Gobaith i Gymru - Hope for Wales

Jesus Christ is the only true hope for our nation.

It wasn’t by chance that the Committee decided to call the trust gig (Hope for Wales). We were looking for a name that young people in particular could identify with – and this concern for the young people of Wales is reflected in gig’s priorities and strategy.

The Welsh name Gobaith i Gymru (Hope for Wales) reflects the fact that gig has been set up in order to proclaim the good news about Jesus Christ to Welsh speaking people. But as you will see below, that Christians in english speaking churches have an important and vital part to play in outreach to the Welsh speaking community.

The word Hope focuses on our deep conviction that Jesus Christ is the only true hope for our nation. It is a lack of hope that has characterised most Welsh speaking churches for decades. The decline in numbers attending worship services, together with the increasing number of chapels and churches that are closing, and the fact that the average age of those attending regularly is very high has often led to a defensive and inward looking attitude. We would emphasise that there are important exceptions, and we thank God for them. Our hope is that gig will be of service and encouragement to these exceptions, and will help others catch a new vision.

We lay great emphasis on providing good resources. We believe that there is a need for contemporary, attractive resources to enable the churches to fulfill their mission more effectively. Our primary resource is the Word of God, and that is why gig has given priority to the work of revising the Beibl Cymraeg Newydd (New Welsh Bible), and the New Testament paraphrase. But many other resoures are needed – such as contemporary worship songs. We in gig believe that the Welsh speaking churches need to face up to the challenge to change if they are going to be effective in mission and grow as faithful churches that are relevant to the twenty first century.