The Word in a Ministry
An interview with Ruth Bridcut by Kieron Lynch
Ruth, you’re soon moving on from your role as women’s worker with Immanuel.
What will you miss the most?
In one word, I will miss time! A regular part of life in Immanuel / ICM for me has included looking out of the top floor apartment window (where I lived for almost nine years) or from the front church windows (before or after a service or Bible study) to check the time on the large clock on the “Heineken building” overlooking the other side of the river. However, I don’t expect to miss the clock itself, which was often incorrect, especially for a few days after the clocks changed! Rather, I am very conscious of the blessing it has been to have had extended periods of time set aside for the study and sharing of God’s word. I have really appreciated the opportunity to spend time preparing Bible studies and lessons and to have a flexibility in time to be able to meet with a wide range of people in a wide range of places across the city. However, as I begin a job with more restricted time commitments, it means that my time flexibility will be greatly reduced. Any church ministry roles will now be juggled among evenings and weekends and I will have fewer opportunities to meet with a wide range of individuals in the limited number of evenings in the week.
What are you moving on to, and what excites you about the future?
I am planning to work in a Medical Physics role in the Radiology department of Beaumont Hospital, a hospital local to me in north Dublin. In a similar role to what I had prior to my time with ICM, it will involve taking responsibility for radiation safety and image quality of imaging equipment, such as x-ray and CT units.
While I will have less time for Bible study and some practical tasks in church, I am both excited and slightly daunted to have much more time with work colleagues whom I don’t expect will have a living Christian faith. Through my old squash club and my camera club, I have experienced cynicism and disillusion with Christian things, so I don’t expect my workplace to be much different. However, over time I have discovered an intriguing openness among some to discussions about Jesus, so I am excited to see how friendships and opportunities may develop for me to point others to Jesus in my new context. If nothing else, the reaction to my answer to the predictable question “Where did you work before this?” will give a hint as to people’s initial perspectives!
What have been some of the key joys and struggles in your ministry role?
One of the highlights of each year for me has been helping with organising the annual Dublin Women’s Convention, a day of Bible teaching for women across Dublin. It has been a joy to see over 200 women from many different church backgrounds who are eager to grow in faith through study of God’s word. A significant part of the day has been interactive seminars dealing with a range of practical topics where women are able to help each other think through how God’s word applies in their day to day life situations. As women’s ministry can sometimes be associated with baking and flower arranging, it has been a joy to see how this practical, Bible- centred day has been an encouragement for women in many stages of life.
Another significant joy in my church ministry role is to have had times when I felt I was able to make a contribution to a person’s spiritual journey and cause them to rejoice more in Jesus. Sometimes it was at the end of a conversation or Bible discussion, or other times I have been greatly encouraged by small messages of appreciation for what had not felt significant to me at the time. At the same time, though, a struggle has been to know how best to engage with women who have not persisted in an enthusiasm to know Jesus more, who have failed to grasp the importance of church fellowship or who seem to have lost interest in Christian things altogether. I have found it difficult to know when to encourage somebody that they are not forgotten by giving a gentle reminder and when that becomes badgering and nagging.
Another twinned joy-struggle is to hear of those who used to be in Immanuel who are now living in other parts of Ireland or the world. In many cases it is a joy to know they are continuing to trust Jesus and be a blessing as they serve in other church contexts, especially if they are using what God has taught them in their time in Immanuel. The corollary is to know of some who seem to have lost interest in Christian things and drifted from Christian fellowship.
In all these situations, the concurrent joy and struggle is to trust God for people’s eternal destinies, rejoicing and trusting that He is sovereignly overruling and bringing people to trust Him according to His good purpose and for His glory.
How have you seen the Bible transform people in your role?
From the beginning of my time in ICM, I regularly heard the phrase “Word-based ministry”. This wasn’t a particularly new concept to me, but I remember an apprentice whom I mentored commenting on how God’s word underpins absolutely every meeting. That is not to say that there isn’t a role for taking time to build genuine friendships with people, which often happened, for example with international students at the English Corner café or our Parent and Toddler group, but there was always an opportunity for those attending to be exposed to reading God’s Word for themselves. For many international students, a Bible study was essentially a free English lesson, yet it was a privilege to see God’s word impacting their perspective on life and causing some to consider Jesus seriously for the first time. There are two female students who come to mind who had had significant Bible input many years earlier, yet it was life challenges which pushed them towards the Immanuel church community. Following friendship and periods of one-to-one Bible study, God enabled them to grasp the gospel fully, to see evidence of God’s sovereign love displayed in Jesus and so to have a reason to trust in His good purposes through their challenges.
I have also had the privilege of helping others see similar change. As well as female church apprentices, there were encouraging times when other women from the church helped me with small group Bible study with women who were exploring Christianity. While I trust those exploring came to understand more about Jesus, those who were assisting gained confidence in reading God’s word with others. They were able to see the benefit andrelief of trusting God’s word to do the work and in turn to see women soften (and harden, sadly) to their need of Jesus.
I think it’s also worth mentioning the times when a lot of effort was put into events and invitations, yet we do not know what effect God’s word had. It was an exciting privilege to open our doors for our Bible exhibition during Dublin’s annual Culture Night and to help with our St Patrick’s Day outreaches, yet there were few opportunities for deeper connections following them. Humanly speaking, our city centre location was useful to pointmany to Jesus who were likely only in town for those specific events. Spiritually speaking, we know that God’s word will not return empty, but will accomplish the purpose which He intends (Isaiah 55:11).
What have you learned about your own heart in the role?
I think one thing I have learned, and yet need to keep relearning, is our need to depend on God alone for his Word to work in people’s lives by the power of His Holy Spirit. When we have the privilege of learning a rigorous approach to studying and teaching God’s word, there is the constant temptation to act and think that the fruit of a particular Bible study is dependent on me following those techniques – on my faithfulness to the text and my clear, engaging delivery of that message, whether through a talk, clear Bible study questions or a well-planned Sunday school lesson. While it is part of being a faithful servant of Christ to prepare diligently and to practise and learn from previous mistakes, this desire for excellence can tend towards a thinking that if the delivery or plan is correct, then the results will follow.
I have had some times when I have felt the message was communicated fairly well (either by me or others in a group), and other times when I have been conscious that I or others were not as clear or coherent as we could have been. I know in my heart I have been tempted to think too much of those times when the message was clear, to expect lives to change instantly in response to the message, while at the same time, I have been tempted to think too little of those times when the message was not particularly clear, to consider the exercise almost a waste of time. It’s an expression of pride, essentially. So I need to remind myself regularly that God’s Holy Spirit is not dependent on our abilities or techniques. While He may use our gifts for His glory, He is not dependent on them. I trust that there are many times which I cannot remember, when God used my presentation of His word to help others in their understanding of Him, perhaps in small ways, because it was genuinely helpful, while at the same time, there are times when God’s word was at work despite my efforts, not because of them!
How can we best pray for you in this transition?
I think the main way to pray, please, is for a zeal to live for Jesus wherever he places me, both in more mundane aspects of my job, in my relationships with colleagues and in the stimulating aspects of my job. Also, that all these aspects would in turn lead to many gospel opportunities within my workplace.
I would also appreciate prayer for adjusting to a different work- life balance – to using my spare time for God’s glory, and to know when that is best done through church ministry roles such as Sunday school preparation and Citizens youth club, and to know when it is best done through an evening editing photographs or spending time with friends.
Please also join me in giving thanks for His faithfulness in sustaining me in my time in ICM though providing for all needs, both practically and spiritually.