Glúnta is a ministry endeavour of Calvary Church Loughrea to catalyse, support and resource rural church planting across Ireland.
Ó ghlúin go glúin in Irish means “from one generation to the next.” However, the literal translation is more poetic: “from knee to knee.” Think of a child sitting on a parent’s or a grandparent’s knee, listening to them recount their stories, passing wisdom from one generation to the next. This is how stories are shared, how love and faith are shared. Our vision as churches should be to see the gospel impact lives and communities from one generation to the next—this is the heart of Glúnta.
Why Is It Needed?
Ireland is the least evangelised English speaking country in the world, with less than 0.5% of the population knowing Christ as Saviour. Due to this the church in Ireland, particularly in rural areas, is under resourced and lacks the ability to both reach local rural towns, and plant further churches. In addition, the lack of infrastructure for church planting support means that it is difficult to recruit and resource leaders, in particular indigenous leaders. Around 60% of the evangelical churches in Ireland have been planted in the last 40 years, and many are struggling to transition to the next generation due to a lack of leaders, vision and resources.
At present, there are approximately 100 Irish towns that are without a Gospel-preaching church. Through the identification of a town, and a core group, and with support and resources, we aim to plant and established churches in 10 of these towns by the year 2040. It is imperative that the DNA of the churches that area planted is that of a church planting church, so training and support will be given so that these churches would reach future generations by raising up disciples to plant the Gospel in other unreached towns across Ireland.
What Next?
At this stage, we are developing resources to encourage and support rural church planting across Ireland. The tools and resources developed will, by God's grace, result in healthy churches planted and established all across Ireland, that will develop in a sustainable way. We are seeking to develop partnerships, both for prayer, and financially, to enable the identification, training and resourcing of indigenous workers to see the Gospel planted in rural towns and communities, that will bear fruit in church planting churches.
Or if you would like to know more about supporting the work of Glúnta, please get in touch at info@glunta.com
By Jonny Pollock