit of unity and co-operation in the team and each day they held meetings before and after lunch. The morning sessions were quite informal and the afternoon sessions followed a more traditional children’s meeting pattern. Prayer is requested for one particular family who run a nearby hotel and whose children attended the meetings every day and have done, during the beach mission week, for the last ten years.

ENGLAND

CUMBRIA The Cumbria Gospel Outreach work continues around the towns and villages with the mobile unit and stands at various markets. At Wigton market a retired Roman Catholic priest expressed his delight at seeing the word of God displayed. He took some ‘Seed Sower’ packs plus ten children’s paintings to use at a service he was planning to take in Castle Douglas. In Kirkby Stephen the assembly arranged a coffee morning in conjunction with a visit to the local market where David Locke and John Heron had some interesting conversations with local people.

Over the summer period David met a number of travelling people who reported that a number of their people have been saved. The town of Workington was visited with 2000 ‘seed sower’ packs and as a result of this, several people have requested further help and received the Ultimate Questions booklet. Pray for the work of God in Cumbria.

YORKSHIRE Hemsworth. The Bible Exhibition held in the town covered the Acts of The Apostles. The numbers requesting to visit the exhibition was so high that the assembly decided to take the exhibition to them and duly applied themselves with diligence to the various logistical challenges. Each day the main characters in the book were covered and worksheets were handed out and marked on the same day. Around 1500 children were contacted plus teachers, class-room assistants, dinner ladies and playground supervisors, all of whom took New Testaments willingly. One male teacher in particular was fascinated by the story of the early church and asked to be shown where these events were recorded in the Bible. All the Head Teachers expressed deep gratitude for the exhibition and invited those involved to return again.

Syston. During the August school holidays Sid Mountstevens conducted children’s meetings in the Gospel Hall. In the course of the week, thirty-two children attended, and some parents. The behaviour and attention of the children was most encouraging and there was a keen desire to learn the memory verses. Each day they completed worksheets based on the Bible story and the saints were greatly impressed by the diligence they showed completing these tasks. The assembly in Syston is quite small and there was a great deal of encouragement derived from these meetings.

NORTHAMPTON The Northampton Balloon Festival Outreach brought the saints from Spencer Bridge Road and Osborne Road assemblies together as well as believers from other places. A tent was erected and a small exhibition presenting the coming of the Lord was set up. During the three days of the show a few thousand visitors came into the tent and each family or individual received a ‘thank-you’ pack and some light refreshments.

Quite a number of interesting contacts were made throughout the show including some believers from Europe, Russia, Korea and Ghana. Gospel leaflets written in various languages were distributed and only the future day will declare the effect of this work for God. One particular point of encouragement was the response from the Asian community who were willing to accept the leaflets given to them. Two traders from the show engaged the believers in conversation and listened with interest to the way of salvation being explained. There was also something for the children, with a quiz based on the exhibition and around 460 took part. The children received a gospel book-mark plus a sample of the appropriate Postal Bible School lesson.

WORCESTERSHIRE Redditch. The assembly in Foxlydiate engaged in door to door visitation in the area close to the hall. Invitations were given out inviting friends and neighbours to have tea in the Hall and an encouraging number attended. Among those who came were a couple who had lived next door to the Hall but had never come to hear the message of the gospel, others also attended for the first time.

In the regular gospel meetings the saints have been encouraged by a number of unsaved attending on a regular basis. The assembly plans to have children’s meetings with Ian Campbell and prayer for these meetings would be much appreciated.

SHROPSHIRE John and Jean Skingley have recently completed the distribution of tracts around rural Shropshire covering over 2000 homes. They took great encouragement from the writings of the late W. E. Allan who wrote concerning tract distribution:
It is the easiest way to approach a sinner;
It requires no public meeting place and can go anywhere;
It is always faithful and can speak on any subject;
t is not overcome by fear, opposition or weakness;
It can be studied in secret and recieve individual attention;
It is supported by the prayers of the distributor;
It remains to minister to hearts over and over again.
John reports that the Leicester camp was a tremendous time of blessing and joy. The weather was poor and this curtailed many of the sports activities but it allowed for more time to talk with people and led to a greater emphasis on the spiritual side. Each day two gospel meetings were held and in addition to this many of the campers attended a question time which was considered profitable.

Sadly, not long after the camp a lovely young brother who had attended it, was called home suddenly to be with the Lord. Prayer would be appreciated for his family.

OXON Bicester. The assembly pitched a tent in the town of Brackley for three weeks in August. After a week of prayer, Joe Baxter and Ian Jackson preached the gospel. Over seventy unsaved attended these meetings plus a good number of children. Each afternoon a team of brethren visited homes in the locality and a good number of contacts were made. The assembly was encouraged by three baptisms, one of which was a young man who was saved on his way home to Bicester from Korea. Another young man who had been in the assembly for five years, discovered he was not saved and then trusted Christ for salvation.

Eastbourne. Keith Bullock visited the town at the end of July and conducted open-air meetings into the first week in August. Marine Hall was used as a base and generally there was a good reception given to the preaching of the gospel. One particular feature of this work was the contact made with foreign young people, many of whom had come to the town to study English. Gospel leaflets in various languages were distributed and many of the young people stopped to talk about the word of God and eternal matters.

NORFOLK The Norfolk Assemblies’ Bible Class Camp celebrated fifty years of camps in the area. Three weeks of camps are held during this period accommodating a wide range of ages, both saved and unsaved. During these weeks the word of God was taught with conviction and power and many topical issues were addressed. Some of those who attended are seldom or never seen at gospel meetings and the Lord’s people in this area are praying that spiritual impressions made might bear fruit in salvation and spiritual growth.

LONDON The Tottenham and Broadwater Carnival is a multi-cultural event comprising floats and walking groups and is attended by around 6000 people. John Frost, together with some young Christians from the assembly, errected a stall and invited children to take part in Bible competitions whilst the adults were given gospel leaflets. Many received copies of the word of God and a wide variety of interesting contacts was made. Each month several hundred gospel tracts are given out in the area and this results in a number of requests for copies of the New Testament.

In addition to this, an old people’s home gave permission to hold a short gospel service on the first Sunday of each month. Refreshments are served and an opportunity is given to preach the gospel. Five of the residents have requested Bibles and the saints are praying that many more might be challenged by the Spirit of God and saved.

PRAYER POINTS

  • For open-air preaching, that those who never come to a gospel meeting might hear the gospel and be saved.
  • For the hundreds of young people who attended camps throughout the summer that the challenge of the word of God will remain with them in the months ahead.
  • For the thousands of gospel leaflets given out throughout the Country, that they may be used by the Spirit of God to bring divine life to many.
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