One of the greatest joys of gospel ministry is to hear stories of lives transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ.
However, the Bible warns us that for every seed planted in good soil, there will be others that land on stony ground or among thorns. For LCM missionaries working among the Muslims of Newham or the council estates of New Addington it is necessary to be patient. It can take several years to see a contact come to church, so we cannot give up on a ministry for lack of fruit after 18 months. Instead, we teach evangelists the biblical value of courageous perseverance; courage to reach the difficult, unreached people groups, and perseverance to keep going through the disappointments and daily sacrifices of gospel ministry.
Salvatore’s story
At our week of prayer in January we rejoiced to hear the testimony of Salvatore, a member of the Bridge Church, Battersea where we have a team of missionaries reaching the local estates. Salvatore was first visited by LCM in 1985 when our missionary Bill Deane called to invite him to church. In 1995 Phil Moore started visiting Salvatore to get him along to a men’s Bible study, but after a few months he decided to stop coming. In 2012 Martin Street invited Salvatore to a men’s group at church and he accepted, but was still sceptical at the idea of an awesome creator God in an age of science and reason. Finally, in 2014, almost 30 years after first being told the good news, Salvatore made a profession of faith and has now dedicated his remaining years to proclaiming the good news of Jesus to friends and neighbours.
Anniversary of LCM
Courageous perseverance is a trait of the first great missionary, Paul, who persevered through stonings, shipwreck, imprisonment and hunger. He didn’t give up hope because he knew that the gospel ministry that was bringing death to his own body would bring life to his hearers. This month we celebrate the 180th anniversary of the founding of the London City Mission and give thanks for our founder, David Nasmith. Nasmith lived on a pittance and died at the age of 40 but started gospel outreach missions in Glasgow, Dublin, New York, and Paris. Today such ‘missionary zeal’ seems shocking because personal comfort is so highly prized, and yet the gospel imperative and the spiritual need remains the same.
At our recent monthly team meeting we commissioned five men to work in new ministries in St Elizabeth’s Dagenham, St Paul’s Harold Hill, Kings Cross, Grove Chapel Camberwell, and New Life Church Croydon. This is part of LCM’s ‘London Needs Jesus’ initiative which has sent 40 additional workers to partner with churches across the neediest parts of London. None of these areas are easy places for ministry, but it is our fervent prayer that the Holy Spirit will be equipping these workers with the word of truth to bring more people like Salvatore to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Cross-cultural friendships
For many of us the call of the Great Commission will not be to leave the comfort of our home, but the need for courageous perseverance remains. We all need to pray for courage to start up friendships with the outsiders in our community; the Romanian mum at the school gate, or the Bangladeshi shopkeeper at the end of our street.
We all need to pray for the perseverance to keep going through the difficulties of cultural misunderstandings and setbacks in our stumbling efforts at evangelism. The good news is that the same Holy Spirit who was at work in Paul and David Nasmith is still at work in the hearts of all believers and so we should never give up hope.
Graham Miller is the chief executive of London City Mission. You can watch LCM's four-minute video on Salvatore here or go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOKf_HN01kM
