00:00
We love them first and we love them enough
00:03
that we want to share
the Gospel with them.
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My name's Sarah and this is my story.
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I think that being a
mother has probably shaped
00:12
nearly all of my ministry
of reconciliation.
00:15
I think as mothers, on the whole,
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we are better at experiencing
one another's downs
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as well as our ups.
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And one of the ways in which I
think we can share the Gospel
00:27
with others is through those down times.
00:29
And the time of greatest
transformation in my life
00:33
was as an adult having just turned 40,
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and I had a complete crash,
00:37
what many people would call a
breakdown, working too hard.
00:39
Fell on my face really,
00:41
and I was a mum with children at the time
00:43
and a loving husband and a
wonderful community around me.
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So no reason really for that to happen
00:48
other than, I think, what God
taught me through that time,
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and that was to be
utterly dependent on Him
00:54
from a place of deep vulnerability.
00:56
One of the exciting things
about being a Christian mum
00:59
is that other people quite quickly know
01:01
that you're a Christian mum,
01:02
and even if you don't ever
mention the word "Jesus"
01:05
people are watching you.
01:07
If they see a family that is struggling
01:09
with all the normal
things and they still know
01:12
that you love Jesus and that
he is evident in your life,
01:15
that is probably the best form of ministry
01:17
that we have as mothers.
01:19
I am the advisor to
Archbishop Justin Welby,
01:22
the Archbishop of Canterbury,
on peace and reconciliation.
01:25
We have launched a programme
called 'Women on the Frontline'
01:29
looking at the fact
that women are the first
01:32
to spot rising tension.
01:33
They are the first usually
to diffuse that tension,
01:36
and they are usually the
ones who are looking after
01:38
the victims of conflict at every level.
01:40
Our ministry needn't
always be a public voice.
01:43
I think it's wonderful when
we have that public platform,
01:46
but we also have a ministry in our homes
01:48
and in our communities.
01:50
It's the most extraordinary privilege
01:52
to work with women who love Jesus
01:55
and when they worship they come alive,
02:00
a deep and personal
relationship with Jesus
02:02
that's the driving force
for them and their work.
02:04
For example, Alice is someone
who has spent her life
02:08
in one small community
ministering to those
02:11
in that community who are marginalised.
02:14
And she's done that in such
a quiet and unnoticed way,
02:18
but she has faith like a mountain.
02:21
She is riding, if you like,
on the top of this mountain
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that is Jesus, her friend and her Saviour.
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Of course those who come into her home
02:29
experience some of the
peace that she feels
02:32
through her relationship with Jesus.
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Jesus is our ultimate
reconciler in terms of examples.
02:38
God is the reconciler.
02:40
So all the work that we do
is dependent on the fact that
02:43
God has reconciled us to Himself.
02:45
When I look to Jesus, he
spent most of his time
02:48
engaging with people
outside his own tradition,
02:51
and he spoke across
boundaries all the time,
02:54
and he did that in risky places
02:56
where he would be condemned
by his own people.
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And I sometimes wonder,
as Christians ourselves,
03:02
are we taking enough risks?
03:04
Do we go into places knowing that Jesus
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has been there before us?
