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Bridging the Rural-Urban gap
Who would have thought it, on a rainy March evening with a convoy of at least 10 cars driven by Birmingham city dwellers weaving through the country road on the way to a Bringing Hope service on a farm in Worcester?
One of the testimonies central to the work of Bringing Hope is how God has opened doors and forged links beyond the expectation and imagination of all who work on the project. It was through one of these links that Bringing Hope were invited to lead a service at a church called The Well which is based on Top Barn, a farm in Worcester on Sunday 4th March 2007.
Richard Nicol, a Bringing Hope Executive has been sharing the vision of Bringing Hope with his church colleagues since he got involved with the project two years ago. His passion led to them pray for Bringing Hope and then to offer their services and resources similarly to how the Christians did in the book of Acts. Worcester has its own concerns, which challenge the perception that social exclusion, disaffection and its manifestations are inner city problems. As Bringing Hope forges ahead, key to our strategy is to spread the word that these issues are not limited to race, religion, and culture or even to the city or the countryside.
When Jesus made that ground breaking declaration in Luke 4 verse 18 He did not say that He was anointed to preach the good news solely to the Pharisees, or that He was to heal the broken-hearted Samaritans only. His message and practice was universal and natural – a way we aspire to operate even if it takes us into the suburbs, to the core of country life or to the heart of the inner city.
