Life is very full these days and finding a quiet moment to sit and focus on this report is proving to be tough. If it were not for our friends in America who are supporting our efforts here I dare say I would choose not to get on here. However, it is because of our love for the churches involved in keeping us going that I take this wee while out to update on our ministry. Upon reflection I have to say things are going well. In the classes at church there has been fewer dramas and more focused effort on the younger ones part and as you will see further into this update the involvement from the older teens especially has been refreshing.
I will begin with a snippet from our last 3rd Sunday Night. Alex, John and I got things together and shared a great night. John welcomed everyone and led the singing while Alex and I shared the message. Alex started out by showing the Tiger Woods "Apology" and talked about man's sinful nature. I followed Alex with the question, "Do you want to live a life of Brokenness or Blessing?" We concluded with the truth that you can only find the blessing if you are following the right path. We had a good number there and again we had a bunch of the teens there. It is now part of their lifestyle to come on the 3rd Sunday.
On Friday night's we made a change to the format during our class time. For the pas 3 weeks we have simply set a foundation with a 5-10 minute intro and then split the group into smaller groups for discussion. This might seem commonplace to you, but the difference here is that we challenged the older teens to lead the discussion groups - beautiful! They have responded in a really positive way! When we ask for group leaders there are a bunch who step up and take the lead. John, Alex and I just mingle from group to group helping out a little if needed. We all come together again after about 15 minutes for discussion and exploration. Last week we discussed the question, "How do you know God is real?" Alex, John and I shared why we were convinced in the reality of God and were blessed to hear some of the teens "Faith Blocks." Let me say with honesty that some of the younger ones who have not been coming for long have at times been silly and struggled with the groups, but the evidence on the whole is that there is depth in many of their young minds.
I must quickly mention about last night. We met with the older teens and shared a good time together. We wanted Andy Forman, who is leaving on Sunday to start army training, to know how much we appreciate him and we all wrote messages in the pages of a new bible as a gift for him to remember that he has friends who care and who have shared lives over the past 4 years. After the Bible signing we then started on our second phase for the evening which was to go out and distribute flyer's to the houses that are close to the building. We wanted to promote our primary school classes on Monday and Wednesday nights. When I am in the schools many children are excited about coming to classes, but when they go home and tell their parents it is obvious that they don't know anything about us or about the classes. This motivated Alex and I to spend a little time putting together a flyer to inform the parents about the classes. Already this morning I got a call from one of the parents asking if their 5 year old son can start coming!!! What a great age to have him begin with us! I can't wait to tell the teens that their service is being blessed already!
I have to go get ready for Meethill School - will write more later today - God willing!
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1 comment:
Good to hear you and the family
are doing well, Billy.
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