The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches' millennium project initiative called 'AD' has been gaining great interest all over Britain. Recently 300,000 of the colourful 32-page 'AD' booklets were printed by Day One Publications and 200,000 have already been sold.
The AD booklet has been very carefully researched and written by the Rev. Brian Edwards and Dr. Ian Shaw of the International Christian College, Glasgow. It gives a potted history of the great benefits of Christianity to Britain over the last 2,000 years. The aim is to help raise public awareness of the great benefits of the gospel and true Christianity to the people of our land.
Churches using AD
Churches are making good use of the project in a variety of ways. They are giving them to their congregations to encourage further interest in our great Christian heritage. Some plan to use the material in their Sunday schools, youth groups and other areas of church life. Ministers are planning a series of children's talks based on the information in the AD booklet. There are churches who have bought enough copies of the AD booklet to distribute to every home in their locality. A free of charge gospel insert is supplied with the booklets for use in evangelism. Some churches are going to give booklets away at flower festivals, craft fairs, village fetes and to holidaymakers. Some members of churches are getting their own supply of AD booklets and distributing them among their friends and neighbours. Others have already bought enough to send out with their Christmas cards.*
Workbooks for schools
Four workbooks which cover the same material as the AD booklet are being produced. These have been written by teachers and can be used for follow-up activities in the classroom when topics from the AD booklet are studied. The workbooks aim at different age levels from five to 13 and include a special needs version. Many churches are purchasing sets of the AD booklets, then visiting their local schools with samples of the workbooks and offering to donate the materials to them. The SACRE of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham have written to all their schools unanimously recommending AD as a help in their millennium celebrations.
Interesting exhibition
An excellent exhibition has been built by a member of Oadby Evangelical Free Church in Leicester. It is six metres long, a bright visual display of information boards, life-size figures and articles illustrating the information in AD and showing the many ways that true Christianity has affected our nation for good. The exhibition attracted great interest at the FIEC Caister holiday week and also at the recent Banner of Truth conference in Leicester.
Some churches are hiring the exhibition to support the distribution of AD booklets and gospel witness in their area. For example, the exhibition will be at the Welsh Eisteddfod in July and the Royal Show, Stoneleigh, in July 2000. Other churches are going to put the exhibition in their churches and invite their local schools to view it.
They are also encouraging people from the local community to come, giving the opportunity to interest them in the great things our God has done for our country over the years. Other churches are using the exhibition in their town and village fetes.
Church info packs free
Day One are offering free information packs to churches who want to consider using AD.
The pack contains a free copy of the AD booklet and gospel insert, a brochure with ideas for using the AD project and samples of three of the 32-page workbooks produced for schools. (The fourth workbook for younger and special needs children is being published in August.)
AD information pack is available from Day One Publications, 3 Epsom Business Park, Kiln Lane, Epsom, Surrey KT17 1JF (tel. 01372 728 300, fax: 01372 722 400, E-mail: ad@dayone.co.uk, Website: www.dayone.co.uk/ad).
* AD booklets are 95p each (inc. p&p) and can be purchased direct from Day One. There are generous discounts for quantities - please ring for details.
AD exhibition booking forms, with terms and conditions for hiring, are available from the FIEC office at 3 Church Road, Croydon CR0 1SG (tel. 0181 681 7422, fax: 0181 760 5067, Email: fiec@btinternet.com) or you can talk to the chairman of the project, Mike Stringer, on 0116 271 5059.
