1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
The British Isles—in all its unique charm and character, never ceases to rouse a gripping sense of awe. An array of ancient architectural marvels are found in large metropolitan areas and small lesser-traveled villages across the nation, each with a tale to tell out of the richness of the nation’s collective history and heritage. The UK is most often known for its damp, gloomy, and cold climate the majority of the year—a multivariable island weather system with slight temperature variations that produce a wide range of weather conditions on any given day. This specific atmosphere does more than keep us on our toes. It builds our anticipation and appreciation for the fairer and milder seasons.
Springtime in England is exceedingly vibrant, brimming with newness and growth. The countryside is adorned with various shades of green pastures, and the hillsides are garnished with majestic floral arrangements of tulips, bluebells, lilac, Queen Anne’s lace, and yellow seas of dandelions. The patchwork fields take on the appearance of a quilt intricately woven together by local agriculture. Lambing season is an Eastertide hallmark, and for every lamb we see frolicking about the meadows, we’re reminded of the lamb of God who takes away our sin and frees us from its captivity.
We find ourselves in a new area intending to interweave into the local context and sink our roots deep into the spiritually hardened soil. Our new church community has welcomed our family with open arms, and the Lord has added to our felt experiences of a life lived near the streams of Living Water (John 4:1-26). We prayed for steady incomes of Grace to flow and have stored up His instruction and guidance during our time of displacement between cities and ministries. We’ve had our own dealings with discouragement and have felt the snares of desolation, but now we ask, who is downstream? In other words, who will we be connected to, and who will receive this transformative message of the person and work of Christ?
To be clear, we haven’t been sent by the Lord to this particular city to bring forth our own know-how or to leverage what we have for the have-nots. We all lack in some way, and we can sometimes fail to remember that those who are sent have also received and are also in need of His grace and forgiveness. We follow the streams of water that lead us to the service of others. Our hearts mended and assuming a new posture—one of helps and mercy, one of empathy and compassion—having our own reflective story to share as immigrants in a foreign land.
Praise and Prayer
Reasons to praise the Lord this Spring:
The Lord opened up a property for us to rent in north Birmingham in an area known as Sutton Coldfield—we moved in at the end of April.
Christ Church Birmingham has included me in their rota for the Spring-Summer term leading into the Autumn. This includes:
We sang 4 songs in English and 1 song in Igbo (Nigerian)
Leading worship - preparing a 5-6 song setlist for Sunday services. I also have the opportunity to introduce new songs to the congregation. *I’ve had a few people in and outside of the church ask about guitar lessons and/or collaborating on some music. It can be another element of discipleship and ministry.
Setup and AV - learning audio and visual tech for the church’s portable kit and collaborating with the hosts, hospitality, worship team and preaching team.
Leading Sunday services - hosting the service from start to finish. This gives many opportunities to minister in the moment or in preparation for the service, as well as lead segments of prayer and response.
Preaching - crafting messages specific to the South Aston context. The area consists of working class, multiethnic non-bookish people with low (to zero) biblical literacy.
We are well supported by the other leaders and staff. Our family enagages in intentional and fruitful involvement in the life of the church:
Weekly staff meetings
1-on-1 and family-to-family discipleship
Impact Groups -Handsworth, Walsall, and Yardley
Outreach - local communities and universty campuses
I work at the church’s Food Pantry, which serves the local community of South Aston. There I interact with refugees/asylum seekers (mostly Muslim and some Ukrainian) as well as the homeless residing in the Barry Jackson Tower, a temporary accommodation center across the street from the church.
I recently attended a Regions Beyond regional conference in Swindon. There were around 100 leaders from the (UK-specific) network in attendance. I began building bonds with our Birmingham based team/staff and got connected to a wide range of leaders from several backgrounds (African, Middle Eastern, Australian, just to name a few) all serving in the UK.
Steph is at 28 weeks (third trimester) and has successfully registered for the NHS in Birmingham and is preparing a birth plan with local midwives and doctors.
Steph is forming discipleship relationships with the women in the church and has begun blessing people with her baking and photography.
Baby bump and fresh baked sourdough bread
Join our family and ministry partners in prayer:
Pray for Coral and his family. They are pioneering ministry and starting the church planting venture in Walsall, after being approved for a building!
The church building will serve as a place for worship and community, and a hub for the church planting movement
Pray for the health and safety of Steph and baby #3—due in early August!
Pray for our connections with the Christian Unions and Friends International on the different campuses across Birmingham. *I had an opportunity to interact with an non-believer who attends one of the local universities and he spoke of the issues of lonliness and isolation, particularly if they’re international students.
Pray for our upcoming meetings with prospective ministry partners who are prayerfully considering investing in what we’re looking to accomplish in Birmingham. We still need to raise a lot of funds for our monthly support to help us sustain life and ministry in the UK!
Thank You!
We want to take this moment to thank all of those who have continued to actively support our ministry in the UK through prayer, exhortation, tax-deductible giving (button below), and through becoming a paid subscriber to Along The Way. Some of you are even supporting us by both giving and subscribing to our publication!
As a family on mission, we take your investment and co-participation in our ministry very seriously! We simultaneously represent Christ and each member of our Sending Team on the mission field. We pray that the Lord will meet all your needs and the needs of our family, and we know that He will provide the support required to sustain our ministry in the UK.
"Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account." Philippians 4:17
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