“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”
(2 Chronicles 7:14)
ENGLAND Bryce & Bethany Heard
Calvary Chapel Mansfield
Bryce and Bethany met while they were both attending Calvary Chapel Bible College in Austria. They were married one and a half years later, and moved to St. George. They both felt the Lord calling them into the mission field, but decided to serve in the ministry at Calvary Chapel St. George for a year before being sent out to the mission field. CCSG had the privilege of sending the Heard’s to Mansfield, England, Bethany’s home town, in September of 2000 to plant a church and serve the Lord in full-time ministry. The Lord has blessed them with four children. The twins, Molly and Elizabeth, were born in May of 2001, Olivia in June of 2003 and Natalya in December 2005.
God led Bryce and Bethany to Forest Town, Mansfield, UK to plant the church. Forest Town is near Robin Hood’s old haunt of Sherwood Forest, situated in the county of Nottinghamshire, in the middle of England. The largest city in the area is Nottingham, about 20 minutes from Mansfield, which boasts about half a million people. Mansfield and it’s surrounding villages, including Forest Town, has a population of approximately 200,000 people. Only 1% of the English people are bible believing Christians, and only 4% go to any church, thus the need for a church there.
Prayer, fellowship, and Bible teaching are the greatest needs in England today. While the British are relatively wealthy when compared to many countries in the world, they are becoming spiritually dead. Many Christian churches have been turned into Islamic mosques. The country is in need of a revival. It is imperative that Bible teaching churches preach the gospel to the usaved so they would repent of their sins and take the free gift of salvation offered by Jesus Christ. This is the ministry of Bryce and Bethany.
The church, Calvary Chapel of Mansfield, began with a Tuesday night prayer meeting consisting of Bryce, Bethany, Bethany’s mother, and occasionally a neighbor. After nine months they moved the prayer meeting to a public building, Kingsway Hall, and the growth began. They rejoice in the way the Lord has blessed the ministry.
In addition to the Sunday morning service, they also have midweek Bible studies, a Thursday evening outreach to children, and oversee various other gatherings. They are focused on spreading the Word, and have bible studies in several areas to make them more accessible to everyone.
Calvary Chapel Mansfield is involved in missionary outreaches to the world. They support Partners Relief and Development ministry in Thailand, which provides aid to the Karen refugees. They also support a church plant in a Muslim country, and have workers in Austria, serving at the conference center.