The Cross’ Prayer Request

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Welcome to The Cross’ Prayer Request Page

David and Barbara Cross

February  2010
Newsletter

Dear Purpose-filled Partners

Watching the Calendar

It has been 3 months since the last Cross Purposes was sent out. We have seen the familiar calendar dates of Christmas and New Year—but I like February: By the middle of February here in England one can see that the days are getting longer, the tips of the daffodils are pushing up around the garden with all the promise that holds, and the snowdrops are in bloom. Barbara and I both have our birthdays in February but the month marks much more than that for us, especially this year. It was 40 years ago this month that we landed in Perth, Western  Australia and our adventure in cross-cultural church planting began—How little we knew.

Ministry Events

Our personal ministry has been varied—preaching, telephone conversations with people who need advice, emails by the score, reports for Mission to the World, committee meetings to attend with our partner churches, etc. But there are highlights—the visit of the young adults/university students from the Cheltenham church who came for lunch, and reported to others that “the Crosses are not boring” and they are looking forward to coming again in March; the opportunity to baptise the 3rd daughter of our pastor at Cheltenham; Barbara’s teaching the women’s group in Cheltenham.

Team Developments

While no new people have yet arrived progress has been made for those planning to come for short-term service: Joshua Jacobs will be doing a summer internship in Cardiff (Immanuel Church); Tom and Melody Hartman will also do a summer internship in Cardiff (Bethel Church); Megan Hodge is progressing on support to  do a one year Internship in London beginning in the late summer. Joshua and Gina Rieger have completed Readiness Evaluation to continue the process of becoming long-term missionaries with our team. Benjamin Wontrop has applied for a one-semester internship in winter/spring 2011.

Chris and Zhenya Bear are planning to take a brief Home Ministry Assignment (HMA) this summer and are facing questions about what their service will be when they return—do they go back to Canada Water and/or Surrey Docks or is it time to plant a new work elsewhere in London? I am working with them on this issue.

Bill and Pam Schweitzer are also planning a brief HMA this summer. They plan to leave the Gateshead church in the care of a ministerial student who is under care of the EPCEW—Marcus Hobson who did a winter placement with the church in January.

Partner denominations

You may recall that we work with both the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) and the International Presbyterian Church (IPC). Both have British men doing church planting. You recall that we participated in the early days of the work in Solihull (Birmingham) which is now led by EPCEW Minister, Stephen Dancer. That church has seen significant growth in the past several months with families who sought them out for their biblical ministry and theological commitments. I reported some months ago that Matthew Roberts was planting an IPC church in York. They too have seen growth. Both churches look to American churches and or MTW for financial help. At one of the committee meetings mentioned above plans were discussed for a church plant (EPCEW) in Sheffield under the leadership of Kevin Bidwell, a recent PhD graduate and an experienced minister. He too will need financial help with this project.

Barbara’s Ministry

The past several months have involved hours and hours of telephone discussions to plan the retreat for MTW women in Europe. That came to an end last week with 60+ women gathered in Spain for a time of fellowship and spiritual food.

We are also happy to announce that the editing/proofreading has been completed on her 110 page book, Studies in the Lives of the Kings of Israel and Judah. These are available from us in PDF format for either A4 (metric) or Letter (North American) size paper. If you want a copy, please let us know and state the page size (A4 or Letter). If you want me to print off a copy there will be a charge for printing and shipping. It will be on A4. Some people have already used parts of this for teaching small-group Bible studies, but the notes are also great for personal devotional reading as I can personally attest.

Barbara also continues to write articles for two Christian magazines—mostly brief biographies from church history.

With Thanks for Prayers and Support—David L Cross

Support Donations should be sent to: Mission to the World, PO Box 116284, Atlanta,, GA  30368-6284 and marked for the
Account of David Cross, A/c # 011126  —  Please Note: this address is only for donations.

David L Cross

_______________

MTW – Country Coordinator for England & Wales

15 Key Avenue

Worcester WR4 0LT

United Kingdom

Tel: (01905) 612-830

Email: D.Cross@talktalk.net

———————————————-

January 2010
Newsletter

Dear Friends and Partners in Ministry

As most of you know, my wife, Barbara, has a ministry of writing. She now contributes regularly to two magazines – the Monthly Record is the official magazine of the Free Church of Scotland and The Messenger is the magazine of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Australia. She combines her love of history, especially church history, with her ability to focus on the essence of a story as she writes brief biographical sketches for these publications. We thought we would share her latest contribution to The Messenger with you. It has not yet been published there.

As usual, you have her permission to print this for use in your church, but not for publication for profit. Please give credit to Barbara Cross.

Rodney “Gypsy” Smith

As a young preteen, living in a home with few books, I still managed to find on our shelves a jewel that I read and re-read several times over my teenage years. The book that fascinated me was not about a current movie star or fashion model. It was about a gypsy who had died a few years after I was born. Little did I, as a teenager, know that someday I would live in the same area of England where this gypsy boy was born, was converted to Christ and became a world famous preacher.

Rodney Smith was born in 1860 (though it was many years later before he knew the exact date of his birth) to gypsy parents living in a tent in Epping Forest, Essex, England. His family made a living, as many gypsies did, selling small items like homemade clothes pegs and baskets. His father also earned money playing his violin at pubs while Rodney would dance and then collect money from the customers. Because of their wandering life Rodney received no education.

When Rodney was a young boy his sister contracted smallpox. The family was told to leave town. The father set up camp and stayed with his daughter away from the wagon where the rest of the family stayed in an attempt to keep the rest of the family from this dreadful illness. However, both Rodney’s brother and mother came down with smallpox.

As Rodney’s mother lay dying, his father, who was not yet a Christian, shared with his wife the gospel that he had heard while in prison. As he went outside to hide his tears he heard her singing the words, “I have a father in the Promised Land. My God calls me. I must go to meet him in the Promised Land.” Through hearing the gospel from her unconverted husband she had placed her faith in Christ and sang a song that she had heard as a child when camped on a village green near a chapel.

Rodney’s father wanted to be good but found that he was unable. He learned that two of his brothers were also struggling spiritually. When the three men visited a tavern the woman innkeeper confessed that she too was troubled by her sins. She found a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress and read it to the men. Rodney’s father learned where there was a chapel that preached the gospel. All three men attended a meeting and all three were converted. Their lives were changed and immediately they began to preach and sing about the gospel.

The testimony of his father made Rodney determine to follow Christ. As he stood in Bedford England at the foot of the statue of John Bunyan, the writer of Pilgrim’s Progress, he said to himself, “By the grace of God, I will be a Christian and I will meet my mother in heaven.“ A few days later he attended a chapel meeting in Cambridge where he went forward to receive Christ. His father wept tears of joy to know of his conversion. Rodney bought a Bible, an English dictionary and a Bible Dictionary and studied them everywhere he went teaching himself to read in order that one day he might preach He would sing to others and became known as “the singing gypsy boy.”

At a Salvation Army convention General William Booth met up with “the singing gypsies” and realised after hearing Rodney preach and sing that here was a young man that could be used in an evangelistic ministry. He served with the Salvation Army for the next six years.

In 1879 he married Annie Pennock who had been converted through his ministry. From this marriage were born three children. All of these children followed their father and mother in the faith and went on to serve the Lord in various ways.

During his years with the Salvation Army and after he left that organisation hundreds of people came to hear him preach on street corners and gospel halls. It was while ministering in Hull in the north of England that the name “Gypsy Smith” became attached to him.

In 1883 he made his first trip abroad to preach in Sweden. He continued to travel and preach constantly across the UK until in 1889 he left Liverpool to make his first trip to America. Because he was unknown there it was a slow start to his ministry until he was invited to speak to a church in Brooklyn. During his three week crusade the auditorium that held 1,500 was packed for each meeting. He then travelled across America where thousands came to hear him.

On his third trip to America, in 1892, this once uneducated gypsy was invited to hold some “drawing room meetings” in mansions owned by people in the upper classes of New York City. Though he spoke to people like Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, wife of one of the richest men in the world, he did not hesitate to speak on the subject of “repentance.” When questioned how he felt about preaching to these people of wealth and position he said, “I only remembered that they were sinners needing a Saviour.”

In 1894 he made his first trip to Australia where he held a six-week campaign in Adelaide. From there he went on to hold meetings in Melbourne and Sydney. His itinerary was aborted when he learned that his wife was ill but he had become so well known that when he met the boat to return to England 2000 people came to see him off. Later on the way home he learned that Annie, his wife, was much better so he continued with preaching once again in America. During his time there he met President Grover Cleveland. Blind Fanny Crosby was in one of his meetings in Washington DC and it was there he sang one of her hymns.

Following a trip to South Africa where it was estimated that 300,000 people attended his meetings he again went to America where he held 50 meetings in Boston. But it was for France that he carried a special burden. In Paris he was able to speak to the upper crust of society at the Paris Opera House.

During World War One he returned to France where he ministered for three and a half years to the English troops on the front line. In gratitude for this ministry King George V honoured him by making him a member the Order of the British Empire. The years following the war saw him minster to thousands again in the United Kingdom, Australia and America

On the 60th anniversary of his conversion he preached in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in America with 5,000 in attendance. He sang his favourite song “He is Mine” and hundreds came to Christ. Sadly while in America his dear wife Annie died at the age of 70.

A year later there were newspaper headlines all over the world when he remarried at age 78 to Mary Alice Shaw who was 27! Though some expressed sharp criticism of this marriage Mary Alice was a constant help to him in his evangelistic outreach, acting as his secretary while he continued to hold large meetings and then nursing him faithfully when his strength began to fail.

He toured America and Canada from 1939 to 1945 before returning home with Mary Alice to England. However, as he became weaker it was thought that perhaps the sunshine of Florida might help to restore his health. Once again he sailed to America but three miles out of New York City he suffered a heart attack and died at sea on “The Queen Mary”. His funeral was held at the Fifth Presbyterian Church in that great city.

Once Gypsy Smith had said, “I didn’t go through your colleges and seminaries. They wouldn’t have me but I have been to the feet of Jesus where the only true scholarship is learned.”

Often as he preached Gypsy Smith would burst into song. One song that he wrote and sang which summed up the lifelong passion of this once simple gypsy boy said,

Christ, the Transforming Light,

Touches this heart of mine;

Piercing the darkest night,

Making His glory shine.

Oh, to reflect His grace,

Causing the world to see,

Love that will glow

‘Til others shall know

Jesus revealed in me.

David L Cross

_______________

MTW – Country Coordinator for England & Wales

15 Key Avenue

Worcester WR4 0LT

United Kingdom

Tel: (01905) 612-830

Email: D.Cross@talktalk.net

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