This summer, UBC sent a group of 21 to work with an organization of churches outside of London during the time of the Olympics. The group worked feverishly with the churches of the Chalfont St. Peter and Gerrards Cross communities on the Northwest side of London. This was a much bigger mission than we had experienced in our previous trips because it involved working with numerous churches and organizations, not just Gold Hill Baptist that we had worked with in the past. The churches there had built an organization of ministries around the heightened awareness of the Olympic Games that they called ‘Run the Race.’ Run the Race was a huge undertaking! For two-and-a-half weeks, the churches in these communities put on an array of outreach ministries to particularly make their villages aware of their concern and love for each and every person.
UBC’ers partnered with over 150 other Americans from around the US to volunteer their time and energy to make this ministry happen. They were involved in Vacation Bible School-like camps called Holiday Clubs, sports camps/clinics, large outreach gatherings, worship gatherings, men’s and women’s nights, senior teas, sports café ministry, and numerous events for teens.
One of the greatest experiences of the week was the Ladies Night. Over 500 ladies were involved with several testimonies, stories, songs, and of course food for the evening. However, one testimony particularly spoke to several. One of the former editors of Elle magazine shared her journey to faith. This was of great interest to the ladies of her many adventures around the globe and experiences with different models and celebrities. One lady in particular went home that night and asked her son if he would pray with her to receive Jesus as her Savior. The lady happened to be the ‘mum’ of the Gold Hill Baptist Church, Senior Pastor, Malcolm Duncan. In fact, Malcolm and other family members had been praying for her to come to faith for over 20 years. What a terrific story of how God can use our own stories and journey to faith to influence others and their faith journeys.
This story was a great cap to a tremendous mission trip. God used this group in mighty ways to further His kingdom.
