Jesus said
"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath"
Mark 2 v 27
Day One literature helping churches
Morley is a town of 28,000 souls located in the West Yorkshire conurbation. Once dominated by textile mills, mines and nonconformist chapels, it is now typical of many communities throughout the UK. Its industries have gone. Many of the chapels have closed and those that remain are a shadow of their glory years. Evangelical witness is at a low ebb.
A decade ago a small congregational church was planted in the town – Morley Community Church. Evangelism has been painfully slow in the face of apathy from its close knit working class community. Undeterred, the small congregation of twenty people have persevered in evangelism. Literature supplied by Day One has played a major role in their outreach.
Over the last eight years they have distributed a total of 28,000 Living Word calendars to local residents.
Church secretary Andy Dalton explained that the quality and price of the calendars have made them a key tool in their literature evangelism. Linking up with a local pensioner’s organisation, copies are given to each of the 1500 members of Morley Elderly Action. Thousands more are delivered along with church publicity through local letterboxes.
Andy said “the beautiful colour photographs, bold dates, hand size and clear scripture texts of the calendars are highly popular. We receive many positive comments about them from local residents.”
One church member is so enthusiastic about the calendars that he markets a further 18,000 calendars each year through his extensive church networks throughout the north of England.
The congregation organises an annual Outreach Week with a Bible Exhibition in six local primary schools. 500 pupils attend these. Every year a Day One Footsteps of the Past book is given to each child attending these exhibitions including John Bunyan, the Old Testament through the British Museum and the New Testament through the British Museum. Accompanying books in the “Travel with ….” Series are presented to teachers of each class teacher.
Church Pastor Rev Captain Stephen Wright said that in a society with little knowledge of the bible, it was important to get good quality Christian literature into as many homes as possible. While there was a significant financial commitment for a very small church the congregation felt it was money well spent.
Hundreds of children’s books, cards and book marks - all supplied by Day One - have been used by the church as prizes in children’s clubs and holiday bible clubs. One enterprising church member organised a sheep shearing event for children in the town centre pedestrian precinct – and sold Day One colouring books and pencils to families attending. He even persuaded a local children’s soft play centre to purchase several hundred scripture text pencils from Day One to put in their children’s party bags.
Church Secretary Andy Dalton has recently been elected Mayor of the town. He is a long standing and enthusiastic Day One supporter. He plans to present a Living Word calendar to every town councillor at Christmas.
He concluded “We are thankful to Day One for their help and support. It has been invaluable. A wide range of literature, quality products, generous discounts and prompt delivery have been available to us. A town which has been devoid of evangelical witness for many years is being effectively reached through the medium of calendars and books supplied to Day One.”
Morley Community Church is a mission congregation of the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (EFCC)