In a thoughtful and wide ranging sermon given in a city that had been devastated by floods only a couple of weeks earlier, the Archbishop called upon the newly commissioned evangelists to be "all weather" evangelists not waiting for the sun to come out and shine as it very rarely does, but "getting out there in all weathers" to share the gospel through words and actions. He said the Christ Jesus they serve is alive and working in the world and cannot be constrained or trapped within the covers of any book.

"God in Christ must be accessible to all -- tell others what you know and your experience will bring joy and new beginnings for those you encounter," he added. The Archbishop also called on the church to renew its focus on mission and evangelism and share with confidence an authentic and international gospel to our communities.

In blessing each one of the evangelists he admitted to the office of evangelist within the Anglican church, the Archbishop told the new recruits to bring, joy, passion and commitment to their ministry as they had the best news in the world to share. The name and story of Jesus should be constantly on their lips, he said

At the commissioning service that was held the day before, Church Army's Chief Executive Officer Mark Russell urged the new evangelists to show compassion and love in their ministry so that people can have hope in the Christian gospel.

"Today, we commission you to love, to show compassion, especially to those considered most unlovable," Russell said.

He told the evangelists: "Jesus spent time with the prostitutes, tax collectors and immoral of the day. He spent time with those considered unclean. He didn’t just spend time with those people, he loved them. He showed them compassion, he became their friend. He didn’t stick his nose up in the air and avoid people that others judged. He got in amongst them. That’s your job, get alongside people and love them in Jesus name. Allow Jesus to change you, and let you see them through his eyes."

Russell continued: "Many times we read throughout the gospels of Jesus coming upon a sick person and having compassion on them. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus; he had pity and compassion on the blind and sick. The sick of Jesus’ day were outcasts. They didn’t have the medical knowledge that we do now, so many times the diseased were just thrown out like the rubbish. The blind couldn’t work so they often had to beg for money. We read of a lame man who sat by a pool hoping to be healed. The lepers were total outcasts, they couldn’t worship, they were taken outside the city walls and every time they walked by they had to shout, 'Unclean, unclean!' Jesus had compassion on those very people."

Russell said: "Matthew (in his Gospel) says the crowd Jesus saw was harassed and helpless….stressed, anxious, worried, ill, hurting, and burdened, burned out and maybe even depressed…people haven’t changed. Today people are harassed and helpless. Young people are stressed at school, worried they wont get the grades and not get a decent job. The elderly are worried about whether their pension can make ends meet. Whether they can afford to have the second bar of the electric fire on when its cold outside. The ill are worried about their health, the results of tests, stressed and worried about whether they can afford to be sick. The refugee is worried that he will be deported, the alcoholic is in a downward spiral he can't escape from. People are worried they are going to lose their jobs, not be able to pay the mortgage, whether their neighbor will think they are not a success…The lady in the tower block is worried she will be a victim of crime, the young man on the estate is worried he will be dragged into a downward spiral of crime and drugs. People are harassed and helpless. Jesus saw a crowd of people, harassed and helpless…not much has changed has it?"

Russell said that people were like sheep without a shepherd "out there are nibbling their way to lostness. They need hope. They need to know life has a meaning, life has a purpose, that God loves them…The Christian message gives direction to life, purpose to life, and meaning to life. Christianity offers a place to belong. Compassion is defined in the dictionary as a deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it. In the Message, Peterson translates this verse as Jesus heart was broken for the needs of those he saw. The Greek word that we translate as 'compassion' more literally means 'to have the bowels groan.' In other words it’s a feeling that is deep inside you."

Russell explained to the evangelists that: "The very DNA of this (Church Army) society is to share faith in words and action. Whether at Marylebone helping women who are homeless, or Amber helping young people who self harm, or Grafted in Scotland helping young people get off substances, whether Alison Wooding helping the elderly, time and time again, all over these islands, Church Army shows compassion to help make the lives of people better. Making history and bringing hope."

Russell said that: "Love can't be taught, you can't do a module in love here in college. You need today to ask God to give you more and more of his heart, the Father Heart of Love for those whom he has called you to work with. We need to see people through the eyes of Jesus. Because as The Archbishop of Canterbury puts it, when you see another human being you see someone who Jesus took seriously enough to die for.

"So that’s your job as a Church Army Evangelist, to love people as Christ loves them. As I look at you today I think to myself what could God do with you. You guys are talented, you are gifted, you are anointed, you are called.
What could God do with you…?"

He told them: "You haven’t just seen the needs of the world and sat back and thought oh well I hope someone does something about it…you have put your hand up and said 'here I am Lord send me' when most of the church says 'here I am Lord send him'. You have given your all to God and allowed him to send you wherever. You guys inspire me, you challenge me, and you bless me."

In his address, Russell quoted Mother Teresa who said on a visit to the White House: "The last thing I want to say is you need to be continually resourcing youself to minister. You need to be continually refreshing and renewing your own spirtual life, continuing to go deeper with God, so when you minister you draw on what God has given you. After 10 years in full time ministry, I know now more than ever, prayer and bible study are the nourishment of my ministry. So please remember to pray, daily, to feed you for your ministry. Take time to retreat, to allow the Spirit of God to reoxygenate your blood. Of course prayer is often difficult. It wouldn’t be worth much if it wasn’t. God sometimes withdraws from us so that we can go looking for him the more eagerly. Again and again other concerns crowd in and threaten to disrupt our praying."

Concluding his message, Russell said that as the Church Army sent them out: "Today we in Church Army stand with you, we pray for you, we love you, and we send you out into the world to love, to touch people with the love and compassion of Christ. So go from here, out from this college, to minister in the name of the one who called you, preach the Gospel using words when you have to, and tell people about Jesus, show people Jesus, and may your ministry have an impact that echoes in eternity."

Here are the names of the evangelists being commissioned and admitted into the Office of Evangelist and what they hope to achieve.

Jade Watson, Winchester diocese, will be working as Fresh Expression Evangelist at HMP (Her Majesty's prison) Winchester, both within the prison and outside in the community, helping to resettle men when they are released and build relationships to enable them to meet with God.

Watson said: "I will be running Alpha courses and working closely with outside agencies in this role and have a vision to establish a fresh expression of Christian community where ex-offenders will eventually be able to lead others to faith. I know that God is doing great things in the lives of those in our prisons and I count it as a privilege to be involved in such an exciting ministry.

"Please pray for me to be able to see the men in Winchester HMP through Jesus eyes and that local churches will be a welcoming place for these men and their families to start afresh with God. Please pray for protection for my family as I minister God’s love and forgiveness to all I meet."

Peter Watson, also from the Winchester Diocese, will be working as Youth and children’s outreach worker in the parish of West Andover in Hampshire.

He said: "I hope to work with the Church to reach out to children and young people who have little or no contact with the church. To provide a safe environment for them, and enable them to explore the Christian faith in a meaningful and relevant way.

"I have already seen God at work in young people’s lives, and it is encouraging to see their ideas and attitudes change as they discover and believe that we are created by God to live our lives in a relationship with him.

"Sadly many young people and children grow up without any experience of God’s love in their lives. So it is a challenge for me when meeting young people and children through clubs and other activities to show them how much God loves and cares for them.

"Please pray that all children and young people will come with open hearts and minds to hear the Gospel message and become passionate about the love God has for them through his Son Jesus."

Kathy Green, Sheffield Diocese, said she cannot imagine her life without God’s love and guidance. "My desire is to serve in places and situations which enable me to reveal to individuals something of God’s wonderful and unending love for them. As Evangelist to Sheffield’s Manor estate with special responsibility for older people, I hope to be able to draw alongside people who have been caught up in the pain of a hurting world. God uses the painful experiences of our lives to reach out to people in a way that initially seemed impossible.

"In today’s society, the older generation are taken for granted and devalued. Being able to show them God’s love through words and action will be a great privilege as for the first time in history the number of British pensioners has exceeded the number of young people under sixteen.

"Please pray that God will give me the courage, wisdom and obedience to show people who feel disregarded and devalued that God’s love for them is real, vast and accessible."

Yvonne Hayes, from the Sheffield Diocese, will be setting up a new project, FaithStart, based at St Peter’s Church Ellesmere, Sheffield set in a multi-faith, multicultural community that is considered disadvantaged.

Yvonne said: "At times in my life I have often felt small and insignificant, and I want to show God’s love to people who feel small. I have a passion for justice, family life and the regeneration of people and communities. I hope that FaithStart will encourage and grow an awareness of God’s love and presence in family and community life, and help my team develop skills and grow in confidence as they work with families. I want to find new and creative ways of expressing Christian Spirituality and show value and respect for all generations and extended family members who support family life.

"Please pray that I build good relationships with all people in Ellesmere; for God to give me discernment and the necessary skills to do the work, and that I will be an enthusiastic and willing life long learner."

Mary A’Herne-Smith of the Southwell &Nottingham Diocese has a passion for persuading the Church that Older People are not the Church of yesterday but are very much part of today’s Church.

She said: "I will be working as an evangelist to this important section of our society. Many 'young-olds' were part of the first generation to be called teenagers and still have that rebellious spirit that led them to question and challenge authority and the establishment. I will be focusing on identifying gaps in provision for older people both within the churches and the community and prayerfully look to see where God is at work in order to draw alongside. Please pray that doors will be opened with the ‘gatekeepers’ within my community and that as I see where God is ahead of me, I can build good relationships with people from the local churches who will join me in this work."

Also form the Sheffield Diocese, Louise Yaull said: "After spending twenty years working as a registered nurse in the NHS (National Health Service), I have longed to see healthcare addressing the spiritual needs of a person, and to share the Gospel with those who have little or no contact with church. In Sheffield, 99 percent of people go to their GP to seek help with their physical, mental, spiritual and relationship problems compared to 6 percent who visit their local church.

"I have recently learned some valuable lessons in a similar chaplaincy placement where I was able to offer spiritual and pastoral care to patients and staff. My hope is to work with the local churches and community to ensure that those who come for help can experience the love of Christ and that opportunities for fresh expressions of church can develop. Please pray that I will build good relationships with the people from the practice and local churches and trust God in everything as I try to get the right balance in my ministry and home life."

Serving in the Wakefield Diocese, Neil Walpole believes the church is in the kingdom building business and, as Area Evangelist specializing in children’s and family work in Huddersfield, he hopes to help build up the lives of children and their families through the grace and power of our Lord Jesus and bring hope and good news to the communities in which they live.

He added: "The medium of drama is a powerful tool to help to achieve this and, amongst other work, I hope to use this to further God’s kingdom.

"The Holy Spirit has the power to convict and, in faith, I look forward to the day when whole families respond to the healing, life-building love of Jesus as they did in the book of Acts.

"Please pray for God to develop the vision for the children’s and family work and for local Christians to capture the vision and commit to involvement. As I do this work, pray for my own family life to prosper alongside this ministry."

Paul Ward will be working in the Southwell and Nottingham Diocese.

He says: "My vision is taken from Isaiah 58 v 12, to become '… repairers of broken walls.'

"For some years I have had a calling to work with non-churched people primarily under 40. This dream will become a reality at the Malt Cross project in Nottingham’s city-center where I will be able to help set up ‘fresh expressions’ of faith as a missionary to my own culture. I will be supporting some the work already being done on the streets, identifying the needs of the people and developing courses -- especially faith through film. I will also be helping to communicate the work and stories of Malt Cross throughout the local area.

"Please pray for good relationships with colleagues and wider networks and that God will draw those who need him most towards the team at Malt Cross. Please also pray for our house move and for the birth of our first child in September."

Phaedra Pamphilon-Green said her work in the Parish of Hornchurch has been varied, challenging, interesting and fun!

"My focus has been to work with younger children in the community.

"I now serve as a community governor, take assemblies and year 6 RE (Religious Education) and PHSE (Personal, Health and Social Education) lessons. Through this work, and in running the Essence course, I have witnessed a growing spirituality in these schools, with increasing engagement from both teachers and children. It is an amazing experience to see a class of 30 pupils engaging in Christian meditation! There is a hunger for spirituality in our communities and as an Evangelist I am helping pupils and teachers alike to discover more from their own spiritual journey.

She adds: "Please pray that I can begin to build a team of people to do this work with me."

Rita Metcalfe (Down and Dromore Diocese, Northern Ireland) explained that as a part time Community Evangelist, she hopes to share the love of Jesus through her words and actions with each person she has contact with.

"My role will include ministering to the spiritual needs of individuals of all ages and stages, while building and being part of a growing Christian community. I will be involved in ‘door to door’ work, work with toddlers and their carers, preaching/teaching and Alpha/nurture courses. There are many exciting opportunities for outreach and relationship building in Bangor, not least to the individuals and families moving to live in the ever expanding areas of new housing developments. I am looking forward to getting to know the people of the area, learning from them, listening to them with both my own and Jesus ears; and responding appropriately through the power of the Holy Spirit."

She asks: "Please pray, that I can build good relationships with the people from the local community, and that I sustain a healthy and vibrant relationship with the Lord while trusting and obeying Him. Please also pray for my husband Kevin as he completes his final year of training as an evangelist whilst also working part time in Bangor. May we be able to obtain a healthy balance between our home and ministry life."

Church Army is a society of evangelists within the Anglican Communion, which exists to enable people to come to a living faith in Jesus Christ. For more information on the work of Church Army see www.churcharmy.org.uk  or phone +44 (0)20 8309 3519.

For more information or to request for images, please contact Kofo Baptist at: k.baptist@churcharmy.org. or +44 (0)20 8309 3517

If you have any press queries about the precise details of the Archbishop's sermon please contact Elizabeth Addy, Assistant to the Director of Communications, The Office of the Archbishop of York, Bishopthorpe Palace, York, YO23 2GE Tel. +44 (0)1904 707021 Email: Elizabeth.Addy@archbishopofyork.org  

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.