Wildfire Issue 3

C h u r c h i n t h e Pe a k Page 3| Sarah in Melbourne- Sarah

Page 6-7| Social Action- Deb

Haworth tells us about all the ways in which Church in the Peak are helping the poor and neady

Page 8| A Testimony Of HealingDave Palmer shares his testimony and gives an insight into Tresure hunting

October 2010

gets us up to date on her life in Melbourne and what she’s praying God will do in the city

C H U R C H N E W S : E N C O U R A G I N G FA I T H , FA M I LY A N D F R I E N D S

“I WILL BE

F O U N D BY YOU” D E C L A R ES THE

LORD

What an outrageous promise God makes to us through the prophet Jeremiah (29:13) - that we can find God. If we seek Him we can get to know Him, discover His heart, have intimacy with Him. Of course it can sound scary and intimidating or we can think it just plain unrealistic for ‘the likes of me’. To be honest, none of us has an appetite to find God unless God first puts a seed of desire in our heart. Jesus said that no one comes to the Father unless the Father draws him. As God the Father draws us with cords of loving kindness we go on that amazing journey of finding God for ourselves.

St Augustine discovered this journey for himself back in the

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fourth century when despite a privileged background and a care-free lifestyle indulging in sex and drink he began to feel a dissatisfaction and deep unease about his way of life and the seed to find God was planted. He found Him in a most wonderful way and penned this famous prose: Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you; so lead us by your Spirit that in this life we may live to your glory and in the life to come enjoy you for ever We find this rest when we find forgiveness and a personal relationship with Jesus. In my own experience, one of the most intense personal moments when I was aware of the immediacy of Jesus and His love for me was

when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit. His presence (and his fire – I was very hot!) was unforgettable and foundational. Interestingly, when Jesus was baptised in the Holy Spirit , his Father in heaven spoke intimately in a voice all could hear, saying Jesus was His son and He loved him and was well pleased with him.

This was a father taking pleasure in his son because he was his dearly loved son. Any father can know this emotion, loving a son for who he is not for what he has done. Being filled with the Holy Spirit brings a revelation of the father’s heart towards us as we experience adoption as sons. And the new testament instruction is to keep being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18) so we can know we are sons of God and that He loves us profoundly. Baptism in the Spirit is an anointing for such intimacy.

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 5

EMERGE Chocolate Spread, Ketchup and Banana?

I’m beginning to get some odd looks on my shops to Sainsburys just before Emerge on a Tuesday as I load up the trolley with the conventional and less conventional fillings for the Toasty Bar at Emerge, we have however drawn the line at the request for Mackerel paste! Its all part of this terms re-launch of Emerge at CITP. We’ve welcomed Nathan & Sarah Charker, Ali Errett and Georgia Hrubiak to the team to help us deliver a bigger, shinier and slicker event. Numbers remained strong after the summer break with our BIG mess games night kicking us off back in September, Alice and Catherine proved a well oiled machine in the “balloon shaving” challenge whilst Joe proved to be a bit of a GI in the gaffa tape assault course! We welcome a guaranteed twenty a week usually with a few extras who come just for toasties and a chat. The evenings offer three zones each covering a different subject. The Look Zone (Youth Alpha), is particularly popular whilst the young people have already begun to suggest and contribute topics for the Seek Zone.

Chat Zone allows the guys to get to grips with the preach from Sunday through practical challenges, debate and craft. Evenings are rounded off with Worship in the dark and prayer in small groups.

ShinDig in the Peak is now days away, a weekend to chat about Gods plan for us as Men and Women and to go deeper with him. Fun, teaching and preaching will form an action packed weekend at Ravenstore for both Emerge and Xplor. We have a further 3 socials planned this term for Emerge and plan a campaign into the local secondary schools in the New Year. Stand with us in prayer as we seek to see God radically break out in power amongst our young people, their friendship groups and schools. We love serving the amazingly talented, gifted and spirited young people of our church and towns. The atmosphere at the Riverside on a Tuesday is both electric and calm, one of them summed it up perfectly the other night as they signed in, “Phew, I’m at Emerge I can be me... Abby is there any chocolate spread left?!”.

REGENERATE

By Tim Palmer At Regenerate we are coming up to the end of autumn and heading into winter in our ‘Apple Term’ leading up to Christmas. We’ve already had great times together with lively discussions led

by Phil Hardy and Dave Watmore, a luscious apple themed meal and a message from Peter Williams about Adam and Eve. As we move into winter still to come is an open mic/ ‘pub quiz’ night, messages about the law, Grace, Jesus and the cross and a discussion, Jesus: nice guy or heavenly king? Through Regenerate, Jesus is teaching us to rely on Him for direction for all things Regenerate, spiritually and practically, regardless of how scary His answer may be. He is the perfect father and sees all bends in the road from a great height while we often can’t see past the end of our noses. The biggest lesson I’m learning through all this is that evangelistic ventures like this are about obedience, not numbers. We serve in faith, in Christ we plant where others may reap and reap where the Holy Spirit has planted and tended, often through the work of other Christians. It’s such a privilege to be a part of God’s wider plan for this area and I’m so glad that God is in control of the harvest.

For more info have a look at www.churchinthepeak.org.uk/ regenerate

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SARAH IN ACCRA, GHANA

By Sarah Smith I left Manchester airport a week ago on a cold, foggy autumnal morning and arrived in Accra to a hot 29C, humid evening a few hours later. The drive back home from the airport is now familiar and it was so good to drive into our area and begin to meet and greet people. In fact so far my days seem to have been filled with being very warmly welcomed by everyone that I got to know last year... and even people who seem to know who I am but I’m sure I’ve not met them before!

It’s been quite a busy and varied time so far, picking up where I left off a few months ago and also starting new things. On Saturday we started ‘KidZone Ghana’ again and spent time playing various relay races in our yard, learning about Gideon and also enjoying playing with some of the new toys that I brought back with me. The big Lego blocks proved to be very popular. I really enjoy these times and know that once news gets out that we are meeting again then more children will start turning up again. Back in July a medical clinic was started at the church building serving both members of the church, school staff and increasing numbers of locals. On Monday Ian and I joined the staff as prayers and people who attended the clinic were encouraged to come across to us for prayer for healing. It was an exciting time as we prayed and saw God at work. Yesterday I was at New Nation School and was excitedly mobbed by groups of children as I arrived. It was good to see the children and catch up with the staff. I’ve also been getting back into the early morning rain collecting!, drinking powered milk, sleeping under my mosquito net, long power cuts, eating vast quantities of bananas etc etc. It’s good to be back!! In the coming weeks I’m planning to join up with Emmanuel and the New Creation Team to go out on evangelistic and church planting trips, pick up some jobs in the school, work on the KidZone group and well, do whatever comes my way.

So, that’s a quick update. It was so good to see so many of you over the summer and to be able to catch up and tell you more about my life in Ghana. Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers.

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T I M A N D R AC H E L IN RU S S I A Dear Friends, The old saying has been very true for us lately - so much to tell you all about, so little time to write an update!

But we know you have been praying for us, encouraging us and standing with us during this time, so thank you once again.

The loooong hot summer is long gone (but not forgotten!) and winter is very much just around the corner. Spring and Autumn don’t really last very long here... not like Summer and Winter. Snow is even forecast for this week....I don’t think it’ll be the last we see some how...

Hope Church is back into something of normal life again, which is exciting. We’ve worked through a series on Faith which was stirring, Tim speaking a couple of times including the week on faith for Miracles & Raising the Dead!

EFM, our school of ministry which Tim has helped set up and run (and teach at) launched in September and has now met for 5 weeks each Monday night, with this coming Saturday the first of monthly times when we gather everyone together from the church, teach and train before going out onto the streets treasure hunting, which is simply looking for God to break in on individuals we meet by having words of knowledge for them and then praying with them.

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We’ve continued to see visitors coming along, last Sunday about a third of the 50 people who came were there for the first time, which was wonderful. We’ve also seen some faithful people joining the church over the last few months, which is a real blessing. We still need more workers so please pray!

And there are several international visitors coming over the next month, so there are always people to show around the place, giving them the Hope Church experience :-)

As a family we’ve been doing well, though the girls have all had colds which has lasted a while and effected a certain 7 month year old’s sleep!

Anya continues to blossom, she is crawling around and enjoyed getting to know her Grandma, Grandad and then Nana who have come out to visit in the last month.

Mia continues to do so well with adapting to new situations. We can hardly imagine what she has gone through in the last 12 months, having been at 3 different places of education, a new baby arriving and living both in England and Russia! She has had to cope with so much change and is doing her best. Her Russian is coming on nicely, though clearly it’s still hard for her being in her Russian only kindergarten and trying to make friends. She has also been saying an older boy hits her which is upsetting her (and us!), so please pray that we can resolve this issue well.

In September we also made contact again with ‘Love Russia’,a Christian organisation who work with orphans and they are now starting to work in St Petersburg, they are keen to meet up with us and we’re excited by the opportunitries this will open up.

We hope to put a few photo’s onto facebook very soon, as well as writing another Newsletter which will give some more details on everything.

We have Rob & Sarah Walters coming out for three days this coming week. Rob leads Stockport Family Church in the UK, which was our sending church. We will enjoy their visit and showing them around, as well as introducing them to the team here.

Sorry for the long update - do keep in touch. We ALWAYS love to hear from you, our friends.

Blessings and love, Tim, Rachel, Mia & Anya xxxx

C O N T I N U E D F RO M PA G E 1

“I WILL BE F O U N D B Y YO U ” DECLARES THE LORD As God wins our heart we find that the things that once had a strong pull on our lives get displaced by a stronger affection.

PJ Smyth’s article in the current Newfrontiers magazine captures this truth well as he argues a ‘higher affection’ displaces sin-

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ful attitudes. It is grace not law that changes us and causes us to desire the things of God as the Holy Spirit writes them on our heart. Quoting Thomas Chalmers, a 19th century writer, PJ writes “The heart is so constituted that the only way to dispose of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new affection. It is only by receiving over and over the spirit of adoption that the heart, brought under mastery of this one great and predominant affection, can be delivered from the tyranny of

former desires. So then, try every legitimate method of opening your hearts to his extravagant grace”.

This year we have set our course to find God and live by faith in His Kingdom. Intimacy with Him is our highest calling and greatest resource to fulfil the call of God on us to be caught up on his mission by “planting churches across the Peak District and Beyond”. So ‘Be filled with the Spirit’!

DEBT COUNSELLING & DEBT AVO I DA N C E

J I G S AW P RO J E C T

For more information please contact Pamela Williams.

I am the Father of the fatherless, the defender of widows, I am near the broken hearted and save the crushed in spirit.

(Psalm 68:5 and Psalm 34:18)

The Jubilee Project now offers debt counselling, debt avoidance and budgeting advice to members of Church in the Peak and to clients referred from Jigsaw. This service is completely confidential.

M A R K H AWO RT H MEMORIAL FUND

donating the proceeds of their Harvest Festivals to support the homeless in Matlock.

It has been just over a year since Mark died. During this difficult time the family has tried to continue Mark’s conviction that showing Jesus to the needy in a practical way means providing a standard we would be happy with ourselves. The fund has provided for the refurbishment of a variety of accommodation types, has purchased tents for those who choose not to be housed and, of course, arranged last year’s Christmas Hampers for those in supported housing.

Mark was involved in a number of activities in the local community and this has been reflected in the support shown in the last year including two schools

Fundraising over the year has had two purposes; to raise money and to introduce members of the local community to Church in the Peak. In December 2009 the Christmas gig at The Fishpond in Matlock Bath was the best attended event they had seen all year, despite this being the day the snow began! In February the Valentine’s Meal allowed couples to celebrate their relationship whilst knowing that their money was being put to good use. Finally there was the Charity Auction, just before Father’s Day – an untried event that turned out to be a huge success and great fun for all the

CHOICES If you or a friend need a safe place to talk to someone confidentially about a pregnancy, miscarriage or abortion – contact Choices on 01298 213866 or visit www.careconfidential. com.

Choices – Derbyshire Ltd provides pregnancy advice and caring support services for anyone

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facing an unintended or difficult pregnancy and also pregnancy loss counselling for anyone experiencing distress as a result of abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth. Choices runs a drop in session every Thursday morning upstairs at The Source, as well as providing appointments at other times and at various outreach venues across Derbyshire, including Lime Grove Medical Practice, Imperial Road Surgery

family.

It is likely that some of these events will be repeated over the next year, and may even become regulars in the church calendar.

In the meantime look out for this year’s Christmas Hamper collection and for a Family Curry and Quiz Night!

Jigsaw exists to bring those whose lives we touch closer to the kingdom of God, to demonstrate his love and grace, to impact this world with prophetic acts of kindness and service. Our call has to be rooted in God’s heart for the lost but in particular the poor, those afflicted and those in need.

Our Wednesday afternoon drop-in at the Riverside is attended by an average of 15 people each week, on a quiet day we may only see 12 but it is not unusual to have 18 guests.

We provide each of these people with a hot meal as well as befriending them and providing a sign posting and advice. We want to see freiendships develop into mentoring as we talk about Jesus with our guests. On a practical note we would be grateful

and The Riverside Centre in Matlock.

The Choices team would be interested in hearing from anyone who may be interested in volunteering with us, please contact Heather Woodward on 01298 213866 for further details.

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to receive hearty meals to put in the freezer for use on Wednesday afternoons. We usually cater for 18 but don’t be disheartened, smaller offerings are always welcome - just contact Deb Haworth or Carl Taylor and we can provide you with containers for the freezer.

Increasingly Jigsaw is facilitating the provision of furniture, white goods and general household items. We are seeing people being referred to us by the local council and other social housing charities. We need more storage for this growing ministry.

We are also hoping to develop the clothes bank and are currently planning to host a “clothes day” on Saturday October 30th. You can also help by providing clean clothing for all family members but please, please bring it to the riverside on the evening of Wednesday 27th October or during the day on Thursday 28th October. We have nowhere to store clothes in advance of those dates.

The final service that Jigsaw currently provides is the food bank.

What is the Food Bank?

Every week members of Church in the Peak put donations in the “Tin Bin” and this is supplemented by donations from local schools, shops and supermarkets. We use food bank donations to provide: One off packages of food provided as support during a crisis to people temporarily unable to provide for themselves due to loss of income, employment or benefits.

Food boxes to support people being rehoused who have no means of providing themselves with meals or household sundries, in the initial period of settling in their new home.

Regular support over a 3 –6 month period in order to provide debt relief for those engaged in a debt counseling programme releasing cash for payment of debts.

We are always amazed by the generous provision in this area so please continue to support us.

The picture shows a typical crisis package and you can see the variety of items we need – dried and tinned goods to provide full meals and the occasional treat.

HEALED! MY F O OT, A N D MUCH MORE!

By Dave Palmer On 2nd October 2010, we had our Treasure Hunting day, led and guided by an amazing, faith-filled group of people from Tonbridge Wells, Kent.

We all presented ourselves at The Riverside and during a session of praise, worship, training and teaching, there was an opportunity to be prayed for for healing.

I had gone there excited, challenged and, frankly, scared about the whole treasure-hunting thing. I also nearly didn’t turn up because I thought my long-term disability may be a hindrance to those I would work with on the Treasure Hunt. My right ankle joint was fused in error in an operation in 1968 (aged 18) and my mobility had been restricted and deteriorating since then, with arthritis setting in for about the last 20 years. I had walked only very short distances, slowly and with a stick for about five years, using a mobility scooter when I needed to do anything more. The prognosis was for deterioration to continue at an increasing rate. I had been prayed for many times over many years and it had almost become routine…but I was still trusting God that one day in the future God might do it for me…. ….back to The Riverside….I remember there were several people around me laying hands on my foot and ankle….some praying in English, some in tongues,

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Mark (from Tonbridge Wells) was commanding my bones to be reconstructed in Jesus’ name….someone was pressing so hard on the points where I knew the arthritis had done the most damage that it was very painful…..I was asked to test it, but nothing had changed. Mark encouraged everyone in faith and we continued….I became aware of a heat in my ankle….

Mark kept using the word “rotation” in his commands and gradually the movement…. the rotation in my ankle was increasing! We all rejoiced and thanked God for the massive improvement in my foot and we got on with Treasure Hunting.

We split into small groups, and went into the town, led by the Holy Spirit, in search of God’s treasure amongst the people of the town….and He miraculously led each of the small teams to those who He was already dealing with and many were willing to let us pray with them, Hallalujah!

By the end of the day I must have walked in total several times around Matlock town centre without using my stick (although I had it with me).

God had begun an amazing healing in me….not only in my foot, but also, almost more importantly, in my confidence. GOD IS SO GOOD! The following week Margaret and I went to St Ives, Cornwall with Tim and Sarah for a five-day break. With Tim’s encouragement, he and I showed Marga-

ret and Sarah the ‘mechanics’ of treasure-hunting, and we walked all over St Ives time and again, being led by the Spirit to God’s treasure. Please pray for Andrew, Jason and Stephanie, all individuals who willingly allowed us to pray into their situations, and we are sure God is moving in their lives. I haven’t used my stick or scooter since 2nd October, I have two good feet (one is still improving) and two free hands (neither taken up with a stick!). I am walking straight and upright, and other muscles and tendons are strengthening daily as they learn to react properly now I can walk as I should!

By God’s grace I am now able to witness to others more easily about his goodness and about my own experience of God’s healing power, and now I am growing in confidence to be able get out there and give others the good news that God loves them and Jesus has come to save them!

IN ALL OUR EXPERIENCES, GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD! Just a quick P.S. : if anyone is curious about Treasure Hunting, please contact Dave Watmore, or anyone who was involved on 2nd October….I can recommend it as a way to reach out to others….and also a way to give God further opportunity to help each of us increase our faith!

The next treasure hunt will be on Sunday November 7th at 10:30am at the Riverside. Everyone is welcome