THE HOLY SPIRIT We believe in the deity of the

The local church and its outreach

BAPTISMAL SPECIAL

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compiled by Pastor Rajinder

When Jesus commissioned His first disciples after His death and resurrection, He told them to wait until they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit and then He gave the blueprint for outreach, evangelism and mission. That was, “… and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Clearly led by the Holy Spirit, the Early Church successfully followed those instructions. Jesus thereby showed the importance of all those three areas: Jerusalem, or the local church setting, is the first place, then the areas around our locality, and finally beyond to the whole world.

In today’s world of easy travel and rapid communication, the whole world is much more readily accessible than it has ever been. And, as a church, we reach out in all three areas. But the heart of the worldwide church of Jesus Christ is always the local church. This is where believers are to be based, in order to grow together in their spiritual life and understanding of the things of God. It is the place where, as individuals, we can serve the Lord, active in our witness in our families, jobs, professions and businesses, as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The local church is where the main activity takes place, through which Jesus builds His Church.

People in the local church are familiar with those who live in the vicinity and mix and interact with them on a daily basis. They are there to help and assist them with practical and spiritual help as they live out their lives for Jesus in everyday experiences. Even in our overseas missions, the planting of local churches is the primary goal. So, in Nepal, our missionary, Bhab Ghale, has as his organisation’s mission: ‘To plant a church and a trained leader in every village in Nepal’. Since most of the Nepalese people live in villages, which can have a population of up to several thousand, this strategy is designed to effectively reach the bulk of the nation.

The Early Church in Jerusalem met as a large congregation in the public areas of the Temple but, crucially, also met

The local church is where the main activity takes place, through which Jesus builds His Church.

regularly in small groups in each other’s houses, during the week, where they discussed the apostles’ messages, shared fellowship and communion. It was in these small groups that they looked after and helped grow spiritually, those who were being added daily to the church. This is a good biblical pattern to follow for strong relationships with the Lord and with one another. Some people say they can be followers of Jesus without belonging to or regularly attending a local church, but Jesus calls His Church to be outward- not inwardlooking, to engage with other believers and non-believers - not to withdraw from them. In the Philippines, from the initial church plant, many other churches have been planted out from it to surrounding areas and islands. The new Training Centre for church planters begins shortly, with 20-30 waiting to start the church-planting course. And in Japan, the strategy is to plant more local groups, from the initial church plant, in and around the city of Tokyo, overseen by online technology.

Whilst reaching out to other nations, our local church and its outreach remain of vital importance. In this issue, we are featuring a number of the ways ECC engages with our local community, which is done through regular practical action; through our many street teams that witness and evangelise on the streets, and through our 24/7 Prayer Centre that receives calls around the clock from the local and wider community for the ministry of prayer.

Since the turn of the millennium in 2000, when all likeminded churches in our area had a major community outreach called ‘Soul in Ealing’, ECC has been working together with local churches on community outreaches. These are ways we can fulfil the biblical principle of unity among the churches, where we can serve and reach out to the local community.

In this issue, you can read the work that has been going on with the following:

• The soup kitchen. Unlike most churches, St John’s, an Anglican church at the other end of Northfield Avenue, has a purpose-built soup kitchen with additional facilities such as showers underneath. As local churches, we take turns on a rota basis to be the providers each week of meals for the homeless, who benefit from these resources. ECC has always sent a large team on this rota basis, who provide, cook and distribute the hot food. And there are people in the church who will happily get involved in practical ministries rather than other ministries.

• In addition, the churches have organised the Winter Night Shelter, which runs from October to March each year, giving the local homeless a place to sleep each night. This is organised with the churches on a rota basis, and ECC takes its turn in the programme, making our foyer available for the people to eat and sleep.

• And now, as a new development, in ECC we have a ‘champion’ who is working with the local agency for adoption and fostering, where vulnerable and parentless children can find a loving and caring home.

• In addition, during the ‘Soul in Ealing’ outreach 20 years ago, there was initiated in our area a local branch of Christians Against Poverty (CAP). This is an organisation that helps people to get out of debt, and has a good record of success. But, in the process of coming alongside them and helping in this way, they are witnessed to and encouraged to join a local church. ECC has been a significant contributor to this community work since its outset. I get regular reports on the progress of each of these areas, from the worker we jointly finance, and we put these reports in our Prayer Centre for continued prayer.

So, as a church, ECC takes the Great Commission seriously: to go into all the world and reach all people with the power of the Gospel and with the love of Christ. This translates into both spiritual and practical ministry. And it always begins in the local church.

Make sure you are playing your part in some way.

Richard Buxton Senior Minister

Editor-in-Chief: Senior Minister Richard Buxton Editor: Jackie Raymond of Berean Services UK, bereanservicesuk@gmail.com Photography: Roy McEwen plus various contributors from ECC Stock Images: unsplash.com, pixabay.com, lightstock.com, freepik.com, publicdomainpictures.net, Google images Printed by: Hak Services Ltd, HA0 1SU, Tel: 07477 844599. info@hakservices.co.uk

Ealing Christian Centre, 268 Northfield Avenue, Ealing, London W5 4UB Tel: 020 8840 7508 Email: info@ecc.org.uk Website: www.ecc.org.uk

WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS

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compiled by Pastor Alex

WINTER NIGHT SHELTER by Sharon Grant

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EALING FOODBANK by Sharon Grant

10 POWER OF GOD’S LOVE by Daniel Stanley

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HOME FOR GOOD SPECIAL by Olivia Baiden

12 PRAYER CENTRE TESTIMONIES compiled by Pastor Tom

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8pp PRAYER DIARY PULL-OUT

20 PRAYER DIARY

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EVANGELISM & PRAYER CALENDAR

22 WEEKLY MEETINGS WHAT WE BELIEVE

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SUNDAY SERVICES WHAT’S ON

24 FELLOWSHIP & CONGRATS compiled by Sharon Grant

26 GOD’S GREAT DESIGN by Victoria Vinet

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LIGHTHOUSE EVANGELISM by Suzanne Warner & Linda Lewis PRACTICAL TRUTHS by Roy McEwen

28 “GOD, LET’S TALK” by Pastor Alex

30 32 FINDING TRUE SELFWORTH& CONFIDENCE by Vanessa Karera WATOTO CONCERT in pictures

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WOMEN’S DISCIPLESHIP by Sylvie Zokou & Sandra Kwayisi-Dokyi MOTHER CHURCH & MOTHERING SUNDAY by Sheri de Mel

If you would like an item to be considered for the next edition of the Grapevine magazine, please email your article to info@ecc.org.uk, marked 'For Grapevine'. Articles for half a page should be no more than 250 words, and for a full page should be no more than 600 words. The Editor reserves the right to edit articles where necessary. The deadline for the JUNE/JULY edition is no later than FRIDAY 1st May.