Andrea and Bri’s Story
Andrea Martinez and Bri Munoz recently returned from Champion Forest Baptist Church’s student ministry trip to the Northeast of England. Both Andrea and Bri are currently participating in Champion Forest Baptist Church’s Residency program. They are in a season of life experiencing what it is like to live and serve together in a close community and pour into the younger generation as they are being poured into. They and 20 other residents aren’t simply “filling their heads with knowledge, but rather being encouraged to fall more in love with Christ and gain a vision of what a healthy local church looks like.”
This pursuit of becoming more rooted and established in Christ’s love is what led Andrea, Bri and 18 other students from CFBC’s Student Ministry to go and share the news of His immeasurable love with the people living in the Northeast of England. They expected the Lord to move in them, their fellow residents on the trip, and in the lives of the students they were leading. They expected to share their faith, meet some cool people, see some beautiful places, and of course, eat some classic fish and chips!
What they didn’t expect, however, was how transformed their lives would soon become from what and who they would experience in the Motherland.
Bri: “This trip with CFBC’s student ministry was my first time going across the pond. Mike Taylor had spoken to us before about England’s spiritual climate, but it wasn’t until I got there that I understood how true it was. It can be “cool” in Texas to be a Christian, but over in England… it’s the opposite.”
Andrea: “I realized after I came back from the trip that I probably shared the Gospel more that week than I have over the course of the past couple years. I can get really comfortable and I don’t want to bother people. In England, we had to get out of our comfort zones and encourage our students to get out of their comfort zones.”
Throughout the duration of the trip, both Bri and Andrea’s hearts began to dilate to the freedom that is found when you push past the borders of your own walls of comfort and self-protection. They both spoke of the ways in which they became more aware of their true identities in the Lord as they relinquished fear and control.
Bri: “It was really transformational. When we were in the schools sharing in the Religious Education classes, we weren’t allowed to take photos, which meant I didn’t stay behind a camera the whole time how I normally do when I’m in my communications role. It was refreshing to be more of who He created me to be.”
Andrea: “I’ve become more burdened with wanting to be bold in my faith. I don’t want to be passive anymore; I want to be proactive and really seek Him and His word and obey what He has to say.
I believe I grew in so many ways on this trip. I grew up as a student at Champion Forest and went on trips like this one. It was such a cool moment to recognize that a couple of years ago I was a student and now I’m on staff at Champion Forest getting to lead these students. It was such an awesome full circle moment that helped me see the Lord’s faithfulness in my life more clearly and that His ways are always better than mine.
A recent census states that “Only four percent of young Brits are now Christians” Yet we know that no bleak statistic can hinder or intimidate our King, who is Himself the “Desire of the Nations” (Haggai 2:7). Both Andrea and Bri began to experience the Lord’s heart for the people He loves in England, especially the young people.
Andrea: “Anytime we encountered believers, they were not young people. Coming from student ministry world in America, that broke my heart because I know the life of a young person and all that is coming at them all. the. time! There is such a need for young people to know Jesus!
Bri: I was surprised at how huge the Lord grew my heart for the lost while we were there. He revealed to me the true need for Him in England. It was so hard for me to see the students hurting and not knowing how to go to God.
We got to go in to The King’s Academy’s Religious Education classes and share our experience with Jesus. Some students were checked out, but some you could see were listening and longing for something bigger than themselves. They got to hear our stories of experiencing Jesus’ grace. I believe that as they were listening, they realized, “I think I can experience that, too.”
Throughout the course of their trip to England, Andrea and Bri, along with their fellow leaders and students had the opportunity to begin building relationships with so many people. Both girls described separate moments they keep remembering from conversations they had with students from The King’s Academy:
Andrea: “The relationships we were able to build so quickly, even over the course of just a few days was amazing. Mike Taylor always says “The Gospel moves at the speed of relationships” and I was honestly surprised by how quickly our students were able to build those. Every single day at the school, kids were so excited to see them and continue the conversations about God from the day before.”
One moment in particular stood out to Andrea while she was sharing with a group of students from The King’s Academy.
“There was a little boy at King’s named Oscar who was so intrigued and kept asking me questions about what I was saying. It seemed like he was really understanding the Gospel.”
After Andrea shared the with Oscar and processed some of his questions with him, his face began to light up.
“Oscar, I feel like you are getting this!” Andrea said.
“Yeah, I really think I am!” He responded.
Andrea asked him if he has ever prayed, to which he responded,
“I don’t know how to.”
“You can just talk to God whenever you want. If you’re in the car, walking to class, you can talk to Him whenever! All we have to do is ask Jesus to come live in our hearts. Do you want to do that?” She asked.
To which he responded ‘Yeah, I think I do!”
As soon as she said, “We can pray and ask God right now if you want!” A girl sitting next to them turned and gave Oscar a mean and intimidating look. Then Oscar hesitated, looked at Andrea and said, “Actually, maybe another time.” She then encouraged him that he can make the decision to follow Jesus whenever he wants.
Andrea: “I feel like this moment will always stick with me because he was RIGHT THERE, but to see how judged he would be to give his life to Jesus completely broke my heart.”
Stories like these remind us that there is a true spiritual war going on for every soul. The cultural pressures in a post-Christian context expose the reality that we oftentimes forget. We must remember that we “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We must put on the armor of God and stand firm as Paul admonishes the Church in Ephesians 6.
Bri described a memorable conversation she had with two girls from King’s Academy, Matilda and Libby:
“I was talking to these two girls, Matilda and Libby. I was saying to them, ‘Think about the best book you’ve ever read. In one hundred years, that won’t even be a thing anymore. But the Bible has been here and it’s going to be here forever.’ When our Student Pastor, Alex asked the class what they learned, Matilda and Libby both spoke up and shared how they learned there is something eternal that we can rely on. Everything else will be temporary.” I felt like they really got it and it’s something that will stick with them. I think they were really moved as they thought about how there is something bigger than they are and Someone they can always rely on.”
The believers in England may be statistically few, but they are mighty. Bri and Andrea described their experience with the local believers as “refreshing, challenging, and encouraging.”
Andrea: “We went to church at Coulby Newham. It was SO refreshing. All of our students kept talking about how refreshing it was because here in America, sometimes you have to make church an experience to get them in the door, to get them to stay to hear the message. But in England, they are ALL in for the Gospel. There was no lukewarm Christianity. We came across people who truly love God and just want to see the church grow. We were worshipping Jesus so freely together.
It was a beautiful reminder to all of us coming back that our time in church isn’t meant to be about us. It’s not about us at all. It’s about HIM.
There is such a need in the UK for Christians to go and build and continue building on top of the foundation that is there.”
Bri: It was a big encouragement because we know a Christian will be known by the fruit they bear. Tim, James, everyone in Coulby Newham were so strong in their faith. They were so kind and intentional. They just want to see God move in their community.
My biggest takeaway has been to make my time with the Lord more of a priority and carry that more in my life. Growing up, reading my bible felt more like only a discipline instead of something I actually loved doing. But that had been changing leading up to the trip and then being around the believers in England really inspired me.
I began realizing that God is really here in these people and I want to be like that.”
The Lord does His best work with willing hearts. As Bri and Andrea have returned home, they discovered various ways the Holy Spirit has been enlarging their hearts in light of what they experienced in England. He has been sharing not only His burden and love for the people of England with them, but also people in their own city back home.
Andrea: “Since I’ve been back, I’ve been praying at 10:02 everyday that “the Lord of the harvest would send out workers into His harvest field.” (Luke 10:2) And God is reminding me as I pray for England that I am also a laborer here. This is why we do what we do, to further the Kingdom. I can do that here too just like I did while I was in the UK!”
Bri: “My prayer life has definitely been growing a lot since we got back. I can hear God talking to me more clearly and I find myself talking to Him throughout the day which has been really sweet. One morning a few days after the trip ended, I felt like I should pray for the teachers and the staff who we met at The King’s Academy. The Lord reminded me that there are teachers here as well who are needing strength and encouragement.”
Bri and Andrea’s encouragement to any who may be interested coming to England whether short or long term:
Bri: Preparation matters. It was honestly difficult having to defend your faith all day. Make sure you know your bible. Know the references. But also be encouraged that the Holy Spirit promised He will give us the words to speak when it’s time. You won’t be there alone. You can have the confidence that you are doing what He’s called you to do and He is going to do the rest.
Andrea: “Don’t be afraid to put your yes on the table. If the Lord is calling you, please know there is such a need in England and I would encourage you to pray about if He is calling you to go. Pray for the Holy Spirit to start preparing you now.
If we get drained, it’s because we are pouring out of our own cup. You have to be so dependent on the Holy Spirit and make sure as you are on the ground, that you are pouring out from His cup that He has for you. Then all of your actions will be an overflow from Jesus and time with Him because you need to be fed by HIM. Sometimes we can look to other people to feed us or even church to feed us, but we must be fed by His Word and from time alone with Christ.
PRAY:
- For the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest
- For Oscar, Libby, Matilda and many like them to fully surrender their lives to Jesus, especially in the face of mockery and disapproval from their peers
- Pray Ephesians 3:14-21 for the believers on the ground in the UK to be “strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in their inner being..” and that the Lord would receive fruit that remains
- Pray and ask the Lord how He wants to involve YOU in His plan of bringing the ones He loves in England to Himself!
BONUS Q&A
Favorite place you visited?
Andrea: I loved going to York Minster. The history of it all was so cool. I loved learning about it. The really old bible in York Minister was awesome. My favorite fish and chips was at Whitby!
Bri: I loved Whitby being by the port. Seeing the homes and the little buildings. The hike to Lordstones was amazing because we got to see the communities we were praying for from up above.
