WORKING TOGETHER

Mark Aldridge reports on his visit to Sweden in January and shares what God can do when we unite and encourage one another in ministry

The word ‘ecumenical’ hardly fills me with excitement, which is why I responded with some misgiving to an invitation to speak at an ecumenical week in Ornskoldsvik in northern Sweden. By the end of the week, the Holy Spirit, who gave me the nudge to accept the invitation, was proven once again to be right in all his judgements.

New blessings

I have visited Sweden on many occasions over the past 10 years. In my experience it is a nation with rapidly growing secularism and, in some cases, discouraged churches. However, God is doing some wonderful works where the church is seeking to pour new wine into new wineskins (Matt (9:17) and developing new expressions and understandings of what it is to be the church.

We arrived in Ornskoldsvik on a cold day in January, but soon encountered the warmth of the Christian leaders there. They were truly embracing what it means to be a united church. Psalm 133 reminds us that God commands his blessing where his people are united. Over the next five days we were to see that blessing in great measure.

The Spirit’s power

I was reminded again of our need to discover, or rediscover, the power of the Holy Spirit. At one evening meeting a young man walked to the front of a great crowd to receive Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord. A day or two earlier, he had been driving on a quiet road when he had a vivid picture in his mind of sheep and goats. A strong thought impressed upon him that he was a goat but that he needed to be a sheep. He asked a Christian relative what this meant. He had no understanding of biblical imagery but on hearing the explanation he knew he wanted to encounter ‘the good shepherd’ (John 10:11). I had the great privilege of praying with him and seeing new life in the kingdom of God.

On the same evening a young woman, under the conviction of the Spirit, phoned the man she was living with to finish their relationship. As I left the church that evening I was met by this man. He was angry and demanded to know what I had said to make his lover turn on him. I had said nothing; it was simply a sovereign work of God bringing repentance and freedom. On the Sunday morning well over 1,000 people congregated to celebrate what God had been doing in their small city. To my amazement this young man turned up!

Released for ministry

The release of God’s people into effective ministry is one of the New Wine values that most excites me. The ministry of Jesus is for the whole church, and I love to see aspects of John 14:12 being practiced in our midst: ‘I tell you the truth. Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.’

At a Saturday evening youth event a Swedish pastor approached me as I stood at the back listening to one of our team teaching. He told me he felt that God had given him a message for a young man at the edge of the congregation. He wondered if it was truly from God. I explained that this is almost always how it feels, that we operate in faith not certainty. He took courage and faith in both hands, walked over to the young man and shared the word. The message was delivered with faltering faith, but the impact was that the young man wanted to receive Christ there and then.

To be equipping Christians and churches in ministry in this way is right at the heart of our work. We all need to be practitioners. We must minister both in word and Spirit. When we add to that mixture a united church meeting regularly in prayer we have enormous possibilities. It is not a magic formula but it challenged me again to work with my fellow believers across our many dividing walls.

Mark Aldridge leads the Oak Tree Anglican Fellowship in Acton, West London. He also works alongside the New Wine International team, heading up international networking.