Good Practices in a Good Order

We begin our new Mission series, in partnership with Praxis today, with an article from Rev. Andrew R. Irvine, who is the Lead Chaplain with Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy.

Andrew writes: A prominent feature of early Celtic Christianity was hospitality.  This emphasis of course followed well the model set by Jesus in His earthly ministry, in which many of our Lord’s key encounters and ministry milestones, as recorded by the Gospel writers, occurred in a hospitality setting.  When Jesus sent out His followers to announce the kingdom of God, receiving hospitality is the context Jesus gave them for their mission (Luke 10:1-9). 

This missional hospitality is also taken-up by the first generation of Jesus followers after His ascension.  Luke records (Acts 2:42-47; 5:12-16; 6:1-7) the hospitality that existed between the believers and that this led to a ministry that extended into the City with pace, quickly requiring seven Deacons to be appointed to meet the community need.

On a recent Sunday Morning Worship service on BBC Radio Ulster, led by the Journey Community Church - Antrim, the preacher described this model of mission as, ‘Good Deeds, leads to Good Relationships, which lead to sharing the Good News’.

This model of mission ‘struck a chord’ with me, as it helped me understand, at least in part, why the ministry I lead, Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy, has enjoyed success since it commenced in July 2018.  However, it also caused me to reflect on how, certainly in Northern Ireland, this missional model has largely been reversed for probably at least 150 years.

For a long time in Northern Ireland, I suspect since Victorian times, while our Church has exercised a ‘Good Deeds first’ model of mission internationally, the predominant model of home mission by the Church has been - Preach the Good News, invite people to enjoy Good Hospitality to hear more Good News, and when they come and join they can avail of the Good Deeds that exist within the largely internally facing Christian community.

In Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy, we have from the beginning set-out firstly to build relationships with people in the city who have no connection with a Church.  We have used the model, Consistent Presence leads to relationships, which become Pastoral, and in time invite a Prophetic sharing. 

This is the ‘Good Deeds, leads to Good Relationships, leads to Good News’ model – and I can testify, as can our 40 volunteer Chaplains, that this really works!  The Chaplaincy recently received an award for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which I believe evidences how this missional model is enabling both new personal and organisational relationships beyond the Church community, while remaining absolutely faithful to our Jesus given and directed kingdom-building missional calling.

I pray that the Jesus’ Church on this beautiful Island would reflect on the good order of Missional Praxis and rediscover the power of Good Deeds including receiving hospitality first – then building relationship - and sharing the Good News in the context of hospitality in established relationships.

God’s Timing in Perfect

We have the privilege of engaging with the street sleepers. Quite often this involves practical help, like getting them a hot drink and food if that is what they want. Many people we see only once bu, there are a few that we are starting to build relationships with. Last time we were out, one of these people shared about some bad news they had received at Christmas time. As the conversation went on, they opened up to us and they were happy to receive prayer. We also provided some practical needs of clothing too. They were clearly moved by our care, compassion, and practical help.

We had almost finished shift on the same day when we met a fellow believer who reminded and encouraged us about the importance of being faithful in the small things. We found this helpful because when we are out as Chaplains we don’t know who we will interact with, if anyone, but we remember it is God’s work and we ask Him to lead us and use us in the situations He has planned.

As we walked along Great Victoria Street near the Opera House, we saw two worn boots jutting out from under a lot of bedding covering a person who was lying in the doorway in cold weather!  We looked at each other and hesitated for a moment or two as to whether we should disturb whoever was underneath. As we whispered to each other about what to do, a head popped up from under the bedding, a lovely elderly gentleman said "Hello." It was an encounter that will always stay with us both.

As we talked to this lovely gentleman, he shared some of his life story with us. It became evident that he had a faith in Christ, going back into his childhood. During our exchange, he said that, he believed in the Lord and that he believed that He has been guarding him as he slept rough on the streets .Then he reached into his jacket and brought out a very worn Bible, he said, "This is my hope." 

He talked about the Apostle Paul and about the story in the gospel of John were it speaks of a women who was going to be stoned for committing the act of adultery. He asked us, "Do you ever wonder what Jesus wrote on the sand that day?" Then he said, "I suppose we will find out when we join Jesus" and smiled. 

He shared that he was hoping to be given somewhere to live soon and he would like to find a church to attend.  He thanked us for talking to him and taking the time to listen. It was quite a lengthy exchange and it was quite emotional. Towards the end of our conversation, we asked him if he would like some prayer, to which he happily consented. So, we knelt beside him and prayed for him and his situation.

As we were saying our goodbyes, a minibus pulled up alongside us. Two nice gentlemen from the Welcome Centre approached him and called him by his name. I asked them if they had found the gentleman a place to stay for the night, one of them said, "Oh better than that, we've found him a place to live!"  I said that is one of the things that we had just been praying about and one of the Welcome guys said, "So have we!"

As they helped the elderly gentleman onto his feet, he hugged each of us and said, "If I never see you both again, I hope to see you in eternity"

When we are out walking around the city centre, we don't know who we will interact with, we just trust that God directs our steps because it is His work and we do it for His glory!

About the Author: Andrew Irvine, Lead Chaplain, Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy

Andrew graduated from the University of Ulster with a BA (Hons.) in Business Studies in 1998 and from the University of Cumbria in 2020 with a MA in Theology. Andrew led the redevelopment of Belfast’s historic St. George’s Market before becoming the Belfast City Centre Manager, a post he served in until joining East Belfast Mission in October 2016. 

Andrew’s ‘day job’, is Chief Executive of East Belfast Mission – where he is passionate about providing services which build inclusive community and help people to live full, enjoyable and connected lives.  Much of this passion is driven by Andrew’s Methodist Church understanding of Christianity, which if faithful to Jesus is non-judgemental, welcoming, practically loving, always seeks to heal and help.

Andrew is also a part-time ordained Methodist Minister, where he is presently serving Lead Chaplain of Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy which he founded in July 2018.  The Chaplaincy is an interdenominational mission, comprising some 40volunteer Chaplains from across the Church denominations in the city, which provides a caring, listening, advocacy and community building ministry in the public spaces of Belfast City Centre.