2. Mar, 2017

Greetings from Ros

I’ve recently been thinking about our plans and priorities for next year in preparation for our Home Mission Grant Application.  It’s incredibly difficult to plan so far in advance when you are aware that there are so many variables and anything can happen when God’s involved.  This time last year I never imagined that we would now have a church website and a Facebook group (check them out if you can).

As I looked back over last year I became increasingly aware of God’s fingerprints all over the year.  God has been encouraging us and nudging us and preparing us in different ways throughout the year. This has caused me to become excited by what God might have in store for us this year!

As I pondered the past year, I realised that we had been faithful in taking the opportunities that God had opened up to us.  I also came to the conclusion that in the process God had been at work in preparation of us corporately as a church.  Last month I was encouraging us to prepare in our individual lives with the focus upon discipleship.  This month the theme of preparation remains but this time in our life together as a church.

Many of our priorities have been in preparation for the future and this remains an essential for us as we go forward with God.  We believe that God has a future for us and we want to be ready for when things begin to happen!  We are attempting to put in place the structures that we will need for serving God and the community in the future.  This is why we have been undertaking the Safeguarding Training so that we can ensure that we are doing everything we can to be a safe environment for children and vulnerable adults.  There are other areas we need to work on and we will be using this year to focus on them.

Prayer continues to be a priority as we continue to seek to listen to God and underpin what we do with prayer. The challenge now is upon being specific and strategic in our prayers in the hope that this will bear fruit in the future. What are the big and crazy ideas that God is planting in your mind that we need to be praying about?  The thoughts that won’t go away but keep popping to the surface when you least expect it.  Share these thoughts with me or the Deacons so that we can explore with God what His big plans for us are. I promise that we won’t think you mad as I’ve been having some crazy ideas that won’t go away.  You’ll have to wait and see how they develop! We have yet to hold the Alpha Course but our thoughts are already working on a follow-up Beta Course.  Then there’s the possibility of a new housing estate on the outskirts of the village.  We need to be thinking through our response now so that we are ready for action when it happens.

I believe that we are entering an exciting phase in our life as a church and will need to make some difficult decisions that will open up new opportunities and will reshape us as a church. But we have to be willing to follow God’s leading.  The momentum is building and God is continuing the preparation and encouraging us to keep our eyes fixed on Him and alert to what He is doing and join Him in it.  He is continuing to prepare us and shape us for the future He has for us.  

Let’s watch this space and see what develops!

May God bless you…

Love,  Ros