Exciting Stuff!

I just needed to put in a quick entry about last night's class. Today reflecting on the events I have a fantastic feeling about the road ahead. I am excited for a number of reasons, firstly because I know there is no better opportunity for the seed to be sown than at this class. Last night there were around 30 teens there who are, admittedly, at varying levels along the road of finding and making faith their own, but 30 teens who listened very attentively and engagingly to the lesson. I am excited about the fact that this class gives John Campbell, Angie and David Chapman a chance to get excited and focused about outreach. I have talked with John and my dad a fair bit this week and we are all anticipating a great year for the church. I am also excited about preaching to this group. The changes we have introduced to the setting and having all boys and girls together has made this a very exciting opportunity. I spent a long time getting last nights lesson together and praise God I think it connected and challenged the teens to think seriously about their commitment to believing that God is creator and therefore His purpose for our lives needs to be taken seriously. I talked about a campaign that is running here by an atheist group who have sponsored buses to display posters saying, "There is probably no God! So stop worrying and enjoy life." At the end of the lesson I asked the teens, "Why do you think it's easier NOT to believe in God?" There were a number of responses expressing that if you don't commit to believing in God you can pretty much do whatever you want. I finished with the question, "Have you made up your OWN mind about whether or not you believe in God?" The freaky thing was that after I finished the group started clapping. I take that as a positive that they got the message. We managed to hold their attention for a good 30 minutes. We sang two devo songs and again got a good response. Over the next 3 weeks I will do 3 lessons based on the C.S. Lewis, "Liar, Lunatic or Lord." This will naturally lead to having to answer the question about who Christ really was and what to do in response.

We chilled out for the following two hours. We played some cards, table tennis, football and talked. We had 3 new faces and the feedback from the teens is all good. I anticipate there will be many more coming in the weeks ahead. I pray God continues to give us the insight and vision to maintain the opportunity for community and faith to thrive. We continue to pray for guidance on how to marry this group with church too. Anyway, I suppose it's up to us to take the small steps and leave the BIG stuff to the Creator!

I am putting the finishing touches on my lesson for Sunday night. I am again excited about where this journey has taken me. God has been leading me to some amazing stuff this past week and I pray that my heart and tongue can get it all across. I must also ask for your prayers again. Although this past week's journey has been amazing I am physically and mentally drained. Please pray that I can continue to minister effectively in spite of weakness. Fenella needs your prayers too. We've both been running on empty. Fenella is working a bit more than she needs to be and struggles to find any kind of time for herself. She does a magic job for me and the girls, making sure we all know what we are doing as well as running a physio department. Although we are struggling a wee bit, at the moment, we have much hope and anticipation for the year ahead.

God bless!