With having recently started in my ministry placement for ICY-UK, in an England village, I am learning to live at a completely different pace of life and in a ministry that comes as unfamiliar territory. This is the season that God is calling me to walk in and at times it can get very challenging.

I think when we make steps of faith or choose to step out and serve God in such a way, often we go into the mission field with a superhero mentality. We think we are great, we think we are going to conquer and save the world for Christ. I am dreamer and I think along those lines most of the time. I do believe God is beckoning hearts to be reconciled to Him through His Son. But what I have recognized over and over again is that it does not include the superhero status that we think comes with it.

It comes with brokenness, it comes with an openness, it requires a willingness to surrender everything I have and all that I am. If I desire to see revival in the lives of the young people here in this place, it has to start within my own heart. Most of time I don’t feel like a superhero, I feel like a broken mess. But God has this way of taking nobodies and making them into somebodies. That is the story of my life.

I have also noticed parallels between my own obedience and how God is working through the young people. He asks for intimacy from me, and He responds in moving in the lives of the youth in ways I cannot begin to make sense of. All initiated and orchestrated by Him and He asks me to partner with Him in that!  My focus as a leader is to be a branch that is in constant connection with the vine. For only then will fruit be produced in my life, as well as the lives of the youth that have been entrusted to me for spiritual development and discipleship. As I continue to grow into a disciple of Christ, so do the young people.

I love this course. I love the way it is set up. It enables you to lead from who you are in Christ rather than on human gifts, talents, and abilities that are limiting. I am doing the degree to have a qualification, but I am more concerned with character. I believe this is very much at the heart of Reign Ministries.

“We are, each, and every one of us, insignificant people whom God has called and graced to use in a significant way. In His eyes, the high profile ministries are no more significant than those that draw little or no attention to publicity. On the last day, Jesus will over us not for medals, diplomas, or honors, but for scars.”- Brennan Manning.

Experiencing God and learning how to help others see and hear your story is going to be our focus for the trip. Sometimes a couple key days can shape a personʼs life and ministry, and we are praying that 31st July to 2nd August will be those days for a number of young people this coming summer. At the end, hopefully all those involved will be changed and there will be a legacy in the community of Ashby.

Potential timeline:

Key Details:

Who is running the activity:  Reign Ministries is organising and facilitating the experience.  Mission experiences are something that we are passionate about seeing young people take part in.

• The cost of the trip is £50.
• £25 deposit and application are due by 1st June.
• We will be staying at Ashby Methodist Church and the host for the experience is Ashby Baptist Church.
• The church is located in Ashby de la Zouch in Leichestershire.

If you have contacts please ring Kyle McKinnon at 07811 124 861.

Wanting to go to Ashby? Start here »

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One of the most important and basic skills of personal evangelism is the ability to turn normal conversations into spiritual ones–ones that lead to talking about a person’s background, beliefs and experiences with God.  Some people are naturally better at this than others, but it is a skill that can be developed over time as well.  We thought we would start sharing a few of our spiritual conversation starters over the next few weeks and ask you to reply with yours!

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how close would you say you are to God right now?

• If God is real, what would you want Him to help you with right now?
• Were you taught any kind of religious perspective as you grew up?
• What do you think is the biggest need of the people around you?
• Why do you think so many people are still interested in Jesus 2000 years later?

Your turn!  What spiritual conversation starters could you suggest? Comment on this post »

I joined Greenhouse in September ready and willing to serve, but I never expected to receive so much. I have learned a lot about the importance of prayer in the last couple of months. In class and in church we’ve talked about how God answers prayer.  I have heard testimonies of how God had replied to people’s cries out to Him in amazing and life-changing ways, such as depression being healed, addictions disappearing, and babies being born. And this is my story of how God helped me in a huge way during my time in England.

What has been on my heart during this time away from home is my relationship with my dad back in Germany. We’ve never gotten on well with one another, mainly because he belongs to my grandma’s generation and was in my eyes simply too old to have children. I wasn’t very proud to be his daughter, and I let him know that throughout my life as a kid and teenager.

Still, I was kind of angry with myself about my attitude towards this issue, because I knew that I could regret not caring about it when it’s too late, as my dad is quite old. So I prayed and said to God: “Lord, even though my mind knows that I could regret not wanting to improve the relationship with my dad, my heart just doesn’t care. So please help me to change this mindset. Touch my heart.”  And He did!   All of a sudden, I felt this desire coming up in me to tell my dad that I’m sorry for everything I did wrong, and that I want to improve our relationship, and that I love him, no matter what.  I visited him in hospital some days later, and that touched me even more. So I wrote the most honest letter to him. He hasn’t been able to reply yet, because he is ill at the moment and very weak, but I know he wants to reply. And I’m so thankful to the Lord for giving me such a heart for my dad, for telling me that it’s not too late, and that He loves me so much.

Every Monday I meet with a group of boys at a local chip shop. First, I meet with the boys who are Christians for a time of discipleship and study, and after that the rest of the boys show up. We then have different discussions about what we believe, who we are, why we exist, and things of that manner. This week two of the boys came rushing in when they got there, came right up to me, and said “What about dinosaurs!?!?!” After I inquired further as to what exactly there were referring to, we were able to have a great discussion about what the Bible says about creation. We talked about scientific findings that have actually begun to support the idea that dinosaurs were alive much more recently than most believe; as well as different places in the Bible and history where it has possibly referenced that dinosaurs and humans could have co-existed. After about 20 minutes of questions and answers, one of them paused to think and could only say, “I’m confused” to which I responded “good.” For the first time he is seeing that what Christians believe could in fact be plausible through the lens in which he views things. He still doesn’t believe in God, but he is finally thinking and asking questions about it and that is an answer to prayer.

Read the first or second part of the series.

We’ve been thinking about the concept that “who we are (our identity) drives what we do (our actions).” We’ve been asking the question, “How do you establish an authentic, gospel-centered community? How do you lead people to believe the gospel and live out its truths both individually and corporately? The answer is found, I believe, in helping people understand their identity in Christ, then leading them to act accordingly.

In part 3 I want to ask the question “How do you establish an authentic, disciple-making community?” How do you lead a group of people to listen to God, take action, and produce others who do the same in their everyday lives?

The whole Bible tells a story and this story gives those of us who are “in Christ” a renewed identity. First, there is the story of God’s people, which gives us the identity of FAMILY. Then, there is the story of God’s mission, which gives us an identity as MISSIONARIES. We’ve already discussed the actions that are produced by those identities. Finally, when we read the story of God, found in the Bible, we read a story about a Kingdom. In the beginning, as we see in the Garden of Eden, God created a kingdom by his word and of which he was the Sovereign Ruler. He created man and woman in His image to live under His rule and to enjoy His rule through His word. This was the original design and structure of God’s Kingdom.

When Jesus came to earth and began his ministry he declared: “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15). Jesus enters a world distorted by sin and far from the original design and declares that God is ready to reestablish His Kingdom under his rule. He declares this good news. Psalm 24 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

It’s hard to imagine being ruled as good news because we’ve fallen so far from the original design and are culture values independence, freedom, and religious pluralism. But, living under God’s rule according to His word brings joy and freedom because that is the original design. Throughout Scripture you see this process of God reestablishing his rule first through the people of Israel beginning with the promise to Abraham, then ultimately through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is our King. As our king, he had to die in order that we could become a citizen of this new Kingdom. If Jesus had come only to show his power and rule, our sin would have left us condemned. Instead, he died in our place to take away the condemnation so that we can experience his kingdom rule as blessing, life, peace and justice.” In the book of Revelation John declares: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). In Revelation 21-22 we get a picture of life under the restored rule of God. It is a life of freedom and blessing without all the pain, suffering, and death that we currently experience. In this future restored kingdom under God’s rule we will live as we were intended – knowing and living with God and his family. This is truly good news.

This story of God’s Kingdom gives us the renewed identity of DISCIPLES and disciple-makers. A Disciple is simply a citizen of God’s Kingdom. As an American is a citizen of America or the British are citizens of Great Britain, so Disciples are citizens of God’s Kingdom. When we understand our identity as a disciple, what does that drive us to do? The word “disciple” means “learner.” We are taught by God’s word and we teach God’s word. Just before Jesus ascends back to heaven, he said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (I am the King). Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). As a disciple, or one who is a learner of the King Jesus, we should take responsibility for our own development and the development of others. This involves both our personal growth in Christ as we submit and obey his word as well as our involvement together with others in equipping, encouraging, rebuking, admonishing, and teaching one another (Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; 2 Timothy 2:2; Hebrews 3:12-13).

At The Crowded House here in Bicester we are seeking to live out our identity as Disciples who make other disciples who make other disciples, or who live in Jesus’ kingdom under his rule, listening to His word and helping others to do the same. By God’s grace we are seeking to do this by gospeling (helping each other believe the gospel in everyday life) one another in the following ways (the following outline came from a recent talk given by Tim Chester):

1. We gospel each other in Community. Becoming a disciple is not an individual activity. It is a “body” or corporate activity (Ephesians 4:15-16). It’s more comfortable to privately work on my own godliness, but God uses people to reveal the idols, or wrong desires, of our hearts. In community we can model grace and love by speaking truth.
2. We gospel each other everyday. Hebrews 3:12-13 calls us to exhort or encourage one another everyday so we do not fall away from God. We do this in the context of ordinary life. We are seeking to intentionally connect with one another often during the week over a meal or cup of coffee, in the schoolyard when dropping our kids off, or on the weekend playing together.
3. We gospel each other over a lifetime. It’s important to remember that becoming a fully mature disciple of Jesus takes time. So we are patient with each other because while today we may be victorious, tomorrow we will face another battle.
4. We gospel each other with grace. Matthew 7 describes the self-righteous hypocrite who condemns others while a “log” exists in his own eye. Grace is giving someone what he or she doesn’t deserve. When we don’t gospel one another with grace we leave people feeling condemned and Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” We are fellow sinners pointing to a savior. Our aim in not to make people moral, but to help them live in light of the gospel.
5. We gospel each other with the good news. Often I have found myself proclaiming the law instead of the gospel. I tell a struggling brother, “you should not…” However, the gospel says, “you need not…”   Let me end with a quick illustration of the power of the good news and a picture of what “gospeling” looks like.

The other day my son was sinning. He was disobeying his mom by talking back to her and not following her clear instructions. Instinctively I want to yell at him and throw a Bible dart at him like, “Children, obey your parents…so you will live a long life.” But my heart was selfish. I wanted him to change his behavior so there would be peace in the family. After repenting of my own sin, I asked Aiden, “What is it that you want that is driving you to speak to mom that way?” We eventually determined that at the core of his heart he wanted control. He wanted to be ruler. I reminded him that the gospel says that God is ruler. He is great and therefore we don’t have to be in control. The gospel also says he is a good God and provides everything we need. Instead of yelling, “you shouldn’t talk to your mom that way!”, I instead can calmly say, “You need not talk that way to your mom. We live for a different kingdom – a Kingdom where God is great and we don’t fight for control.”

Who we are drives what we do! We are family, we are missionaries, and we are disciples who make disciples. If we begin to identify ourselves in these ways as a community of Christ-followers, we will begin to act in ways that resemble life in God’s Kingdom under King Jesus. Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

“The biggest thing I learned is to trust God in everything because He has a plan for my life and the plan is good.”

“God has taught me that it is fine to be myself and that I shouldn’t try to live to other people’s expectations.”

“I’ve learned that God works through your weaknesses.  I felt really uncomfortable doing kids club every day, yet I saw God work through the parts I played.  This is really valuable because it means when I’m not confident in myself, I can be confident in God.”

“God taught me that just a small action can help others and can spread God’s love.”

“This time has made me think about how I have been living my life at home and at school. God has shown me that I need to change how I act in front of my friends so they can notice I’m different and start to ask question about my faith.”

“I have established my passion for working with children and young people, but have also begun to learn about my passion for older people and the poor as well.”

“God has shown me that I can trust Him with anything.”