Glad to be finally sitting down and collecting my thoughts of what has been going on these past couple of weeks. It has truly been eventful! There has been much to be hopeful about and at the same time there are some deep struggles too. In a nutshell - ministry!
Last week was great! I am still thrilled when I go round the schools and meet up with the head teachers and find out how I can help and find opportunity to serve. There has been one change in the school timetable this year that has meant a big change in how I am able to minister with the kids in school. Last term I focused a lot on lunchtime clubs, but this term it is not an even an option, since the lunchtimes have been cut to 45 minutes. There is no time after the kids are fed to do activities. At the outset I was concerned that this would be a stumbling block, but the reality is very different. I now have after school clubs in 4 different schools which is excellent. I have all my assembly dates plugged in too and it looks like my involvement in the schools is set for another year - praise God! This morning I also got in touch with the High School and from tomorrow we will be involved in a lunchtime club there too - good times!
I have spent a lot of time in study and preparation for this coming weekend. I was asked to hold a conference on "Youth Ministry" running alongside the Youth Weekend at Aberdeen. I have loved going over my class notes from my time with Dan Stockstill at Harding. If I am completely honest this is only the second time I can remember pulling them out and browsing through them. What impacted me the most was looking into my mind and reading all my thoughts and vision captured in term papers, philosophies and 5 year plans! It's hard to believe I am looking back over 10 years ago!!! It has been refreshing to remind myself of the calling I had and the clear and obvious response we made to set out on this path of ministry. I am excited to be sharing some of my insight and experience with the group, but at the same time upon reflection I am very conscious that "ministry" is not something that can be tied down and neatly packaged. My experience has shown time and time again that God's ways are, many times, not my ways! I was also asked to fill in for Robin Vick as one of the speakers. Robin and Chrissy have struggled to get over here, but thankfully the news is breaking that they now have their visa's and their flights are booked - praise God! I have the lesson on "Strategy Briefing." The Theme for the lessons is "Call of Duty" and deals with the topic of Spiritual warfare. I have spent a bunch of time studying for this and much of the study has been out of intrigue rather that necessity for my topic. I got a bit side tracked on the name "Lucifer" which I have always been taught is synonymis for Satan, but a name which means "Light Bringer" or "Morning Star." Like I said I have been easily side tracked through out my prep for this topic. Starting to get more focused and objective now and getting ready for the job in hand of briefing these young souls about our enemy!
Well, I have spent a greater amount time these past weeks in one on one visits. I have enjoyed the many cups of coffee and the time to get closer with people. It is always good to see hearts respond to the need for closer relationship with God. I am hopeful to be able to continue in this channel of ministry even when things get busy in the schools.
The photo's at the start of this entry are from our time in Edinburgh! We managed to get some last minute tickets to see the "Tattoo." It was an amazing spectacle! The pipers and the music was incredibly stirring and made us very patriotic. There is nothing like the sound of a huge pipe band! We managed to get two nights away and loved the time to be together as family. Amy and Beth loved exploring all the jewellery stalls that lined the Royal Mile. Holly and Hannah got T-shirts with their caricature painted by an artist. They loved it and love their t-shirts! Fenella and I just enjoyed getting time away and quietly watched the girls enjoy themselves. We know things are changing and while we were in Edinburgh we saw where Amy will be staying and also visited the University campus where she will be studying. We visited with the Hyvots Bank Church where Amy is planning to worship while in Edinburgh. They are a great bunch of Christians and Amy has already got pretty close with many there. Upon reflection of our time in Edinburgh there is no doubt that time with family is indeed Quality!
To finish. Monday night marked the start of our Youth classes. We had a fine class and brought in a couple of new ideas for the new term. We have created a "faceboard" for the younger kids. Alex and I worked on making a big perspex board with 4 columns. The first column is their photo and user name. The second column is where they update their status each class. The third column is for others to stick messages, and the fourth column is where they can stick a thumbs up if they like the messages. When we explained it to the kids they were very excited about it and it should spark friendship and communication. The other thing we have begun is our "Hands Border" Our youth/fellowship hall is pretty bland, so we have decided to make a border with hand prints. We started it on Monday night and will continue to add as people attend. We will open it up to all ages so that there will be a full range of generations represented. I thought as we watched the hands start to go on the wall how lovely it would have been to have faithful saints of old left their hand print there and be a constant reminder of their faith. We love the idea and love the colour and point of interest it will provide.
Enough for now! Please pray for our school ministries about to start - they will be time and energy consuming, but so much joy - God bless!
1 comment:
very good billy.
I need to put my hand prints on the wall too. This is a neat idea, who came up with it?
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