Wolverhampton Mission 2023
Team Member reflections
Jeremy Borton:
‘UK is hard ground and we need to keep working it and scattering the seed of the gospel such that some will eventually penetrate and fall on good soil. Also, that the church leaders need to build up the members (Ephesians 4 and with the help of the Lord) to be part of the workers for the harvest.’
Michael Foulkes:
‘Coming from a sleepy coastal town in Cornwall I felt a little apprehensive about evangelising in an industrial City such as Wolverhampton, but from the initial prayer walk on the first day I felt the warmth of the people.
At the service on the second day I was uplifted by the enthusiasm of the ILC for the word of God. It was a blessing on me to be able to pray for members of the church.
Daily I was humbled by the incredible hospitality of the IL Church. On the doors the largely Sikh community accepted our prayers with a characteristic smile.
The lasting memory will be the joy of being in the company of committed Christians from the ILC and the TFM Team who live and work in the Spirit of the Lord.
This has helped me along my path as a Christian.
We understand that Pastor Emmanuel has been working with numerous other churches in the area. The possibility of a future larger mission to the greater Wolverhampton area embracing these other churches is very exciting.’
Garth Jones (TFM first timer):
‘A big thank you for the training, especially with questions linked with Charles 3rd.
Substantial prayer, Bible study, fun discourses, rotating with colleagues for church involvement to God's glory, was excellently designed. I loved the straightforward hand on door with peace prayer for the people, love first. The 5 questions lead to personal awareness rapidly and to easy follow-up. It was a real joy to encourage individuals linking them with a church! Above all, to use Knowing God Personally to lead others to Christ or give a firm foundation for them to know what next to do. Prayer is essential with praising God for His plans.
Thank you to TFM to lead me into International Christian Centre Church, I've been meaning to visit for years(!)
The Lord continue to guide, challenge and bless you in abundance.’
Celia Tayler:
‘Firstly, from a purely personal feeling, it was really great to be back in a TFM team again, meeting, talking and listening to all those people on the doors and in the host churches.
I believe that as a team we gelled well. Peter has sent us the stats of course but being driven from my hosts’ house to the different churches each day, I found that by the end of the week each of the many streets around each church was familiar, as were the front doors that a colleague and I knocked or rang the doorbell. MANY STREETS. Now that’s just me and I didn’t walk on all of the streets, so I believe that as a team we covered a very large area. Each of which had been prayer walked either before the mission or during it and that includes when we were door knocking. So the Name of Jesus has been spoken in each of those many streets. No wonder the enemy was upset and there were shootings, appendicitis, raging toothache, etc! Hallelujah is what I say!
It was good to do the prayer walking each evening. I believe that there will be a harvest from this mission. It may take a while for some of the seeds to germinate and grow, but I believe it will happen. I pray that the leaders and teams within the host churches will continue to reach out and be accessible to the many lost in their areas.
It was great to attend the two ladies’ meetings at the beginning of the week. It enabled Val and I to get to know some of the ladies better.
The hosts and the host churches were amazing! We were all well looked after and fed well. Everyone worked so hard. The Saturday evening celebration was brilliant. Ok, not that many from the doors had responded to the invitation, but there were at least a couple who came. The man I was sat next to on Saturday even came to the Sunday service.
Not much on the downside of the mission, except it was a pity that the KGP’s weren’t available from day one and that there were no summary sheets for the surveys.’
Arthur Young:
‘My assumptions about CofE churches were changed by our time with the Bushbury churches. Everyone was livelier and more passionate for God than I thought people would be (I've been in very few CofE churches and mostly before becoming a Christian, so my perceptions were probably very far off). It felt like Jesus is magnified in St Mary's. Ian certainly spoke passionately for Him. I really loved being there. Mike, Linda, Allison, and many others from St Mary's, Church of the Good Shepherd and St James's worked very hard to look after the team, with hosting, abundant cooking and organising and praying.
I remember one day when we were doing door to door in the afternoon for 2.5 hours. The local prayer team which was made up of people from the local church was getting started as we left, and they were still going after we got back. Then we all had some snacks (not dinner, but about 1 hour before dinner) and were sat at various tables, and most of the people who had been praying were sat at one table mixed in now with some TFMers. Whilst eating they must have found something that they thought should be prayed about because they started praying again! It was really wonderful.’
Robert Parker:
‘The Mission in Wolverhampton, based at the International Life Centre Church in inner-city Wolverhampton
· Folk received Christ as their Lord and Saviour, with follow-ups recommended from the Church
· The Gospel was explained to a great number of people, practically all of whom would almost certainly never hear it
· Sometimes at the door or on the street you could see that God had set up the meeting for the person(s) to meet with the Gospel. Praise God. When this happened, you realise that it is the kindness of God Himself, all we have to do is turn up and speak kindly.
· On three occasions on the streets when I did what is not my preference, I saw God at work in the lives of others.
· Working with the International Church in a largely Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, immigrant community was an extraordinary experience. People opened their doors to us with kindness and with only the occasional "No" -- sometimes accompanied by "Punjabi only."
· A high proportion of the congregation worked in a branch of healthcare and often with long shifts. Sometimes with as many extra shifts as possible to help pay the mortgage. Pastor Langa and Pastor Darius themselves worked night shifts.
· After the first evening when the Lord rescued both our car from breakdown and myself from consequences arising from a serious accident, we were accorded the most stupendous hospitality.
· The local church was encouraged, and I was, by the depth of their spirituality.
· Personally, a great nine days, praise God, and I’ve come away enthused for prayer and worship.
· And very grateful indeed to the faithful prayer team who held us up throughout.’