A warm welcome to all my YouTube subscribers.
Welcome to Facing the Canon. My guest this week is Andy Economides. I'm delighted to have Andy, he
was the one that introduced me to Jesus Christ. Andy Economides welcome to Facing the
Canon. Thank you. It is great to have you. To all the viewers out there, I came to
faith on the 9th of February 1975, because this man here introduced me to Jesus Christ. And I
can remember Andy, at my baptism I said these words: my friend Andy built a bridge from him to me
and when he did Christ Jesus walked over it. Do you remember those days when we were students?
Wonderful days, yeah I do. And you introduced me to Jesus but you introduced many other
people to Jesus, and then you and I started the Christian Union. Do you remember that? What
memories do you have of he Christian Union? Well you came to Christ and then you led
another guy called Richard to Christ, and then we started, out of nothing, the Christian
Union with permission and it ran for quite a while. We had a lot of fun. Now you got the opportunity to go to Nigeria. Tell us a little bit about that first experience of going to Nigeria. Well, someone called Korky Davey from Bristol invited me
to join him and a couple of his friends to Nigeria. And I thought 'I don't really want to go'. So I said I'd pray about it, but secretly
I thought 'I'm not going'. So anyway somehow I ended up going to Nigeria and
we were there for two and a half weeks and I got back and I thought 'well
that's it, I'm not going to do that again'. I've gone. I've done it. I don't need to go again.
Why would I need to go again? It's too difficult. It's too challenging, it's too dangerous,
it's too everything, I'm not going. But we try and do what the Lord wants for us so,
after prayer and reflecting I went back. How many years ago was that? Well next year,
early next year, it will be 30 years. I've been going for 30 years. So after this reluctance
to first go, this reluctance to even consider going back you've now been going and ministering in
Nigeria for 30 years? Nearly 30 years yeah. Right and what has the Lord led you to do out in Nigeria
and where? Well, one of the things that we're doing is what Jesus said, 'go into the world, or go into your
neighbourhood, and proclaim the Gospel and make disciples'. So our number one thing is to
proclaim the Gospel, to train others to do the same and to make disciples, teaching them to obey
everything that Jesus says so that's the first thing and secondly we've built a school out
there, the Soteria Business School which is like a mission school and we get young people from the
age of about 16 to 30 come, who are vulnerable or poor, get education, have a scholarship and they can
hear about Jesus, get qualifications and get out of poverty. So that's one of our projects. We've
also got a church and we've got a children's project, where many children are sponsored to go
to school. So over the last three decades how many children and young people have you helped? I think it's
something about 750 children and young people and some of the children are there for 10 years
or longer. So it's not just two or three years. Some come to us for many years and
get education, perhaps start a business go to university and it's a great foundation,
Jesus and education. But the Lord has really like, put it on your heart and burdened you to do
this? Yeah and what we're doing now more and more intentionally and increasingly is to train others
so that after I've been and gone, it will continue. So we're training others, other staff out there.
We've got 28 staff there and we want them to continue the work. That's amazing.
And your website is? SoteriaTrust.org.uk and that tells us about the ministry
that you're doing. But you don't just do Nigeria you're also very, very focused in the UK.
Tell us about some of the focus of your ministry here? Well some of it is encouraging and training
Christians and churches to share their faith and evangelism. Some of it is speaking into churches
at their Sunday services or the midweek meetings or whatever it might be. So we travel up and down
the country when we can, when we're able to, to do all that and in fact I've been to several other
countries but our focus is the UK at the moment and Nigeria. Now you mentioned it,
you have an emphasis of training others and you've certainly trained a lot of Timothy's.
I'm one of those. So over the years tell us a little bit about how you've managed to
coach and train other younger evangelists? I knocked on a door once of a house, we're doing
door-to-door visitation. And I did a survey with a large man and then six months later returned to that door, because I made a little note 'go back'. Yes. And then on that night, that
man said to me that he remembered me and I remembered him. So I went to his house. I got inside
his lounge and said, 'I'd like to invite you and your wife Barbara to a restaurant meeting with a
speaker called J.John, would you come?' Anyway he came and that night about 120 people came and
he was one of our guests and you got up to speak and you spoke about Jesus. So when it was all
finished I turned to him as one of my guests and said 'well, what did you think of that?' He said
'you people have got something'. I said, 'oh good.' I said, 'did you pray the prayer? Did you open
the door? Did you say yes to Jesus?' He said 'no'. I said, 'can I come to your house next
week?' So the next week I'm in his house, we leave late. I give him a little gospel book
called 'Journey into Life' and say to him, 'if you read this and pray this prayer will you let me
know?' So we left. He read it, he fell on his knees opened the door to Jesus, became a real Christian, started coming to church with his wife. She became a Christian, the children became Christians then
he went to a theological college in Bristol. Became an ordained clergyman in the Anglican
Church and he was very much an evangelist. And then there's David,
young David. He was a... just got his degree in Geography at Southampton University and I
said to him, 'I've got a vision for your life. I can see you in full-time Christian ministry, how
about I get some money for you from the Church and we give that to you and we release you
into ministry?' So he said, 'would you do that for me?' So I spoke to my minister and he said 'do it
Andy'. So we got the financial support for him and we employed him as a youth worker and he went
into schools and he did youth work in the city and proclaimed the Gospel and did discipleship himself
and then he went to a theological college and he became a minister and today he's a Chaplain
in the army overseeing other chaplains. Amazing, I mean the thing is these opportunities
are out there. The first one you actually knocked on the door, but you went back. You invited him to a
meeting. He heard the Gospel, then you went back and as a consequence of that his entire family came
to Christ and then he got ordained into the Church. I mean we're encouraged, we read that in Peter,
in the New Testament. 'Always be prepared to give an answer.' Why do you think most of us Christians
are not always ready, we're not always prepared? We don't always take these opportunities.
I don't know. I think sometimes it might be that, okay I'm busy. I'm going from
A to B. I'm going to go and do the shopping now. I'm going to go and do this now. We've got our
own lives to live. We're taken up with that. We're trying to get through the day and that
might seem quite hard especially at times at the moment like we're facing. So we just
want to be okay ourselves. So about stopping and saying hello and being loving and
friendly, it might be challenging. But, I think you just got to stop and say, 'Lord use me today'. And
if you get that prompting to learn to go with it. The other day I was walking
in the town that I live and I felt, stop and speak to that man that you've
been saying hello to for about a year. So I said, 'hello'. So I've just known him
and all we've been doing for about a year is 'Hello'. 'Good morning'. 'Nice dog'. And that's
it. No more than that. That day I stopped and I invited him to a cafe and have coffee
and cake. So we get there about a week or two later and he sits down. He's 79. His name is Ken. He walks
with a walking stick. I'm sitting opposite him in this really nice cafe and he looks at me in the
eyes and says to me, 'why have you asked me here?' I said, 'Ken I've got a question for you that's why I've asked you to ask you the
question'. He's looking at me. 'Yeah what is it?' So I say to him. 'Ken', now I say it and I'm really full
of love I just can't help it, I'm not even trying. I'm just looking at this dear man. I said,
'Ken, when you die and you stand before God and he says to you "why should I let
you in?"' I said, 'are you going to heaven, Ken?, So he spoke to me about that. He said he's
going to heaven because he's been good. So I don't judge him. I don't knock him down. I
just listen to why he's going to heaven. And then I need to put the record straight that none
of his or none of my righteousness will get us in. But what will get us in is our faith in
Jesus. So I talk about the passport that he needs. So I talk about... I took that postcard
of that famous painting. I showed him it, Light of the World. I explained he had to
open the door and that by faith in the death of Jesus, if he puts his faith in Jesus he'll
get to heaven and it doesn't depend on his works. And then he said to me a little
bit later, 'what do you want me to do'? Then I told him what to do. It was amazing. Then it
started to rain and we walked out the coffee shop. And I'm walking through the high street with
my umbrella trying to shield him from the rain. And he's walking really slowly and I
just left him that day and I prayed, 'Lord, I pray that he will open the door to you and
save him'. That's dear Ken. And all because you say, 'morning, hello'. But one day you stopped. You
know it reminds me, we read often of Jesus in the Gospels. He was walking and he stopped and spoke
to somebody. Yeah, but we need to do more of that don't we in the Church? We do and we can and every
Christian, every person that knows and loves Jesus can. And it's a lie from the enemy that says,
you can't. Every person that loves Jesus can do that. It's a choice. Yeah it is a decision
isn't it? It is a choice absolutely, but also it's a commission from Jesus. I mean he's told us
to do this. All the years I've ever known you Andy, you have always been intentional in sharing your faith. What do you feel the Lord is teaching you
now at this moment, what's he been revealing to you? I think Jesus is coming sooner than we think. And I think he wants us who know him already, to be
fully committed in heart, soul and spirit to him. And if anything comes to mind that we ought to put
right, let's do that. I think he's coming soon and all the things that he spoke
about and the Bible speaks about nearing his coming, the end times, they're
fast approaching. More and more of those prophetic things are being fulfilled and
I think he's saying, 'get ready my people, proclaim the Gospel. I'm coming soon' and we need
to be mindful of the Gospel and of his coming. We say in some churches, 'Christ has died,
Christ is risen, Christ will come again'. I think there's an emphasis on 'Christ is coming'.
You know, we go, we celebrate Christmas hugely but what we don't believe and celebrate enough is;
He is coming. We know the Bible speaks about two of his comings and there is His
Second Coming. He's coming. Let's be ready. Let's proclaim the Good News. And let's be like
D.L. Moody who was that famous evangelist that consecrated himself more so that he
could be used as a greater vessel for God. In Moody's time no one
had ever spoken to as many people as he did. This simple man that only had a few years of
schooling. One of nine children from a very poor background, brought up by a widow. Suddenly
converted from his Sunday School teacher said, 'no one has yet to see', his friend
said to him, 'a man fully consecrated to God.' So by God's grace, let's be fully given to Jesus. Now with D.L. Moody something shifted and something changed after the Great Fire in Chicago. Tell us about that. Well he just finished his sermon that night. On that very night, I think it was 1871 and the bell started ringing in the town or the city of Chicago and a third of Chicago was
destroyed. 200 people killed and 17,000 people lost their homes in one night. He was never the same. He
vowed to God that thereafter, that he would be even more intentional and that he would always
give people an opportunity to decide for Jesus. He'd always challenge and invite
people to receive and repent and receive Jesus. So there was like a real urgency after the fire.
It made him realise that every day counts. Yes, every day counts and he made a promise to God that
he would lead, - not talk to anybody, more than that - he would lead one person to Christ every day and
it said of him, God helped him to fulfil that. It's a bit like Dixie Dean. Yes I remember.
When he came to our youth group when we were teenagers and God spoke to him and said Dixie,
I want you to speak to one person every day about me. And sometimes he'd have to look in the
phone book. Pick a name. Sometimes they'd have to go late at night at eleven and find a down
and out in London and show some love or speak to them about Jesus. But Dixie Dean, whom we heard
and those are the stories that really affected us and transformed us, made that promise to God and
he kept it, just like D.L. Moody. Absolutely. I know there is an urgency, you said earlier
on Andy, we need to be more committed. Just unpack that more for us in the light
of Jesus' coming return. How committed? In what ways do we need to be
committed? In what ways do we need to surrender? Well for me, I'm asking the question
'What do you want me to do, Lord, with regard to the ministry that you've given
me in this country and Nigeria? I want to follow what you're asking me to
do.' So I want to be committed in that way. I want to continue what the Lord has asked me to do. Given
my hands to do. To take care of that thing that God has given me to do. So I want to be
committed to that. I want to be committed to reading the Word every day. I want to be
committed to praying. I try and read Spurgeon in the morning and in the evening, his daily
devotional. I've been doing that for two years. If you read Spurgeon for two years you can't
be the same. Now Charles Spurgeon, for those who don't know, he was a minister in London. Thousands
would flock to his services. Yeah, he had a church of about up to 6,000. His sermons were
produced in their thousands every week. They were on the billboards in Scotland on train stations.
He's called even today the Prince of Preachers. His writing today, he's got more influence
today, far more than when he was alive. Amazing. And his devotional I found over the
last two years, beautiful and helpful, encouraging, challenging, inspiring, very insightful and
discerning. If anyone listening Andy today, they've heard this, they know
about it, they're sitting on the fence. The thing about sitting on the fence is it's actually very
uncomfortable isn't it? It's not very comfortable sitting on the fence. A friend of mine, Michael
Green, who was promoted to glory. He said anyone who sits on the fence, let's electrocute them.
Give them a spark! What would you say to anyone who's sitting on the fence about the Christian
faith? What would your encouragement be to them? Today is the day of salvation.
Don't put it off. Make the decision to give your life as fully as you can. Come
to Him just as you are and give your life to Jesus. And for Christians, for those that know
Jesus already, say 'you can have it all. Here I am. I surrender all'. And to those that
don't know Jesus yet. 'Here I am. And I surrender all. And I open the door. Come into my life by
your Spirit. Do with me what you want, Master.' If anyone would like to say 'yes' to
what you've just said Andy, could you please speak to them now and lead them into a
prayer of commitment. If you'd like to, as J.John has said, if you'd like to say yes to Jesus now,
I'm going to keep my eyes open and pray a prayer. And if you'd like to echo this then please
do so. This is the prayer, this is the decision. Let's make this decision. Lord Jesus I believe that you are the Son of God. Lord Jesus you died for me. I
put my trust and faith in you. Forgive me for all my sins and receive
me. I open the door to you. Come into my life by your Holy Spirit. Cleanse me. Forgive
me Lord Jesus. I receive you as my Lord. I receive you as my Saviour from sin and
I receive you as my Master. Even now. Amen If you prayed that prayer
the Lord has heard that prayer and He has answered that prayer and
there's a new beginning. You've been born again and I pray for you and I
announce and I pronounce Christ's forgiveness. May you be cleansed and set free from
the past. May you know His peace and His presence. May you know the power of His Spirit on you and in
you and with you. And may you know His protection as you fix your eyes on Jesus the
author and the perfecter of our faith. Amen. Andy, it's such an encouragement hearing
a little bit about your own story, a bit about your ministry and just your
practices of sharing the Good News with others. This is the book that you mentioned 'True' that
you give out to people. So you carry this with you. I do. And when you have an opportunity,
you just offer it to people and it contains the Gospel message and then you've written this
lovely book 'Refreshed And Renewed' which are like daily devotions to kind of warm the heart
and these resources are available on your website. Andy thank you for introducing me to Jesus
and introducing so many other people to Jesus. And all the best, keep on keeping on for the future. Thank you for joining us on Facing the
Canon. Thank you. How encouraging was that? I like it when you hear someone and
meet someone who doesn't just talk about it but actually lives it, is a real practitioner.
And I'm so thankful that Andy introduced me to Jesus. In fact, he bought me a Bible. I didn't
have a Bible and he would meet with me once a week over lunch explaining the Bible to me and
that eventually brought me to Christ and it transformed my life. It transformed my
my future, it transformed my destiny. So why don't you do that for someone else. Reach
out to someone else and introduce them to Jesus. Thank you for joining us on Facing the Canon.
Hope today has inspired you. Please join us again.
