- Missions
Being a fan of Liverpool is legitimate: The Beatles were born here, and the city’s football club has won more European titles than any other English team.
Long before the Beatles became global rock stars, John, Paul, George and Ringo grew up as Liverpudlians, first coming together to perform in the city’s Cavern Club on Mathew Street. Liverpool FC, the winner of several titles in the last century, is almost as famous as the Beatles in this city.
For Daniel Shin, a Converge global worker, the people’s pride in the city on the Irish Sea revealed itself more ordinarily. Shortly after he arrived in January 2019, Shin was sorting out an issue with his residence card in one of the city’s post offices.
As the process turned unpleasant, a local Liverpudlian came to Shin’s aid. She was frustrated, he explained, because of the unkind interaction Shin experienced. So she volunteered to walk Shin 10 minutes to another town post office.
He said she apologized the entire way, letting him know he shouldn’t have been treated as he was. Instead, she shared how Liverpudlians make life work by helping others or persevering against significant challenges.
The city has also had a few challenges since 1207, when a British king authorized a charter for the new community. Most recently, Liverpool has faced the decline of an economy based on shipbuilding, ports and international commerce.
Shin moved here so his neighbors, whether famous, friendly or frustrated, could become lifelong followers of Christ.
Why are prayer and faith lacking?
For all the legitimate pride in the city, Shin grasped a fundamental reality — there wasn’t much prayer here — and moved to Liverpool four years ago. He, his wife, Naomi, and their infant son, Micah, live in the city’s center.
The number of disciples here is less than 5000 out of the city’s half a million people — less than 1%. Across England, only about 2.7% of the nation’s population lives as Christ-followers.
Related: Converge seeks a gospel movement in the world’s least-reached places.
According to Shin, one reason for the lack of believers is church hurt after the pain began three generations ago. For example, he said the grandparents of today’s young adults felt mistreated and unloved as part of the community’s churches. Therefore, they didn’t take their children to church, and those parents didn’t pass on the faith to today’s young adults.
As a result, the city’s university students and people in their 20s and 30s need a frame of reference for Christ’s way of life. That’s despite the presence of 51 churches throughout the community, including the largest Anglican cathedral in England.
“A cathedral is just a tourist attraction here,” Shin noted as the perception of many in Liverpool.
Related: American churches like Center Cross Church embrace those hurt in church.
The city’s attractions beyond the Beatles’ historic sites or the football club are several. Many move to Liverpool for work or advanced education at one of the three major universities along the coast. In addition, the city’s 500,000 people and visitors enjoy historic sights such as the oldest Chinatown in Europe.
The British are teaching the King’s ways to Americans
Shin works full-time for the Alliance for Transatlantic Theological Training. As the executive director, he supervises five ministry directors who lead initiatives for the UK-USA partnership of churches.
A cathedral is just a tourist attraction here.
Daniel Shin
AT3 started in 2015 — also in Liverpool — as Converge church planter Ken Lippold acted on two years of discovery and discussion with British church leaders. What’s happened since AT3’s founding shows that God’s house offers more than sightseeing.
In 2013, Lippold went to the city as a servant. Over his first two years there, church leaders expressed they would welcome more American disciples as apprentices in British churches. Such a collaboration would resource British churches with gospel servants and train Americans to make disciples in a post-Christian context.
Related: England's unbelief and diversity draw couple to service
Shin is also an elder at Christ Church Liverpool and leads worship once a month. He also serves in a small group for university students and young adults. He’s stimulating gospel friendships among people who gather one-on-one or sometimes in threes to grow their faith.
“They wanted to do life-on-life discipleship,” he said of his fellow believers at Christ Church Liverpool. “It’s like having intentional spiritual conversations with people you meet anyway to watch a show or football or something and pray with them too.”
British hearts are more like clean slates
Shin doesn’t find the reality of evangelism and discipleship in the United Kingdom discouraging, despite the perception of many that church is irrelevant, historic and unnecessary for daily life. Instead of hard hearts, people who’ve gone a long time without faith have fresh ears to hear.
“You’re almost going with a clean slate when you’re talking to someone about Jesus for the first time,” Shin said.
Sharing Christ almost always requires a relationship, Shin added. For example, many who don’t know Shin might hear of his faith or listen to him talk about forgiveness and joy and share a sincere ‘great, good for you.’ Even so, their sincerity with Shin ends as they say their life is fine, even if life’s not going well.
“Here, nobody would lie about going to church,” he added. “There’s no incentive to do that.”
Thanksgiving curiosity shows a desire for community
After two years in Liverpool, one neighbor asked Shin about Thanksgiving. ‘Do you go around and share what you’re thankful for?’ the man asked. So the Shins started having Brits over for a meal and fun at the end of November.
“People want community,” he said of the fun and good relationships developing around them. “Community is the way you begin to create a bridge to the gospel.”
Even as newcomers, the Shins have become friends with university students, neighbors and others in the community. They watch football, eat in Chinatown and visit the Royal Albert Dock, all moments that create and sustain gospel friendships.
People want community. Community is the way you begin to create a bridge to the gospel.
Daniel Shin
The desire for community, the relational angle to Liverpool’s life, keeps Shin aware of the legitimate pride he encountered at the post office years ago. Like the lady who helped him, many people are friendly to one another, especially in challenging moments.
That’s true at the post office, but being proud of their community started long before Shin walked into a government building. For over a hundred years, people have found great pride in Liverpool FC as the team hoisted trophies and celebrated triumphs.
Then, in the 1960s, fervent fans gained a new reason to celebrate inside a venue known as the Cavern. There, Liverpudlians started gathering before the Beatles — and they liked what they heard.
When it comes to new ideas and matters of life more profound than the Beatles or Liverpool FC, Liverpool’s people will hear someone out when there’s trust. That willingness stirs hope that people will follow Christ even after decades away from him, even in a place where disciples don’t equal one percent of the population.
“If you’re somebody important or significant in their life, then they’ll listen,” Shin said.
That’s why he’s confident these people might hear from God and become followers, rather than just fans.
Converge is asking God for a gospel movement among every least-reached people group – in our generation. Learn how we are playing a role in accomplishing the Great Commission and how you can be involved.
