Not listening to God?

We are not living in harvest days in the UK.

There are times of spiritual ploughing, sowing, watering, weeding as well as harvesting. We look to the Lord of the harvest, and to the Lord for harvest, but meanwhile we are called to faithfully prepare the ground, plant gospel seed.

Postcode lottery?

Jesus told us to pray for workers into the harvest fields. Yet, we can hardly blame him if they are not there. Labourers are needed for evangelistic work, and they need to be spread across the ‘field’; if some areas are harder to work than others, then more work is needed there.

This raises issue of strategy and commitment, which perturb me. It seems to me that, in the UK, the parts which need most attention as far as the gospel is concerned are receiving least. Frankly, I am burdened that there is an evangelical elitism which steers us away from less appealing corners of the harvest fields.

Bradford and Oxford

Let me share a few examples. A few years ago, I was asked to speak at a week-long mission run by the very small Christian Union at Bradford University. They appealed for helpers — CU guests as they are called — but had no responses. Bradford University is extremely multi-cultural, dominated by Islam. It is a large, fascinating, challenging mission field. A tiny group of Christians worked hard to reach the thousands in the university, but we were very limited in what we could do. The week after the mission in Bradford I moved on to Oxford University for their tri-annual mission, where there were 64 college guests for the week. Praise God for them and their willingness to help, but why were there none in Bradford?

This year, I was again involved at Bradford, where the CU wrote to another organisation for help but was told that the CU was too small! I find this totally bewildering, and conclude that something other than ministry is directing our evangelistic endeavour. If we are to preach the gospel to every creature, then we will have to move beyond our comfort zones.

Urban estate

A church I know, based on a tough northern, urban estate, has recently advertised for a youth worker. To date they have had no responses at all. And yet we know that there are situations elsewhere in the country where they are falling over themselves to be appointed. So please tell me, am I mistaken in suspecting that this is not just the Lord guiding people away from more challenging ministries, but more to do with our personal preferences and prospects? The issue here is probably class, but it’s not always the deciding factor.

Rural situation

It is worth remembering, too, that the spiritual situation in rural parts of mainland UK is absolutely grim, with countless towns and villages devoid of any gospel witness at all. I am told that 56% of all evangelicals in their 20s and 30s in England live in London which has less than 20% of the population.

Received wisdom repeats that the apostle Paul, in his evangelistic strategy, targeted cities. Do we forget that Jesus ministered around Galilee with its villages, actually avoiding Jerusalem? Today, in the UK, if it appears that nothing much is happening in a place then we look elsewhere for our ministry.

Conference blindness

In recent years we evangelicals have developed a love for conferences. We enjoy being together, speaking to ourselves, and hearing Bible teaching. These times are very encouraging for us. But do the large numbers blind us to what is really going on across the majority of the UK?

Who is reaching the 55% of young people who do not go to university? And who is reaching the students who go to the newer universities where the Christian presence is very, very small? Festive is a tiny evangelistic organisation attempting to reach the hundreds of thousands who go to Sixth Form Colleges. Why does it receive so little help? Who is reaching the 94% of the population in England and Wales (higher in some areas) who do not go to church, perceiving us as people squabbling over issues of women bishops, homosexuality, and completely out of touch with where they are at?

I have been encouraged by the concept of late-night street pastors. Then, a week or two ago, I heard a leader of one group of these street pastors on radio, at pains to explain that they are not trying to convert or proselytise, only to serve. Isn’t the greatest act of friendship and service that we can show to introduce someone to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I know that it is not for me to judge others, but I just wonder what is going on?

Christian workers in France must wonder why there are so many believers on the other side of the English Channel, and why we don’t go over and help them. A simple national border divides the thousands of evangelicals in Northern Ireland from the comparative barrenness of Southern Ireland. Of course, it has to do with historical reasons and where the gospel has been preached, but the full explanation is more complex.

So I suppose I shouldn’t, though I do, get really disappointed, and rather discouraged, when I hear of yet another pastor leaving our shores to go to minister in a church in the USA where he will preach to crowds the like of which he would probably never see in the UK.

Unreached areas

Surely, it is incumbent on us to prayerfully target un-reached areas, doing what we can to proclaim the gospel where Jesus is not known. The apostle Paul wrote: ‘I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation’, and then Paul quoted Isaiah: ‘To whom he was not announced, they shall see, and those who have not heard shall understand’. By working in places where there is little or no evangelical presence, rather than clambering to be in a place where we can gather increasing numbers of believers, we may find that God has many people there, as he did in Corinth long ago.

Rich pickings!

Over 40 years ago, a member from Bridge Street Church in Leeds started a Sunday School in a scout hut on perhaps the toughest estate in Leeds (where there is still no evangelical testimony). Each Sunday he began by going to the street corners of the estate with a flannelgraph board and taught Bible stories to children. A family of five children was sent along each week. The parents were unemployed, very poor and never attended church. After attending for four years, 11-year-old Steve Riley trusted Christ as his Lord and Saviour. A few weeks ago, he was appointed Senior Pastor of Bridge Street Church. It is the largest church in Leeds, and no wonder, with an attitude like that!

Whether we are put off because of the religion of the people, their social class, the place where they live, or just the few Christians who are there, I think I hear the echo of a cry saying, ‘Come over and help us!’ It is a good thing from time to time to ask the Lord to confirm or otherwise that we are where we should be, doing what he would have us do! I am where I am by the Lord’s choosing, or have I another reason for being here?