Ladies' Retreat

Children’s groupI was brought up in the Roman Catholic Church and then later received my doctrinal teaching within a Pentecostal denomination. In the ten years since then I have reformed my Christian understanding by sifting through God’s Word, discarding the dross and retaining what is biblical.

How has the church in Santa Elisabetta developed in the ten years of its existence? To illustrate what has happened I’d like to use as an analogy the biblical account of Abraham and Isaac and their wells (Genesis 26:12-33). It’s the story of a generation which sank wells and the need of the following generation to sink its own wells. This is the story of our church.

Firstly we notice how Abraham dug many wells so that he and his tribe could survive and enjoy fresh drinking water. Every time a well was sunk it was given a name. Later Isaac had to dig them again, after they had been filled in by the Philistines, but he made sure they were given the same names (verse 18). It has done us good as a church to remember the wells dug by our fathers, to think of the work of the Holy Spirit in past generations, the glories of the Protestant Reformation and the great evangelical revivals of bygone days. Isaac remembered and…

He reopened his father’s wells

We read in verse 15 that the Philistines filled in all the wells that the servants of Abraham had dug. Thus the wells that Abraham’s generation had drunk from could not be enjoyed by Isaac’s generation. Similarly, the sad truth is that many in our own day have never drunk from the wells of our fathers: to a large extent we are a generation without ‘wells’. The wells our forefathers drank from need to be opened up again so that we may experience the same blessed work of the Holy Spirit. Their wells have been filled up with traditionalism, formalism, scepticism, indifference and sin. This rubbish needs to be cleared away and the wells reopened. We can be sure that they are not exhausted; they are just obstructed with the rubbish of our sins and with the work of the enemies of the faith, the modern Philistines who rule our society and sometimes even our churches!

Isaac also needed to open new wells

While we should drink from the wells our fathers drank from, we cannot live in the past. Each generation has to sink its own wells. This is what we find Isaac doing (Genesis 26:19, 22, 25). Isaac laid claim to the same territory that his father had claimed, but he also made his own claim by digging new wells. The same is true for our generation. We thank God for the spiritual territory claimed by our ancestors, but we also have to claim our own “territory”. I love the past and visit it frequently – I find the exploits of saints from the past very interesting and stimulating – but I’m also concerned to sink new wells, to drink where the Holy Spirit is at work. We need to experience God in the here and now, but digging new wells is not easy.

There is opposition

The devil does not like new wells being sunk on his territory. He will oppose every effort and contest every claim. The first well sunk by Isaac was called Esek, which means “quarrel”. Read Genesis 26:20 to find out why! The second well he dug was named Sitnah, which means “hate”. Only after digging the third well (Rehoboth) did Isaac get some respite (Genesis 26:22). Rehoboth means “space”. Now Isaac could enjoy his gain, but he had had to fight inch by inch.

The devil tries to keep us from praying, studying the Bible and attending worship. He tries in a thousand ways to hinder the work of those who want to be faithful to God. Why? Because he doesn’t want us to enjoy new wells and experience God’s power in our generation. The work can be frustrating, but it is not in vain, because by God’s grace we are enabled to persevere and experience success.

Creating wells for the next generation

The wells Abraham sank were to serve Isaac’s generation, while Isaac’s wells would be used by the generation after him. In Genesis 26:32,33 we read that one well was named Shibah, and the village located there was called Beer-Sheba, which means “Well of the Oath”. That well would stand as a memorial testifying to future generations of what God had said and done for Isaac.

The wells dug by Isaac would serve the descendants of Isaac for many generations. In the same way, the wells we sink will provide refreshment for the generations that follow us, but we should remember too that if we don’t dig wells today, they will have nothing to drink. This is a terrible indictment of those who preceded us, but what heritage will we leave to our children? A spiritual desert?

DIGGING THE WELLS

Pointing the way homeDuring the Second World War, and even before that, there was an awakening towards the gospel all over Norway. In the north there were evangelical preachers who mostly came from the south. They travelled from village to village and they led many to Christ. In the towns there were churches with pastors, but in the sparsely populated areas this was not practical so they had a system with visiting preachers. These were of different theological views. So in these small villages there were different Free churches and Evangelical Lutheran groups side by side. These were often openly opposed to each other. Fortunately there is more understanding between these groups now. Probably they need to stand together because they are such small groups.

The work in Espenes

When I came to the North fifty years ago people were still very open towards the gospel. Meetings were very well attended in most places. Our little village had quite a regular ministry, EMF having had a worker there for over ten years before I arrived. There was a well attended meeting and many who were clearly called of God. There was a faithful little group of believers and others confessed a new-found faith in Christ. We had much to take care of and some conflicts with other groups who visited the village and who were damaging to the work. Once a month there was a meeting they called “Our Hope meeting” which was a house meeting, usually jam packed, with preaching and time for personal witness. They were rich times when the Lord was near and some Christians still remember those meetings. Families were large then and the Sunday school and youth meetings were crowded.

Youth camps

The different denominations held children’s camps. We were helpers in a camp which had children from a large area, over 422 miles. The children came again and again and were visited in their villages throughout the year. The denomination we now work with had camps too and we helped as leaders for them. The camps were very fruitful. Some of those young people are today leaders in churches and one became a missionary.

The situation today

We left this area for a period of nine years. When we came back 27 years ago there were quite a few small groups still gathering, though mostly older people, and very few outsiders came to the meetings. The members were very faithful and they loved to hear the Word of God preached – but only those who already had faith in Christ. People generally had become apathetic towards the gospel and young families seem to turn away from God. The word ‘conservative’ was given a new negative meaning, with a fear of absolute meanings and standards. There is very little work amongst young people. Christians have become more and more isolated.Several groups have had to lay down their work and others seem to be going the same way. Our little group in Sørreisa has had some deaths last year and we are often down to five people at meetings. In the bigger towns there is some good work, but work in the villages is struggling. In Espenes we still help with the Sunday school and attend a Bible study group.

The new church in Tana

This is a great encouragement to us and although Tana is 800 kilometres away we have tried to support them as much as we can. I have not been very well this year. Nevertheless we have managed to visit Tana several times. We had three weeks there before Christmas. Whilst we were there they asked us to help them to get the gospel out to people in the area and we had meetings in a shopping centre, visited homes for the elderly and held morning meetings in two different places. Then they invited children with their parents to a special meeting. There was a very good response.

We want to thank all who have upheld us in prayer over these past years. In sending this article I feel that it is all things I have written before, but this is the situation.

Spiritual movement in Norway

Idrifaia children’s groupThe work with children is much more important than we realise most of the time. We might easily think with the disciples that the Master has more important business to attend to, but he continues to say: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14b).

In February 2008 I took over responsibility for the Idrifaia church. There was an urgent need for a good work among the children and young people. The church, consisting of 21 members, did not have teachers. Most of these children come from families where only one of the parents attends church, or just a grandparent. Some are in foster care in the homes of church members. Most come from rather modest backgrounds. This is good in a sense, because it is easier to get their attention than that of those who are surrounded by different modern games and attractions.

The Lord heard our prayer and opened the door for a regular Sunday school work. From the autumn of 2009 two members from the youth group in Targu Mures – J and A go faithfully to teach the children. By the Lord’s grace and through them the work has developed very nicely. The average number of children is 15. Let’s hear what they have to say about this way of evangelization.

What does this ministry mean to you?

J: The Lord prepared me for this service some time ago. In high school, instead of getting to a computer science class as I first wanted, I succeeded in getting into the pedagogical training class. However, I have been here at the university for four years and I felt that children were missing from my life. It is an opportunity for me to use my gift to work for God and also do what I like very much.

A: I learned to value this work gradually. At first it was interesting for me, a challenge, because I hadn’t served in this way before. Then the Lord started to change me through it. I realised that God gives many joys in the ministry to those who serve Him. I have experienced love and God really moulded me while I spent more time with Him in preparing to teach the children. It is the most important source of joy for me.

Why do you think this work is important?

A: It is important because I can serve the Lord and I have come closer to Him. I have learned perseverance, commitment, patience and how to deal better with people. Moreover, it is important for the children. They know many Bible stories, but that is not enough for them. We learn in order to see and exalt God in the story. I cannot emphasise this enough.

J: The children with whom we work generally did not or do not receive Christian education at home. They are the new generation. I believe this time with them can give more than a religion class at school, because we are not alone in this work and God is also with us. My personal desire is to be a channel towards their conversion, towards their integration into the church, and for them to become God’s fellow workers.

What are the blessings?

J: Sometimes I hear things like “I can hardly wait for the start”, or when they repeat something of what we said long ago. Then I feel it is worth it. Every success is due to God and thanks to him we can rejoice with him.

A: It is a great joy that the initial number of children attending Sunday school has doubled and that some children with special needs are willing to participate in an active way. I’m glad to see that they love to come to the meetings, understand the lesson, and want to pray. It really touches me when I hear them asking for forgiveness in their prayers.

What are your plans?

A: I would like to serve long-term among these children, if it is the Lord’s will. My heart’s desire is that they would come to know Jesus as their Saviour; that they would become young people who are willing to serve in the Church and among unbelievers. I would like them to have a good fellowship, to be able to help each other to be faithful to the Lord…

J: ...also to teach them the basic biblical truths. To develop their thinking, writing and speaking requires extra activity (apart from the Sunday school meetings) and this we are planning to do.