Sproul, Driscoll, Chandler and Tchividjian Panel Discussion

Very interesting panel discussion between these four very respected pastor/preacher/theologians. Check it out!

FP Impact 2010/2011

I find it slightly strange, if not crazy looking back and thinking that a whole year has gone by. Most of you who read this blog will know that I have spent the last year at Gateway Church Poole doing a FP Impact year. This is a year dedicated to growing in your relationship with God whilst working in the local church.

The year provides opportunities to develop gifting and more importantly character. You are well and truly thrown in the deep end, out of your depth often not knowing what to do. This is the beauty of it. When you don't know where your next months rent is coming from or where you are going to be after the year, you are forced to run to the steadfast rock that is our God.

There were several times in the year that I thought about jacking it all in and just moving back to Winchester and working. There were times when I struggled to sleep because of an upcoming task I had to do. Through it all I have found God to be so faithful to me. Never letting me out of his safe grip whilst at the same time allowing me to be tested. His grace has really been overwhelming.

Many people choose to stay at their home church for the year. I chose to move away to experience life away from home as well as a new environment---if you are going to do an Impact year I would definatly recommend this option. Doing this provided me with freedom to grow and to be myself without any of the baggage that I had back in Winchester. It also gave me to opportunity to make many new friends and to get alongside many fathers in the faith.

I am a firm beleiver in the caught not taught method of learning. I believe you can learn just as much, if not more just from hanging out with someone than by them teaching you. This year has provided fantastic opportunities to hang out and learn from men who love God, love their wives and are amazing fathers to their children. It has been invaluable spending time with, being encouraged and more often than not corrected by these men. Thanks to James Pope, Jon Clark, Alan Mainstone, Matt Hosier, Mark Absolom, Steve Cox, Gordan Carter and Rich Stamp. There are many others whom I am also very grateful to.

Another beauty of the year is being able to share it with other people. Gateway had three students this year Rich Fishlock, Jacqueline Bennion and myself. I also need to include Elsbeth Barnett in this section as well because even though she was not a Impact student she served as the church administrator. These three have proved to be three of my closest friends. I cannot be more thankful for the times we have been able to spend together. A man could not ask for three better companions in his pursuit of God! You are all an inspiration and massive encouragement!

The year also helps you to see and to clarify what God is really calling you to do with your life. We all have a calling and our callings will all be very unique. God has really been speaking to me and preparing me for my future. I have been in a church where the word of God is esteemed very very highly and it is faithfully preached week in week out, with extreme care and accuracy. The church also knows how to worship God. Some of my favourite nights with the church were our prayer and praise evenings where we would just sing and praise God using his word.

I could probably write a whole book on my experiences as a FP Impact student, that's the extent of how much you gain and get out of the year. None of it would really be possible without support from so many people. It would be impossible to name them all. I really want to thank everyone at Gateway Church Poole for being a church where there is evidence of the grace of God. Just as Barnabbas encouraged the Antioch church I want to encourage you to stay true to the Lord with your whole hearts (Acts 11:22-23).

I also want to thank my friends and family who have been praying for me and supporting me in anyway possible, whether that be financially or by being an encouragement. Thank you also to Winchester Family Church for your love, support and prayer throughout the entire year.

What a fantastic year. I am excited for all that is ahead of me. Grace and peace to you all!

Park Life 2011

 Palmerston Park, Southampton. One White Marquee, One God and One Gospel. What a week?!

When approaching an event like Park life you never know what to expect. God always likes to surprise us, and this was no exception. I soon learnt that little formal advertising had been done and in fact the main way of getting people to the meeting was through scattering. 

Scattering was the term used for the hour before the meeting where we would go out into the city and talk to people and invite them along. I was blown away by the openness of so many people---especially the younger generations.

Have you ever wondered what New Testament church would have been like? I certainly have and I think I experienced something very close to it last week. Never have I seen so many responses to the Gospel (38 over the Wednesday to Saturday meetings, and then several more on the Sunday), people so open to be prayed for and people from different walks of life coming together under one canvas to hear about the risen King Jesus.

Among the healing seen were a broken arm mended, a semi-blind eye restored and a leg growing (I missed it but apparently it was pretty cool). God was really wanting to restore physical bodies and our faith was stirred to push into him more.

One of my highlights of the week was on Saturday night when after many responses to the Gospel we all piled down to the front and worshipped our hearts out. Among those dancing and singing were Christians, drug addicts,  recovering drug addicts, alcoholics, recovering alcoholics and I swear there may have even been a dog running around. 

Being able to serve at Park Life has really changed my life. Seeing God work that powerfully in an English city (with all it's scepticism) was really a kick up the backside. We need to be pushing into all that God has for us and not allowing our culture to get in the way. Let God use you...I dare you!

Park Life

This week I will be heading over to Southampton to join up with the Life Church Crew and other Impact students. We are going to be part of Park life, an annual event that Life Church run in one of the parks in the city centre. 

The idea is that they preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, in a marquee, in the park, at several meetings throughout the day. What a great opportunity! 

Life church have done this for the past few years and have seen lots of fruit come out of it. Each year they have seen people saved and added to the local body. Holding an event like this also gives the local communities a lot of exposure to the church and more importantly Christ. 

If you are in Southampton at all this week, why not pop over to Palmerston park and check it out.

Super Sunday

Easter Sunday...one of the main days in the christian calender! And what a day to baptise so many people! 

I was back at Winchester Family Church (my previous church) and what a joy it was to witness the baptism of 10 people! I don't know about you, but hearing testimonies of how God works in peoples lives and brings them to salvation in him really causes emotions to fly---I didn't cry this time. 

It just seems fitting on a day when we are celebrating the day when our saviour was raised from the dead that we baptise people. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward faith in Christ. It also gives us an image of dieing to your old life (as you go under the water) and being raised to new life as you come back out of the water.

Like Christmas, Easter has been hit by commercialisation. Chocolate eggs are great but lets remember and celebrate for the real reason. Jesus is alive!

Spirit filled children...

God is seriously amazing! I thought I had a grasp of this prior to Sunday, it seems not! As some of you would have seen from my twitter post, this Sunday we were teaching on the Holy Spirit in our kids work at church. 

Anyway, after doing a quick question & answer session, we went into a prayer time and God really started to move amongst the children. I have never seen this before and found it an amazing experience. What blew me away even more was when God started to speak to them through pictures. Some of the stuff that came up was extremely powerful and even ended up being shared in the main meeting.

It was great to see God use children so powerfully! I know my prayer will be to see more and more of this not only in our children's work here in Poole, but in children's work throughout our nations and the nations around the world.