28 Days Later…
Monday, October 13th, 2008I have never experienced such incredible days of ministry as I have these last 28 days. In the 5 years we have been in Glasgow, there have been seasons of “wins” as well as disheartening seasons of “setbacks.” Recently our church has experienced far more “wins” than I would have dared to imagine.
(photo by Megan)
The first incredible and unexpected “win” has been our shocking and rapid growth. Because of this incredible surge of new people our church grew by over 140% (from Sept. 2007 – Sept. 2008) I still find myself stunned at how many more people are in the room for the services than there were even 28 days ago. It is quite incredible. I have also enjoyed seeing more age diversity in those regularly attending. Very exciting!
(Photo by Stephen Irwin)
Just a week ago, many of us drove to Loch Lomond to baptize Dan who is relatively new to our church and chosen to run after God with all his heart. It is amazing to be apart of expanding God’s Kingdom in Scotland.
The second “win” was our BBQ outreach to the new students at the University of Glasgow. We (as a church working with other local ministries) served almost 2000 burgers over 4 days to hundreds of incoming students in Jesus’ name. Although the weather was miserable, it was quite amazing to be apart of this event. Stephen Irwin was a warrior - there everyday in all weather serving and making it happen. Wade Thompson coordinated this outreach and led with BBQ-ing passion.
The third “win” is the opportunities I have been given to speak at three of the Universities on the subject of prayer and the good news of Jesus. It has been helpful and insightful for me to see first hand the Christian situation on each of these campuses. I am again stunned at how almost completely absent Christians are in this university generation. I was struck again at how enormous the task before us is to see a significant Reawakening come to Scotland. And so we pray on!
The fourth “win” has been 2 years in the making. After overcoming previous setbacks we finally launched a Kid’s puppet ministry for our Sunday morning service on the 12th. The kids loved it, and were already chatting about how their friends at school might also like to see it. In order to pull this off we had to build a massive partition in our large room downstairs, as well as build a quality puppet set. So many have been hard at work on this project including Mark Jones, Leah, Mike, Wade, Jeff and Tim B. We are hopeful for the future and the families that may start attending our church in the upcoming months as a result of this effort.
(Photo by Stephen Irwin)
Finally, the fifth “win” took place at our Feast last night. It was our largest Feast by far with around 230 people who came for good food, good music, and to get to know people. At the table I was at 6 out of 8 of the adults didn’t attend any church. It was great to see this missional Feast drawing in the people we were praying for. Wade was head chef and cooked up enough food for all, Lesley and Anna made the room look stunning, and Aimee and Tim B. coordinated the entertainment. Everyone worked so hard and there was so much joy at the end of the night as we tidied and recycled.
It has been an incredible month. Continue to intercede with us about the expanding of God’s Kingdom in Scotland, and the Reawakening of a nation to return to Jesus Christ. God is answering our prayers!
