November ’18 Prayer Letter

October 30, 2018 by chriswaye Leave a Comment

Pastors and praying friends,

We have had a busy couple of months of ministry. Much of what we do on a day to day basis looks quite similar to what you might find yourselves doing in your life and ministry in the States. The truth is, the command to make disciples of all nations means that all of us everywhere should be doing things that look very similar. We are ordinary people who spend time with other ordinary people in an effort to pour into them the truths of Scripture. It’s not always glamorous, in fact it rarely is. But, it is amazing when we see people slowly begin to grow in their faith and understand what it really means to follow Jesus. It is this unmeasured growth that we celebrate the most.

One main goal that we have as we serve in London is to see new churches planted. The church that we helped plant back in 2014, Downham Baptist, just recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of being officially organized and constituted. This was a great day, and one that I had the privilege of being a part of as the speaker. Our co-laborers Travis and Teri Snode are doing a great job of training leaders there, and we are honored to work along-side them in this city. We give God all the glory for how He has blessed the growth of the church over the last few years.

Another goal of ours is to see existing churches strengthened and revitalized. One such church that we have been working at for the last six months is over 150 years old and has gone through many changes over the years. As we mentioned in previous letters, there were some serious issues regarding the church that came to light not long after our arrival, one of which being the discovery that it isn’t in fact an independent autonomous church. Sadly, due to major doctrinal differences with the denomination that the church is a part of, we will be stepping away at the end of the month.

Lastly, although the bulk of our ministry centers in and around London, we are keenly aware of the needs of many other places around the UK. We are currently working with several national pastors and other foreign church planters to better reach the isles of Great Britain and Ireland, and we would appreciate your prayers for more gospel laborers.

Chris & Sherry Waye

Click here for a printable PDF copy of this letter.

September ’18 Prayer Letter

September 5, 2018 by chriswaye Leave a Comment

Pastors and praying friends,

We have had a very busy and productive summer here in London. The family is all doing well, and the kids went back to school today. Sherry and I are prepping ourselves as best we can to raise teenagers, which will begin in November!

We were blessed to host a team from America in July. Gospel Baptist and pastor Bill Edwards brought a group for the second year in a row. They were a tremendous help to us here at both churches in Downham and Chelsea. Pastor Bill has become a great friend over the years and is a real encouragement to our family. The longer I am in ministry the more I realize the value of good friends who will both challenge and edify.

In August, Lawson and I were able to take part in an annual conference in the north of England. ‘Reach’ is led by a pastor friend of ours, Alan Campbell, who has a real passion for evangelism, discipleship, and missions. Reach is a week-long intensive training focused in all three of these areas filled with practical teaching/preaching followed by street evangelism. It was encouraging to see such a group of young people with a real desire to reach this country with the gospel.

This month I will have the privilege of preaching for the one-year anniversary of when Downham Baptist was officially organized. It has been wonderful to see how God has worked in the life of the church since its start with just two families four years ago. Please continue to pray for the work there!

We are continuing to serve at the church in Chelsea and covet your prayers for the future there. We are still dealing with the issues mentioned in previous letters, but are trusting the Lord for wisdom going forward. We have big decisions to make regarding the church’s future and our long term involvement there, but we trust the Lord will give us clarity in due time. Meanwhile, we will keep pressing on, preaching the gospel, and doing all we can to make disciples of Christ.

We are so thankful for your prayers and support, and we know that without them what we do here would not be possible.

Chris & Sherry Waye

Click HERE for a printable PDF

July ’18 Prayer Letter

July 6, 2018 by chriswaye 1 Comment

Pastors and praying friends,

For the last couple of months, we as a church have been going through the book of Ephesians on Sundays. In this epistle, Paul is praying for and desiring that believers understand what it means to be identified with Christ and to walk worthy of their calling. For some, this is a great reminder of who they are as believers, but for others, and one man in particular, it has been water to a dry soul. Lathaan, a Sri Lankan man who’s been coming along to the church put his faith in Christ a few weeks ago. We praise God for saving this man and ask that you pray for him to grow in the knowledge of his faith!

In our last update, I mentioned briefly that the church we are working in, Chelsea Community Baptist, is going through some organizational and legal issues. When we came to the church a few months ago, we believed that it was an independent Baptist church that met in a United Reformed Church building. In fact, that is what the great majority of the 30 or so members in the church thought as well. It was only after a few days in the office that I discovered that this was not the case, but in reality the church is legally and organizationally tied to the United Reformed Church and the Baptist Union. Because of the way the URC is structured, there is no provision for a URC church to withdraw from the denomination. In effect, the denomination owns not only the property, but also holds the rights to the church’s legal entity as well. The church is also faced with a 10 yr old debt to the Baptist Union in the amount of £118,000 ($156,000) which they are now calling due.

With all of this information given to the church, they were forced to make a decision: either continue on as a United Reformed Church or become independent. The people voted unanimously to leave the URC, despite that meaning we loose the ability to continue on in the URC building and the eventual closure of the church. For now, I have stepped down as the official ‘pastor’ of the URC church but will continue to lead the small congregation forward until we can develop a plan to relocate and replant an independent church. This will not be an easy task due to the extreme high cost of meeting places in central/west London, but we are trusting God for wisdom and provision.

Although the last few months have certainly not been easy, I am encouraged by the response of the church. They truly desire to do what is right and biblical, despite the high cost. Thank you for your prayers and your support!

Chris & Sherry Waye

Click HERE for a printable PDF