Wesleyan Reform Union : Home Missions & YPD – News & Prayer Letter

Excited about Mission! May 2011

Please don't hesitate to contact me regarding anything in this letter. I would love to hear from you, especially if you want ideas or help with outreach in your area! Andy Wilcock - [email protected] (Home Missions - Development and Outreach Consultant) Martin Ludbrook – [email protected] (YPD Youth Worker)

Books and Resources

Reaching the unreached by Roger Carswell The evangelist Roger Carswell has written this very challenging article on the state of evangelism in England. Please follow this link to the Evangelicals Now website to read it. http://e-n.org.uk/5489-Not-listening-to-God.htm

“A Meal with ” by Tim Chester - ISBN-13: 978-1433521362 I have just bought this book, and can’t wait to start it this weekend. So here’s a review from Amazon. “Tim Chester has a keen ability to reflect on gospel, community, and mission, making them accessible to the common person through the mess and movement of everyday life. Tim certainly accomplished this again in A Meal with Jesus. With each meal, my convictions about how the gospel informs all of life and relationships went deeper, and my affections for Jesus grew stronger. I want everyone in my church to read this book.” Jeff Vanderstelt, Lead Pastor, Soma Communities, Tacoma, Washington; Vice President, Acts 29

Right, I have just read the introduction, and this is great stuff! Here are a few quotes so far... “And now Jesus, the Son of Man has come. But how does he come? Does he come with an army of angels? Does he come on the clouds of heaven? Does he come with a blaze of glory?” No, he comes “eating and drinking,” (Luke 7:34 Robert Karris concludes: “In Luke’s Gospel Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal.” “Some people push mission beyond the scope of “ordinary” Christians. But the Son of Man came eating and drinking. It’s not complicated.” “If you share a meal three or four times a week and you have a passion for Jesus, then you will be building up the Christian community and reaching out in mission”

“Bringing Home the Gospel” by Randy Newman – ISBN-13: 978-1433513718 I have just finished reading this excellent book on sharing the gospel with family and friends. It is covers a wide range of issues and helpfully looks at building quality relationships with your family and friends. The book gives some very good practical ideas and uses real life stories as examples that have and have not worked, like the story of a son who phoned his mum every day on his way home from work, while stuck in traffic. People asked “don’t you run out of stuff to talk about?” Actually they had more things to talk about as day to day narratives developed. And the story of father who started watching films that his son watched, even though it wasn’t his kind of film. The sacrifice paid off as the father learnt to relate to his son better and their relationship deepened.

Party on the Green

Sponsored by the members of several churches and Christian groups in the area.

Ivinghoe & Pitstone - 'The Chapel Fellowship' - an update on the work It was so exciting to speak with David and Sheridan Clifton last night on the phone and here about the on-going work. David and Sheridan meet up regularly with four other Christians in the area for prayer and fellowship. As they prayed for the area the six of them decided to organise a Tent Mission. A wide number of churches in the area including Baptist and Elim got on board. The green next to the Memorial Hall was booked for the whole weekend. Local bands played live music for five hours each day; everything was free, including beef burgers and drinks at lunch time and the bouncy castle. Over 50 people attended the Tea Dance held in the Memorial Hall. Youth for Christ brought their football cage. Then each evening at 7pm they held the main tent meeting and there were 60-90 people at each meeting.

Here is the exciting report from the weekend which was an amazing success

What a great weekend! Nine folks made profession of , several others made new commitments and there were countless healings! Praise the !! New relationships forged and old ones strengthened. What a joy to see the Body of Christ together in unity - what a lot of talent there is in the Body – what a witness to the village! We gave away 1400 burgers and hot dogs and over the weekend, we must have seen well over 1000 visit the Party. Our total budget was £4,300 and it looks as if we have totally covered that amount. Halleluiah!

Following Up and Pray Points

 Youth for Christ have had a long term plan to start a Youth Café in Pitstone. Please pray for a suitable venue to be found.  Dave and Sheridan are starting a discipleship course five people signed up from the weekend  Pray for the on-going relationship with Christians in the area keen to reach out to the two communities.  Pray for Dave as he organises and plays a major part in projects like the “Community Car Scheme” which has nine volunteer drivers on the books and that provides a vital service in taking people to hospital appointments. Activities like this provide an important service to the community, and means that David gets to know many more people.

Low Moor - Family Fun Night Pastor Ady Rugeruza and a small group of leaders started a Friday Night Kids Club back in September with just 4 to 6 kids. It has now grown to around 20 kids every week. Martin Ludbrook (YPD) has visited the group on a number of occasions and had a great time with the kids. On Friday 13th May, Martin took a team from his own church over to Low Moor to run a Family Fun Night based around Chocolate. Over 60 Parents and Children turned up and had a fantastic evening. They listened well to the talk Martin gave at the end, and some parents stayed behind to help clean up. One parent commented that this is exact kind of event their community needs. Please continue to pray for the team working with the kids every Friday night and as they continue to befriend the parents and families of the Children. Also for a Holiday Club they are planning for the summer.

Community Family Choir Anne-Marie at Hampden View has been involved in a few choirs linked to churches and schools in the past but these have all proved to be inward looking and selective. This month Anne- Marie and a Lucy from a local CofE Church started an all-age Choir, renting a room in a Community Centre. Three local churches have backed the project and paid for renting the room for a short period, but it is hoped that it will become self-sufficient. They have now been running for a month and a good number of parents, children and local residents are singing their hearts out and sounding great. Please pray for the development of the group and for the forming of good friendships across the group and into the wider community. Events and Opportunities coming up “It’s your move” – Booklets A number of our churches will be buying these books for Year 6 students to help them prepare to move up to secondary school in September. Some churches have also got the opportunity to go into schools and take assemblies or to have the whole day with the Y6’s looking at their transition, expectation and fears of moving up. Please pray for this fantastic opportunity, pray by name for the children you know who are moving up and for those involved in events connected with the books. Maybe you could offer to buy books for your local school, or individual books for children you know. Please follow the link below or ask at your local Christian Book Shop. http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/ItsYourMove/

Children’s Worker Training Event Griffydam - Saturday 2nd July 10:00 - 4:00 6 Hour Training Session to challenge, encourage and equip children’s workers in their church led by Dave Godfrey. www.omegazone.org.uk

Great for those who lead (help) with mid-week kids clubs or holiday clubs or are thinking of starting one. Dave has run among other things the Omega Zone at Spring Harvest for the last ten years and written some fantastic holiday club material including: Pyramid Rock, Seaside Rock, Rocky's Plaice.

The day will begin with looking at Jesus' passion for children and its practical Implications for the church today. It will include a look at the underlying principles for children’s ministry and aims to encourage and envision children’s workers for this vital task. Dave will also look at; prayer, praise and and give loads of creative ideas to engage children. You are asked for a £10 minimum donation per church for attendance at this training session plus £5 per person for a copy of the seminar notes. Praise Party 5:30 to 7pm Following the training there will be an Omega Zone Praise Party bursting with Dave’s unique music, combined with themed games, dance, drama, storytelling, teaching, puppetry etc. - all in a very visual, interactive and child-friendly way. It’s a high quality event for everyone to enjoy. A chance to see all that you have learnt put into practise! Tickets are £2 and this starts at 5:30-7:00. It would be great if you could bring kids from your church. Refreshments: coffee and tea will be provided but please bring your own packed lunch (and tea if you are planning on staying for the Praise Party.) Hosted by: Chapel in the Valley, Griffydam Venue : Beaumont Centre, Nottingham Road, Peggs Green, Coleorton, Leicestershire, LE67 8HN Booking Details: Jill Thomas 01530 460 660 email :[email protected]

Puppet Training Day by One Way UK Moira,Swadlincote, Derbyshire Saturday June 25th – 10am to 4pm Registration starts at 9.30am

This training day is designed to give you hands on experience of puppetry within the following areas: basic and some advanced puppet manipulation skills, how to start a puppet ministry (including, finances, equipment, recruiting etc), props and scenery and much more!

The day is for adults and young people, schools workers, church leaders, Sunday school teachers, youth/children's workers, puppet team leaders or puppet team members. It is not suitable for children under the age of 10, unless they are an active member of a puppet team.

Fees: £13.00 if booked 10 days prior to event, or £17.50 thereafter. The day will commence at 10am and finish at 4pm..

Refreshments will be available but please bring a packed lunch and a puppet if you have one. There will be a selection of practice puppets available for you to use if needed.

Venue: Moira Church, Donisthorpe Lane, Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE12 6AZ INDIVIDUAL PRICES (per delegate) • Book before Wed Jun 15th 2011 to qualify for discounted price of £13.00 • Thereafter, Registration Fee £17.50 PLEASE NOTE: All bookings will be dealt with on a 'first come first serve' basis, so please BOOK EARLY to avoid disappointment. Bookings to be made directly through www.onewayuk.com where further details are provided

Holiday Clubs Syresham - Holiday Club Swanton Abbott - Holiday Club 25th - 26th July God’s secret Agent 27th-29th July Treasure Island

with with Martin Martin Ludbrook Ludbrook – YPD YPD

Mexborough - Holiday Club - Tue 16th to Fri 19th Aug

2012 Olympics - On your Marks Serving our land All too often the churches are seen negatively, as out of touch and only interested in themselves. The 2012 Olympic Games provides a unique opportunity for UK churches to be seen for what they really are.

By playing their part in the programmes of outreach, hospitality and service every church can help tell a different story. And waken fresh interest in who it is that makes us different and how they can know him for themselves.

Please check out the website and see how you can get involved http://www.morethangold.org.uk/

Can you attend a Road Show and find out more? June Monday 6th Stratford refreshments at 7.30 - Highway Church, 88a Romford Road E15 4EH Tuesday 7th Bristol - Ebenezer Church, Horfield BS7 0BA Wednesday 8th Weymouth - St John's, Greenhill DT4 7SS Thursday 9th Worthing - St Matthew's Church, Tarring Road BN11 4HB Monday 13th Chelmsford - Elim Christian Centre, Hall Street CM2 0HG Thursday 16th Birmingham - Aston Villa FC, Road B6 6HE Monday 20th Leeds - Hunslet Methodist Church, Telford Terrace LS102HR Tuesday 21st Manchester - Salford City Reds, Willows Road M5 5FQ Wednesday 22nd Leicester - St. Martins House, 7 Peacock Lane LE1 5PZ Wednesday 22nd Newcastle - Heaton Baptist Church, Heaton Road NE6 5HN Thursday 23rd Cambridge - Cambridge United FC, Newmarket Road, CB5 8LN Tuesday 28th Central London - All Souls, All Souls Place W1B 3DA Thursday 30th Nottingham - Trent Vineyard, Unit 1, Easter Park, Lenton Lane NG7 2PX