The first half of July saw a rare, if not unique, event in recent years in Ballymena: 15 local churches and pupils from three of the town’s secondary schools taking part in a joint prayer marathon/relay, praying for the local community, the church, and the whole island of Ireland.

The Ballymena leg of the Year of Prayer for Ireland had over 150 hours of prayer and at least 300 people (from teenagers right through to pensioners) taking part and took place, for the most part, in the Ballymena House of Prayer in Paradise Avenue, Harryville, Ballymena. Two churches had a rota of people praying at home. One church had people praying at each of the bonfire sites on the 11th and along the parade route, praying for safety and a peaceful atmosphere. Most churches have had people praying between 7am and 7pm. One church managed to cover a full 24-hour period. The Prayer Room was set up by young people from four different churches as an environment conducive to prayer, and as a creative space with worship CDs, space for art work and poetry, maps of Ballymena and Ireland, newspapers and prayer guides (see photos). A prayer diary was filled by people taking part and these reveal a heartfelt desire to see revival and greater unity in diversity, and a community transformed by greater cohesion and a reduction in crime, addictions and sectarian hatred. A map of the town was covered by post-its showing what the different churches are already doing in terms of serving the community; next to it a “dream wall” was filled reflecting what people want to see happening in the town. The Ballymena watch ended with an informal joint celebration service handing over the “baton” of prayer to Coleraine.

So hands up who’s done a short term overseas mission trip in the last year? Ok, keep your hands up if you’re preparing to go overseas this summer? I imagine most of you have a hand in the air. Can I be the first to commend you and say well done, as there is so much need in a world that really does feel like just on your doorstep.

So hands up who’s done a short term overseas mission trip in the last year? Ok, keep your hands up if you’re preparing to go overseas this summer? I imagine most of you have a hand in the air. Can I be the first to commend you and say well done, as there is so much need in a world that really does feel like just on your doorstep.

Ireland is such a huge ‘sending’ nation. This isn’t a new thing: Ireland’s ancient Celtic Church and its missionaries took the gospel to many nations in Europe and beyond one and a half millennia ago, and it continues that tradition both beautifully and generously. Having lived and worked as a missionary in Spain for 3 years, we received at least 10 teams solely from Ireland over the years. And the impact they had was glorious. Yet I can’t help thinking: what about Ireland?

The implications of an overseas trip are many: fundraising, injections, huge costs, and weeks of preparation and meetings. Don’t get me wrong I’ve experienced firsthand the power that a short-term overseas mission trip has – the way it draws you closer to God, changes your outlook and thinking and directs the course of your life.

Yet the challenge still stands: what about Ireland? Let that simmer in your mind as you sip your coffee.

At the start of June, a group of us piled into some cars and did a prayer trip that took us up to Donegal and then past Sligo into the beautiful county of Mayo. Maybe you read about it on here. The need for the gospel was apparent, and if ever there was an unreached area, I saw it firsthand. I know those of you reading this live and work and breathe on these shores, and your every day work and sense of mission is blurred, as it should be, and you see yourself as a missionary to the people around you. Yet there’s got to be something more.

During a prayer meeting a few months ago, someone shared their vision for a team to the North Coast, to pray and witness to the thousands that holiday there in the summer months. And so I started praying, sharing the idea with a few people, and got very excited. What a privilege, an honour even, to take the gospel to these Irish shores, to people you can relate to and share so many things in common, let alone who speak the same language as you.

So put your hands up, no, throw your hands up in the air if you’ve got a heart for mission? OK, keep your hands up if you’re NOT yet going anywhere this summer? If so, then I’d love to hear from you. Have a think about if you can give over your August bank holiday weekend to mission.

The vision is simple: To get amongst the people who live, work and play up the North Coast, to set up a prayer room from which we engage with people, sharing the good news of Jesus, being kind and generous with our love.

Bruce Gardiner-Crehan