An Update From Our Mission Partners, The Beathams

Following Jesus is not safe

... not now, not ever. But St Paul’s mission partners Jonathan and Laura Beatham see

that every day of the week.

They live in Leeds, but they provide Scriptures in a country where being known as a

follower of Jesus can get you killed. Some of our congregation at St Paul’s came from

that country originally, and it breaks their hearts to hear of the terrible things that are

happening back home.

Jonathan and Laura play their part in encouraging people like these, and put them in

touch with other believers in the West. This gives our friends in St Paul’s a chance to

enjoy fellowship and Bible teaching in their own language, as well as in an English

church.

But the Beathams’ main work is with speakers of a minority language in the same

country. (It’s a bit like engaging with Welsh-speakers in the British Isles.) We are grateful

that in St Paul’s we have a chance to support people who do work that most of us could

not think of doing. They co-ordinate the work of a team that translates Scripture

passages, produces audio and video Scripture material, composes worship songs and

broadcasts messages of hope. The team is savvy in the use of social media to put these

resources in the hands of those who need them, while staying off the radar of the

regime’s security services.

In recent months, there has been increased insecurity and violence in that nation.

Christians have even more reason to be fearful than the rest of the population. But the

feedback that the team receives is good: Christians are being greatly encouraged by the

materials that they can now access – and by the knowledge that people around the world

are praying for them.

For the Beathams, stress and anxiety comes with the job. Key members of their team live

2000 miles away from Leeds, near the border of the country they are serving. But the

place where these colleagues are lodging is neither welcoming nor safe. If they were seen

in public, they might face arrest and deportation back to the place they fled from. They,

and the Beathams, live from day to day. Depending on Jesus the Lord is a way of life.