Bishop of Liverpool Admits new Evangelists to the Office of Evangelist

9 July 2008

"Do not lose heart, Jesus is coming and you are his messengers" Bishop of Liverpool tells new Church Army Evangelists

On the 9th July 2008, Sheffield Cathedral was the venue for   five men and three women to be admitted to the Office of Evangelist by the Rt Revd James Jones the Bishop of Liverpool.

The Bishop told the Evangelists and a 250 strong congregation that there isn't a person who doesn't at some stage in their lives find themselves praying. The role of a Church Army Evangelist is to draw alongside these people, outside of church walls, and encourage them in their reaching out to God and to tell them not to lose heart for Jesus is coming.

Prayer, personal faith and social justice is at the heart of what Church Army is about and the Bishop recounted a story of how Sir Paul McCartney had shared with him recently that he always believed in times of trouble that something will happen and that throughout his life he had been aware of a benign spirit at work hovering over him and guiding him - despite having been turned down by the Liverpool Cathedral Choir as a boy!

The Bishop went on to say how many people call out to God in prayer to do something about the state of the world, and that Evangelists have to be there with them and by their friendship be as Jesus to them, and by God's grace also see Jesus in those whom they serve. Evangelists need to be there when the bottom falls out of people's lives, when they're angry with God, and when they are longing to see justice and mercy.

He ended his address with these words; "You, the friends of Jesus, who are to be his Evangelists, you are called this day to tell those who pray and wonder that Jesus is on his way, that you are his messengers and that one day a kingdom will come where justice and mercy will flow like a river that bursts its banks. Paul McCartney was right, something will happen, that something is the kingdom and you are its messengers."

To listen to the full audio recording of the Bishop's address go to www.churcharmy.org.uk/commissioning

At the commissioning service that followed, Church Army's Chief Executive Mark Russell added his own words of encouragement for the newly commissioned Evangelists. Click www.churcharmy.org.uk/commissioning to listen to the audio recording of his address.