Frontline Ministry

Across the UK and Ireland Church Army evangelists are seeking to tell people about Jesus in the places God has called them to. We caught up with George Newell, one of Church Army’s evangelists in Northern Ireland, to tell us about his work for the gospel…

I live in Belfast and am married to Eunice and have two children, Simon and Sarah and two lovely wee granddaughters Orla and Charys. I have not always lived in Belfast where I now am based. I originally come from the fishing village of Kilkeel and at the age of 30, at a mission run by the local Church of Ireland, I made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. My life was totally changed and transformed, a total lifestyle turnaround and over the next number of years I sensed the Lord calling me into full-time Christian ministry. This meant selling up my Painting and Decorating business and in August 1997 we as a family left Kilkeel and headed to Sheffield where I started training at the Wilson Carlile College of Evangelism (now the Wilson Carlile Centre). From coming to faith in Christ the Lord has laid on my heart those who don’t yet know Him, and Church Army was the vehicle
to both train and equip me for that ministry and in the early days coming out of college He provided employment enabling me to do it.

After spending nearly five years as Parish Evangelist and Church Planter in Carrigrohane Union of Parishes in Cork and 11 years as Outreach Coordinator for Willowfield Parish Community Association in East Belfast, I now work for New Wine Ireland as their Mission and Leadership Co-ordinator (while fulfilling a part-time evangelist role with Willowfield Parish Church). My job involves encouraging and training churches in evangelism, leading missions and working with church leaders. I also facilitate an evangelist training course where we have trained over 40 lay evangelists. It is such a blessing to see others released into ministry and a privilege to be part of that.

“I CONTINUE TO BE AMAZED HOW THE KINGDOM OF GOD IMPACTS LIVES THROUGH THE PREACHING OF HIS WORD”

Through my job I have had the opportunity to share the Good News of the gospel across this island of Ireland and have had the privilege of seeing many people come to faith in Christ. I continue to be amazed how the Kingdom of God impacts lives through the preaching of His Word, that quiet conversation on the street, His healing touch as you pray for the sick, that prophetic word that changes a heart, the infilling of the Holy Spirit that transforms a life – totally amazing. Yet should I be amazed? Is it not what the Lord promised He would do through us – His church?

“JESUS TELLS US ‘WAKE UP AND LOOK AROUND. THE FIELDS ARE ALREADY RIPE FOR HARVEST’”

COVID has restricted much of my work over the last two years, but things are changing, and I have several missions planned for later in the year and I look forward with excitement and expectation of what the Lord is going to do, knowing that by His Holy Spirit He is already speaking into people’s lives. Jesus tells us ‘Wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest’ and that is so true. My expectation is to see God’s Kingdom at work round me, where people come to a personal faith in Christ and I have found that to be the case, not because of who I am, rather because of who God is and His heart of compassion and grace for a broken and lost world.

PRAY:

You can help sustain George in his work by praying:

• For more opportunities to train and equip the local church in evangelism
• A move of the Holy Spirit across Ireland
• That lives would be changed and transformed by the gospel in upcoming missions