Everyday Evangelism: Revd Glyn Jones

Setting God's People Free is a Church of England initiative to encourage, equip and enable one another to live out the good news of Jesus, and follow him with confidence, in all areas of our lives, Monday to Saturday as well as Sunday. In doing so, we recognise that as Christians we are all, lay and ordained, equal partners in mission with complementary gifts and vocations, as we witness to others in our homes, workplaces, churches and communities.

Everyday Evangelism is a series of stories and reflections on the ways in which people and parishes in the Diocese of Chester are rising to the challenge of everyday evangelism. 

 


 

The Revd Glyn Jones
Chester Christ Church 

As a Self-Supporting Minister and co-leader of The Light Project, I teach and lead groups in mission and evangelism. While I am involved in lots of ‘official activities’, the part of my life which has the biggest impact is what I would call ‘everyday evangelism’ or what some people would call missional lifestyle. Although I help lead outreach, take part in Alpha and help organise a variety of events, it is the small stuff that I love the best. The extent of the kingdom of heaven in our lives can be seen in the small habits and decisions we make in our everyday lives. Changing our habits is something we do all the time: wake up earlier, eat more healthily, drink less and so on – all habits that we adjust daily by making small decisions based on intention. Small intentions like carrying an object with you each day as a gift to offer someone, deciding to pay for a stranger’s coffee, or leaving a prayer on the bus are small intentions that change your life, change other people’s lives and reveal the extent of the kingdom of God.

Each day I take three objects out with me: my phone, my keys and my wallet. When I forget one of these, it soon becomes apparent and I become unable to function as planned that day. I can’t get in the car, can’t pay for my drink and then come home to a list of irate texts asking why I am not answering my phone. A while back, I decided that I would add an extra essential object to my list. Packing a little wooden cross, a battered metal heart or a pocket Bible would be part of my new daily routine and, if the occasion arose, I would give it away.


Glyn is a SSM at Christ Church, Chester; Storyteller, Everyday Evangelist and Co-Leader of The Light Project

So that’s what I do. As a result of this little habit, hundreds of people in shops, parks, hospitals and trains have been reminded of God’s love for them. I constantly meet people in and around Chester who still keep with them the reminder I gave them and when I see them, they show me. It’s often a reminder to me to pray for them and of the relationships that build on such gestures of faith.

I have also noticed that when a group of friends, colleagues or a church develop this simple habit, the hundreds become thousands, and the extent of the kingdom of God spreads like a virus in our society. Developing a culture of challenge, fun and simplicity will bring life back to the routine of any group of people. St David, the Welsh Celtic saint, is reported to have said in some of his last words to his monks: ‘Do the little things, the small things that you have heard and seen me do.’ Somebody else once said that if you are not planning to do something, you are planning not to do it, and there is truth in this. So why not try a little thing. Start small. Look at what you carry around each day and plan to take something extra with you: a small reminder or a gift for a friend or a stranger. God occasionally works through our grand designs to change people’s lives, but He continually responds to our small steps. This is because they are rooted in something powerful. That something is called faith.

 


 

The Revd Glyn Jones is the author of The Peg and the Pumice Stone, a collection of true-life short-stories which seek to debunk the myth that sharing good news is the domain of a select group of gifted people. He says: "It is a gift given to all of us and comes in endless shapes and sizes." The book is available from 21 March 2019  at Waterstones, Amazon and Eden for £7.99.

Page last updated: Wednesday 20th March 2019 11:57 AM
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