Summer Report 2012

Thank you for helping us share the Good News

How your gifts and prayers are making a difference Summer Report 2012

countiesuk.org

Your gifts and prayers have helped us to support more than 40,000 hours of outreach, reach more than 45,000 school children with the story of Jesus and train hundreds of church leaders this year.

Thank you.

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Welcome to your Summer Report 2012!

Thanks to your prayers, donations, support and practical help we have been able to share the good news of Jesus Christ with communities across the country.

We hope this report can give you a taste of the work of Counties and the difference your gifts have made in three main areas of our work: Evangelists, Training and Resources.

Your ongoing support has enabled Evangelists in 21 counties across England and Wales to share the Gospel in their communities, whether that’s standing on a market stall chatting to shoppers, visiting offenders in prison, setting up a new church plant, leading holiday clubs and summer camps or chatting to party-goers at Stonehenge.

mentoring sessions have equipped and envisioned hundreds of church leaders and evangelists over the past year.

Thanks to your support and generous donations from charitable trusts, our innovative Resources such as the LIFE and GSUS Live exhibitions have been seen by thousands of children and enabled churches to connect with their local schools.

So thank you once again for partnering with Counties. We really value your support and look forward to encouraging, equipping and inspiring you in the year to come.

Yours in His amazing and enduring grace,

Top-class Training events for church leaders wouldn’t have been possible without your gifts and prayers. Conferences, seminars and one-to-one John Wilkes, Evangelist - CEO

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Evangelists

It’s good news!

Thanks to your faithful donations and prayerful support, we have been able to help fund the work of 48 evangelists, church planters and seniors across the UK. The men and women, ranging in age from 32 to 88 years old, work faithfully all year round in schools, agricultural shows, market stalls, door-to-door ministry, prisons, hospitals, concerts, camps, churches and communities to bring the good news of Jesus.

We’ve picked out a few of the stories from the evangelists over the past year.

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Reaching out at Stonehenge Wiltshire evangelist Jonathan Brain shares his faith with witches, druids and party goers every year at the summer solstice, Stonehenge. He reaches out with informal chats about his Christian faith and often develops ongoing relationships.

Paws for thought Having a great love for dogs, Warwickshire evangelist Bob Telford has used his four-legged friends to communicate effective handling and training to local churches. The pooches have been a huge hit with communities across the UK.

A listening ear at the market Shoppers in the market town of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire know where to go when they want a friendly chat, prayers and a listening

ear. Evangelist Colin Johnson has a free ‘swap shop’ style stall on the high street every Tuesday.

Young at heart An evangelism programme for seniors, Young@Heart has been growing from strength to strength in the past year. Set up

by Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire evangelists Will and Lynne Andrews, Young@Heart involves week-long activities such as day trips, meals and talks. As a result, many have responded to the Gospel and made firmer commitments to their local churches.

The Gospel behind bars A one-to-one Bible study with a prisoner in Guys Marsh Prison led to Dorset evangelist Ian Carr leading services in the prison. He now runs regular sessions at the prison helping prisoners reflect on Bible stories and praying for specific situations.

‘My dream is that the Stonehenge summer festival becomes a Christian festival.’ Jonathan Brain, Wiltshire Counties evangelist.

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Training

Equipping the church We are committed to helping people discover ‘life in all its fullness’ through Jesus Christ. Your support has enabled us to train and encourage church leaders and evangelists to help them fulfil their personal calling.

Training workshops are held twice a year to envision and equip church leaders and evangelists in their work. The practical and theological aspects of Christian ministry work were discussed at a workshop in June, led by Paul Griffiths from The Ugly Duckling Company. Our workshop in January, with Prof Glynn Harrison, tackled the issues of men’s ministry and same-sex attraction.

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Each year many Counties evangelists mentor young people, trainee evangelists and new Christians to develop their faith and equip them for mission. Essex evangelist Charles Addoco (pictured above) helped two teenagers from London go on a short term mission to Romania in July and Cardiff evangelist Mike Thomas took a group of young people to South Africa to help build a nursery.

More than 200 people came to this year’s Counties Day Conference in March. Each year we host a one-day conference aimed at helping churches grow through evangelism and local mission.

This year’s event, which was themed Brave New Church, included talks from Steve Timmis, author of Total Church and Everyday Church and Australian guest speaker Andrew Heard. Don’t miss our next Counties Day Conference on 2 March 2013 in Warwick.

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Resources

Helping people share the Gospel From major exhibitions touring the UK to providing books, leaflets and DVDs – we have plenty of resources available for churches and individuals to help them share the good news. Your gifts and support make these possible.

The GSUS Live mobile classrooms had a £62,000 makeover this year – with the installation of a new multi-media computer suite including touch screens and improved wheelchair access.

The classrooms have visited 32,000 secondary school children in the last year, teaching pupils about fear, forgiveness and rejection and how Jesus is relevant today.

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The LIFE exhibition, a multi media experience focusing on the life of Jesus, has welcomed thousands of primary school children in towns and cities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland this year.

An exciting new touch screen tablet will be introduced this autumn, allowing pupils more interaction and fun as they tour the exhibit.

“I really enjoyed learning about Jesus.

I knew a bit about Jesus before I came here but there is a lot of stuff I only just found out. It was fun!’ Megan Chambers, 11, from Alderman Davies Church of Wales Primary School, Neath.

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Selected photos from Lathan Ball, Clare Kendall, Graham Shackleton, Paul McKie.

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Thank you for your valued partnership.

‘I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.’

John 10.10 (NIV)

Counties 30 Haynes Road, Westbury, Wiltshire, BA13 3HD Tel: 01373 823013 Email: office@countiesuk.org

countiesuk.org Counties (formerly Counties Evangelistic Work) is a Registered Charity No. 264278 and a Company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales No. 1041761

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