OUR MAN IN SPAIN

by Chris Mathieson

During the late '70s, OAC began expanding its ministry in mainland Europe. Spain and Portugal were particularly attractive as lands coming out of right-wing, Catholic-backed dictatorships. Several evangelists visited each country and missionaries working in Spain came to Britain to learn from OAC.

At the time I was teaching English near Barcelona. Ken Barrett, an old college friend then working with Korky Davey, gave him my address. I showed Korky round Barcelona and thought that was the last I would see of him!

But it was not to be. On my next visit to Bristol I was introduced as 'Our man in Spain'. The title stuck. I returned to study at Trinity College, got involved in the local team and went with Ken on a trip to Portugal as 'interpreter' (sorry, wrong language). So we just shouted loudly!

Soon after, I was again on my way south in a mini-bus, with Korky as team leader, to reach tourists in Torremolinos. It was the summer of '81. We discovered quickly that the Spaniards responded much better than British holidaymakers, so we focused on speaking to them. I also realised that I could do more than translate for others and began preaching myself. A vision was born.

The following Easter we were back, training and preaching in several cities. On graduating from Trinity I signed up for two years with OAC, went on the OAC training week in Birmingham and, within days, was on my way to join OM teams, training them and learning to live 'by faith'! That meant a diet of Dutch peanut butter.

At my very first open-air, Ricardo came to Christ. My call was confirmed. Then in September Korky arrived in a 15-year-old coach bursting to the seams with zealous evangelists and unsuspecting students. It was the first of many trips which would mark an era of Easter and September outreaches in Spain. Many students took their first steps in evangelism with us and a number of them went on to serve the Lord on the mission field. Many still keep in touch.

During the first two winters, I completed my training in Bristol, learning the ropes of the British ministry and translating materials into Spanish. The rest of the year I travelled the length and breadth of Spain and France in my Fiesta. The objective was to train local church pastors, members and missionaries so that they could maintain a regular local outreach which would bring contacts for their churches.

The aim of these outreaches was to support the churchplanting ministry of missions such as Worldteam and OM. I was invited to join the Logos for three months early in '83. They more or less gave me charge of the evangelism training programme in Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, and many contacts developed as a result. Good friendships came from those months and opportunities arose to travel as far as the Caribbean with the Logos.

But my main memory of the early years is travelling from city to city, from town to town, seeing new points of mission started up each year and being able to do a little to encourage and support many church-planters in their slow, painstaking task, even if the only fruit visible was that encouraging feeling of having preached the Word. As I returned months later I could often see that the encouragement had directly or indirectly produced the desired results, changed lives for eternity. In Girona, Ramón continues preaching, even making the same mistakes I used to make myself! In Córdoba, one of our outreach contacts, Antonio, is now pastoring a church.

The years went by and the ministry continued. Ken brought his family to live in Madrid, where he continues to be a tremendous help and encouragement. Then, one day, on the steps of the Worldteam church I met a young lady... a life-changing encounter, but that's another story!