Seven years ago the Lord spoke to Danica and myself about moving our family from Somerset West, South-Africa, to Belfast, Northern Ireland. God gave us a vision and a mission. Our vision – To see Christ centered, Spirit empowered and socially responsible churches and campus ministries planted and strengthened in Northern Ireland and the nations. Our mission – To serve the Lord with all our heart and all our strength. To preach the Kingdom of God wherever we are. To support and strengthen the leadership team here in Belfast. To make disciples.
None of this has changed. If anything, the Lord has in the past couple of weeks only strengthened our resolve and challenged us about our conviction. Sometimes we become so busy with the work, that we can easily “forget” why we started doing this in the first place. But if we look at the Word of God, all throughout it, we see people who acted with a DEEP conviction from God to bring His word to the people around them. To preach His kingdom in every sphere. So, what is our conviction?
That God sent us to this distant nation as part of His plan to preach His Word through whatever vehicle is available to us. The we are not THE answer, but we are part of the plan to point to THE answer, which is Jesus. Something that He’s placed within us, is needed for the people here. He’s designed us and appointed us for this place in this time. We do all of this because of His great love poured out for us, and that there are people around who have never heard about this. About the fact that there is a God that gave His Son for us, so that the power of sin and shame can be broken over our lives and that we are His children and He loves us. And that one day, we will spend eternity with our Saviour. THIS is the HOPE set before us. None of what we do is in vain. Every seed we plant is with purpose and we believe that we will see a harvest!
We thank God for what he is doing here in Northern Ireland. Even though things might look bleak throughout the world, we can see and feel God moving in a powerful way. We are seeing an increase in young people seeking Jesus. Tired of religion and playing games and seeking an encounter with the King of Kings. He is so faithful to meet people wherever they are. We are seeing people come to repentance through the kindness of God. The harvest is truly ready! We thank God that we can be a part of it here in Belfast. We praise him for each of you as well, because we know He isn’t only moving here, but all over the world and each of us has the opportunity to put our hands to the plow and get involved in His work.
Praise report from our side – A few months ago Danica needed to start looking for a job outside the church. We’ve been praying, and she’s been applying. She had an interview a bunch of weeks ago, but unfortunately that didn’t pan out. But just last week, she went for another interview, and she got the job. It will be for a charity here in Belfast as a Anti-Human trafficking case worker. If you know my wife at all, you’ll know that this has been something that has been on her heart for years, and God has now opened the door for her to minister to some of the most broken people around. Please continue to pray for her as she steps into this new season.
The kids are also doing really well. Noah just started High school and Zoe is in P6. They are settled in their new years and we thank God for that!
We want to thank each one of you for your partnership in the Gospel and would like to ask you to stand with us in faith for the following areas:
- As Danica is starting a new job, there are some personal adjustments that we’ll have to make in terms of our schedules and transport etc. Please pray for wisdom as we get settled into a new rhythm.
- Please pray for our church. Currently as a church we are trusting God for breakthrough in our finances. We have a lot of work to do here in Belfast, and we need money to operate. We are fully looking to God for provision and to move on the hearts of Kingdom investors to come alongside us. If you feel lead to contribute to the church in a once off or monthly basis, I’ll add the details at the end of the email.
- My personal financial support team. I’m in a season of upping our support and I’m trusting God for open doors. Just for some more clarity and explanation, Danica’s new job will help us personally as a family where we’ve been very tight for the past few months. My ministry support team is for my salary that comes through the church. And currently as in point 2, we are trusting for a breakthrough.
Please reach out if you have any questions. We’ll be very happy to spend some time with you and explain anything that may be unclear.
Just finally… I’ve mentioned it before, but we cannot stress enough how blessed we are by every one of you getting even more involved in the Kingdom of God through prayer for us and the church, and your financial support. We are a team, and we do this together. Our fruit is your fruit! Thank you.
Love,
Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoe
If you would like to contribute to the church, here are some different options:
UK residents:
Stewardship (which allows the government to give an extra 25% for each pound donated)
PAYPAL
2. info@enbelfast.org
USA residents:
Global service network
O'Neill Family 