Two of the things that drive us at Solas are our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ; and our partnerships with local churches. So we were delighted to accept the invitation from our friends at Dundee’s Associated Presbyterian Church (APC) to spend a morning with them.
Although lockdown restrictions were easing when we joined them at Dens Road Church, numbers were still limited, face masks were in place, and several older, more vulnerable members of the church tuned-in online for the morning.
Andy Bannister kicked the morning off with an informal seminar, looking at some of the ways we can initiate good gospel-conversations, especially in the context of the secular workplace. Many Christians are recognising their workplace as a mission-field to which they are called (for more on this click here). Andy looked at various biblical principles for helpful conversation and showed how they could be applied to some contemporary examples. As we so often stress at Solas, listening to people is such an important step in evangelism, as is asking good questions which can disarm hostile atheists, and interest the apathetic, if used well.
The morning worship service was conducted by Philip the church’s pastor who introduced Psalms, and led Bible readings and prayers before Gavin from Solas looked at 1 Peter 3:15. While apologists focus on “always be prepared to give an answer for the hope you have” – on Sunday we set that in the context of 1 Peter 3, where the apostle encourages the church to also exhibit the beauty of the gospel in their speech and behaviour. The emphasis there is that we are to commend the gospel to a hostile culture in speech, character, integrity and generosity, because we recognise the Lordship of Christ and want the world to see His glory!
The APC is a really friendly and welcoming church, which we enjoyed visiting. The local church is central to God’s mission in the world – and it is essential that every parachurch organisation such as Solas constantly remembers that. Our aim is to be a helpful gospel-proclaiming resource, for the church to use. It was great to chat to the folks in the church at the end of our time together, and to hear how they are active in God’s work. Andy had one memorable conversation with a student who had recently come to faith and been baptised and who has many non-Christian friends who have many questions for her about her new faith. He was able to give her a copy of his new book!
Our prayer is that mornings like this will be an encouragement to God’s people to step forward in evangelism and outreach. If you would like us to serve your congregation in this way, please do get in touch with us.
