You will be my witnesses.. A Mission Themed Service

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2 You will be my witnesses.. A Mission Themed Service This service is intended to help us remember the special calling Jesus has given us all to share the good news of the Gospel with others. We will spend time thinking and praying for the witness of God s people in Wales within our denomination and further afield too. It will be good if the person/people leading the service can include personal anecdotes and examples where relevant. A Power Point presentation You will be my witnesses is available on the Dorcas website at Resources/God so loved the World. Also a PPT Our Story about the visit of 4 PCW young people to Uganda A film of a group of our young people in Uganda can be downloaded soon from Vimeo PCW page. This is not available at the time of printing but will be soon. 1. Introduction Show the map of the world and ask people to name countries they have visited. Then ask if they had noticed any signs of Christianity in the countries named churches etc or if they had attended a church there. Christianity is the largest world religion today, and the Bible is the all time best selling book. We know that the Christian faith began 2000 years ago in Israel, with a group of 12 men. Isn t it amazing to think that the gospel has reached.. (insert the name of your town/village), and that today we are here, believing the same message as the first disciples and loving the same Lord Jesus. We also know that the majority of people in Wales are not in church today and they don t have any interest in Christianity. In this service we are going to be remembering and praying for people in Wales who are trying to share the Good News of the Gospel today. We are also going to learn how God s people are seeking to share the Gospel in other parts of the world and pray for them. Psalm 100 reminds us that God s people all over the world have so many reasons to praise Him, not least because His love is everlasting and He is faithful to every generation. Congregation read Psalm 100 together Hymn of praise and adoration Prayer 2. Sharing the Gospel in Wales Today, the Presbyterian Church has 40 full time ministers, 10 part time ministers, 30 workers, 5 young people on the Mission Programme and candidates for the ministry.

3 The names of those who work for the Ministries department and are on the Mission Programme are listed in different categories at the end of this service outline. Prayer It would be a great idea to break in to small groups to pray for the workers, giving each group a category to pray for. If this isn t possible, you could read the names, one category at a time, pausing between categories to allow a time for silent prayer. If you haven t used the films produced by Mari Fflur for the Women s Department why not watch one and then pray. You can find them on Vimeo To the ends of the Earth - sharing the Gospel abroad Although the PCW has only one missionary serving abroad, many churches support mission in other countries through a variety of Christian charities. If your congregation has links with individuals abroad why not share some up to date news at this point in the service and ask one or two people to pray for them. Carys Humphreys:Taiwan Carys has been working for the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan for over 25 years. In a recent letter she asks us to pray for the work she does with vulnerable young women. Carys has been regularly opening her home to welcome women who need respite of some kind perhaps from an abusive relationship or family problems and others who are suffering from depression. She asks us to pray that she will have wisdom and sensitivity as she tries to support these women and help them get back on their feet and able to cope with life again. Presbyterian Church of India Our links with the Presbyterian Church of India go back to the very birth of the church there as ministers from Wales were amongst the first to take the Gospel to the states of North East India nearly 200 years ago. Today we are blessed to have missionaries from Mizoram ministering alongside us in Wales John and Mingtei in Ebbw Vale, Sangkhuma and Rini in Cardiff, Rebecca and Miara in Penrhys. For the next 10 years the Women s Department will be contributing to the work at Shillong Hospital (Gordon Roberts hospital), and many of you will remember the appeal for the Children s Home in Durtlang and for Grace Home (the HIV/AIDs hospital), also in Aizawl. The visits from pastors, choirs and ladies groups remind us we have brothers and sisters in North East India who value our prayers and help as they seek to reach their communities with the Good News. Uganda

4 In July young people from the PCW visited Kampala in Uganda. They spent 2 weeks with the project COBAP an inter- church project that works with HIV/AIDS sufferers and their families in a very poor district of the capital city. Theres s a Powerpoint on the Dorcas Website Resources Page/God so loved the World/Our Story You can watch a film that the young people made on Vimeo this isn t ready at the time of printing. If you type Presbyterian Church of Wales into Vimeo it will show up as soon at it is there! If you have the technology laptop, projector, speakers - the film can be downloaded and played in the service. Prayer for Carys, the Church in NE India and COBAP Uganda Again, if you can form small groups to pray this will encourage people to pray, otherwise ask a few people before hand to be ready to pray for the people and points just raised. Hymn: Readings: Jesus calls the fishermen to follow Him Matthew 4:18-22/Luke 5:1-11 The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20 Talk Share a story of a person who helped you understand the Gospel (or ask someone in the congregation) or tell this story about a young farmer in North Carolina back in "Albert McMakin was a twenty- four- year- old farmer who had recently come to faith in Christ. He was so full of enthusiasm that he filled a truck with people and took them to a meeting to hear about Jesus. There was a good looking farmer's son whom he was especially keen to get to a meeting, but this young man was hard to persuade - he was busy falling in and out of love with different girls, and did not seem to be attracted to Christianity. Eventually, Albert McMakin managed to persuade him to come by asking him to drive the truck. When they arrived, Albert's guest decided to go in and was 'spellbound' and began to have thoughts he had never known before. He went back again and again until one night he went forward and gave his life to Jesus Christ. That man, the driver of the truck, was Billy Graham. The year was Since then Billy Graham has led thousands to faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot all be like Billy Graham, but we can all be like Albert McMakin - we can all bring our friends to Jesus. Taken from Questions of Life Nicky Gumble, p We have prayed for lots of people already today who have responded to Jesus s words in Matthew 28. Our ministers, workers and missionaries who have heard Jesus call them to share the story of His love, His life, death and resurrection with others. People need to hear that Jesus alone can deal with their sin and all it s consequences, that God has made a way of forgiveness and reconciliation possible through the death of His Son. And this isn t just the job of the professionals people who get paid to do the job!! Jesus calls every one of us to be ready to tell others about Him.

5 Film clip If you have the facilities consider showing this short vimeo film which shows why it s so important that that we all take Jesus s words in the Great Commission as a personal commission. In his first letter Peter encourages his reader with these words: But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect 1 Peter 3:15 It can be difficult for us to share openly with others about our faith in Christ and what the Gospel message is. But there are things we can do to make it easier, especially to pray! Paul asks the Christians in Colosse to pray for him as he travels around preaching, that God will open doors for him to speak and then to help him to say the right thing when the opportunities come his way. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Colossians 4:3,4 Prayer for our local community, for one another, for the witness of the local church So we re going to end by praying for each other and for our church: that God will help us to be ready to share what we believe and that He will give us opportunities in the week ahead to do that that He will show how our church can reach out to the community with the Good News that our people in our communities will be ready, prepared by the Holy Spirit, to receive the Gospel Hymn If you don t normally have refreshments after the Service, why not arrange to have tea/coffee today. You could ask people to contribute the price of a cuppa and put this money towards the Women s Mission collection, which is distributed amongst the people and projects mentioned in the Service.

6 Names of PCW workers Church/Pastorate Workers Hedd ap Emlyn Rhuthun Area (Welsh) Iestyn ap Hywel Carmarthen District (Welsh) Rev Charles Chua, Swansea and Gorseinon (English) Rev John Colney, Ebbw Vale (English) Rev Nesta Davies, Denbigh Pastorate (Welsh) Rev Janice Jones Pontprennau, Cardiff (English) Moses Tutesigensi Mid Wales and Borders (English) Rev Jonathan Hodgins Oswestry Mid Wales and Borders (English) Mission Programme Students Lee Dutfield, Neath (E) Tim and Sam Hodgins, Pontarddulais (E) Sion Morris, Tonypandy (W) Gareth Northam Newport(W) Chaplains Rev Duncan Ballantyne Barry Rhoose Airport (E) Rev Vaughn Rees Pontypridd University of Glamorgan (E) Christian Community workers Tamsin Graves, Ystrad Mynach (W) Llinos Morris Noddfa, Caernarfon (W) Mererid Williams Noddfa, Caernarfon (W) Rebecca and Miara Rialte, Penrhys, Rhondda Youth and Children s Workers Zoe Jones North Cardigan (W) Clare Tranmer Rhuthun (W)

7 Children and Youth Service Gwyn Rhydderch Director Nia Williams Pwllheli Meryl Walters Bala Gwenno Morris Llanuwchllyn Delyth Williams Bala Bala Youth and Children s Centre Dr Owain and Sian Edwards Nicola Lloyd Angharad Clwyd Trefecca Centre Mair Jones Richard Castle Women s Work Eirian Roberts Bala Sarah Morris Cardiff Officers Nan Powell Davies Mold Hmar Sangkhuma Cardiff