Ireland (MNN) — Ireland is a country known for its
religious divisions. But on Good Friday
in 1998, a peace agreement was reached.
For the first time, there was a
power-sharing Assembly made up of representatives of all political persuasions
who agreed to cooperate.
While that seemed to lessen the overt violence,
there was still great division, even amongst those who stood on the same
religious/political side. The region was
still sensitive to terms associated with years of strife, and that made some
discussions very tricky, especially for those who arrived to share the hope of
Christ.
For many missionaries, isolation led to
discouragement, and some missionaries quietly called the country the ‘graveyard
of missionaries.'
However, a missionary with Greater Europe Mission recently
attended a special two-day conference aimed at bringing together the Irish
church leaders from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Called "Breaking New
Ground," it was meant to establish good relationships between the
community and the New Irish local churches.
Combined workshops, lectures, and discussions led to
a sense of history in the making. Conversations were begun on the power of
diversity in churches and neighborhoods to demonstrate the power of the Gospel
to change lives and communities.
The GEM team has prayed for years that the Gospel would be unavoidable in every segment of Irish life.
At the conference's end, GEM's Durand Robinson said, "I believe that God has heard that prayer and broken the mono-cultural rigidity of Ireland so resistant to change by bringing brothers and sisters from around the world to join in the harvest."
Pray that the body of Christ in Ireland would begin
to demonstrate the power of the Gospel in order to change lives and
communities.
