The Mission:
To ‘Raise the Flag’ of God’s glory declaring His glory among the nation of Ireland.

The Movement:
To ‘Raise the Flag’ ‘of God’s glory we will move to ‘Drop the Rock’ of Christ into Ireland’s heart, the city of Dublin, through a church planting movement establishing churches that plant churches rippling and spreading out through the entire nation and globe.

The Method:
To ‘Drop the Rock’ and ‘Raise the Flag’ in this young Irish post-modern university culture we must use creative means and methods in order to connect and establish relationships, such as:

      • Attend classes at the University
      • Establish opportunities to use music in various venues
      • Mobilize a creative team of individuals selected to use their unique abilities to reach the culture
      • Train and equip Irish believers to lead and reproduce churches that plant churches
      • Establish church planting churches communicating Christ with relevance to the young Irish culture

*The following information was received during ABWE’s initial survey trip to the REPUBLIC OF IRELAND in 2001.

People: The majority of Ireland’s almost 4 million inhabitants are a mixture of Celtic and English heritage. English is the language most commonly used with Gaelic spoken mainly in the areas located along the western seaboard.

Religion: 92% Roman Catholic

Largest Cities: Dublin (1 million), Cork (186,000), Limerick (82,000)

Spiritual Readiness: Whereas Northern Ireland is one of Europe’s most evangelized countries and a strong missionary sending nation, the Republic of Ireland has well under 1% true believers. As an example the Association of Baptist Churches in the north have 95 churches while the south has only 15 with well over double the population!

The Irish are a very social people lending itself to building relationships for the gospel. This ministry will require time and resources. One Irish mission leader with experience with Americans missionaries who came and went said “this is a ministry for the long haul. If they are not committed to a minimum of ten years they should not come.”

The youth represent a clear door of opportunity. They are the most responsive group to the gospel and 50% of the population of Ireland is under 30 years old. They are also a damaged part of society with a lack of adequate moral underpinnings. Suicide is very high. Music is very big with this group as well as sports. This being our target group will mark the way we do evangelism and church.

The Republic of Ireland is spiritually ready. Jacob Reynolds the leader of the Irish Bible Institute said “This is the first generation in a thousand years prepared to hear the Gospel”.