MARCH 2015
ISSUE 14
T H E N E T WO R K Building on the launchpad 2014 was a year where many things were launched in the Network. The music ministry was launched publicly with the release of the worship album, Proclamations; the small group ministry was relaunched with the creation and growth of Connect groups; the finances were put on a much steadier basis with the development and (from 1st January) launch of the new financial model; the launch of the Social Enterprise centre in town - 7000 square feet of building, including a shop, the Cavern youth cafe, a creative workshop for arts and crafts, a conference room that seats 100 + people and office space...all owned by the social enterprise, right in the centre of the city. The relaunch of Little Fishes at Kingsway in the new community centre, and now, the relaunch of Kingfisher Kingsway itself in that same community centre. And now, in 2015, what was launched last year is gathering pace. Kingfisher Kingsway has been meeting for two months now in its new building and plans are already in progress for how we can serve the community more effectively. The media coverage surrounding the opening of the Cavern youth cafe has been incredible, with a piece on BBC Points West, interviews on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, multiple stories being run in the Citizen, and weekly around 80 teenagers coming along each Friday evening. There are now plans to open the Cavern throughout the week. There are groups happening most days of the week already in our Westgate Street building, ranging from art and craft groups to parenting courses, to addiction support groups and many more. Work on renovating the Function
Room is well under way, and within the next few months the intention is to be using that room for meetings, for art groups for those who cannot make it upstairs and for much more. The vision for this city-centre facility is launched and is growing fast!
We are headed into exciting new territory in 2015 - territory that requires us to step out of our comfort zones and step up to a new level of discipleship.
"Fix your thoughts on what is true and honourable and right.Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable.Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Philippians 4:8, NLT) At the time of writing that, Paul was in prison facing a very uncertain future. He had every excuse to wallow in self pity, accusing God of having let him down and getting more and more bitter. But he understood the power of the positive confession and that we confess with our mouths what is dominating our minds. Hence, "Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life." (Proverbs 4:23 GNB) We are headed into exciting new territory in 2015 - territory that requires us to step out of our comfort zones and step up to a new level of discipleship. To help in that challenge, we are launching this month our all-new Shaped For Significance course. Published by Kingfisher Resources, this DVDbased course is intended for use within Connect groups, but can be done on an individual basis. The DVD, together with a comprehensive work book , gives insight into Setting the Captives Free; Understand your Inner Life; and Understanding Transformation. This course helps us not only to understand freedom and transformation, but shows us how to apply those insights in practical, straightforward ways and is an invaluable resource to equip us to move into the new things God has in store for us.
So, with 2014 being such a launchpad and 2015 already looking like being a year of exciting developments in the light of that, there is a growing sense that God is taking us to places we have never been before, stretching our faith and challenging us to trust in him at a greater level than ever before. To help us to do this, we have launched My Confession Weekly, a once-a-week look at what God says about us in the Bible, with the challenge to make that our confession, to come into agreement with God's view of us and speak that out. Each week we look at a particular confession, what it meant then and what it means now, with the encouragement to let that confession sink into our souls so 2015 - the year that it becomes our response during momentum grows! challenging times. At St Paul challenged the church at Philippi: