London’s Borough of Harrow, located in the northwest corner of the city, is an important suburb known for education and industry, and it is one of the city’s top 10 office centers.
Greg and Jill Tisdale, of Kingstree First Baptist Church, along with pastor David Dinkins (right), take a break for lunch during their recent trip to London.It is also available for adoption through the International Mission Board’s Adopt London initiative.
It’s that initiative that drew pastor David Dinkins and Greg and Jill Tisdale, of First Baptist Church, Kingstree, to London in May.
“Our church has gone on mission trips, but those trips have always been project-focused,” Dinkins said. “This is different. Adopting a London borough is a partnership; it’s a two-year agreement to come alongside the borough, build relationships, and see what the Lord will do regarding church planting.”
Dinkins said First Baptist, Kingstree, which averages 125-130 in Sunday school each week, is “not a big church, but we can do a big thing for the Lord.”
While his church has not formally approved the adoption of the Borough of Harrow, Dinkins said a return trip is planned in September for additional missionary training and information and that the church is “on board with continuing conversations toward adoption.”
Dinkins and the Tisdales went to London May 11-17, spending the mornings in an orientation with missionaries assigned to the Adopt London initiative. According to the Adopt London website (www.adoptlondon.com), it was “created by London missionaries to saturate the city in prayer, sow the seed of the gospel, and help American partners become catalysts for new work. The city is divided into 33 boroughs, similar to American counties, and each is available for adoption. The adopting church becomes an intern, working with missionaries in London to create a strategy for tearing down strongholds in the community and affecting change for Christ.”
“Roughly 98 percent of London’s population is not in church or is unsaved,” Dinkins said. “The other 2 percent are those we want to connect with and serve alongside. Our meetings with the London missionaries were designed to understand their strategy for reaching London with the gospel.”
In the afternoons of the May visit, the trio from Kingstree explored the boroughs, praying for the Holy Spirit to lead them toward one for adoption consideration.
“No one has adopted Harrow,” Dinkins said. “We are praying about that adoption, and now we move into conversations through Skype, email, and text messaging. There is a Baptist church there that perhaps we can work with through a two-year relationship. If teams were to go over, they would get out among the people, build relationships, create Bible studies, move people to invite their friends, and see how that might grow over time into a church.”
According to the Adopt London website, Harrow has a population of 214,000 and includes nine people groups: white British, Indian, other Asian, other white, white Irish, Pakistani, black African, black Caribbean, and East African. Harrow is 19.6 square miles in area. By comparison, Williamsburg County, of which Kingstree is the county seat, covers 937 square miles.
Harrow is locally famous for a school chartered in 1572 by Queen Elizabeth. The school educated such notables as Lord Byron, former prime minister Sir Robert Peel, and Sir Winston Churchill. Kodak is the area’s largest private employer.
Dinkins said his church worked closely with Tim Rice, interim director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s missions mobilization group.
Rice said, “First Baptist, Kingstree, is a medium-membership church from a more rural part of our state, and that’s what’s exciting about their interest in London. This is an initiative that any church can join, and churches can find their place in experiential ministry here.”
Rice said other SCBC churches have gone to London as part of the adoption initiative. Rock Hill First Baptist Church has adopted the Borough of Bromley, the largest of all the boroughs and located in the southeast part of the city. First Baptist Church of Fort Mill has adopted the Borough of Sutton in the city’s southwest corner. Mauldin First Baptist has sent a team to London, specifically visiting the Borough of Tower Hamlets, one of the city’s most ethnically diverse. Lexington Baptist Association has adopted the Borough of Enfield and is involved in sending prayerwalking teams. This year, they are sending a team of business leaders to offer training seminars as a way to connect and serve people in their borough.
Rice said the interest in London comes at a good time, as the 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be in London July 27 through Aug. 12. Traditionally, Southern Baptists respond to provide short-term mission volunteers to serve at the summer and winter Olympic Games. Olympic volunteers will be further exposed to ministry possibilities in London beyond the games and may lead their churches toward Adopt London consideration.
Rice said the convention has already trained and is sending a team of Olympic volunteers. In addition, several churches are sending their own teams to serve at the Olympic Games.
“London is a crossroads of the world, and that comes through in discussions about Adopt London,” Rice said. “If we can reach London with the gospel, the gospel will leave London and go to all parts of the world.” – SCBC