Jesus said
"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath"
Mark 2 v 27
Brian Magee - the new Day One representative for Northern Ireland shares his testimony
My earliest memories are of a little terrace house in East Belfast. I did not come from a Christian home, in fact my parents did not even go to church and so I was ignorant of the gospel and the word of God. However, God is gracious and even then He began to reach out to me. Some Christians bought the terrace house right beside mine, and they turned it into a little hall where they held Sunday School each week. I started to attend and this is where I first began to hear Bible stories and meet Christian people. Despite this opportunity to develop my understanding of the things of God, I soon showed that my young heart was indeed desperately wicked and had no desire to know more about God and soon I was hiding from the Sunday School Superintendent, as he strode up and down outside the hall and passed my window as he did so. The attraction of watching the Sunday afternoon film with my parents proved too great a temptation and soon I was watching John Wayne and Errol Flynn, instead of singing choruses and answering questions in a Bible quiz. This period in my life makes me wonder how many children and young people are missing Sunday School or Bible Class, simply because there are so many attractions now on the Lord’s Day which tempt them away and mean that they are missing out on learning more about God and the message of the gospel.
Throughout my teenage years I found myself beginning to ask questions. What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? Is there a God? All of these questions went unanswered for many years until a friend of mine was saved. Suddenly, through him, I found myself in contact with Christians, of my own age and I saw that they had something that I did not have. That something was Jesus Christ. I began to attend church regularly and through the witness of these young Christians I became aware that I was a sinner in need of a Saviour, and one sunny Sunday afternoon, after coming to the realisation of my great need of Christ, I repented of my sin and trusted Jesus Christ as my saviour.
I was invited to attend a Christian Endeavour meeting in a local church, which I found to be a great help as I tried to learn more about God and to grow in grace. I can look back now and see how God graciously helped me and guided me. Indeed, it was there that I met my wife Elizabeth. We have been married for 31 years and we have two daughters, Cathy, who is a doctor, currently studying to become a surgeon and Laura, who is a youth worker.
As I developed in my Christian life I began to have opportunities to serve God in several roles within the church. I also began to have opportunities to preach, which surprised me quite considerably, as I had always though that I was too shy and reserved to stand up and speak before a crowd of people. It is amazing what God can fashion out of the most unshapely lump of clay. I also began to have a sense of the call of God to serve Him. Despite fighting against this for some time I finally gave in and accepted the call of God. After seeking the approval of my home church I applied to the Irish Baptist College and studied there for four years, completing a Bachelor of Divinity degree and a Diploma in Pastoral Studies.
During my time at College I completed two assistantships and preached in most of the Baptist churches in N Ireland. During my honours year I was also given pastoral responsibility of a church whose pastor had developed a debilitating illness which meant that he could not carry out the duties required of a minister. While I still continued to have opportunities to preach, I was not able to secure a full time post and so after completing a Post Graduate Certificate in Education I taught for several years in both the Primary and Secondary sector, within N Ireland.
During this time and as I continued to study I joined the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. After several years preaching within this denomination, I put my name forward for the ministry. After completing a period of study and completing two assistantships, I was licensed as a minister within the EPC. While I do not have the responsibility of a particular church, I continue to preach regularly and I am the Leader of the Senior and Junior YPA within my own church.
In June 2008 I was approached with regard to the Northern Ireland Representative of Day One Ministries. I immediately saw this as an opportunity to serve the Lord and after taking some time to consider and pray about the matter I responded positively to the invitation. After an interview and several meetings with the Northern Ireland committee and when all things had been considered both at HQ and in N Ireland I was appointed to the post in February 2009.
I pray that with God’s help I might be enabled to promote the cause of Day One Ministries and make people realise the importance of the Lord’s Day. That God should not be robbed of the worship and honour that he is due and that families in 2009 should not lose out on the blessing that is to be known in the keeping of the Lord’s Day.