From Your Associate Pastor – April 2017

From Your Associate Pastor

Last month in my Challenger article I gave a bit of information on Ireland and all that was happening with our family’s call to plant a church there. Now that we have returned from our vision trip, I am excited to share with you some of the insights we gathered while we were there. First off, Ireland is beautiful. The rocky fences, rolling hills and wandering sheep, horses and cows could keep you satisfied on any length of car ride. JJ especially loved all the animals. He kicked his legs and pointed his finger as he yelled out their names as we passed them by.

But one glaring observation was that there were no churches. I read the reports and the emails from the team already there and knew this was the reality, however, it doesn’t quite sink in all the way until you see it for yourself. We are blessed to live in a place where we can choose the church we would like to attend. In Galway county, there are no choices, except one; the church World Venture started about fifteen years ago, Galway City Baptist Church (picture below). We attended GCBC the Sunday we were there and we were pleasantly surprised to see the number of people from all around the world in attendance. There were people from the USA, Nigeria, Sudan, Austria, England and a few from Ireland. We sang familiar worship songs, read scripture, prayed and listened to a sermon from pastor Mike. It was a glorious experience spending time with other Christians in Ireland.

This is the church that is wanting us to plant another church in the surrounding area. One of these areas that the team is looking at is providentially where we stayed for the week. It is a village just outside of Galway called Oranmore. It is a commuter town that has about 5,000 residents at this present moment. However, it is the fastest growing village in Galway county and will soon be considered a town. Oranmore has no church. In fact, in 1954 the only Protestant church in the village was torn down. There is only the cornerstone left in the field where it once stood. This village has been without a gospel witness for six years longer than ARBC has been in existence.

This is to where God has burdened our hearts. To see a whole village go without a gospel presence for that long saddens our hearts. The hope and promise of the gospel is too beautiful for these wonderful people to not hear, and it is our job as redeemed children of God to share it with them. Please continue to pray for us as we progress toward this exciting journey in our lives and the life of our church as we all pursue toward our mission to have Denver and the nations know that Jesus is enough.

Blessings, Pastor Scott