In the summer of 2018, we took a trip to Ireland. It was last minute, and all we knew was that we had a rental car, a place to stay for the first two nights, and a return flight home in ten days! The fourth day of our trip was a Sunday, and we knew that we needed to attend church on our trip, as we always do on vacation. We drove two hours south from our little rented flat to a church called Cavan Baptist Church! It was a lovely experience, and one of the church elders reminded us so strongly of our church deacon back home as he led a little children’s message at the beginning. He was drawn to talk to us after church as we were drawn to talk to him. I think we chatted for nearly an hour that morning about all things Jesus, church, Ireland, driving in Ireland, etc, etc. Near the end, he asked for prayer as he and his wife (and a few other families) were moving to a nearby town to plant a church. I marveled at his faith and willingness to follow the Lord, and he shared the great need for Gospel Lights in Ireland. He encouraged me to come and live in Ireland to reach people.
As we prayed for the fledgling church plant, the Lord began to stir up in our hearts a Call to plant in Ireland. The more we felt Him leading us, the more we began to research. Today, the Joshua Project holds that only 1.7% of the population of Ireland is Evangelical. Another striking article that stood out to us was this one from the Gospel Coalition. The more we talked to Irish friends, pastors, elders, and Christians, the more we realized the immense need for people to come to Ireland to share the love of Christ. The more we prayed, the more we hurt for the Irish who had never had the Gospel lived out in front of them, those who had never believed, and who might never have the opportunity to hear, understand, and believe.
In 2022, I was joining with our family pastor in praying and seeing if the Lord might be calling us away from the church we were both serving in (we didn’t want to go, but it seemed like the time for the church). So the Kittrells took an intentional self-funded trip back to Ireland to go see the church plant we had been praying for. We met with missionaries from Illinois who were just getting started. We talked to our friends in the church plant. We saturated the trip and time in prayer, asking the Lord if He was calling us to begin immediately. God began to stir in our hearts that He was calling us, but “not yet.”
In 2023, the Lord told us to begin to prepare. We sought out mission organizations, and went on a vision trip to seek the place in the summer of 2024. We stand ready and willing to answer the Call to go serve! The Lord has only put this fire in our bones deeper and deeper! We eagerly anticipate the day that the Lord will flesh out His call for us in Ireland!
Kittrells In Ireland 