Sunday School Sunday, February 15, 2026

Missionary Report

Service Outline & Sermon Notes

Service outline and sermon notes automatically generated from video content.

Order of Service

  • Missionary Presentation — Brett (MTW missionary to Leeds, England)
  • Question and Answer Session
  • Closing Prayer

Sermon Title: Ministry and Revival in Northern England

Scripture: None cited

I. Context and Need for Gospel Work in England

A. The United Kingdom — geography and demographics

  1. England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland make up the UK
  2. Leeds is in West Yorkshire in northern England — the economic hub of the north

B. The spiritual state of Yorkshire is dire

  1. Don Carson quote: only 0.9% of people attend church even once a month in Yorkshire; evangelicals are just 0.4%
  2. Both figures are still falling
  3. This is comparable to the spiritual state of Japan, the largest unreached people group in the world
  4. Yorkshire has over 5 million people — more than the population of Scotland — but far fewer churches

C. Historical context: England gave the church the Westminster Confession of Faith, yet is now largely post-Christian

  1. Older generations had negative experiences with institutional church
  2. Younger generations have no context for church at all — which is creating unexpected openness

II. The International Presbyterian Church and Church Planting

A. The IPC was founded through the ministry of Francis Schaeffer in the 1950s

  1. For decades only two or three churches existed
  2. In the past 10–15 years, approximately 15 churches have been planted
  3. The denomination now has 27 churches in the British Presbytery

B. Half of those 27 churches are still mission churches under care of the church planting committee

  1. Many lack elders, established membership, or sufficient internal giving
  2. The IPC also has presbyteries in Korea, a Korean-speaking presbytery in the UK, and a mission presbytery on the European continent

C. Brett's church in Leeds was planted around 2017

  1. The church was recovering from COVID disruption when Brett and his family arrived three and a half years ago
  2. Elders are now in place; internal giving is growing
  3. The church has no permanent building — meeting in a hired event venue on Sunday mornings
  4. Lack of available and affordable buildings is a widespread challenge for churches across the UK

III. The Work in Leeds

A. Brett's ministry roles include elder (co-opted), men's ministry, midweek community groups and prayer meetings, premarital and marriage counseling, and administrative work

B. Valerie's ministry includes women's Bible study, one-to-one discipleship with women, and serving as church treasurer

C. The Spring Getaway conference

  1. An annual conference for IPC church members across the denomination
  2. Designed to connect Christian families who are otherwise isolated in a largely non-Christian culture
  3. Now in its third year, with over 500 expected attendees

D. Ministry to internationals

  1. On any given Sunday, up to 20 different nations are represented in the congregation
  2. Recent membership class included couples from Nigeria, Hong Kong, and various parts of Europe and the UK
  3. International residents tend to be more spiritually receptive than locally-born residents

E. Student ministry is growing significantly

  1. Approximately 30–40 students attending church regularly on Sundays
  2. A midweek Bible study is also running
  3. RUF is being established in the UK, beginning with a worker in London; student ministry in Leeds operates through the local church rather than a campus organization model

IV. The Quiet Revival

A. A movement of the Spirit appears to be underway among young people across the UK and Europe

  1. Bible sales have risen sharply
  2. Young men in particular are coming to church with no prior church background
  3. Colleagues in Germany and elsewhere are observing the same phenomenon

B. This growth is not the result of a particular strategy or evangelistic program

  1. The church has simply been preaching the gospel faithfully
  2. People who have no negative associations with Christianity are encountering it fresh and finding it compelling

C. Example: Jack, a university student with a difficult background, began watching YouTube videos and reading the Bible on his own, came to church, professed faith, was baptized, and is now a church member

D. Evangelism approach: straightforward Bible teaching through introductory courses

  1. The courses open up Scripture and ask basic questions — Who is Jesus? What does the Bible say?
  2. Brett emphasized being upfront about the church's beliefs rather than using indirect methods
  3. Mainline churches accommodating the culture are declining; holding fast to biblical distinctives draws people who are looking for something genuinely different

V. Challenges Facing the Church

A. Cultural and legal pressures

  1. Conversion therapy legislation has been proposed that could restrict biblical counsel
  2. Buffer zones around abortion clinics restrict public prayer nearby
  3. A church building was lost after an online activist group pressured the host denomination over a sermon on Romans 1

B. Economic pressures affect the young congregation

  1. Approximately 90% of the congregation is under 40; 80% under 30
  2. Housing costs, low wages, and inflation make this demographic financially fragile
  3. The church draws around 200 on a Sunday morning but remains vulnerable to transience

C. Christian education for children

  1. With only 0.4% of the population being evangelical, children in the church have virtually no Christian peers at school
  2. Homeschooling is a growing trend among Christian families in Leeds
  3. Private Christian schools face increasing government regulatory and tax burdens
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