New Wine Magazine - Issue 58 - Summer 13

Summer

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How different would our communities look if we truly lived out Jesus’s commandment to love our neighbours?

p.25

Teaching

Stories

Culture

Gathered Together Countering consumer culture in our congregations p.22

Mind the Gap Daring to believe in the next generation p.34

What are we Trying to Do? The reconciliatory power of the Church p.42

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News Teaching Stories Culture

Summer 13 Issue 58

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0208 799 3765 advertising@new-wine.org The next edition will be published in October 2013.

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Editor Mark Melluish Magazine Manager Diana Mackie Commissioning Editor James Dwyer Advertising & Classifieds Nicola Manwaring Creative Tom Morton Print Halcyon Get In Touch Find us: 4a Ridley Avenue Ealing London W13 9XW Phone us: 0845 437 8656 Email us: mag@new-wine.org Visit our website: www.new-wine.org facebook.com/newwineuk youtube.com/newwinetube twitter.com/newwineuk

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What’s happening.

Learn together.

Our God at work.

Looking at our world.

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42

Where emotion and compassion cross

A call for passionate co-operation from Justin Welby

A note from John Coles

Gaining perspective to grasp God’s greatness

Gathered Together Christ, not the customer, is King

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London & South East Region

A crown of beauty for ashes

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34

Anyone in need, starting with next door

A youth culture dangerous enough to grow

Who is my Neighbour?

Mind the Gap

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Is ninety-nine enough?

Faith at Work

The phone’s ringing off the hook

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Central & South West Region

Statistics a substitute for spiritual health?

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In Brief

News, stories, tweets and more

What are we Trying to Do?

A Divine Exchange

North & East Region Setting up shop in an unlikely place

A Heavenly Interruption

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Reaching the local Community one Step at a Time Jeremiah’s call to Jerusalem heard in Manchester

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The Hunger Game Tantalised by low hanging fruit

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Local Churches Changing Communities

Farm animals are a nest egg in Uganda

Out-voted

Fresh vision for the place of women in the Church

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Something Different, Something Significant Preparing fields in Mozambique

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Recommended Resources

Helpful material for you, your small group or church

NEWS

A note from John Coles Dear Friends, I expect many of you have noticed that everyone ‘in authority’ in our society looks younger than they used to. It’s all illusionary of course – we are just getting older, and those who seemed to be giants in the days of our youth were not really as titanic as we once thought.

Sadly, sometimes as Christians grow older the certainties and zeal of the days immediately following their conversion are replaced by doubt and sloth. God never intended that to be the case.

In Prince Caspian, C. S. Lewis writes of the young and lost Lucy experiencing a personal visit from the great Aslan. As Lucy encounters her old friend, she perceives him to be somehow ‘bigger’ than she remembers from past experience: “Aslan, you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one.”

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

God intends that our lives should be a continuous discovery of how great he is.

He never changes, but as we live as disciples of Jesus we should discover more about the inexhaustible nature of his love for us and his power at work in us.

This is the heart of Paul’s great prayer for the Ephesus Christians in Ephesians 1:17-19. Since we can never know God fully, we are encouraged to live a life of ever-deepening relationship and faith. Sadly, sometimes it can be the pain and difficulty of life that throws us unwittingly into that place of desperately needing a fresh and greater revelation of God. But we don’t have to wait for pain to come our way. When the disciples took the five loaves and two fish from Jesus’s hands and saw it multiplied enough to feed 5,000 people, they surely discovered God was greater than they had previously realised! Similarly, by putting ourselves in a place of intently serving God beyond our own comfort zones we can be in the same place of discovery.

This magazine is about people who have done just that. The story of their ministry may focus on the people changed through it. But in the process each one will have discovered that God was greater than they had previously realised. I pray that as you read this magazine you will find yourself being wooed by God to serve him in a way and in a place in which he will reveal a little more of himself to you.

With warmest regards,

John Coles Director of New Wine

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New Wine’s vision To see the nation changed through Christians experiencing the joy of worshipping God, the freedom of following Jesus, and the power of being filled with the Spirit.

To see churches renewed, strengthened and planted, living out the word of God in every aspect of life, serving God by reaching the lost, broken and poor, and demonstrating the good news of the kingdom of God to all.

New Wine’s values Continuity & Change – we want to be faithful guardians of an unchanging message about the person and work of Jesus, and the need for personal salvation and sanctification, while also adapting ways of worship, teaching, being church and doing mission according to culture and context.

Cross & Resurrection – we want to honour all that Jesus has done for us on the cross, and to embrace the way of the cross for ourselves, while also knowing the power of his resurrection to set us free.

Gracious & Truthful – we want to be kind and generous in the way we think and speak about others whether they agree or disagree with us, while also clearly communicating what we believe and why we believe it.

Leadership & Every-member Ministry – we want to train and deploy anointed, courageous and missional church leaders, while also equipping every Christian to serve like Jesus in their home, church, work and life-place.

Mission & Community – we want to see the church become a missionary movement to love and reach the lost, to care for the poor and to bring justice to our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and nations, while also being a gracefilled community in which people can find relationship, healing, faith, hope and love.

Natural & Supernatural – we want to see every Christian using all the natural reason, wisdom and skill that they can, while also learning to operate in the supernatural gifts of the Spirit to minister to others in love and power as Jesus did.

Now & Not yet of the Kingdom – we want to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God and to see that confirmed by miraculous signs and wonders, while also ministering grace to all, knowing that suffering will be part of life until Jesus returns and makes all things new.

Transcendence & Presence – we want to live lives that celebrate God’s awesome power, transcendent majesty and sovereign work, while at the same time experiencing his intimate presence as we encounter him in heartfelt worship.

Unity & Diversity – we want to work with everyone who holds these values in open, mutually accountable friendship, while also acknowledging and honouring differences in leadership style, church characteristics and denominational emphasis.

Word & Spirit – we want to derive all we believe, teach and do from the Bible as the written word of God, while also learning to hear and obey the voice of the Spirit speaking to us individually and collectively.

New Wine hosts a range of events and conferences. This includes a calendar of local meetings around the UK arranged by its network groups.

April 2013 Women’s Day LSE 27 April Brent Cross, London Youth Work Training Day CSW 27 April Cheltenham

May 2013 Kids Work Training Day LSE 11 May Guildford, Surrey Kids Work Training Day LSE 18 May Southfields, London Kids Work Training Day N&E 18 May Lancaster Heart Head Hands N&E 18 May Leeds

July 2013 LSE Summer Conference 2013 27 July – 2 August Shepton Mallet

August 2013 N&E Summer Conference 2013 3-9 August Newark CSW Summer Conference 2013 4-10 August Shepton Mallet

October 2013 Youth Work Training Day N&E 5 October Marple Urban Forum South 8-9 October Theddingworth, Leicestershire Urban Forum North 10-11 October Theddingworth, Leicestershire

November 2013 Women & Leadership Conference 14-16 November Staverton Park, Daventry

For further details see our website www.new-wine.org/events

Local Events APRIL 2013

Learning to Heal Training Day, Witham, Essex Saturday 20 April Bethel Building, Witham Developing your Prophetic Gifting Saturday 27 April – 09.15-16.30 St Gabriel’s Church, Blackburn Learning to Heal Training Day, Manchester Saturday 27 April – 09.30-16.30 St John’s Church, Middleton

Local Events

UPCOMING EVENTS

Church Leaders Network Development Day, North Yorkshire Saturday 27 April – 10.00-15.45 St Mark’s Church, Leeds Road, Harrogate The call to Kingdom leadership, with Ian Parkinson

MAY 2013

Urban Ministry Training Day, Brownhills, West Midlands Thursday 9 May – 10.30-15.30 St James Church, Brownhills Empowering leadership in local churches

Kids Workers Training Day, Ashill, Norfolk Saturday 11 May Fountain of Life Church, Ashill Learning to Heal Training Day, Salisbury Saturday 11 May – 09.30-16.00 St Paul’s Church, Salisbury Urban Ministry Training Day, Doncaster Thursday 16 May All Saints Church, Doncaster Ministry in an urban environment

Learning to Heal Training Day, Birmingham Saturday 18 May Christ Church, Ward End

JUNE 2013

Urban Ministry Training Day, Bristol Thursday 6 June – 10.30-15.00 Woodlands Church, Bristol Making disciples of urban people

Creativity Workshop, Gateshead Saturday 8 June – 12.00-21.00 St James & St Bede’s Church, Gateshead Explore your God-given creativity

Celebration Evening, Halifax Saturday 15 June – 19.30 All Saints Church, Halifax An evening of worship, teaching and ministry

Learning to Heal Training Day, Cullompton Saturday 22 June – 09.30 Cullompton Community Centre, Devon Celebration Evening, Fazakerley, Liverpool Sunday 30 June – 19.00 Emmanuel Church, Fazakerley An evening of worship, teaching and ministry

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N&E REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS

AREA FOCUS

It is almost exactly ten years to the day since a group of 60 or so church leaders gathered with John Coles at his invitation to discuss the possibility of a northern New Wine Summer Conference. It’s amazing to see how things have developed and grown since then.

The number of churches involved in the movement has increased dramatically. Those 60 leaders represented roughly half of all the leaders in the North then involved with New Wine. Last summer delegates from around 500 different churches attended the Newark conference. What thrills me primarily is not just that New Wine is growing as a movement, but that there are clearly many more churches now coming alive in the power of the Spirit and engaging in Kingdom ministry.

Significantly, in terms of reaching our region for Christ, we have had more and more people coming from inner city and estate churches with numbers coming to faith in Christ through our Impact venue.

If the last ten years have been about laying a foundation, the challenge to us for the next ten is to build well and to see Kingdom influence grow across our region.

Our longing has to be for the emergence of dynamic churches in every single community, and for the transformation of those communities and their people through encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit. Let’s make sure that we all play our part in this.

In Christ,

Ian Parkinson Regional Director, New Wine North & East

N&E UPCOMING EVENTS I’d love to invite you to some of the events we are putting on in our region over the next few weeks and months.

When we gather together with others seeking the same vision we can learn, be encouraged and inspired to see God’s kingdom move in our communities.

If you’re a worship leader, part of a worship team or passionate about worship then make sure you don’t miss Heart Head Hands in Leeds on 18 May. With plenty of time to receive from God and learn from others, it’s sure to be a powerful day.

The North & East Summer Conference (Newark and Nottinghamshire County Showground, 3-9 August) is one of the most encouraging and inspiring weeks of my year. I’m really excited about this year’s event and there are some brilliant speakers and worship leaders coming to join us, including Mike Pilavachi, Robby Dawkins and Brian Doerksen. It won’t be the same without you, and I’d really encourage you to come and join us as we go deeper into God’s presence.

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Youth and kids work are some of the most vital ministry areas in our churches, so it’s great that All Saints’ Marple will be hosting a Youth Work Training Day (5 October) later this year, while St Thomas’s Lancaster will be hosting a Kids Workers Training Day (18 May). If you are involved in either of these ministries I encourage you to come along.

NEWS

ReflectION Baptisms at The Belfrey Inspired by those being baptised into God’s kingdom, Matthew Porter shares his excitement for spreading God’s love in the north of England a new and exciting track for training missional leaders for ordination in and for the North.

We’re especially excited about partnering with New Wine. It’s a privilege to head up the York New Wine Network, recently launched to support and resource churches and leaders in our area who long to see local churches changing nations.

Sarah was baptised last Sunday at Grace, our newest congregation at The Belfrey. Along with the other candidates, she told her story on video before she went under the water.

My eyes began to well up as Sarah said this was like marriage. She was committing to Jesus for life. I thought to myself: ‘This is what I signed up for; this is why I’m a church leader!’

Baptisms are celebration times where it’s easy to preach in a real atmosphere of faith. In fact, we find that baptisms produce more baptisms! That’s why we now baptise at least every month in one of our six congregations that meet not just in St Michael le Belfrey Church but in different locations across York.

Looking further afield

Although our location is York, our vision is regional. We believe God is increasingly calling us to be playing our part in serving God’s transformation of the North. That’s what we’re praying for and working for as we partner with others, like Alpha and Fusion. We’ve also worked closely with St Thomas Crookes Sheffield and St George’s Leeds in establishing St Barnabas Theological Centre.

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‘ Baptisms are celebration times where it’s easy to preach in a real atmosphere of faith’ The North is a massive mission field.

That’s not to say that there isn’t anything good here – there most definitely is. But so many people are spiritually asleep, and I believe the Lord is calling afresh: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you’ (Eph 5:14). So please pray for awakening in the North – an awakening of people. Ordinary, northern people. One precious person at a time. People like Sarah.

Matthew Porter Matthew is Vicar of St Michael le Belfrey, an Anglican Church with a vision to be serving God’s transformation of the North of England.

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N&E REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS

AREA FOCUS

N&E Feature Showing Jesus to the diverse community of Manchester John Brett reflects on his work among the Muslim population in Manchester In 2009 I returned to England from North Africa for the first time in nearly 20 years. Having previously been reaching out to the Muslim community, I was now in Manchester starting from scratch with only a call to be an evangelist, to work with the poor, and probably to work with Muslims. But the more I thought about this last bit, the less I understood it. Why would God care whether someone was Muslim or not? Being Muslim made someone no more or less lost than they were before, no better or worse in God’s eyes than if they had any other religious views. So what did this call mean?

‘ We let people tell their own stories and we tell them about Jesus’ I began to go with a Pakistani friend to sell Bibles at a market, in the shadow of a church turned into a mosque.

People heard about the stall and came to help out – they were mostly Asian or Arab themselves, some former Muslims. A steady stream of people came to see us – African, Asian and European, most of them lost, most of them Muslim. I began to understand what God had called me to do – it was to show people Jesus.

We try to avoid arguments and speaking of politics, Islam or any other religion.

We let people tell their own stories and we tell them about Jesus. And they come. Our record for selling Bibles to Muslims was eight in one day (a variety of English, Bengali, Kurdish, Urdu and Arabic translations), and over the three years we’ve been doing this ministry we’ve seen hundreds of people, mostly Muslim, coming to the stall more than once to stop and talk. Some come to church, a few ask for baptism.

My natural friends are those who speak Arabic. But the people who are actually interested in turning to Jesus aren’t necessarily my friends.

There’s always something else happening in their life well before they meet us. Our job is simply to find the people who God is already working on.

Over the last few months I’ve started leading a small church near to the market which is committed to reaching out to immigrants. The joy of this work is showing people Jesus isn’t mostly about pointing to a verse of scripture, although obviously we do that. It’s about showing people love, bringing people to worship, and inviting them to live differently. In fact the large majority of Muslims (or usually ex-Muslims) who are interested in turning to Christ are first attracted not by the message, but by the possibility of living differently.

It’s our task as a church in the middle of one of the most dynamic, changing and multi-cultural parts of England to offer people that different life.

It’s a huge challenge for us as a church, but some of the deepest conversions we’ve seen are when our church community have opened their homes and lives to people. It’s the Church which is apostolic, and the Church which represents Jesus.

There’s nothing I would rather do.

John Brett John spent most of his adult life on the southern edge of the Sahara desert. He now lives on the southern side of Manchester, where he is studying ordination as a pioneer minister and leading a small multicultural church plant.

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LSE REGIONAL NEWS

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AREA FOCUS

Luke 15 reminds us that the shepherd left the 99 sheep to go and search for the one that had lost its way. I find that one of the most challenging passages when thinking about ministry, and have to constantly ask myself, ‘How much time do I spend with the 99 and how much time in search for the one?’

It seems to me that Jesus spent his time looking for the lost sheep. For each of us that is probably a challenge. Our commission from Matthew 28 is to ‘Go and make disciples... I will be with you always’. The commission commands a personal response but comes with a promise that when we do go, we will find Christ waiting for us in the people and places that we put ourselves.

Despite what you might read in the papers, it seems to me as I visit and talk to church leaders that the churches that are seeking to live this out in the power of the Spirit are growing. We are seeing people come to faith, who in turn are bringing friends to Jesus. Just last week I had the joy of praying for three Hindu friends who wanted to accept Christ. Following him is such an amazing adventure.

At the London & South East Summer Conference this year, we are going to make space to hear those stories and encourage one another to live Kingdom lives. If you haven’t yet booked on please do so and join us for what will be an amazing week.

Thank you for what you do to see the Kingdom come.

Mark Melluish Regional Director, New Wine London & South East

LSE UPCOMING EVENTS

Some of the most valuable work in our churches is done by those who work with children and young people. If you serve in this way then make sure you don’t miss our Youth Work Training Day (20 April, St Paul’s Ealing) or our Kids Workers Training Days (11 May St Saviour’s Guildford / 18 May St Michael’s Southfields). There will be plenty of opportunity to talk to others in similar positions, be encouraged and hear great teaching. Do come along.

The LSE Women’s Day (27 April, Jesus House, Brent Cross) promises to be a great day; our women’s days are always incredibly popular. Christy Wimber will be sharing on the day,

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and I encourage every woman to attend, and bring a friend as well.

I mentioned the LSE Summer Conference (27 July – 2 August, Royal Bath and West Showground) in my letter above, but I’d love to encourage you again to join us for what will be a powerful and life-changing week. We’ve got some great speakers coming to share with us, including the new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Jay Pathak from Mile High Vineyard in Denver, Colorado, Robby Dawkins of the Vineyard movement and many more.

Do come and seek God’s will with us as we go deeper with him.

NEWS

ReflectION Church in Transition Ben Beecroft looks at how his church is embarking on new services while maintaining tradition We have been at St Paul’s for five and a half years. It’s a church which comes from a broadly liberal/Catholic tradition, and while respecting the existing worship styles within the church, we have started up an additional new informal 11.00 service with a band, brought in Alpha Courses and sought to encourage people into renewal. Obvious questions have been raised around getting the pace of change right, and trying to bring as many people with you as possible. Here are some of the key thingsat webottom have found helpful: Advert of page

Honour the past whenever possible and celebrate the good

Not everything may be your cup of tea, but where things are good, keep them. Provided there isn’t a clash with your key values, celebrate what is good. Whatever a church’s tradition, God will have been at work before you arrived! At St Paul’s, our church had already established good relationships with other churches, so that where possible we could work together in blessing the community.

It was also a Fairtrade church and concerned with social justice issues, which were some good things to build on.

Create new gatherings that support new growth

The Alpha Course is an incredibly fruitful tool to help people come to faith, and by the time they have finished the course they have been introduced to being filled with the Spirit, listening to God for guidance, praying for healing and sharing testimonies of what God is doing in their lives. Having a gathering where

our new Christians could experience everything they had learnt to expect on Alpha was incredibly important in helping them to keep on growing in faith and enjoying becoming part of the church family, including a new service and mid-week courses where worship, teaching and ministry are consistently modelled.

and establish values that most people can feel good about, such as: ‘We will challenge injustice locally and internationally and uphold the poor and the marginalised’.

‘ The key consideration when choosing a new leader is their character, not their gifting’

Be open to traditional and contemporary church

Build a united leadership

It is important that key leaders agree with your key values and aims. When posts become vacant, be courageous and say ‘no’ to those who don’t hold the same values, and wait for God to bring someone else along. The key consideration when choosing a new leader is their character, not their gifting.

Establish unifying vision and values

Too often a church family can get bogged down with which ‘worship style’ we prefer, or what a Sunday service should look like. Encourage the whole church to pray together

Model what you want to see

For example, if you want people to testify about what God is doing in their lives, share what he has done in yours.

If you want people to listen to God, talk about what he is saying to you.

At St Paul’s, we have some great Christians who have been taught to worship in a certain way and have done that faithfully for 80+ years.

On a Sunday, we offer three very different services that vary from formal to informal, organ and choir to band-led worship and celebrate that we can encounter God in different ways. There are other ways to express unity – anything that involves food always works well!

Above all, be patient. Don’t worry if the changes you see are small at first, as each positive change or person coming to Christ creates significant momentum over time.

Ben Beecroft Ben leads St Paul’s Church, Addlestone in Surrey, along with his wife Chris.

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LSE Feature Engaging with Jesus through the Holy Spirit We are all able to engage with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. John Peters looks back on how his church has changed as a result

A couple of years ago, while leading at the Summer Conference, I noticed that the intensity of the Spirit’s presence and power seemed to increase as the week went by. The culmination of this was people being physically healed when they were coming forward and asking God to help them with something else. This included a man with curvature of the spine whose testimony subsequently led to several other similar healings.

I was genuinely shocked and humbled by the levels of faith and openness that people were showing.

My contribution was simply to lead ministry as I do in church every Sunday. I felt God was calling me to publicly restate the importance of ministry in the power of the Spirit.

Of course, I inevitably found myself questioning whether I really had what

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‘ Anyone can engage with Jesus in his ministry. He really does use anyone, as long as they consistently show up for duty’ it would take to do that. Maybe the only qualification was that however well or badly we have done ministry, at least we have consistently tried to do it and taught others to do the same.

We have benefited so much from keeping this dimension of things right at the centre of what we do.

Through our version of Alpha (The Life Course) we always pray

NEWS

for non-Christians in the power of the Spirit, and over the years have heard countless testimonies of encounters that have led to conversion as a result.

In fact, I can honestly say that this has been a major way in which our church has grown. We have also had the privilege of starting several new churches and partnering with others where again, ministry is central and we have seen the replication of this dimension of our vision and values.

Third Person day conference, St Mary’s London

Anyone can engage with Jesus in his ministry. He really does use anyone, as long as they consistently show up for duty. We want to encourage anyone interested to get involved, and to this end we have now held three Third Person day conferences.

These days are open on a first come first served basis – we limit the number to 500 because that is the number we can accommodate whilst still being able to pray for people properly. There is worship, two teaching sessions and a choice of two seminars, one of which is always a simple restatement of why we do what we do. They are always powerful times of meeting with God – do join us some time.

John Peters John is Rector of St Mary’s London. After graduating in Law and then studying Theology at Wycliffe College, Oxford, John worked at several churches including St Aldates, Oxford and St Andrew’s, Chorleywood.

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CSW REGIONAL NEWS

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While Jesus was being transported into Heaven following his resurrection, his followers were watching with great interest. That shouldn’t surprise us – the Son of God was being beamed up into the skies before their very eyes. It’s not surprising that they would be tempted to stop and stare!

So when the angels interrupt the experience with the question, ‘Why do you stand here looking into the sky?’ it seems to me to be a little bit unfair. Don’t these characters have the right to star-gaze considering the magnitude of the moment?

In the same breath that the angel commanded the disciples to stop staring upwards, he reminded them of the urgency of their task. It’s an urgency that all of us at New Wine have to embrace.

I wonder how much more this challenge applies to modern-day followers of Jesus. We have the message of the gospel and more resource and capability than ever before to be his witnesses. But so often we critique one another’s methodologies rather than celebrating one another’s successes, or we divide over our interpretations of theological issues rather than uniting under the banner of salvation through Christ alone.

I love what Paul Kenchington and Jonathan Perkin have written about life and ministry in the local Church. I want to celebrate all that they do, and encourage us not to stand with our heads in the clouds. We don’t have a minute to waste.

Jesus is coming. His Spirit is with us. We have power. We are the Church. Let’s engage in the ministry that is right in front of us.

With my love and prayers as always,

Mark Bailey Regional Director, New Wine Central & South West

CSW UPCOMING EVENTS One of the most important things we can do is to gather with others, worship our Father together and spend time learning and growing in our walk with God. The Youth Work Training Day CSW (27 April, Trinity Cheltenham) will be a wonderful opportunity for youth workers from across the region to gather, learn and be encouraged.

This is such a vital ministry area, and so it is invaluable to be able to share with others in a similar position.

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Our CSW Summer Conference (4-10 August 2013, Royal Bath and West Showground) is always an amazing opportunity to gather together and press deeper into God’s presence and deeper into his grace.

I’m so excited about this year’s event – we’ve already got some wonderful speakers and worship leaders confirmed in Robby Dawkins, Danielle Strickland, Christy Wimber and Martin Smith, with more to follow. There is something powerful about the body of Christ gathering together to pray and worship, so please do come and join us.

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REFLECTION Ministry in a multi-congregational setting Paul Kenchington explains how offering a variety of services can help people encounter Jesus in a style which suits them I see a real advantage to having multiple congregations. You do not have to attempt everything within the one service such that in the end no one is fed spiritually nor satisfied emotionally. You can say to people, ‘If the style of worship here is not helping you to encounter the living God then try this congregation – and I’ll see you there!’

Each Sunday as vicar of my parish I am responsible for seven acts of worship in five different locations.

Holy Trinity Combe Down is a growing church in a suburban area of Bath, but closely linked with two rural churches. The parish also includes St. Andrew’s Community Church on the slightly run-down Foxhill estate, and Trinity @ St.Matt’s which began as an ‘Emerging Generation’ congregation in a neighbouring parish but has now developed into a vibrant church in its own right, with many members considering this their principal place of worship and belonging.

‘ Worship is not about me – it’s all about him.

As David Watson once said, ‘Worship that costs nothing is worth exactly what it costs!’ ’ It’s a lot to handle. But from a worshipper’s point of view it maybe ticks all the boxes. If you want contemporary, lightly charismatic Anglican worship, Holy Trinity Combe Down will probably work; if you prefer something that’s deeply community-based, St.Andrew’s will fit. If you need to be in a buzz of young people with dancing and exuberance, then Trinity @ St.Matt’s will undoubtedly be the place for you, while if you more readily sense God’s presence through the use of liturgy and great hymns, then the village congregations provide that opportunity.

Choice may seem like a good thing, but has its drawbacks. When worship is reduced to getting more of what makes me feel good, then it may no longer be worship of God that we’re involved in. Worship is not about me – it’s all about him. As David Watson once said, ‘Worship that costs nothing is worth exactly what it costs!’ We need to beware of consumerism infecting the church.

Sacrifice has always been somewhere near the heart of true worship.

I will use liturgy or allow the freedom of tongues and interpretation if that enables people to encounter God; I will dance with my hands in the air or lie prostrate on the floor, if that is a true expression of heart-felt worship and encourages others to enter that place too. It is my job to be and do whatever leads others to the Lord.

Paul Kenchington Paul is the Vicar of Holy Trinity Combe Down in Bath, a church which has a passion to see people transformed by the proclamation of the Word in the power of the Spirit to the glory of God.

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CSW REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS

AREA FOCUS

CSW Feature Ordinary church, extraordinary mission Jonathan Perkin explains how his church is taking small steps to reach big goals

We are a very ordinary church. But I firmly believe that God is moving among us and we are seeing him change and transform lives. So what exactly has been going on here in the last seven years?

Credit must go to the previous incumbent, Edward Mason, who did the hard work of planting gospel seeds in hard ground. He spearheaded the building of the church centre which has provided us with an amazing resource, and he did this while repairing our other parish church, costing £2 million.

This past year we reordered the Victorian church, putting in underfloor heating, renewed lighting, sound, visuals, and extending the seating from 220 to 360 by orientating to north facing. It’s early days to assess the impact but already it has made a noticeable difference to our services. People feel more connected, the worship is improved beyond imagination, and we all feel considerably warmer.

I am not sure how much emphasis we should put on numbers. Seven years ago we typically had 150-180 people coming to church on Sunday. Now

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‘ We are going in the right direction, but spiritual health is far more important than statistics’ it is approaching 400. Giving to the ministry has increased from about £75,000 a year to £200,000. At least we are going in the right direction, but spiritual health is far more important than statistics.

We have aimed at the Acts 2 model for a healthy church, focussing on discipleship, worship, service, outreach and fellowship. We put together a five-year vision plan in 2008 which we have mostly managed to achieve.

I have always been encouraged by John Wimber’s dictum that ‘we overestimate what we can achieve in one year but underestimate what we can do in five’.

There are five things that have seemingly made an impact: First, we have put an emphasis on teaching the Bible in a way that connects and brings it alive. Every talk must make the listener think within

NEWS

three minutes, ‘I am so glad I got out of bed to listen to this’. We make sure we preach on new passages during the year to keep us fresh and the congregation interested.

Second, we have introduced some key fellowship and outreach events.

A lunch club for young mums and toddlers, a women’s breakfast, men’s breakfast, lunch club for elderly people, and another lunch for anyone who wants to drop in. We also provide free coffee and cookies for parents at school drop off time. Food connects!

Fourth, we created a new morning service which is more informal and contemporary, and which is growing.

We retain an earlier traditional communion service and still do Book of Common Prayer, so no one can complain we don’t do variety of styles!

We are on a journey together, joining in with God’s mission to this place.

To misquote John Newton: ‘We’re not what we ought to be, we’re not what we want to be, we’re not what we hope to be in another world. But still we’re not what we once used to be, and by the grace of God we are what we are’.

Lastly, we try to keep outreach on the agenda. We hold Alpha once a year and do a day away instead of weekend.

Our community focus is very much on our hearts for the next five years, so we have initiated a Community Projects Day to put this into practice.

Third, we have made some key staff appointments. We have been blessed with excellent youth workers, children’s workers, administrators and curates.

Would you like some help introducing or developing prayer ministry in your church?

New Wine Training Days are intended to do just that. They are an opportunity for a fellow church leader to visit and lead training for your church family – and others – to build their experience of, and confidence in, praying for healing.

‘ We are on a journey together, joining in with God’s mission to this place’

Jonathan Perkin Jonathan Perkin is Vicar of St Andrew’s and St Bartholomew’s congregations, Churchdown.

YOUTH WORK TRAININg days Jus

per pter£10 son

Taking a look at the future of youth ministry in our churches. Learn about the challenges we face now, as well as looking ahead to the youth work of the future.

Saturday 20 April 2013 St PAul’S, EAling

Saturday 27 April 2013 trinity, ChEltEnhAm

Saturday 5 October 2013 All SAintS, mArPlE

www.new-wine.org/healing

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IN BRIEF

CHANGED LIVES, PENTECOST PARADES AND THE MOST HAPPENING APPS

Taking Pentecost to the people Pentecost Festival started in 2008 as a way of bringing churches together across London to give thanks, pray and worship God over Pentecost. This year the Festival will be bigger than ever before and will have a new twist – local churches who offer to become ‘party hosts’ and creatively share Jesus in their community.

The event will start on 10 May; local churches are encouraged to come together and host their own celebrations. There will also be larger

Gearing up for summer Ahead of this year’s Summer Conferences we’ve produced our very own newspaper, The Summer Times! It’s got information on what’s happening on site this year, details of some of the speakers and worship leaders who will be joining us and some stories about why people love coming to the Summer Conferences each year. If you would like to receive some copies of The Summer Times to distribute at your church, or just want one to read, email us at mag@new-wine.org letting us know how many you want and where to send them (only available while stocks last).

events held in Central London, with something on offer for everyone.

Reverend Rob Frost, founder of Pentecost Festival, says this: “If all the Christians in all the towns came together, just once, just for a day, and took to the streets to celebrate their God, what a difference they could make!”

For more information about Pentecost Festival and how to get involved visit www.pentecostfestival.co.uk

One to watch

CAP launches new ministry for the unemployed Christians Against Poverty has been looking after people with debt problems for 17 years and we’ve seen how professional help delivered hand-in-hand with the care of the local Church works really well.

We had an incredible time at our Regional Leadership Conferences in March, and we saw God transform lives and heal many people. If you didn’t manage to get to the conferences, or if you want to watch again, you’ll find some main session talks from Robby Dawkins – pastor of Aurora Vineyard, USA – on our YouTube channel.

To watch them visit www.youtube.com/user/newwinetube 20

This spring, we’re launching a brand new ministry for churches to reach people who are unemployed – CAP Job Clubs. Joblessness, especially generational unemployment, can be a terrible blight on families. Through the Church, we want to equip people with the skills and support to find work.

CAP Job Clubs will be aimed at the poorest in our communities and we are now keen to hear from churches who would like to launch this new initiative with us.

For more information, visit www.capuk.org John Kirkby, Founder and International Director, CAP.

NEWS

There’s an app for that Love them or loathe them, smartphones are here to stay. Never before have we been able to access so much information from our phones so quickly.

With smartphones come apps, so here’s our guide to some of the best: 1. Evernote This clever app lets you capture ideas when you’re out and about and store them according to a system of tags and notebooks. Evernote is ideal for creative types who are always looking for somewhere to jot their thoughts down.

2. Nudge The advance in smartphone technology means charities are now able to reach people in a totally different way.

Tearfund’s Nudge app gives you the ability to learn about social justice issues and take action, all within a couple of clicks.

A taste of New Wine In February this year, two parish churches in Kent joined together to hold the first ever New Wine Taster Day, aimed at giving those unfamiliar with New Wine an idea of what it’s all about. Over 200 people attended the event put on by St Paul’s Swanley Village and St Peter’s Hextable, which featured teaching, worship and children’s and youth ministry.

Paul Wiggins, a member of St Paul’s, said the event was ‘uniquely helpful’ and was hopeful it would be a ‘starter for much more’. If you are interested in running a similar day and want ideas on how to do so, please do contact the Church Leaders’ Network team.

3. BBC News There was a time when people had to wait until the next day’s newspaper to find out what was happening.

Not any more. With apps like BBC News, you can instantly find out what’s happening almost anywhere in the world.

4. Bible apps There are hundreds of Bible apps available to download depending on your translation of choice, but it’s never been easier to access your Bible on the move.

5. New Wine event apps We’ve had apps for our Retreat to Advance and Regional Leadership Conference events this year, and we’re hoping to have more in the future! Watch this space…

We’d love to hear your feedback about the New Wine magazine Fill out a short online questionnaire for your chance to win a free ticket for the New Wine Summer Conference! www.surveymonkey.com/s/nwmag13 One entry per person. Questionnaires to be completed by 31 May 2013. Winner will be selected at random and notified by email before 10 June 2013. Prize is a full-week ticket for your chosen age range for LSE, N&E or CSW New Wine Summer Conference 2013.

GET IN TOUCH We love to hear your feedback and ideas of how we can improve the magazine, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with any stories, jokes, questions, tips or advice.

Email us at mag@new-wine.org

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Paul Harcourt looks at how we can minister through the Holy Spirit in our churches every week

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That quotation has come back to me recently and continues to haunt me.

At one level, we would all say we want to see more of the ministry of the Spirit in our local churches; in practice there are often other agendas and other considerations that make fulfilling that vision slow and hard work. If we’re still a long way from seeing an empowered and equipped people serving God in the world, is it that we’re just not training people when we gather? Or is it even, as I’m beginning to fear, that we are unintentionally training people to become consumers?

The meeting place for most of us is the gathered church at Sunday worship. Few churches have more than 50% of their people in small groups. It may well be that the gathered church is not the best place for training disciples, yet in many of our churches it’s still the main place.

As 21st Century disciples, we seek to follow Jesus in a world dominated by consumer culture. Businesses know the path to financial success lies in appealing to that self-centred worldview – ‘Have it your way’, ‘Because you’re worth it’, with the underlying assumption being that ‘the customer is king’.

Nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus is King and only when we enlist in his cause do we find life. Yet most of our Sunday gatherings are based on the consumer model. We vote with our feet, according to our personal preferences. If the Church can get the style right then we might hope to attract a larger crowd.

Perhaps we’re more affected by the consumer model than we realise, especially as leaders. What are the Sunday gatherings producing in our

fellowship? Are we making disciples or are we unintentionally reinforcing the prevailing consumer culture?

Looking around, the western Church seems more often designed to make us passive, dependent and self-focussed consumers rather than passionate, generous, confident Christ followers who are advancing the kingdom of God in every part of society.

There are many models and traditions of church services and the truth is God can, and will, bless them all.

However, if we are focussed on disciple making, we might do well to rethink corporate worship, looking especially through two lenses – our work within God’s world and his work among us.

Or, putting it another way, our main gathering times could become much more fruitful if we emphasised two things – relevance and empowering.

Relevance We communicate what we think is important by the things we address at our Sunday services. If we limit our teaching to abstract issues or to our own individual relationship with God, we reinforce the idea that Christians gather together to cope with the world rather than change it. We need to make sure our teaching is related to the challenges and opportunities people face in their everyday lives.

Those of us who preach should also think carefully about how much application we use within our teaching. Often we include a lot of explanation and information but limit the application to a few minutes at the end; this can easily leave people saying, ‘Yes, but how?’ A recent meeting in our own church highlighted a way forward. At the last minute, the

speaker booked for our bi-monthly women’s celebration was unable to attend. Rather than find another speaker, the team decided to ask five women from the congregation to talk about how God was involved in the challenges they were facing.

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any times going back over 20 years, I remember hearing David Pytches say ‘The meeting place is the training place for the market place’.

I think he was quoting John Wimber, who had been introducing us in the years before to the ministry of the Holy Spirit that had been neglected in the Church for so long. The vision for an empowered and equipped people who serve God in the world has never left me, but whether our Sunday services have really significantly changed is open to question.

‘ Perhaps we’re more affected by the consumer model than we realise, especially as leaders.

What are the Sunday gatherings producing in our fellowship?’

One spoke about the challenges of moving into retirement. A young doctor spoke about seeing Jesus in the difficult and demanding people that came through her A&E department.

A mother of teenage children shared how she was trying to balance family life with a demanding career. A young missionary described how worship was helping her through a season of bewilderment and bereavement after the unexpected death of her mother brought her home from overseas. A mum of two young children described how she had come to faith and was experiencing peace even though she is battling a terminal cancer. None of them preach regularly but the impact of their stories had a powerful effect, not least because they were instantly recognisable and applicable to people’s everyday lives. I wonder how many of the sermons we preach would have connected as well.

Empowering Our faith has to be more than simply trying harder or even acting differently. What sets us apart in the world is the presence of God in our lives. Of course God is at work in every service, but are people leaving them empowered for mission? How much freedom do we give God to move in ways that we might not have predicted? Do we ask him to come and, if we do, do we wait to see what he wants to do? That model might seem a million miles away from some of the services in our churches but if we’re clear about what we are trying to achieve by gathering then any tradition can express those values.

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People can be prayed for after receiving communion (and while everyone is moving around). Preachers can plan on speaking for a shorter time then praying at the end of their sermon in a way that more intentionally engages people with the Spirit. In a more relaxed setting you can ask the whole congregation to stand, then gather around those who identify with the main promise or challenge in the talk. I encourage you to invite the Spirit during the service; only then can we create a culture of discipleship where believers expect to meet God and are empowered. Prayer ministry is something we all need, not just for a few people who can admit their needs.

We must not offer a model of discipleship that isn’t explicitly based on the Spirit’s power amongst us.

a church, so welcoming the Spirit and explaining what we’re doing is certainly more accessible than the piles of books many churches hand out! If our aim is to lead them to Jesus and disciple them in the most effective way, then nothing could be more powerful than communicating that when we gather God shows up – because if we do, he will.

Some might worry this isn’t newcomer friendly. I would agree; it’s a challenge for those who’ve been brought up on inherited models of how we do church. But things need to change.

Few newcomers nowadays have any idea what to expect when they enter

Paul Harcourt Paul is vicar at All Saints Woodford Wells and part of the LSE Regional Team, with particular responsibility for overseeing the New Wine networks in LSE. All Saints has developed a wide ministry into the local community, with new buildings and resources to serve this work.

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IN NEED OF FUEL? TOP UP SPIRITUALLY AT A FILLING STATION NEAR YOU!

DON’T HAVE A FILLING STATION NEAR YOU?

THE FILLING STATION exists to help bring Spiritual renewal and evangelism to your area. Using informal mid-week monthly celebration meetings, we have seen many come to faith, healings occur and the Christian population of an area strengthened in their confidence and purpose. The Filling Station is not a new Church denomination, rather a group of Christians who want to help you live better.

The Filling Station currently has meetings taking place in Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Kent, Bedfordshire, Suffolk, Derbyshire Scotland an France. Find your nearest Filling Station online:

Wanting more? Need a credible place to bring your friends to meet God? Feel like you are alone in your area as a Spirit-filled Christian? We can help.

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Contact the Filling Station Director, Rev Richard Fothergill about starting your own local meeting. We will be able to help you launch a relevant, accessible, informal meeting where people encounter God.

thefillingstation.org.uk Contact Rev Richard Fothergill 01225 832806 or 07835263706

Responding to Jesus’s command to love our neighbours as ourselves, Jay Pathak looks at how his community realigned their perspectives of their neighbours

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number of years ago a group of pastors from our city were sitting together waiting to hear what our Mayor was going to share with us.

We hadn’t been meeting together as a group for very long, and we weren’t really sure what it would mean for us to work together as churches with so many different styles and personalities. It was clear that we wouldn’t be able to find a common way to pray together or some kind of a book we could all read that would allow us to find common ground (including the Bible).

Even with all of the awkwardness that comes with creating these church leader spaces, we were convinced it was worth it.

Our Mayor said he was willing to come and meet with us to answer a simple question: What is your dream for our city?

He arrived, sat down and nervously read through a list that he had pulled out of his pocket. It included all of the common ailments that afflict a city: youth crime, supporting elderly people, the need for after school programmes and a desire for more substantial business development. At the end of his list he said something very profound: “Most of these problems could be solved – or greatly reduced – if we could simply be a great community of neighbours.”

He went on to tell a few personal stories of how we had begun to see the real-time value of neighbouring, and how relationships always trump programmes. He emphasised the need for relational engagement at a geographic level, and how every government programme depends on strong ties within the community.

I was one of the pastors in this meeting, and I felt sick to my stomach. The Mayor had asked a room full of pastors to try to get our people to listen to the clear command of Jesus – to be great neighbours.

Who is my neighbour?

Take a look at this diagram:

?

?

?

?

YOU

?

?

?

?

1. T he middle box is your address. Write the names of

your neighbours in the other boxes surrounding that.

2. W hat is the Great Commandment – both the first and second parts?

3. Do you think that loving someone might include knowing their name?

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These are pretty tough questions, but they are important to answer. If you are like most people, you were only able to answer a couple of the boxes from the first question, you had a rough idea of the second question, and of course you assumed that the answer to the third question is ‘yes’.

Luke 10:27 says: ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

Jesus gave his followers an incredible blueprint to engage the entire world in the most organic way imaginable, but there’s only one problem. Hardly anyone is doing it.

What if the answer to many of the questions that plague us as church leaders and pastors has been under our noses this entire time? Questions like: • How do we get people to engage our communities?

• How do we create a natural context to live out our desire to love everyone with the love of Christ?

• How do we participate in helping our communities change socially as well as spiritually?

• What are some ways that we can offer substantial changes to our communities?

‘ Jesus said we should love our neighbours, so why not just start with our literal neighbours?’

Rediscovering your calling

As a group of pastors, we recognised we should start with ourselves, that as a group of church leaders we should try to make a concerted effort. We decided to stop taking the command of Jesus metaphorically and try to meet our actual neighbours. This would mean re-arranging our lives and seeing our neighbours as a primary space in need of our leadership and ministry gifts. It means choosing not to always drive somewhere else to do ministry.

The results were noticeable within the lives of the pastors we work with. The majority discovered that in loving those that lived nearest to them, they were reawakened to the needs of ‘normal’ people. Some even reported that they were restored to a sense of original calling. They were reminded of why they got into ‘professional ministry’ in the first place.

The next steps came naturally. We as a group of pastors would share a three part series on loving our neighbours with each of our churches. Each could tailor the talks to fit their specific congregation, but the challenge would be the same for every church: meet your neighbours and have a street party.

This isn’t a fairytale, so you can imagine that not everything was that simple. There were some that wondered if we were going ‘soft’ on the gospel. Or that maybe we were just pandering to the desires of our

Anyone that has studied the Great Commandment knows that Jesus expands the definition of a neighbour to include anyone in need, even an enemy. In doing this, he exposes the desire of the lawyer to justify himself, and his desire to find a loophole. He exposes the desire of the lawyer to make the concept of a neighbour into something that suits his own desires. He makes him admit that the neighbour he needs to love should stretch him and cause him to love sacrificially and unselfishly.

The challenge of the story is powerful: anyone in need is our neighbour. The problem is that there is so much need around us.

‘ We should love our neighbours because we are converted, not to convert them’

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government leaders. But the simplicity was hard to argue with – Jesus said we should love our neighbours, so why not just start with our literal neighbours?

We don’t even need to do this in an effort to convert people. We should love our neighbours because we are converted, not to convert them.

My prayer is that every one of us would take a step towards knowing and loving their literal neighbours, and see where it all goes from there. Who knows what glimpses of God you may see?

We are frozen by the needs we see on the television or as we read the paper. They have turned the concept of a neighbour into a metaphor, and have committed the same sin of the lawyer: we try to find a loophole.

What our Mayor did for us was powerful. He gave us permission to simply start. Most people need a starting point, and they need to start by taking the Great Commandment literally and start next door. Most people aren’t sure if they can help in Africa, but they are fairly sure they can start 30 feet from their front door. And for most of us, even that’s a scary step!

Jay Pathak Jay is the Senior Pastor of the Mile High Vineyard, a church he planted in 2001. He will be speaking at this year’s London & South East Summer Conference.

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Reaching the community step at a time concern about ‘community cohesion’ and where relationships between groups are often contentious. As well as ‘binding’ groups of believers, Christian community projects can be excellent ‘bridgers’ in reaching out.’

In 1993, Debra Green felt called to unite churches across Manchester and pray for the city.

Since then she has seen God do amazing things far beyond her original dream 28

Redeeming Our Communities (ROC) is a national charity founded in 2004 with over 40 projects throughout the UK. The charity’s main aim is to bring about community transformation by creating strategic partnerships which open up opportunities for improved community life. We work to create safer, kinder communities, and the ROC model has seen crime and anti-social behaviour fall and fresh hope brought to some of the most deprived and challenging areas of the UK, urban and rural alike.

How it all began

The Bible describes the salvation history of a loving, creator God redeeming his creation. The effects of sin infiltrate all aspects of human life but God’s mission is to restore and renew. God has acted through Jesus in human history to bring his Kingdom to our broken world and offer fullness of life. As Jon Kuhrt said in his book What Does Salvation Mean for Your Local Community?, ‘The role of building community is highly relevant today where there is such

It all started when in 1993, I felt called

by God to bring churches together across Manchester and to pray for the city. Inspired by Nehemiah and his call to Jerusalem, I recognised that the city needed restoration. At the time, I wrote this: ‘In our dreams we see crime rates dropping, violence decreasing, drug dealers disappearing, prostitution declining and apathy diminishing.

We see businesses booming, housing improving, schools flourishing and hope rising.’

Prayer – a powerful first step

Manchester Christians found that those years of praying with an outward focus laid the foundations for transformation. This city-wide prayer movement had clear distinctiveness: drawing believers together across denominations and social divisions; bridging generations, culture and gender divides; prayer which looked beyond the church, focusing on the world – on education, healthcare, crime, poverty, justice and media. This prayer movement celebrated the unity and diversity of the family of God and followed the kingdom of God agenda, resulting in action for God’s glory and the benefit of his world.

This unifying prayer movement became a catalyst for social transformation. ROC’s 40 community-based projects are based on a proven social need like loneliness, drug abuse, domestic violence, lack of youth provision, troubled families, unemployment, repeat offending, low self-esteem, illiteracy and so on. The uniqueness of these projects is the partnerships ROC builds between community groups, churches, the police, the fire and rescue service, local authorities, probation, schools and other agencies resulting in positive partnerships for practical ‘on the ground’ change.

‘ Churches have always been passionate about finding ways to reach their local community’ Meeting local needs

ROC begins by facilitating a conversation which enables local partners to both identify the social need but, more importantly, to agree a solution. Using this approach we have seen many new community projects emerge like the ROC Café, a multi-agency youth club, which has a proven track record in reducing crime and improving confidence and skills.

Young people love the ROC Café; one young boy from a home where his mum has to work all hours to make ends meet described it as ‘the living room I don’t have at home’. The police and other partners also love the ROC Café, reporting between 25% and 55% reduction in anti-social behaviour where the cafés are located.

A sad statistic reveals that five million people over the age of 65 say that TV is their only company. ROC Care, which aims to meet the needs of those who are older in life, seeks to address the issue of loneliness and in some cases the dangers experienced by elderly people. A ROC Care project is thriving in Romiley and the coordinator Ann Russell shares this story: ‘One couple had lived apart because of ill health – Sue lived in a nursing home and her husband lived at home.

Their last outing together was the afternoon tea we held through our ROC Care project. I was absolutely bursting with joy to watch them enjoying the afternoon together.’

Marian, a volunteer in Littlehampton, wanted to meet the needs of mainly retired people living in her town, so she bought a coach and launched the first ROC Bus, a mobile community centre.

The power of the ROC model

ROC is a tried and tested model which has been adopted in a large number of cities, towns and villages.

ROC has a proven track record and is held in high regard by statutory authorities and public services. As such, ROC builds a bridge between the secular authorities and the Church.

Currently ROC is looking for people who would like to adopt the ROC model and set up a local expression under the ROC banner. This model works everywhere and they would love to hear from churches, organisations and individuals interested in partnering with them.

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local one

Local innovation is at the heart of the ROC model and new projects include ROC Restore, ROC Mentors, ROC Bus, ROC Football and more. Many of their church partners have been excited to discover that using the ROC brand has opened the way to gaining access to funding, buildings, resources, expertise and has led to fruitful relationships with civic authorities.

Could this model work for you?

ROC projects are founded on these essential elements: •L ocal ownership – all projects are locally owned and led.

• Multi-agency – ROC is unique because it involves a variety of agencies in the consultation and delivery.

• Partner church – every ROC project has at least one partner church.

• Proven social need – every project aims to meet a proven social need; needs are identified and progress is monitored.

•N o strings attached approach – ROC projects serve community needs with no conditions attached.

Partner churches have been described by a county councillor already working with ROC as its ‘backbone’. Churches have always been passionate about finding ways to reach their local community and ROC provides a catalyst to work alongside other agencies, release funds and increase capacity. The ROC vision is to see ROC projects across the UK in every village, town and city. Please do get in touch with ROC if you want to know more about how this model could work for you and if you would like to be part of this movement for change.

Debra Green Debra OBE is National Director and Founder of Redeeming Our Communities (ROC) founded in 2004.

She is the author of Redeeming Our Communities; 21st Century Miracles of Social Transformation and City Changing Prayer, co-written with her husband Frank.

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transforming lives and communities

STORIES

A heavenly interruption

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compassion until we cross the street and get personally involved in a lost and hurting world. We must touch people to effectively reach people.

Christine Caine explains how God called her to reach out to victims of sex trafficking

I

will never forget the evening I finally arrived at Thessaloniki airport in Greece. I was waiting for my bags and thrilled to be there. My flight from Australia had been delayed and I was already tired.

I wondered if my bags were ever going to appear. While waiting I glanced up to see posters of young children and women with the word MISSING boldly stamped across the top.

I asked the pastor who was my host what these pictures were, and she said they were the alleged victims of human trafficking. I could not believe what I was hearing and that this was something that actually happened.

Back at the hotel that evening, I could not shake the images I had seen. I had been disturbed, my life interrupted although I had no idea how much.

I was a wife and mother of two little girls aged one and five. We were based in Australia as part of the leadership team of Hillsong Church and travelled as a family for over eight months of the year building network churches worldwide through leadership training, teaching and evangelism.

My life was focused, planned, fruitful and full. I had no time, space or desire for anything else. In fact I was the queen of absolute focus, no distractions, and delegation.

I had a choice that day. Was I going to cross the street and hide behind the busyness of my schedule, life and ministry? Or would I go to them?

But I could not sleep.

I sat up and read Luke 10, the story of the Good Samaritan. I had always thought I was the Samaritan. I was travelling and serving churches and leaders, doing mission and evangelism; in fact I spent my life running from event to event trying to help people.

As I read the story I felt as though I was more like the Levite and the priest who were so busy going to their next religious meeting that they walked past the very person they were called to reach. They saw the wounded man as an interruption to their ministry, not as the object of their ministry.

The Samaritan had compassion, ‘and so he went to him’ (Luke 10:34). It was these six words that changed my life.

Compassion is the thing that fueled all that Jesus did, and if I was going to go the distance in Christian ministry I had to be motivated by what motivated Jesus. My heart had to beat for his very heart beat.

We often confuse compassion with emotion, but true compassion is never

‘ We must always allow God to interrupt our best plans – it’s the only way we can change the world’ I had started ministry with a heart to do whatever I could to love, serve and reach people. Had I become so professional, organised, busy, and successful that I could no longer be interrupted by God? The A21 Campaign started because I simply allowed my life to be interrupted by God and decided to take a risk and jump in to help the fight against human trafficking. We must always allow God to interrupt our best plans – it’s the only way we can change the world.

For more information on the A21 Campaign, visit their website: www.thea21campaign.org

Christine Caine Christine and her husband, Nick, founded The A21 Campaign, an organisation dedicated to addressing the injustice of human trafficking. The A21 Campaign’s approach includes raising awareness, preventing future trafficking, taking legal action, and offering support services to survivors.

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A divinexchange Arianna Walker reflects on how God continues to rescue and restore those who have suffered abuse

T

he statistics are shocking in the UK – one in 15 young people self-harm (the highest rate in Europe), one in four women have been sexually violated, one in four people will be prescribed anti-depressants and one in 20 people have an eating disorder1.

These statistics are not just numbers on a page; they reflect real people – daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends. And these people are not ‘out in the world’ somewhere; they are in our churches, in our youth groups and even in our own families.

I know this because my sister was one of those statistics.

Born and raised in a Christian home, my sister was taught that God was her protector, her provider, her Father.

She believed this wholeheartedly until one day, she met a man at the school gates. He was ten years her senior, drove his own car and showed an interest in her that made her feel grown up and affirmed. Within the space of a few short weeks, he had groomed her into a sexual relationship with him. Only then did it become apparent that he was a drug dealer and that he had plans for my sister that took her from the dream life she had been living, into a living hell.

Caught in a spiral of helplessness and shame, her anger burned against a God who should have protected her, who could have stopped it or told someone about the abuse she was suffering. She renounced God and vowed to live her life away from him.

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My sister didn’t need a rehab, she didn’t need the mental health services, she didn’t need a place that would simply medicate her symptoms; she needed somewhere that would allow her to reconcile the facts of her abused life with the truth of God’s love.

She needed to have an opportunity to experience God’s unconditional love, his forgiveness and his life transforming power. Treatment wasn’t enough – she needed transformation, and so she went to a place called Mercy Ministries.

Founded in America in 1983 by Nancy Alcorn, Mercy Ministries has grown into an internationally respected charity delivering a unique support programme in homes all over the world. The Mercy Ministries UK home opened in 2006 and is dedicated to providing support and care, free of charge, for young women aged 18-28 suffering the effects of eating disorders, self-harm, abuse, depression, and other life controlling issues.

‘ I have also seen the mighty hand of God reach down into a pit of despair’ Our heart is to educate, equip and empower both the Church and the young women who are struggling with life controlling issues such as eating disorders, self harming, depression, and the emotional effects of abuse in all its forms.

Mercy Ministries UK operates under three key principles: 1. W e accept young women free of charge.

2. We give 10% of all unrestricted donations to other Christian organisations and ministries.

3. W e never accept funding that would require us to compromise the message of the gospel.

Since we opened our doors in the UK, we have doubled in size from a ten-bed home to a 20-bed home. We have seen almost 140 young women go through the programme and now have an almost constant stream of thank you letters and updates from young women whose lives have been transformed and hope restored. Some of those girls have become missionaries with organisations like Youth With a Mission and the Watoto care programme in Uganda.

Others are at university or leading a youth group in their church, or starting an internship, getting married, having children – living life!

Angharad, one of our former residents, wrote this a few weeks ago: ‘I would like to share some exciting news with you; Simon and I are now engaged and we will be getting married! I am so grateful to Mercy Ministries for making a way for God to go to those deep places in my life to bring healing so that I am now able to have a healthy relationship with an amazing man of God. At some point every day I refer to something I learnt whilst I was at Mercy, the tools you give us truly are empowering me to make good choices every day. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if it weren’t for Mercy’s willingness to co-operate with God to come alongside girls like me and give us the chance to live the life God destined for us to live. Thank you so much.’

We give the glory to God for each life that he has rescued and restored, each future that now has hope instead of despair. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for his provision and are so grateful to each person who contributes to enabling Mercy Ministries UK to operate debt free.

Our mission is to serve the body of Christ in whatever capacity we are able. Not only does Mercy Ministries UK operate the residential programme – we also provide training to churches

STORIES

She hit rock bottom and after trying to commit suicide, she finally came to a place of reaching out for help.

‘ We give the glory to God for each life that he has rescued and restored’ and ministry groups on life controlling issues and pastoral care, as well as a helpline for those who need prayer, information or a listening ear, regardless of their age or gender.

We have produced resources on eating disorders, self harm, addictions, sexual abuse and self esteem and frequently speak at conferences up and down the country teaching people how to overcome adversity and access the biblical tools that God has made available to us all to overcome the pain of the past and embrace a future full of potential and hope.

It’s been ten years since my sister went to Mercy Ministries. She is married now with two children, serving God with all her heart and is the programme director at Mercy Ministries UK. My sister’s story has impacted my life like no other. I have seen first-hand the damage done by an enemy who comes to kill, steal and destroy. But I have also seen the mighty hand of God reach down into a pit of despair and rescue a troubled soul. Since then, I have been a witness to the process of freedom and transformation time and time again.

Each girl’s story might be different, but as a team we will never lose the awe, the sense of wonder and the gratitude for each and every time our precious Saviour enters into a divine exchange – a crown of beauty for ashes, joyous blessing instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. What a God we serve!

If you would like more information on Mercy Ministries UK go to www.mercyministries.co.uk

Arianna Walker Arianna is an author, speaker and the executive director of Mercy Ministries UK, a Christian charity providing residential support to young women struggling with eating disorders, self-harming, depression and the effects of abuse. You can follow her on Twitter at @ariannawalker 1 Statistics sources: National Institute for Clinical Excellence, BEAT, Mind UK, NSPCC

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STORIES

T

he task that faces each generation of Christians is how to pass the Good News about Jesus Christ to the next generation.

Psalm 145:4 says, ‘One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts’. Sadly, we find ourselves in a time where most of those under the age of 30 have little or no connection with the Christian faith or the Church.

With statistics showing a decline in the number of young people attending church, Chris Fox looks at how we can reach out to those in their 20s and 30s

The numbers of those in the 20-29 age group attending church on a Sunday has declined by 62% in the last twenty years. Recent studies show that only 3.5% of this age group are connected to the Church in some way 1.

Alongside this, we also recognise that the vast majority of those currently in their 20s have never had any meaningful connection to the Church, and therefore the greater challenge is to reach this group.

Within some parts of the Church, the average age is increasing. Currently the average churchgoer in the Church of England is 49 years old, which is also the average age of a person getting ordained in the Church of England. The average age of a church leader is 54 with only 1% of church leaders under the age of 30.

The challenge ahead is to reach the younger generation with the good news of Jesus Christ; to help them become committed disciples; and to identify, recruit, train and empower young missional leaders who will do the same. Rather than give up in the face of such a big undertaking we do well to embrace the optimism and faith shown by Caleb and Joshua, who in the face of giants and fortified cities, declared that ‘we can most certainly do it!’ (Num 13:30).

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The Importance of Discipleship Where do we start? Alan Hirsch, a well respected leader in the missional church movement, gives this strong challenge: ‘When dealing with discipleship, and the related capacity to generate authentic followers of Jesus, we are dealing with that single most crucial factor that will in the end determine the quality of the whole – if we fail at this point then we must fail in all the others.’ Our primary concern is to fulfill the command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:16-20). Matthew’s Gospel is primarily a missionary text that does not simply describe the life of Jesus, but gives instruction to a church community that has lost its understanding of calling and mission.

For Matthew, discipleship is the centre of Jesus’s mission.2

‘ The vast majority of those currently in their 20s have never had any meaningful connection to the Church’ A disciple is someone who follows Jesus with the whole of their lives, for the whole of their lives. Pete Hughes, leader of Kings Cross Church in Central London, believes that reaching and discipling young adults requires us to create a church culture and community that is ‘dangerous enough to grow’ and ‘a safe place to process pain’. How do we create such communities?

Times of transition, such as the move to university or into a new job present a great opportunity to reach out to young adults. At St Paul’s Church in Ealing, we’ve seen a large number of young adults moving into the local area that are just about to start their first job, often straight from university.

This means that they have left their

However, alongside seeking to build a great community, our main aim needs to be to enable young adults become committed disciples of Jesus.

At St Paul’s we encourage all the young adults to join Life Groups

(groups of eight to fifteen people, mainly in their 20s) at which they are intentional about growing as disciples of Jesus. Following the New Wine Leadership Conference with Alan Hirsch in Harrogate last May, the young adult life groups have adopted five core values around the acronym B.E.L.L.S. (Bless (be generous) Eat (be hospitable) Listen (be contemplative) Learn (be in the Bible) Send (be evangelistic)). Following this a number of these young adults have now taken part in the leadership training course at St Paul’s. Many are now responsible for leading life groups, hosting the after hours programme, leading social action projects and more.

The Discipleship Year Alongside a local church response to the challenge of reaching, discipling and training those in their 20s for leadership, New Wine has developed

and is running the Discipleship Year in several centres around the country.

The Discipleship Year is a year of discovery and adventure for those aged 18-24 who want to grow as disciples of Jesus. It has three aims: to equip those aged 18-24 theologically, encourage their skills and gifts, and empower them for a life of mission in the kingdom of God.

If you are 18-24 then why not give one year and see what God might do in and through you? You can apply by filling in an application form from the New Wine website. You’ll find all the costs and a list of the different places around the country that you could go.

‘ The challenge ahead is to reach the younger generation with the good news of Jesus Christ’

‘The Discipleship Year has provided space for me to discover who God made me to be, the gifts he has given me and the destiny he has planned for me. The balance of having a placement church where I can serve and practically work out the things I learn through the teaching has cemented things in my heart. I would strongly recommend the Discipleship Year as something that everyone in their 20s should do. It has been the most helpful foundation for my future as a disciple.’

The course involves a day of discipleship training each week through teaching, coaching and mentoring, with some contextual experiences with local church leaders and practitioners. Alongside this, each student commits to working in a local church for another 12 hours a week (including a Sunday) where they can grow their leadership skills in a

STORIES

families and friends behind and are looking to belong to a community.

In response to this, we have been intentional in building community where these young adults can belong, build friendships and grow as followers of Jesus. One of the ways that we’ve done this is by creating an ‘after hours’ programme after the evening service.

This has included a whole range of events including pub trips, open mic nights and a pub quiz. This gives young adults that are new to St Paul’s a chance to get to know others really quickly, which is important during times of transition. The young adult ‘cluster’ nights at St Paul’s have a high social element giving opportunities for significant friendships to be built as well as a great event for people to bring their friends to.

Perhaps you’re a church leader or a parent; why not encourage those you know in that age group to join the Discipleship Year? Here is Fiona’s story about her experience:

As we invest in discipling and training leaders in this generation, we’ll be playing our part in seeing the kingdom of God come in and through young adults.

variety of different ministries that include children’s work, youth work, worship, media, evangelism, mercy ministries and more.

There is also the opportunity for an overseas mission trip with Tearfund during the year where the students will be challenged and stretched in another country, working with Christians from local churches to make a difference in their community.

If you are interested in finding out more or applying for the Dicipleship Year please visit www.new-wine.org/training

Chris Fox Chris is Assistant Pastor at St Paul’s Church, Ealing. He has been involved in different areas of local church leadership for the past 12 years, and is passionate about seeing the local church come fully alive.

1 Peter Brierley (2006) Pulling Out of the Nosedive 2 Eddie Gibbs (2005) Leadership Next

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STORIES

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STORIES

Faith at Work Bridging the gap between work and worship LInda Maslen reflects on how God revealed her work as a gift

A

fter a long period of doing my own thing, I came back into a proper relationship with Jesus four years ago. During the time away, my career had really taken off. I started out answering phones in a call centre and ended up leading the contact centres within Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, at the peak, leading 12,500 people across the UK. One of my early questions was, ‘What should I be doing with my life now, God?’ The answer really surprised me; God assured me I was in absolutely the right place for me to begin my ministry for him.

I found an amazing church with fantastic followers of Jesus who really helped and encouraged me. The church was being led to be mission orientated, and I began to get involved in missional activities in my recreation time. But I couldn’t escape from what God had said to me about my being in the right place, which I understood to mean my workplace. From within the church there was no teaching about how to minister in the workplace. In fact, one preacher suggested that if work was impacting on my ability to contribute to mission activities, I should give up my work. But that felt wrong and the more I prayed, the more I knew that God had given me work as a gift and my work colleagues as a mission field.

In Hebrew the same word ‘avodah’ can be used for work and for worship. In Exodus 34:21 Moses, renewing the covenant with God, says, ‘Six days you shall work (avodah).’ And then in Exodus 8:1: ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship (avodah) me.’ My work was another expression of my worship to God and it was important to him. I began to pray over my work – before I started the day, before I started a meeting. Quietly, I began to see God changing things.

I carefully began to share with those with whom I worked closely. Working at our local Food and Support Drop-In Centre gave me easy conversation openers.

Feeding people who are hungry and helping them

to find a way forward is something everyone can resonate with. I shared stories of what was happening when asked the inevitable, ‘What did you do at the weekend?’ That then led to questions of why I would spend weekends helping others at the Drop-In and that, in turn, opened the opportunity to share about my faith.

‘ I knew that God had given me work as a gift and my work colleagues as a mission field’ I also recognised I had a huge opportunity to bring Kingdom values into the workplace. For those who lead organisations there are often difficult choices to make. Having to reduce the number of people who work with you has to be one of the hardest. The impact of losing a job goes way beyond the people who are directly affected. We can bring God’s love into these difficult situations, going beyond the bare minimum of formal discussions and giving time, doing all that is possible to support the person into something different, keeping in contact and continuing to demonstrate God’s love in action.

The workplace mission field is a hard one. Relationships are built up gradually and gently. But I can see that God is working in the lives of the people I work with and I know that, at the right time, the seeds he has planted will come to fruition.

Linda Maslen Linda has held senior leadership roles in a number of organisations including HMRC, e.on, Thames Water and firstdirect. Since returning to her faith four years ago she has been working to develop Kingdom initiatives within the workplace. She is also a New Wine trustee.

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STORIES

TOUGH QUESTIONS

D

oes the Church oppress or support women? The recent vote against the appointment of women as Bishops in the Church of England may sadly suggest the former to many.

OutVoted

However, including women in trusted positions of Christian ministry is evidenced in the early Church. Take the list of those whom Paul ‘greets’ in his letter to the Romans. Among them is a woman named Junia who Paul describes as an apostle. Paul goes on to name a further nine women commended for particular work they have done for the Lord. This list of greetings and commendations makes the popular view of Paul as a misogynist impossible to hold from a Biblical perspective.

So why are some Christians so fearful about women in Christian leadership? There are two Biblical passages which seem to limit the position of women in church life.

When writing to Christians in Corinth, Paul says he does not allow women to speak in church, and when writing to Timothy in Ephesus he says women should not have ‘authority’ over men. These passages are difficult to interpret but they address the ordering of the church’s worshipping life in the context of interruptions (Corinth) and in the context of a highly sexualised culture of Ephesus. They must be taken alongside the central theme of the rest of Scripture – that men and women are created equal.

WE ASKED JOHN COLES HOW THE VOTE AGAINST WOMEN BISHOPS HAS IMPACTED NEW WINE’S WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

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For many, the fear of women in ministry is best overcome through observation or experience of women exercising Christian leadership wisely and well. It is in the life of the local Church that the leadership of women is being modelled and authenticated most persuasively by many unsung practitioners. That is what New Wine believes in, celebrates, and wants to propagate.

And that is why we recently called a meeting of Anglican ordained women to discuss this issue together.

One of them, Jane Morris, reflects on our time together here.

The effect of the November vote for many of us was deeply painful and many are still grieving in a variety of ways. Most of us involved in ministry find it tough. But this was painful on a deeper level, affecting our identity and very vocation in ministry within Christ’s Church. Over the past months, different groups have met to talk and share and pray – and it seemed good to invite ordained Anglican women within New Wine to meet with John and Anne Coles.

We took time to worship, to listen to one another and to share in prayer and a vision for the way forward.

John movingly affirmed and thanked these ordained women for all the ministry, sacrifice and leadership they had given. He shared with us some of the thoughts and tweets of a number of other leaders within New Wine, both men and women, who over recent months have expressed their sadness and frustration at our inability to come to a decision to enable women to be Bishops.

Join us…

We looked at how New Wine is a movement of churches with a focus on mission and ministry, where some who are a welcome part of the network hold differing views on this matter. For all those present on the day, we knew many of these as are our well-respected colleagues and partners in the gospel. Thus there is no ‘party line’ within New Wine on this and many other matters.

But the vast majority of those in our various leadership teams are wholeheartedly supportive of women alongside men in every area of leadership and ministry in the Church – and see this as something fully consonant with Scripture.

Looking ahead

In looking forward to the challenges this offers to those of us within New Wine, we asked what ‘new wineskins’ the Holy Spirit might be leading us into. We thought there might be a challenge to some within New Wine to hear the call of God into senior leadership within our denominations – something we might have left to others. These are

the places that set the backdrop to the mission and ministry we are all engaged with and we wondered whether others might be called into such roles?

STORIES

The grieving process

We also looked at the challenge of those in their 20s and 30s and how younger people take responsibility for the structures of their churches and denominations. And we also wondered now that a number of women within New Wine are experienced in local church leadership, whether we might see God lead us into more of these women being part of our regional and national leadership teams? Could this be new wineskins for New Wine?

John Coles John is the Director of New Wine.

Jane Morris Jane is Vicar of St Gabriel’s Church in north London and a member of General Synod.

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STORIES

Helen van Koevering tells of how war-torn Mozambique is being transformed by those passionately following God

O

ur veranda has one of the best views ever: rural African forest stretching down to Lake Malawi, sweeping past small villages where children’s voices reach upwards from where they wash and fill their buckets to carry home on their heads. We’re in that time again of dry land, red dust, gusts of warm wind and rising humidity. We wait for the rains with the people who still hold the wisdom of generations that depend on this seasonal rain. This creates a time for action – for patching thatches, finishing building and preparing fields. Our veranda is a place for us to sit during this time, to be reminded, share plans and reflect with visitors.

God is doing something different in northern Mozambique.

Having arrived in the late 1980s, when war was pouring death and destabilisation on the new nation, and having worked in community development after peace came in 1992, I remember how it used to be. My husband Mark and I met and married here, began our family here and left to take on theological studies in 1997. With Mark’s election as Bishop we returned to Niassa in 2003, daring to believe the promise of Isaiah 58 that the old waste places and foundations of generations would be rebuilt.

And the promise has been kept, quite literally and very significantly. The number of churches has doubled to around 405 with around 63,000 members; eight clinics have been renovated or built on the lakeshore and service around 20,000 people; a mission school has been extended, with two new schools built, and where there were 21 priests, there are now 52. All in a country which the United Nations counts as one of the poorest in the world.

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The vitality of God’s word

I simply told her: “You are here”. The mother knew that God’s hope was in that moment, that visit, that day.

Her perspective, as one of the world’s poorest speaking to one from among the world’s wealthiest, matters.

She presents a picture of hope in our hurting, broken, wounded world which more than ever needs the wholeness of God’s love and life.

‘ God is with and for the wounded and broken, and Mozambicans remind us of that time and time again’

There have been many significant things which have been part of this difference. Our church is reading the Bible differently. Mozambicans take the Bible seriously, and the metaphors and imagery resonate with rural Africa. When reading the letters to the churches in Revelation recently with community priests, I saw how intensely real and personal those letters were.

The most significant change has been in the growth of hope that the poorest now find in their churches. The former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams called this ‘Holy Communion in action’ when he visited Malawi last year. Hope and action has led to many more churches in remote communities seeing their worship change – more freedom, more joy, more singing and more dancing!

With high levels of illiteracy and insufficient Bibles, a study method similar to the lectio divino was implemented early on – a method which required only one Bible and one reader in each group. This led to us using the Rooted in Jesus resource, which has led to confidence in the movement of the Spirit leading to some significant growth in the Church.

I know well the difficult, hard steps forward and the many painful steps we have taken backwards, but above all I know that God is with and for the wounded and broken, and Mozambicans remind us of that time and time again.

At a clergy retreat in 2011 a team from Singapore spoke of renouncing the sins of past generations and of spiritual forces that are real; our priests celebrated this freedom and welcomed this healing as they would fresh rainfall after a drought.

‘ We returned to Niassa in 2003, daring to believe the promise of Isaiah 58 that the old waste places and foundations of generations would be rebuilt’ Significant relationships have also been built over these years. In 1992 a reporter from Time magazine wrote this of Lichinga, the capital of Niassa Province: ‘It’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from here’. The Diocese of Niassa, hurt by 30 years of war, increasing poverty and isolation, now has true friends bridging the differences of the Anglican Communion. We have links around the world and feel our support is stronger than ever – we have wonderful links with churches in neighbouring Malawi and Tanzania, and our Companion Link with the Diocese of London is truly life-sharing. We also have active links with the Church in Malaysia, Australia, Wales, Singapore and the USA, and when visitors come here they see our poverty but also share our life, learn with us and recognise the impact of God’s ministry here.

The hospitality of the poorest has been blessed abundantly.

I once interrupted a question from a visitor who asked an abandoned Mozambican woman, evicted from her one-room mud hut with three children, “What does God mean to you?”

STORIES

Visitors have noticed our Vida mission teams and our multiplying ministry approach are two very different ways of doing church. Voluntary mission teams in half our congregations work to bring healthcare, basic training and compassion in the name of Jesus, caring for around 10,000 orphans in their own communities.

Meanwhile, training seven community priests means we can now reach more people than ever in our diocese.

The diocese has partnered in business and as advocates with forestry companies to plant 15,000 trees on formerly degraded land. Like that new growth, some who have visited have said our church is ‘affecting the fabric of society’ and ‘developing half of Mozambique’. Praise God for that!

Seventy year old Padre Msossa, from one of our lakeshore villages, has found new life in Christ in the last few years. A witchdoctor in Mecuburi’s outlying villages has responded to a repeated dream from God and turned to Jesus, putting down his former craft. As a result, freeing life has come to not only his family but his whole village.

Priests around the Diocese have been spontaneously forming healing teams and holding healing services, with prayer for healing in the largest possible sense – for community relationships, for the land, the spiritual health and for individuals. The local priests are leading the way, and there are continual signs of deep, joy-filled hope and loving, freeing service in the Church.

The repeated message heard around the Diocese today is this: God is with us – after all, for all and through all!

Helen van Koevering Helen and her husband Mark live in Lichinga, the capital of the northern province of Niassa, where Mark has been Archbishop since 2003.

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What are we trying to do?

S

ome years ago, a monk I knew asked me what the objectives for my then parish were. I gave an answer, to which he said, ‘Good, so what are you going to do now?’ Ask people what we want for our country, and the majority will answer that we want it transformed and worshipping Jesus Christ. But what exactly do we do about that now?

It is easy to make a case for pessimism, and on reflection I am not going to bother because we all know the negatives. The trouble with continually speaking of the negatives is that it gives them more power.

A key mark of decline in a wide range of institutions or movements is the massive capacity for analysis of problems, but no capacity to treat the problems identified.

We can see it at a national level as well as in our churches. We do need to be realistic and ruthlessly honest about what is going wrong, but we also need to be realistic about the capacity of God. We know that God is the one who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. So he is the one on whom we depend. We need to be those who do God, so much so that if what we believe about Jesus is not true in our lives, what we do makes no sense at all.

Practical prayer

This requires a practical step, and practicality begins with prayer. I know it is trite to say so, but there has never been a renewal of the Church, in all our very long history, without a renewal of prayer and the Religious life. The capital ‘R’ is deliberate.

It is a technical term meaning the monastic life, the life of communities whose central purpose is to grow closer to Christ. They may have different ways of living, being contemplative or teaching, evangelistic or based in hospitals, in a single dwelling or just meeting regularly and living a normal working life, or whatever. But they are communities with a discipline and aim to grow closer to Christ.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, looks at how the Church can once again become a powerful force for good in society

© Lambeth Palace

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All over the world there is a new movement of Religious life. It includes men and women, married couples with children, lay people and those ordained. In much of France it is from these communities that new spiritual life is coming. God calls us into community, and when those outside see community they are drawn to it.

The previous Pope Benedict XVI, at the end of a visit to Germany, said:

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‘There will be small communities of believers – and may already exist – which through their own enthusiasm spread rays of light across pluralist society, making others thirsty enough to seek out the light which gives abundant life’.

The vitality of reconciliation

One of the things about communities – as most of us know from our own churches – is that being together is not always easy. It’s not too bad to cope with loving one another in an abstract way, but when the ‘one another’ is Jill or Jack or both – and their irritating children – it all seems to set the bar higher. The second practical step is to be reconciled communities, whether a church or a home group, or a task group like those leading worship, or the most basic community of all, the family.

Reconciliation starts with God. Unless we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, our reconciliation to others in the Church will be restricted. We need to be disciples, confessing our sins, knowing his forgiveness, letting him have control of every aspect of life. In one parish I know, the vicar started a worship group. One of the congregation, a talented musician, joined and while he played well, he was not the easiest person to work with. His conversion from this was a sovereign work of God, the Holy Spirit bringing him deeply into reconciliation with the Father. The difference in the worship group and the church was utterly dramatic, and continues today.

‘ Reconciliation starts with God. Unless we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ our reconciliation to others in the Church will be restricted’ Reconciliation with God is different to human reconciliation. Apart from anything else it means accepting that he is in charge. Within the Church it means loving one another and being different, difference with amity, not enmity. It sounds obvious, but look around. We like those who are like us – whether in age, or worship style, or understanding. But reconciliation takes hold of our instinctive conflicts and transforms them so that difference makes for fresh ideas, new approaches, new challenges. I was recently being driven to the airport by someone who was challenging much of my understanding about how mission works.

At first I was slightly nettled – after all, I am meant to understand this stuff. But as we talked I realised how daft I was being, and that this was a word from the Lord. Reconciliation is all about listening to difference and being united in the Spirit.

We struggle with this. Leaders are authoritarian – we split into cliques and we use derogatory language. The Holy Spirit goes to people where they are and speaks

‘ There is no reason why the Church should not once more be the most powerful force for good in our society’ through ways they can hear. We tend to want people to listen to us as we are, a bit like my grandfather living in Paris in the 1930s, who was convinced that they all understood English if only you spoke loudly enough.

The point about being reconciled communities is that they fill up with love, and then they overflow. By practising reconciliation in the Church, we learn to be reconcilers in the open spaces around us. By being healed in diverse but loving community, we learn to heal our own communities in the world. What a powerful force the Church is when filled with the Holy Spirit, and that being shown in love for each person.

Making disciples of all people

The third practical step is evangelisation. Built on prayer, and with the knowledge God loves all people, we must reach out with the clear and obedient intention of bringing others to reconciliation with God through Jesus.

It means knowing what we believe – that is to say, being able to explain it in a minute without religious jargon, full of love, not merely with the intention of winning the argument. It means praying for God to open doors to the gospel, and to open hearts to receive the news of Jesus.

When I was at university I was part of a very good prayer group. We read the Bible, worshipped and prayed for each other. I was praying at the time for a particular friend, looking for ways to enable him to meet Jesus.

One day he came up to me and asked, ‘I have heard that there is a mission by a guy called John Stott next week; is the any chance you could get me to hear him?’

The answer was a startled yes, and the result a clear and lasting conversion. It was not the hardest piece of work I have done, but behind it was prayer, reconciliation, and a searching for ways to share the wonderful news of Jesus.

There is no reason why the Church should not once more be the most powerful force for good in our society, enabling care for the poor, generosity to the suffering, justice to the oppressed. It needs to happen, and God calls for it to happen. But we need to co-operate passionately to make it so.

Justin Welby Justin Welby is the Archbishop of Canterbury and will be speaking at the London & South East Summer Conference.

He previously served as Bishop of Durham and as a lay leader at Holy Trinity Brompton, having spent 11 years working in the oil industry.

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The Hunger Game Tearfund’s UK Director Andrew McCracken explains how the new IF campaign offers a real opportunity to end global hunger

F

ood. It’s a part of our daily lives, a part of our culture. It’s on our TV screens and our dinner tables. An endless stream of meal deals and fast-food chains. Food is art, food is medicine, food is survival.

In Greek mythology, the character Tantalus was damned for all eternity to stand beneath a tree of low hanging fruit. When he reached for it, it quickly moved out of his grasp.

For him, food was tantalisingly close but always out of reach; it was a curse of eternal deprivation.

The fact is, hunger like this is not a myth. It is a very real and very serious daily torment for nearly a billion people all over the world. But unlike the story of Tantalus, hunger was never God’s intention for his Earth.

One in eight people go to bed hungry every night. That’s more than the populations of Europe, the US, Canada and Australia combined.

Even the UK, one of the world’s richest nations, is seeing a rise in the need for food banks.

Even more shocking than this, is the truth that there is enough food in the world to feed everyone. The rising costs of food, changes in climate, tax avoidance, companies taking

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land from farmers and many other factors mean that we keep seeing hunger crises in some of the poorest communities in the world, while other parts of the world tackle obesity, overconsumption and incredible amounts of food waste.

Where is the justice in this inequality?

What does this mean for us as Christians, as we seek to care for the last, the least and the lost?

A world in which everyone has access to enough food is possible.

Which is why in 2013, Tearfund and over 100 other charities and churches have launched the biggest UK anti-poverty campaign since Make Poverty History. New Wine got in on the action early by launching it at their 18-30s Retreat to Advance weekends in January.

Enough Food for Everyone IF is a coalition of organisations who see 2013 as a crucial year to ask world leaders to fix the world’s broken food system and to remove the ‘ifs’ that make it so fragile and ineffective.

We are asking you to take some simple actions throughout the year so that we can all speak out against the injustice of hunger and be the voice of the voiceless. No one need be hungry or malnourished. Getting enough of the right food gives people their future. It builds the potential for all societies to prosper.

Churches all over the country are joining together to shout loud enough for our world leaders to hear and make decisions that could bring justice to the millions all over the world going hungry.

‘ Even more shocking than this, is the truth that there is enough food in the world to feed everyone’ ‘The local church must engage with issues of injustice in our world, if it is to be all that Jesus calls it to be,’ says Gareth Dickinson, pastor at Trinity Cheltenham. ‘Which is why we are supporting the IF campaign, and will join the rally in June to take a stand against the scandal of hunger.’

The Church needs to be a part of a social revolution that sees people make lifestyle changes in a world of increasing population and finite resources, ensuring that all who are made in the image of God are treated equally.

This is what God intends his Earth to look like. We all know well the story of the feeding of the five thousand, where Jesus performed a miracle that saw five loaves of bread and two fish stretch to feed more than it ought. It looked like there wasn’t going to be enough, but there was more than enough. Jesus did not give any more to one man than he did another; every man woman and child was treated equally and ‘all were satisfied’.

What an incredible image of equality and provision. Though it may not look like it, God has provided his children with enough food to feed every man, woman and child on his Earth.

This campaign is a chance to bring about that image we read about in the Bible, the

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image of everyone having enough, and give it new meaning. This is our chance to show people that the Church isn’t a just a holy huddle hiding behind the church walls. We are one body, making a stand for our brothers and sisters around the world who need us to fight for their survival.

We can take action and work towards a world of enough loaves and fishes for everyone – God’s kingdom come.

‘ Getting enough of the right food gives people their future. It builds the potential for all societies to prosper’ Talk to your church leader, meet your MP, come to the G8 rally, and most importantly of all, pray with us.

Pray to our God of possibility, that he would provide and bless our world leaders with the wisdom and power to make the changes that 900 million hungry people badly need.

Find out more about the IF campaign and how you and your church can get involved at www.tearfund.org/if

Caesar is an orphan of just four years old, who lives with his three sisters in one of Zimbabwe’s poorest communities. Every night he cries himself to sleep because he’s hungry, and there isn’t enough to feed him.

“When our parents died, life was very hard. There were four of us and we were very young,” says one of Caesar’s sisters. “We thought we couldn’t survive on our own.”

For Caesar’s family, the prayer for daily bread is a very real one.

They call on their heavenly Father to provide.

Thankfully, Tearfund church partner Foundations for Farming were able to intervene and bring hope to Caesar and his family. They are teaching the community how to improve crop yield. They teach farming techniques that require less water than traditional methods – replacing uncertainty with plenty.

Drawing on Biblical principles, the training changes peoples attitudes to themselves and their work. Many people are now being given a hand up out of poverty, growing their own food and feeding their own children.

Let us celebrate what God is doing through his local church, all over the world. Churches that are bringing the fullness of the gospel message.

Churches that are feeding hungry stomachs whilst pointing to the true bread of life.

The IF campaign will focus on some of the root causes of hunger, recognising that aid money given by international governments is only a vital first step in tackling global poverty, and that we should go beyond it to the deeper causes of poverty and hunger, like climate change and tax dodging. During the year there will be campaigning actions on: • Keeping Finance Promises. Asking our government to keep its promises to give 0.7% of GDP as aid and, with other rich countries, to provide the additional money they have already promised to help poor communities adapt to climate change.

• Land. Stopping companies and governments grabbing land from poor communities who can’t prove they own it, and changing the EU biofuel target that makes land grabs more profitable and pushes up food prices.

• Tax. Stopping tax dodging by multinational companies, so they pay more tax in poor countries where they operate and poor countries’ governments can spend it on tackling poverty.

• Transparency. Making the governments of poor countries more accountable to their people for how they use their budgets, and multinational food companies to be more accountable for their food stocks and food prices.

Andrew McCracken Andrew is Tearfund’s UK Director. He originally studied physics and has worked in youth work, volunteer management, HR, management consultancy, and latterly with Tearfund in a variety of roles.

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Spiritual Foundations

Tours – Oxford

New Wine

Summer 2013 LSE & CSW

Shepton Mallet, Somerset

27 July–2 August & 4–10 August 2013 The purpose of ‘The Gallery’ exhibition is to celebrate our God-given creativity, encourage the artists in our church communities, allow God to speak through artists’ work and create a space for people to relax and reflect.

A personal experience following what God has done in Oxford since 700AD – Wonders, Worship & God’s Word.

Looking at the foundations laid through Frideswide, Tyndale, Wycliffe, Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley, the Wesleys, Whitfield, and CS Lewis.

For LSE, we are inviting submissions of original artwork in any medium, including limited edition prints.

For CSW, we are requesting entries of high-quality work from all aspects of artistic expression: painting, drawing, prints, sculpture, photography, fused glass, poetry, pottery and textiles.

1 or 2 day tours.

Artists postcards and greeting cards are also welcome at both LSE & CSW.

More information: Andrew Myatt info@spiritualfoundations.co.uk www.facebook.com/SpiritualFoundations 01865 763631

The closing date for submissions is SATURDAY 16 JUNE. If your work is selected you must be able to deliver it (and to collect it if not sold) to Shepton Mallet. You may want to insure your own work.

Please email your name, details (title, medium, dimensions, price) and good quality photos or recordings of the works (max. 8 pieces) to: LSE: Iain Jones – iain@thebear.tv CSW: Yvonne Bell – yvonnebell@yvonnebell.co.uk

Spiritual Foundations Tours – Oxford

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Will you support families like Noah’s? ...............................

In 50 communities across Uganda, where Tearfund works through local churches, we’ve seen the number of people going to bed hungry cut in half. Please give £8 each month to protect more families like Noah’s from hunger.

At Tearfund, we do whatever it takes to bring hope to poor people through Bible-based training – equipping churches to help communities release themselves from poverty. In Jesus’ name.

Start your journey at www.tearfund.org/noah

Registered Charity No. 265464 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. SC037624 (Scotland) Photo: Cally Spittle/Tearfund 31000-(0313)

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Ian Parkinson reflects on his recent trip to Uganda, and how the Church has been renewed as the hope for the world

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T

en years ago Patrick Osima was, by his own admission, drinking his life away.

A man without formal education from a nominal Roman Catholic background, he and his family lived as farmers in a traditional thatched mud hut in a small village in the Soroti District of North Eastern Uganda. Today he is a respected and resourceful community leader with an impressive entrepreneurial record, overseeing an expanding farm, held up as a model for others. He has built a brick house into which his family are about to move, and has become a radiant Christian.

He ascribes every single one of these significant life changes to a Tearfund initiative – the Participatory Evaluation Process (PEP) – which has been running in his village for around ten years. It was powerful to see firsthand during a visit to Soroti in mid-February by New Wine leaders and Tearfund officers the dramatic impact of this initiative upon people and communities. It was the most stunning example of local churches changing communities.

In the 1990s, frustrated with a system where aid recipients were becoming more dependent on external assistance

‘ The Bible for these people has become a complete narrative in which to live’ The process has five simple stages.

The first, and most critical stage, is a programme of engagement with Scripture designed to change the mindset of the church and to mobilise people to engage with, and show practical love to, their community.

It was striking how many people referred to the life changing impact this part of the process had had upon them; many, including Patrick, being able to testify to having come to faith through it. The Bible for these people has become a complete narrative in which to live, rather than simply a set of instructions about how to be saved.

Moreover, the reputation and impact of local churches has improved dramatically as they have moved outwards and taken responsibility for their calling to bless communities and see them transformed. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a key text for the Church in Uganda, and an impetus to use what we have to improve the lot of the most broken in the community.

Further stages of the process help the church work with the local community to identify together key issues and pressing needs. In the past, many told us, this would have resulted simply in a greater sense of dependency upon aid

agencies. This has all changed. PEP not only helps communities identify needs, it also helps them identify resources they already have and which can be applied to the meeting of identified needs. People told us of the impact of engaging with stories such as the widow’s mite, and the feeding of the five thousand. Nowhere was this better exemplified than by the woman who had next to nothing, but who began to see that the termite mounds in her backyard could be used to make bricks, and who has eventually succeeded in building her own brick house in which to live!

Heaven on Earth

The impact of PEP has been nothing less than dramatic. Over three days we were taken on a whistle-stop tour of wells dug by the community for the community, cooperative agricultural projects, new schools, fish farms and many other projects, all the result of local churches working with their communities. Perhaps the most glorious, and the most moving, was the farm which Patrick Osima oversees. One of the biggest needs highlighted by the community survey in his area was that of tackling the problem of HIV/AIDS. Those affected were often isolated, lacked support and were reluctant to disclose their status for fear of being shunned by the wider community. The solution Patrick and others dreamed up was a poultry farm. A number of those with HIV/AIDS pooled their small sums of money to buy hens. They received a modest income from the sale of the eggs, and also became a support group for one another, stepping in with practical help when any group member fell sick. Surplus income was invested in the purchase of goats and sheep, and then pigs, and later honey bees, while a whole variety of crops were sown on what is now a quite developed farm. Ten years on, the farm, worked exclusively by those with HIV/AIDS, is quite literally a foretaste of Heaven, a place where workers display a sense of joy and dignity which is striking, and which is entirely in keeping with the name they have given to their group, Shine.

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rather than less, and with an awareness of the gap growing between local churches and their communities, the Pentecostal Assemblies of God church asked Tearfund for help and advice to promote sustainable development. A new programme was launched in local Pentecostal churches in Soroti, with the intention of training local facilitators to run the PEP programme.

Continual transformation

This process has contributed to community transformation in many other ways. Women have been empowered and given a voice in public life. Many more families are committing to seeing their children educated. Churches are growing significantly and are seen as good news in their communities. Members of different denominations are working in previously unseen ways out of genuine Christian love. And those who have benefited from Tearfund’s initiative turn out to be the greatest evangelists, filled with a longing that their neighbours might also enter the process and find a new quality of life, both spiritual and material.

There is now a widespread understanding, explained to us by various people in the different projects we visited, that development is not simply about the provision of resources. Rather it is about the provision of ideas and expertise in such a way that people might own them for themselves and share them more widely. For the first time in all my visits to Africa I had come across something which has the capacity to change the face of communities and nations in a lasting way which is entirely sustainable without any external aid or intervention.

Here were principles which I wanted to bring back home and apply to some of the ministries I and others seek to grow in resource-hungry areas of our own nation. I came back from Uganda renewed in my confidence in the power of God’s story to change lives, and in the conviction that the Church which intentionally inhabits this story truly is the hope of the world.

Ian Parkinson Ian Parkinson is the Regional Director for New Wine North & East and Vicar of All Saints’ Marple.

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2013-14

18-24s: Your liFe, his Kingdom

The purpose of the discipleship Year is to equip, encourage and empower those aged 18-24 with solid foundations for life as a follower of Jesus, with a focus on three strategic areas:

1

2

3

making disciples

growing through community

Transforming mission

You’ll receive teaching, serve on an internship in a local church and take part in an overseas mission trip in partnership with Tearfund.

including An overseAs mission Trip in AFricA WiTh

hoW To ApplY

1 pray about it

2 visit www.new-wine.org/training for an application form

Find out more at www.new-wine.org/training 50

3 get ready for a life-changing year of adventure and discovery!

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Recommended Resources

For the Sake of the World

Unreached

For the Sake of the World, which captures an incredible night of worship led by Brian & Jenn Johnson and team, provides a vibrant and exciting celebration of God’s character. A fantastic use of huge, drum led sound combined with deliberate moments of stillness and space left me feeling a deep sense of intimate awe and wonder throughout. The team’s outstanding lyrical craftsmanship and collaboration of different styles and voices bring fresh life and create an atmosphere of joy whilst continually building momentum. Songs such as This is Amazing Grace, led by Jeremy Riddle, and This is What You Do, led by William Matthews, particularly stand out and are full of powerful declaration and outstanding vocals. The album is completed with the powerful mission focused title track, For the Sake of the World, led by Brian Johnson, which we have loved leading with our congregation. The album has left me already eagerly anticipating what’s next to come from Bethel Live.

Pete Willmot is Worship & Production Co-ordinator at St Paul’s Church Hammersmith.

This book confronts the reality that most evangelical churches are in middle class areas. It explores why that is, and what the implications of it are for sharing the gospel and seeing God’s kingdom grow. Written by someone with firsthand experience of living and ministering in deprived areas it looks at how we do evangelism, discipleship and Bible study in these kinds of areas. I found myself moved and encouraged as I recognised many parallels with the area in which I work. My one criticism would be that the book is written from a conservative theological position and therefore the emphasis is on preaching and conversion (and social action), but the ministry of the Holy Spirit that we would look for in charismatic churches is largely ignored. Having said that, I still think there is something to learn from here for all of us engaged in ministry in working class and deprived areas.

Kate Wharton is Vicar of St George’s Everton.

Bethel Live

Stumbling Blocks

Gavin & Anne Calver

I took this book on holiday and couldn’t put it down. The honesty shared by Gavin and Anne was refreshing and encouraging. It was also very easy to read, a major attraction as some books on similar subjects can get you lost in rhetoric. As a church leader I found the section on the difficulties with church particularly helpful and provocative. I would recommend all those who passionately care about the Church and its relevance to society today (and tomorrow) to buy the book and begin to ask honest questions.

Matt Nott is assistant minister at King’s Community Church, Oldbury, Birmingham.

Encountering God Together David Peterson

Have you ever wondered what we are doing when we come together in church? And – more importantly – what we should be aiming to do? This very readable book is a timely reminder of the ‘big vision’ of church: that our aim is to enable people to encounter the living God through our preaching, in our worship, by our prayers and in our fellowship. Both challenging and practical, this book will help ministers, worship leaders and church staff teams and raise your expectation for your church services and for the congregations we lead in worship, that together they and we might indeed encounter our living God through our corporate worship.

Gavin Collins is Archdeacon of the Meon Valley.

Tim Chester

The Disciple Lucy Peppiatt

What a feast Lucy Peppiatt has prepared in this book! Far from discipleship being a series of mechanical ‘do’s and don’ts’ Lucy goes to the heart of becoming truly human – the same relationship of love that Jesus had with his Father God is opened to us. For any feeling trapped by their failure to live up to expectations, this book offers the assurance of God’s initiative and utter commitment to change us from the inside out by his Spirit. Lucy encourages the reader to believe God can use not only his written word and his Spirit to effect this change but also the circumstances of our lives and our relationships with others. Each chapter is well grounded through the description of appropriate ‘Holy Habits’. Ultimately it offers genuine hope that God is at work in us and through us, so our desires can conform to his desires and we can be free to discover and live out God’s call on our lives.

John Coles is the national director of New Wine.

RESOURCES GIVEAWAY! Simply email the title of one the above resources to mag@new-wine.org for your chance to win a copy. One entry per person. Winners will be chosen by random and notified by email by the end of June 2013.

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classifieds HOLIDAYS ALTEA, COSTA BLANCA Modern, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment; heating, pool, tennis, garden, garage. Shops, restaurants, beach close. Golf, hill-walking, watersports. Warm winter area.

Discounts. 029 20759314; dee.jones@virgin.net TOPSHAM, DEVON 2-bedroom maisonette overlooking Exe estuary and hills. Local shops, inns, teashops, walks. Coast, moors, Exeter nearby. 02920 759314; dee.jones@virgin.net PORT ISAAC, N CORNWALL 2-bedroom character cottage, ideal for surfing beaches and coastal walks. Check out www.catscottage.info. Email archie@stpetersbrighton.org.

Tel 07887 522 402 Lynmouth, North Devon Spacious and beautiful Grade 2 listed Georgian Holiday home available all year round. Sleeps 6 (2 doubles, 1 twin) Possible pets. Contact chris.maclay@gmail.com

Please mention New Wine Magazine when responding to an advert House to hire at La Manga Club Spain 3 bedrooms 3 bathrooms On site swimming pools,all sports,shops, restaurants available all year very reasonable rates.

Details and availability email gillyslaing@hotmail.com.

LOVELY COTTAGES ON A DEVON FARM sleeping 2-14. Tranquil yet central base.

Short break deals available.

Village pub serves meals and takeaways. Cozy wood burner.

Family or couples. Freshly baked cream tea. Contact Lynda 01271 346566 www.bampfieldfarmcottages.co.uk

Arc-en-Provence Self-catering apartments with large swimming pool in a quiet and peaceful rural location between the Mediterranean and the Mountains...also New for 2013, family villa with 3 bedrooms and a pool.

Visit our website for more information at www.arc-en-provence.com tel 0033 494 739337

MISSION

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New Wine is a movement of churches working together to do just that!

This includes working with our network of church leaders, hosting summer conferences, delivering training events and providing resources.

If you would like to help us change our nation – and are prepared to support us financially for as little as £3 per month – we would love you to become a New Wine Friend.

I

NORTHUMBERLAND Cottage, sleeps 4. Peaceful with amazing views. Visit Holy Island, Alnwick Castle etc. Further details: www.cottageguide.co.uk/ kypieview Phone: 0191 281 2309

CALAHONDA, COSTA DEL SOL Three-bedroom villa, south facing pool, secluded garden, glorious ocean views.

Geofft101@btinternet.com

EAST DEVON FARM, SELF CATERING 3 cottages on family farm sleeping 5 to 15.

Can accommodate groups of up to 33. Games room, trampolines and climbing frames. Easy reach of sea, moors and many local attractions. 01404 841238 www.westcottfarm.co.uk

How can I help change this nation?

POSH HOTEL OR DIRTY SLUM? This year, be different.

2-4 week trips to the third world.

Change your life and theirs. www.soapboxtrust.com

OTHER INSTRUMENTAL WORSHIP CD “Everlasting Arms”: anointed, improvised piano worship – ideal for devotions, soaking or ministry times. www.facebook.com/robstrohmusic

Advertiser: Arc-en-Provence Amendments/Further proof required

CCP Ltd, Broadway House, The Broadway, Crowborough, East Sussex TN6 1HQ

NW

Tel: 01892 611180 Fax: 01892 663329 sue.bastin@premier.org.uk

www.new-wine.org/friends Advertisement Proof

Reach a readership of 80,000* people!

Contact us today for a detailed Rate Card.

E advertising@new-wine.org T 020 8799 3765 * New

Wine distributes over 44,000 magazines.

An estimated 80,000 get their hands on it!

Conditions If you wish to advertise in our October 2013 issue, bookings must reach us by 15 August 2013. Please submit text in clear type. Copy will be set to our specifications. Tel/fax numbers count as two words; websites, postcodes and PO Boxes as one. Contact advertising@new-wine.org or 020 8799 3765.

Semi-display ads should be supplied on disc as a hi-res PDF or in Quark Express for PC, or Illustrator/Freehand for Apple Mac - accompanied by a hard copy proof. Ads supplied in any other manner will be reformatted, in which case exact matching cannot be guaranteed and an extra cost may be incurred. New Wine does not necessarily agree with all the views and practices of advertisers.

Rates £1.75 per word or £16 per column cm. All bookings are subject to VAT. Contact advertising@new-wine.org or call 020 8799 3765 for more information.

Position: Overseas Proceed to print with this version

14-16 November 2013

Staverton Park, a De Vere Hotel, Daventry With guest speaker Danielle Strickland This event is for women leading churches or in the workplace, women leading churches alongside their husbands (including wives of assistant/associate church leaders and ordinands) and women married to church leaders.

Look out for more details on www.new-wine.org

2013 SUMMER CONFERENCE Join us for an unforgettable week to get inspired, empowered and fired up to change lives, communities and the nation! here’s a sneak preview of a just a few of this years Summer Conference speakers and worship leaders.

PluS many more to be announced across all three regions.

Visit our website www.new-wine.org for updates!

‘I was given ideas for evangelism, stewardship of resources, and the certainty that even though I may seem small my gifts can be used effectively by him.’

LONdON & SOUth EaSt

Saturday 27 July–Friday 2 August Royal Bath and West Showground, Somerset

Come And heAr… Justin Welby (Archbishop of Canterbury) Jay Pathak (Mile High Vineyard, Colorado) robby dawkins (Aurora Vineyard, Chicago) WorShiP leAderS inClude: Brian doerksen nick drake Chris Jones

www.new-wine.org/summer

NEw FOR 2013!

we’ve got lots of exciting new things at this year’s Summer Conference, including new venues – along with everything else you love about New wine. Keep an eye out for some great new developments from New wine worship!

‘God spoke powerfully to me about stepping out and not expecting everything to just fall into place easily.’

‘A great time of refreshing & renewing worship and inspiring & equipping teaching for all ages, as we have come to expect from New Wine.’

NORth & EaSt

CENtRaL & SOUth wESt

Come And heAr… Jon Tyson (Trinity Grace Church, New York) mike Pilavachi (Soul Survivor) mark marx (Healing on the Streets)

Come And heAr… danielle Strickland (The Salvation Army) Ken Costa (Alpha UK) Christy Wimber (Yorba Linda Vineyard, California)

WorShiP leAderS inClude: Brian doerksen Gareth robinson nicole Brown

WorShiP leAderS inClude: martin Smith Sam Bailey

Saturday 3–Friday 9 August Newark and Nottinghamshire County Showground, Newark

Sunday 4–Saturday 10 August Royal Bath and West Showground, Somerset

“I am who I am

right now because God used my sponsor so much.

She is the way that I saw God in my life,”

GINSELY, formerly sponsored child from the Dominican Republic, now working as a dentist.

{ www.compassionuk.org { SPONSOR A CHILD TODAY

Poverty is complex. It’s about more than just a lack of food and shelter; it strips away dignity and crushes the spirit.

This is why Compassion’s approach to fighting poverty is long-term and complete.

Through our church-based projects and with the support of loving sponsors, Compassion addresses the needs of the whole child including their spiritual growth, education, relational development, and health.

When you become a Compassion child sponsor for just £21 a month, you play a pivotal role in changing the story of a child for eternity.

COMPASSION UK CHRISTIAN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 43 High Street, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 8BB | Registered Charity No. 1077216 Registered in England No. 3719092