The Methods have Changed but the Message has not

Janet and Johnathan Slater run The Faith Mission camp centre just outside Bandon, Co. Cork. Their passion is to find creative ways to share the Good News of Jesus with people in rural west Cork. Here Janet, who is originally from Co. Donegal, tells us about their work.

(From the January - March 2020 issue of VOX)

I left Donegal in 2000 and went to Edinburgh for Bible College. That’s where I met Johnathan, who is from Cumbria. After we were married, we worked for The Faith Mission and they asked us to move here.

We manage The Faith Mission camp centre in Carhue just outside Bandon. It is a fantastic residential facility (with accommodation for 70 people) that churches use for weekends away, residential youth programmes and much more.

As well as the day-to-day maintenance that is needed to keep the centre going, our work is really varied. No two weeks look the same.

I do a lot of work with women and children. I run a mum’s Bible study group here at the camp centre. It is much more than a “mums and tots” group. The mums have a Bible study and the children also have a Bible story.

We love to help local churches and Johnathan does a lot of Sunday preaching around the county. Recently I was involved in a team that started a Mainly Music group in Bandon [Ed note: Readers will remember the Finding Faith Tour report about the Mainly Music programme in Dublin]. This has been such a great way to get to know people in the community. From the contacts made, one woman came in to our recent Book Day and asked to know more about the Lord and I’ve even met some of my own neighbours through Mainly Music.

I used to be a chef. I’ve always loved cooking and I wanted the Lord to use that skill in whatever way He chose, so I started a women’s outreach night called ‘Cameo@Carhue’. I do a cookery demonstration on a particular theme. A local believer will come and share her testimony and then we all enjoy supper together. It is a lovely relaxed evening that draws people from all different churches and some from no church background at all.

“I’ve always loved cooking and I wanted the Lord to use that skill in whatever way He chose.”

We run weekly kids clubs, one at the centre and another in a housing estate in Bandon. Every year, we do a Christmas outreach meal during the first week in December so we invite all the (kids club) families to come along. We cook a dinner for around 100 people. Our guests enjoy a four-course meal and play some games, and there is an short talk at the end. It is so exciting when the families come.

Every month, we have an outreach lunch called ‘Oasis@Carhue’, which is mainly attended by elderly folks and after lunch we have a singsong followed by a Gospel thought. It has been really beneficial for some older people who are living on their own to come and meet new friends, and enjoy a home-cooked meal.

During the summer time, the centre hosts children’s camps and a family camp. People come from across Cork, from Limerick, and even from as far over as Waterford. There is also a camp reunion (“a sleepover”) every January. Other groups also run camps throughout the year.

The Faith Mission has a number of prayer groups around Cork and we also have a prayer meeting in our home every week. Johnathan has organised some sports evenings and tractor theme nights but he would love to see more happening for the men in the area.

“Nowadays, we need to think more creatively to find ways of sharing that unchanging message!”

The Faith Mission started with a Glasgow businessman in 1886 with the motto, “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” Many people in the north of Ireland would be familiar with the Faith Mission Christian Bookshops. But the original vision of the Faith Mission was to reach out with the Gospel, especially in more rural areas. Around 100 years ago, Faith Mission teams would go out in twos and set up a mission hall. They would organise a week of Gospel meetings and often many people would come along. In some areas this still happens but as time has gone on, things have changed in our society. The methods we use have changed but the message has not. Nowadays, we need to think more creatively to find ways of sharing that unchanging message!

There is a local family near Skibbereen who have had a monthly Gospel meeting in their home for many years, which is run by The Faith Mission. They also have been running a Christmas Carol Service in their home with many people coming along. In fact, the service was attracting so many people that they decided to build an extension on their home! Last year, 149 people crowded into the house for the Carol Service. This family have such a strong testimony that people want to come along! We love to help out and Johnathan sometimes shares the Gospel message at this event.

Find out more about the work of the Faith Mission at www.faithmission.org.