I've been taking a course for this last term called "Leadership Academy". In it we've done things like, make presentations on a book we read for the class, or writing essays about this book on leadership. One of the big assignments of this course is for two separate teams to organize and run some sort of ministry event. It could be any kind of event, as long as it was ministry/ outreach. And this week was "Mission Week", the week when we're to run our events.
My group did a youth event that we called "United". It was the plan to get multiple youth groups and to bring them together as the Body of Christ. Sadly, we weren't the most organized when it came to advertising so we only had 2 full youth groups come, and a couple of kids who came without a youth group.
The point was to break down the barriers between who goes to which church and possibly denominational barriers as well. But since we didn't have that many youth groups, and I don't know that there were many barriers like that, it turned almost into, what should we as the body of Christ be doing.
The thing that brought the kids in was a giant games night, but I did a short talk in the middle of the night. At first I got really repetitive, trying to gather my thoughts and get my words to make some sort of reasonable concept. I ended up getting some divine creativity (I can't take credit, because my own thoughts definitely weren't making sense) and getting some volunteers to form a chain. I told them each to come up with a dance move(and each was unique), then tap the person on their left. They could only start dancing after they've been tapped. So we ran through this a couple of times, then I took one kid out of the chain at the end.
I told them that a lot of times, as young Christians, we can think that we're the end of the line; that we can just go to church and get all of this wisdom and Jesus, but we don't have to pass anything on. Cuz if we're at the end of the line, then it's not really affecting anybody, right?
I put the kid at the end back in the chain and then took out the second person in the chain. I told the first girl to start dancing and carry on like normal. Of course, with the second person out of the chain, the dancing stopped with the first person. I told the kids that if the disciples had just taken in what Jesus had told them, but didn't share that with anybody, nobody would have Jesus today. I reminded the kids of the "Great Commission" where Jesus tells his disciples to go out and make more disciples and teach them what He had taught them.
I told the kids that they are not at the end of the chain. I told them that as a part of the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to share what we've been told about Jesus, otherwise, the chain really will end with us. I told them that each person has a gift, whether seen or unseen, and it is their responsibility to use their gifts for Christ and that will be used to advance the Kingdom of Heaven and grow the Body of Christ.
I then put the second person back into the chain and told them to start the dance chain again. They continued down the line until it got to the last person. The person on the end was about to stop but I told him "Hey, don't let the Good News stop! Pass it on!" so he tapped me and I then went to the kids in the crowd and tapped them until almost everyone had joined the chain of dancing people; passing on the Good News about Jesus!
It was a powerful example and visual about how we need to continue to share Jesus with people. How we can't let the line end with us just because we didn't feel like sharing, or didn't feel like we could help. Everyone can and should get involved in sharing the Good News about Christ and His love for us! There is no gift or person too small to be used by God. Just as a hundred pennies add up to make a dollar (or pound for my British friends), a hundred people using even just a little of their gifts to serve God can be multiplied. And one thing I've found that it doesn't usually add up like 2 and 2 is 4 in God's Kingdom. It's often 2 and 2 is 6 or even more! God can do incredible things with you; all He needs is your obedience. God told me a while back that we were not created to be idle worshipers. We were made to be ACTIVE in our worship to God. Praise God!
So while the event turned out great and we did get youth groups to get together for a night, I think this message from God was one of my big highlights of the evening. I may have been the one giving the message, but I was only the messenger. I asked God at the beginning of the night to speak what He wants through me, and I truly believe that He did. Praise God!
Please pray that these kids take this message to heart. I believe that a group of 20 kids who are on fire for God and use what they have at their disposal for His purposes can change a nation. We keep praying for revival in Wales, but I think getting out of a place of apathy can be a great first step!
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
A Weekend At Spree
This last weekend, Ignite helped run a youth event called Spree. Spree is an event set for 8-15 year olds and it's basically a weekend summer camp for youth groups with kids church sessions throughout. But this place had some awesome things for the kids to do in their free time; things like bouncy houses, bouncy slides, trampolines, swimming pools, as well as a rock climbing wall! I was wishing I could be one of the kids for the weekend.
I knew I was in charge of helping with games for our sessions but due to complications with a co-worker being out of the country and different things going on, I didn't understand that we were meant to be hosting these sessions. So it was only after we arrived and I'd asked my boss what I would be expected to do, did I find out.
Now, if you know me at all, you will have noticed that I'm not the super energetic type. I'm not especially good at getting teens to do anything they don't really want to do. But here I found myself up in front of about 50 teenagers trying to psych them up for the next game or session or whatever. Thankfully, God was moving during worship, so I didn't need to be all uppity but rather I could be my more genuine self and just pray and praise God. I felt much more comfortable doing that and bringing the kids with me in worship than trying to get them to respond to jokes and things.
At one point near the end of a session, we had a time of response with the worship team playing. I was asked to sing a part on the last song, so while I was up there, the kids were released but welcomed to stay if they wanted to. Well, with all the cool toys and things outside, none of the kids stayed for more than 5 minutes. But the worship kept going. The musicians kept playing and I kept singing and we all just stayed in that place of worship for another 20 minutes or more after the kids had all left. The Spirit was moving and we didn't want to miss any of it. It was amazing having that time of just praising and worshiping, even when we didn't have an audience (per say) to play to. We were playing for God.
I loved singing with the band and just worshiping. There was no need to try and impress anyone. Plus these musicians were fantastic #bencharles. It was so nice to actually sing with a band who was so together and they take their music seriously. So good.
Later (or earlier. I don't remember clearly), I was helping out by watching one of the bouncy houses, and I had a number of kids come and join me on it. They would jump for a while, but when they got bored, they'd come and sit with me and talk with me. They'd want to show me their tricks they can do and tell me their stories, etc. It was so nice to just have that time with kids again. While I do get to work with the kids in Tremorfa, they're not usually up for talking that much.
One of the boys sat down beside me and half whispered "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm actually a secret agent. I work for a secret agency and we stop bad guys."
He then went on to tell me this fantastic story about the villain from "Bolt" who had a space station above us and there was some mention of an evil plot happening when there's a full moon. He told me that Doctor Who went up there with Bolt to stop the bad guy, but they were captured! "It's time to call on the Thunderbirds for help!" he shouted. He then turned the entire bouncy house into a spaceship and we all went up with the Thunderbirds, me, his sister (who was about 5) and him.
It might sound ridiculous, but I love these stories, where the kids are using their imaginations! Sadly, that's becoming a lost art among kids these days, so I was more than happy to play along.
I loved hanging out and playing pretend with kids again. It's been a while since I've done that and it felt good to be with kids who weren't concerned with looking cool.
All in all, it was a good and exhausting weekend. Plus, about 15 kids gave their lives to the Lord this weekend! Praise God!
I knew I was in charge of helping with games for our sessions but due to complications with a co-worker being out of the country and different things going on, I didn't understand that we were meant to be hosting these sessions. So it was only after we arrived and I'd asked my boss what I would be expected to do, did I find out.
Now, if you know me at all, you will have noticed that I'm not the super energetic type. I'm not especially good at getting teens to do anything they don't really want to do. But here I found myself up in front of about 50 teenagers trying to psych them up for the next game or session or whatever. Thankfully, God was moving during worship, so I didn't need to be all uppity but rather I could be my more genuine self and just pray and praise God. I felt much more comfortable doing that and bringing the kids with me in worship than trying to get them to respond to jokes and things.
At one point near the end of a session, we had a time of response with the worship team playing. I was asked to sing a part on the last song, so while I was up there, the kids were released but welcomed to stay if they wanted to. Well, with all the cool toys and things outside, none of the kids stayed for more than 5 minutes. But the worship kept going. The musicians kept playing and I kept singing and we all just stayed in that place of worship for another 20 minutes or more after the kids had all left. The Spirit was moving and we didn't want to miss any of it. It was amazing having that time of just praising and worshiping, even when we didn't have an audience (per say) to play to. We were playing for God.
I loved singing with the band and just worshiping. There was no need to try and impress anyone. Plus these musicians were fantastic #bencharles. It was so nice to actually sing with a band who was so together and they take their music seriously. So good.
Later (or earlier. I don't remember clearly), I was helping out by watching one of the bouncy houses, and I had a number of kids come and join me on it. They would jump for a while, but when they got bored, they'd come and sit with me and talk with me. They'd want to show me their tricks they can do and tell me their stories, etc. It was so nice to just have that time with kids again. While I do get to work with the kids in Tremorfa, they're not usually up for talking that much.
One of the boys sat down beside me and half whispered "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm actually a secret agent. I work for a secret agency and we stop bad guys."
He then went on to tell me this fantastic story about the villain from "Bolt" who had a space station above us and there was some mention of an evil plot happening when there's a full moon. He told me that Doctor Who went up there with Bolt to stop the bad guy, but they were captured! "It's time to call on the Thunderbirds for help!" he shouted. He then turned the entire bouncy house into a spaceship and we all went up with the Thunderbirds, me, his sister (who was about 5) and him.
It might sound ridiculous, but I love these stories, where the kids are using their imaginations! Sadly, that's becoming a lost art among kids these days, so I was more than happy to play along.
I loved hanging out and playing pretend with kids again. It's been a while since I've done that and it felt good to be with kids who weren't concerned with looking cool.
All in all, it was a good and exhausting weekend. Plus, about 15 kids gave their lives to the Lord this weekend! Praise God!
The New Revival's On It's Way!
Last week a group from my home church, Heartland, back in Fort Wayne, Indiana came to visit me! Okay, actually they would have come whether I was here or not, but the visit was a great plus!
There have been prophecies spoken over our church relating to the Welsh revival that started over a hundred years ago. Our pastor, Dave Frincke has done a lot of research about the revival and has even written a musical for the stage about the revival. So Pastor Dave brought a group of 9 other people who have a heart for Wales over and here's where our story begins:
The group was supposed to fly into Cardiff on Saturday night, but due to a completely unreasonable amount of delays and lost bookings, they only arrived on Sunday. We figured that all of these troubles and delays can only mean that God has got something great in store for this trip.
We did a lot of touring the first couple of days, going to significant places involved in the Welsh revival, as well as just going to the awesome Saint David's Cathedral. We'd also gone through a part of Wales known as "The Valleys". This area is what used to be a collier community, where people moved there to work in the coal mines, but when the mines closed, the villages were left with pretty much no way to make money. Therefore the name "The Valleys" generally implies a poor community and social deprivation.
After driving through one of the villages in "The Valleys" our tour guide (a brilliant man who knows much about the Welsh Revival and was taking us to the points of interest) wanted to go by this one church where he suspects the song "Here Is Love" was written. On our way there, we did have to turn around once or twice, but when we made it, our guide said to stay in the cars because he just wanted a picture. We all sat in our cars, waiting for him, when he came around saying that the groundskeeper happened to be right outside and he offered to let us in! So we all made our way inside the church. Once there, we had a short chat with the caretaker then Dave made went to the piano to lead us in a few songs of worship. We sang "Here is Love" of course, and when we had finished singing, we noticed a few people standing behind us near the entrance of the church.
The groundskeeper had left while we were singing and had seen 3 members of that church pulling up in their car, right at that moment! So he invited them inside to meet with this strange group of Americans who had waltzed into this church singing hymns. The people told us that there are only 10 members who go to that church. We asked them what they would like us to pray for and they said that the young people would come into the church. These people were all in their sixties and they said that they are the youngest people in their church.
So we all joined together to pray for these three people. As we were praying, one of our team members went out of the church and returned a few minutes later with a woman, a teenaged girl, and a girl of about 7. We prayed over these girls and one of our team members asked the younger girls if they'd like to give their lives to Jesus. They both said they weren't sure, but the woman was really tearing up behind them. We asked if she'd like to give her life to God and she said yes. She was then led in praying for salvation, while she was crying the whole time.
We're calling this the beginning of the new revival. If the team had only come to help that one woman get saved, then the whole thing would have been worth it! God treasures each person so crazy much that He orchestrated that whole day to lead us to that church at that time and for all of these different "coincidences" to add up to this one precious lady coming to Him! All of the turn-around and wrong turns, all of the people that "happened" to be walking by/driving up, all added up to this woman's personal revival! These are the kinds of divine appointments that we could never have planned out if we'd tried.
While I loved having this team here, I found that the hardest thing about their visit for me was the point of saying goodbye. While they could all breathe easy, knowing that they were almost done and they could go back to their lives and their families, I found it difficult knowing that I would not be going back as well. Not only that, but the home I once knew no longer exists. I have no home back in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and no real purpose to fulfill back there.
While this makes me incredibly sad to think about (with me being the sentimental type), it makes me realize that the only way to go is forward. This forces me to face what God's got ahead of me, rather than going back to the life I've always known and slipping back into the "normal". There is no normal for me anymore (if you can call any of my life before as normal). When all that's left is the unknown, it's daunting, but it makes me need to lean on God for guidance and comfort. It MAKES me rely on God and His instructions, rather than my own expectations from what life used to be. And I know that His plans are way bigger and better than any I could dream up for myself.
So in the words of a man with no name: Allons-y!
There have been prophecies spoken over our church relating to the Welsh revival that started over a hundred years ago. Our pastor, Dave Frincke has done a lot of research about the revival and has even written a musical for the stage about the revival. So Pastor Dave brought a group of 9 other people who have a heart for Wales over and here's where our story begins:
The group was supposed to fly into Cardiff on Saturday night, but due to a completely unreasonable amount of delays and lost bookings, they only arrived on Sunday. We figured that all of these troubles and delays can only mean that God has got something great in store for this trip.
We did a lot of touring the first couple of days, going to significant places involved in the Welsh revival, as well as just going to the awesome Saint David's Cathedral. We'd also gone through a part of Wales known as "The Valleys". This area is what used to be a collier community, where people moved there to work in the coal mines, but when the mines closed, the villages were left with pretty much no way to make money. Therefore the name "The Valleys" generally implies a poor community and social deprivation.
After driving through one of the villages in "The Valleys" our tour guide (a brilliant man who knows much about the Welsh Revival and was taking us to the points of interest) wanted to go by this one church where he suspects the song "Here Is Love" was written. On our way there, we did have to turn around once or twice, but when we made it, our guide said to stay in the cars because he just wanted a picture. We all sat in our cars, waiting for him, when he came around saying that the groundskeeper happened to be right outside and he offered to let us in! So we all made our way inside the church. Once there, we had a short chat with the caretaker then Dave made went to the piano to lead us in a few songs of worship. We sang "Here is Love" of course, and when we had finished singing, we noticed a few people standing behind us near the entrance of the church.
The groundskeeper had left while we were singing and had seen 3 members of that church pulling up in their car, right at that moment! So he invited them inside to meet with this strange group of Americans who had waltzed into this church singing hymns. The people told us that there are only 10 members who go to that church. We asked them what they would like us to pray for and they said that the young people would come into the church. These people were all in their sixties and they said that they are the youngest people in their church.
So we all joined together to pray for these three people. As we were praying, one of our team members went out of the church and returned a few minutes later with a woman, a teenaged girl, and a girl of about 7. We prayed over these girls and one of our team members asked the younger girls if they'd like to give their lives to Jesus. They both said they weren't sure, but the woman was really tearing up behind them. We asked if she'd like to give her life to God and she said yes. She was then led in praying for salvation, while she was crying the whole time.
We're calling this the beginning of the new revival. If the team had only come to help that one woman get saved, then the whole thing would have been worth it! God treasures each person so crazy much that He orchestrated that whole day to lead us to that church at that time and for all of these different "coincidences" to add up to this one precious lady coming to Him! All of the turn-around and wrong turns, all of the people that "happened" to be walking by/driving up, all added up to this woman's personal revival! These are the kinds of divine appointments that we could never have planned out if we'd tried.
While I loved having this team here, I found that the hardest thing about their visit for me was the point of saying goodbye. While they could all breathe easy, knowing that they were almost done and they could go back to their lives and their families, I found it difficult knowing that I would not be going back as well. Not only that, but the home I once knew no longer exists. I have no home back in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and no real purpose to fulfill back there.
While this makes me incredibly sad to think about (with me being the sentimental type), it makes me realize that the only way to go is forward. This forces me to face what God's got ahead of me, rather than going back to the life I've always known and slipping back into the "normal". There is no normal for me anymore (if you can call any of my life before as normal). When all that's left is the unknown, it's daunting, but it makes me need to lean on God for guidance and comfort. It MAKES me rely on God and His instructions, rather than my own expectations from what life used to be. And I know that His plans are way bigger and better than any I could dream up for myself.
So in the words of a man with no name: Allons-y!
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