The following priorities were agreed by the Movement in 2007. The priorities reflect two core beliefs: (1) We believe God is calling us to minister within Wales in particular ways. And (2) We believe that Wales’ needs are greater than can be met through human effort and through the EMW alone. Therefore our priorities reflect two strands: our aspirations (which are our dreams, and our prayers); and our actions (which with God’s help will go some way towards realising those dreams).
We believe that God is calling us to prioritise:
Evangelism and Church Planting
Stimulating desire and providing opportunities for, church reformation, church-planting, national evangelism and prayer.
Aspirations:
- Every Bible-centred church in Wales to be actively involved in extending the reach of the gospel in Wales.
- Every community in Wales with a population of more than 1,000 to have a church where the gospel is preached in their first language.
- Every person in Wales to have a realistic opportunity of hearing the gospel personally, and in their first language.
- Every Christian in Wales to have an active and prayerful concern for evangelism across Wales.
Actions:
- Alert Christians to the spiritual needs of the whole nation.
- Stimulate churches to be imaginative and effective in their evangelism.
- Foster prayer for a national spiritual awakening.
- Provide people, teams and resources to all gospel churches who request them.
Networking & Co-operation
Providing opportunities for meaningful co-operation and fellowship between all gospel ministers, Bible-centred churches and individual Christians
Aspirations
- Every Bible-centred church in Wales to be prayerfully aware of the needs and encouragements of gospel ministries throughout the nation.
- Every such church to regularly work with other Bible-centred churches.
- Every gospel minister in Wales to be actively involved in stimulating, ‘must-go’ fraternals.
- Every Christian in Wales to have meaningful and regular fellowship with Christians from other churches.
Actions:
- Strengthen existing ministries such as conferences, camps, magazine, website and prayer letters to better support these aspirations.
- Facilitate deeper fellowship and meaningful partnerships between churches.
- Ensure that fraternals are compelling and meeting the needs of men in ministry.
- Work appropriately with all other Bible-centred church-based and church-serving organisations, including providing a ‘national voice’ to the media.
Biblical literacy and discipling
Ensuring that relevant and biblical resources, teaching, and discipling are widely available
Aspirations
- All Christians in Wales to have a wide-range of quality resources and teaching available in their language.
- All Christians in Wales of all ages to know and love the Bible, know its power, correctly handle it, and help themselves and others to live by it.
- All Christians in Wales to be within easy reach of a Christian bookstall that stocks reliable, relevant literature and other resources.
- All Christians in Wales to be listening to sermons each week that are exegetically accurate and doctrinally substantial, with pointed application and supernatural authority.
- All Christians in Wales to exercise a theological and critical faculty, stimulated by the teaching of pastor-theologians who know and understand Wales.
- All people in Wales to have good understanding of the Bible’s content and message.
Actions:
- Encourage, train and give opportunity to new writers.
- Invest in Welsh-language resources that are contemporary and biblical.
- Ensure that bookshops have better ministries to Christians, are better businesses, and are better outposts for the gospel.
- Encourage churches to establish bookstalls in their own buildings, in markets and at car-boot sales.
- Develop the use of the internet to cheaply distribute quality materials.
Training & Leadership
Offering encouragement and training for church leaders and future leaders
Aspirations
- Every church in Wales to be actively and imaginatively encouraging and facilitating young men and women to develop their gifts and understand the call of God.
- Every pastor in Wales to have access to, and opportunity for, continued training throughout his ministry.
- Every church in Wales to enjoy dynamic, spiritual leadership.
- Every church in Wales to have older women training and leading younger women.
- Every young Christian in Wales to have access to an inter-church youth group which encourages, develops and teaches them regularly.
Actions:
- Improve our partnership with Bible colleges and others who offer training.
- Extend existing training ministries such as Saturday Bible Schools and the TTC.
- Develop and create regular opportunities for ministers and other preachers to continue training, both at existing conferences and through longer-term courses.
- Work with pastors and churches to encourage mentoring and training of young men and women.
- Share resources and experience to encourage the establishment of more women’s conferences and inter-church youth groups.