Dublin Endeavour
IRELAND
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
In the spring of 2016, Momentum Europe started its direct ministry and outreach to the people of Dublin. This unique ministry is not only a ME ministry but also is embedded in the national ministry of CRU. While the ministry is in its infancy stage, already things are happening!
Mission: To reach, engage and equip influential leaders in Ireland; helping connect them to the irresistible love of Jesus.
Reach: Sharing the love of Jesus with influential leaders is most effective when it is done in the context of trusting relationships. “Reaching” is the process of meeting people and beginning the relational connection. Since you can’t share Christ with someone until you’ve at least met them, the Irish ministry is very intentional about this first step – reaching those they want to share Christ with.
Engage: Following up on the initial relational connection, the Irish ministry will begin to “engage” with new contacts over time, seeking to share the Gospel in a clear and relevant fashion. Oftentimes this process of Gospel presentation occurs over a number of meetings in a variety of settings. As is true elsewhere in Europe, seeing people come to the Lord is a process that takes prayer, intentionality, creativity and patience.
Equip: Agape Ireland is committed to equipping current and new believers to grow in their faith. Equipping them to begin to reach out to their peers is a key part of the equipping process.
Mission Critical
On May 22, 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by a national referendum. Turnout for the vote was 60.5%. Of those who voted, 62.1% chose in favor of changing the country’s constitution to allow same-sex marriage. Regarding the outcome, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said, “With today’s vote we have disclosed who we are: a generous, compassionate, bold and joyful people.”
While Agape Ireland’s ministry strength has focused up to now on reaching university students, several years ago they set a goal to launch their ministry to business and professional leaders in 2015. Therefore, when David Wilson, the National Director for Agape Ireland was approached by Momentum Europe with the opportunity to partner together in reaching leaders, it fit perfectly into their strategic plan. Now, in light of this recent same-sex marriage outcome the potential impact of this partnership seems even more timely.
In the words of David he sees the needs that Momentum Europe participants can help meet on this strategic Impact Tour to Dublin:
“In the aftermath of passing the same-sex marriage Constitutional referendum in Ireland our concentration has been focused on opportunities for the gospel that Momentum Europe friends can help us with:”
- The referendum showed us how little of the Bible people understood and how basic is the apologetics we now need to give them.
- Personal testimony is an increasingly powerful tool and we need mature believers like our Momentum Europe friends who can communicate the simple story of how Jesus changed their life
- The public nature of the Christian faith was called into question, which is one reason we are sponsoring a very public leadership breakfast talk by Prof Prabhu Guptara, a believer whose background is in international banking. You can help by making friends with the table guests and setting follow-up appointments with them.
- Those in Dublin helping to reach leaders today were once students who have now become senior leaders themselves. You can meet with the current crop of students and encourage them to follow this example.”
Four Irish men and women make up the Host Committee, which is helping lay the groundwork for this trip. In this group are a VP of the Insurance Brokers Assoc. for all of Ireland; a major property developer for downtown Dublin; a retired Lt. Colonel; and an Irish senator. In addition, several military men who came to Christ through Cru have volunteered to help in this outreach.
