24th April 2014 I Dublin, Ireland [Weiers Coetser, BUC News] Belfast Adventist church looked startlingly different to both pedestrians and motorists during the week starting 13 April 2014. The normal, neat parking area was transformed into a vibrant exhibition space. A marquee manned by friendly volunteers provided passers-by with a friendly encounter into the life of Jesus.
Belfast pastor, Adam Keough, reports that up to 150 members of the public visited the Jesus7 exhibition. The neatly laid out exhibition engaged visitors with information on places where significant events in Jesus’ life and ministry happened. They also enjoyed sampling foods similar to those eaten at the time of Jesus. Artistic images provided opportunities for contemplation as visitors entered into the world in which Jesus lived.
Student nurse, Catherine Sands, walks past Belfast church every day on her way to City Hospital. After visiting the exhibition she wrote on Facebook: “I thought it was very good and informative. I loved all the different pictures and places as well as information on where Jesus had been. The prayer stations were very thought-provoking.”
The innovative exhibition was only one part of a more comprehensive project. Beyond the invitation to explore the exhibition space came an opportunity to be part of a Jesus7 seminar that took place nightly in the Belfast church that was also live-streamed to other venues across Ireland.
Nor was the exhibition unique to Belfast. Similar exhibitions could be found in two Dublin venues and in Londonderry. All three congregations also sought to reach out beyond the walls of the church.
A local community hall in Dublin Ringsend and the Maldron Hotel in Drumcondra hosted further exhibitions while in Londonderry church members received permission to exhibit two of the exhibition posters every day on the central Guildhall Square.
Pastor Stephen Wilson and Lindita Vani describe that, “We were praying and thinking about how we could give people an opportunity to see, read and hear, or perhaps even make something as part of a real lived experience here in Dublin. We wanted to help people engage at a deeper level.” The first day’s focus was on Jesus, the greatest gift so they gave each attendee a beautifully wrapped gift box full of Bible promises from Jesus. As visitors opened the gift they were invited to share in front of a video camera how they felt. This generated a good few smiles and giggles and reflection on how we receive Jesus, the greatest gift.
Another group of Dublin young people set up in Christchurch Cathedral. Between 9:30 am and 4 pm they invited people to copy the Gospel of Mark by hand.
Deborah Koizumi, a student, reflected. “In the beginning there weren’t many people coming toward the table to copy the Gospels, so the vicar suggested that we put the board right next to the entrance. This time the response was better. People now participated in the activity at the beginning of their visit, not at the end.”
Madeleine Reynolds tells how, during her shift, she met with some visiting Australians. One of them shared that he had an Adventist friend back home who had been giving him books to read. He found meeting another Adventist here in the heart of Dublin inviting him to copy the Gospels to be a remarkable coincidence.
In addition, across all the venues 25,000 Jesus7 leaflets were distributed and the various venues were promoted on Facebook and other media outlets including an appearance on local radio for Simone Coetser and Richard Roberts.
Nightly Jesus7 Presentations
The daily exhibitions and activities led toward a series of evening seminars with the popular and friendly presenter, Pastor Janos Kovacs-Biro. Presented live from Belfast church they were streamed on the www.Jesus7.ie website. A media team from the Trans-European Division worked hand in hand with local volunteers to manage the recording and the link to the Internet.
The focus was once again on reaching beyond church walls. Belfast church was transformed into a café studio for the event with drinks and refreshments available on the tables during the presentations.
With up to 45 in attendance each night, Pastor Keough was particularly encouraged by the 13 visitors who attended as a result of visiting the exhibition and the 17 visitors who were friends of Belfast members. They came as a result of a personal invitation.
In addition to receiving the live-stream each night, Dublin members put on a vibrant programme. At the Maldron Hotel this included special music and activities before the programme began. “The great effort paid off”, says Pastor Wilson. “We had 10-15 visitors in the City Centre location and 10 teenagers regularly visited the community centre.” One night the group in Ringsend watched the sermon on an iPad as the adapter for the projector failed. Regardless of this, Annie Laile, one of the members who attended, commented that “it was a beautiful family-like experience!”
Other small groups also got involved. A Dublin Ranelagh church member watched the programme in a friend’s home with seven other Christians. “She thought that it was important that the programme was not trying to be sectarian which would have put people off otherwise. They were disappointed the series finished so soon”, reports Pastor Gavin Anthony.
Betty O’Rourke reports from the West of Ireland that pizza was a motivation to Galway church youth and their friends at the home of Telia Daiwoo. She says, “The youth particularly liked the interactive style and the visual aids used to convey the story of Jesus’ walk on this earth.”
In Limerick City, church members and friends gathered at the home of Bruno and Nuala Basil. They reported that both college and secondary students took time away from their usual studies to spend time in the study of Scripture. “In other homes”, Betty adds, “some older folk are learning a new aspect of technology which has the power to transform lives.”
Impact
Has the programme made an impact? During a Friday evening appeal, four people in Belfast requested baptism, including one individual who had come into the meetings from the street.
In Drumcondra an English tourist attended the Wednesday evening meeting. “She was the only visitor that evening and the group there had prayed that someone would come”, reports Pastor Wilson. “They were disappointed that it looked like nobody would be there that night, and then this lady came and stayed for the seminar.” She came back every night after that and stated she wanted to be part of our ‘community’ when she returned to England.
Pastor Wilson has more good news: “Three Catholic young men from India came each night and state they want to join us more often. On Sabbath I met a few Baptists from Brazil who said our church and its programmes felt more like home than the Pentecostal church that they have been attending.”
Londonderry church members celebrated the end of Jesus7 with an Easter Sunday church breakfast. They spoke with enthusiasm about the friendships that they made, including a visitor who attended four of the evenings and asked to join the church. There was a sense of accomplishment and pride in a project that was very well done.
– See more at adventist.org.uk. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Miroslav Pujic, director; Deana Stojkovic, editor
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