The story centres on an ordinary, decent, hardworking family man, who encounters a young girl  suffering from acts of cruelty at the hands of nuns in his local town. He is faced with the decision  of whether to confront this injustice, risking his family’s flourishing in a town kept in check by  religious powers, or will he look the other way?  

Whilst things have changed rapidly in Ireland since 1985, when this story is set, the long shadow  of shame still lingers. There have been various stories of abuse in churches, schools, and  religious institutions like homes for unmarried mothers and babies, which provides some of the  context for why 92% of Ireland attended Roman Catholic Masses in 1975 and only 27% in 2022.  14% of population in 2022 stated having no religion (less than 0.1% in 1961).  

In such a context where religion has been seen to be bad news, how can the good news of Jesus  make an impact again? The surprising story which doesn’t dominate the media is how a growing evangelical / Christian Church from a beautiful breadth of backgrounds are rooting themselves  down as a faithful presence bringing good news to local communities. Places where people are  being equipped as disciples who will make disciples, as they come alongside others to walk with  them towards Jesus. A Jesus who was just as angry about hypocrisy and cold hearted religiosity,  and how following Him brings surprising freedom from shame and abundant grace and mercy.  

This is a story we are glad to be part of and contribute to. In 2019 research by Evangelical  Alliance Ireland, Growing and Vibrant, found over 500 Christian churches outside main  denominations, of which 58% had grown in last five years, and 88% expected to see further  growth in the next five years. There are many small towns who still need to hear. 72 Irish towns  with over 5000 people have no gospel centred church sharing this good news.  

Please pray for the ECM team as we seek to develop others in church planting and discipleship,  both from within Ireland, and those who come here to serve. In this way we would love to start, to  stimulate, and to strengthen gospel centred churches in these small towns, as well as those  growing currently in Waterford, West Cork, and Mayo. Small towns like these matter to Jesus,  and so they should matter to us. 

Written by Colin Holmes, ECM Worker in Ireland