Chandler Sibley works in outreach and evangelism in the United Kingdom.
When did you trust Christ?
As a child, I struggled with the idea that I had to be a good person to get to Heaven. The burden of that thought was crushing, because at the end of the day, I couldn’t meet the high standards I’d set for myself. Then, I heard the Good News about Jesus for the first time. I prayed to receive Christ’s forgiveness, and God gave me peace and assurance that I was right with him, not because of what I had done, but because of what Jesus had done! Rather than feeling like I had to strive to meet my own standards, I could humbly admit that I fell short of God’s standards, but that Jesus met those standards in my place and offered me forgiveness and eternal life if I turned from my way of living and trusted in Him.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
Since following Jesus, I have enjoyed a real friendship and relationship with God, knowing that He loves me and I will spend forever with Him. He has given me greater joy and peace. He has been my Shepherd, Friend, and Father, and I don’t always understand what He’s doing, but He has been the One leading my whole life. He is teaching me to trust Him and to know that He has the full perspective, whereas I don’t see the whole big picture, and, as much as I sometimes want to, I can’t actually control my life. He is in control. I love that He invites everyone to come to Him and receive new life. You don’t have to try and be perfect; the only prerequisite is to realise you need Him!
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I expect to gain greater confidence in my own personal apologetics questions, as well as in engaging with people in our area. I hope to develop my skills in responding in real-time to people in conversations about Christianity. After looking at the curriculum and reading the bio of Dr. Bruce Little, I am excited that he seems to be inspired by Francis Schaeffer.
What is your ministry?
Currently, I work at Shepherd’s Church, a church plant in West London, helping lead the Outreach and Evangelism alongside my husband. We engage people on the streets, through door-knocking, and through relationships in our daily lives, seeking to share Jesus Christ with them. We host a weekly Community Group in our flat where believers and seekers come and share a meal, then open the Bible and discuss a passage (right now we are going through Mark). We help equip our church family in disciple-making and sharing the Good News through trainings, workshops, and engaging people in the community. We plan and host events for the community, including a Thanksgiving Feast and other socials, both small and large. I also help to keep the nations in the hearts of our people by organising a monthly time of praying for the nations during our Sunday service together. I’m hoping to lead a mission trip from our church to an unreached people group sometime in the next year or so. I enjoy fostering deeper fellowship and community among our church family and lost friends.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
In university, I served in my church as the Greet Team leader and outreach leader. I was part of a ministry in the United States where I led a nine-month training for people preparing to move overseas for the Gospel. I also led several disciple-making teams and led the leaders of other disciple-making teams. For two years, I served as Director of Mobilisation and led other people in full-time ministry on our Mobilisation Team, as well as overseeing mobilisation efforts at our church.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
We have a heart to see people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation worshipping Jesus, and we know that there are many who do not have access to the Good News. And we know that God has brought many people from these very unreached people groups to London. London has a great Gospel need, and specifically in Shepherd's Bush, there are only an estimated 150-200 mature believers for a population of about 50,000. My husband and I long to see more people experience the goodness of a relationship with Jesus in London, and for the Gospel to be spread to the ends of the earth, with London being a launching pad! We know it's essential for us to be continual learners, and we have a lot of learning to do.
