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Saturday was a Prayer Morning for our Mission Partners Sunday was a Mission Sunday for Church on the Bus Listen to the Sunday services here Read about the weekend below
Mission Weekend at St Thomas’ 6 and 7 March 2010 St Thomas’ gives away ten percent of all the money received from giving to mission, both in this country and overseas. At present the ‘mission partners’ supported are: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), The South American Mission Society (SAMS –now part of Christian Missionary Society, CMS), Scripture Union, Novimost International, Tear Fund, Samaritans Purse, the Overseas Mission Fellowship (OMF) and Church on the Bus. Each organisation has a member of St Thomas’ as a link co-ordinator. Saturday –Prayer and Breakfast As well as financial support it is equally important to know what the needs of the organisations are and to support them in prayer. So on the Saturday at 8am some fifty or so members of St Thomas’ gathered for Prayer and Breakfast. Displays about our eight mission partners were set up around the church. We divided into two groups and each group moved round to four mission displays spending fifteen minutes at each. Before we prayed our mission co-ordinators up dated us on each organisation and told us of any specific prayer needs. Following our prayer time we adjourned to the meeting room where we found a wonderful breakfast of toast, cereal, hot bacon cobs and croissants (warmed to perfection) waiting for us. The morning was, in my opinion, a great success. Our corporate prayer for mission, which had previously been held on a weekday evening, had become stale and poorly attended. (I have to admit that I would be there looking at my watch and wondering how much longer!) This was a new and fresh approach. We were able to learn more about our mission partners, pray for them (I didn’t look at my watch once) and enjoy fellowship together. We give a big thank you to all who were involved in organising the morning. Sunday –Mission Sunday for Church on the Bus At the Saturday prayer morning with the Church on the Bus display were Church Army Captain Alan Park, who is in charge of the Bus project, and Captain Rob Lowe, who has recently joined Alan to help, and Robert Batten, a volunteer who often drives the bus. The three of them plus other Church on the Bus volunteers were at our three services on the Sunday as it was our Mission Sunday for Church on the Bus. (The last one was in 2007.) Captain Alan spoke at the 9am and 6pm services. His theme was ‘How to we respond to Jesus?’ Captain Alan said that everyone should take time out and ask God for opportunities to share His love in words and actions. However it is one thing to agree to do something; doing it is another matter. How many times have we promised God to share his gospel then failed to do so? Before the team take the bus out of an evening they pray for God’s Holy Spirit to equip them with patience and a loving attitude and most of all to take control of the situation as they minister to the many broken people they meet. This gives them confidence in their faith and they have the assurance that Jesus is in control of everything they do that evening. The Church on the Bus project is all about those who don’t know Jesus Christ; being there for them and giving them a promise of salvation. He told the story of Cider Dave who wasn’t a Christian before he came to the bus. Over a period of years he came to accept Jesus into his life. A few weeks ago he came to the bus and asked Captain Alan to pray for him as he was dying. He told Alan that a few years ago he didn’t know where he was going after he died but now he did. God had met Dave where he was through the bus and the people on it sharing their faith. In our communion services we use the words ‘Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory’. Do we fulfill this promise or do we come to church and leave God at the altar when we leave? Captain Alan left us with a few questions: How are we going to respond when Jesus calls us? Are we going to follow through our promise to Him and act upon it? Jesus does not offer us material wealth and power but an awesome, powerful and transforming love giving meaning and purpose to our lives. So we need to encourage people to make Jesus special in their lives. Are we ready to follow Jesus with all our heart, soul and mind to show people that Jesus exists today? Captain Rob Lowe spoke at the 11am service. He spoke about homelessness and what the Church on the Bus project is doing. He illustrated his talk with a number of examples. Church on the Bus base their work on WWJD –what would Jesus do in this situation. They don’t want to just feed and clothe homeless people but to deal with other issues that may be affecting their lives, for example alcohol, drugs. Jesus would journey with these people and meet their needs. This is what the bus team wants to do and in doing so show those they serve something of Jesus. Rob, like Allan, challenged us with some questions. Are we putting our faith into action: helping the poor and the vulnerable? Do we really know Jesus? Do we know, like Cider Dave does, where we are going after the grave? At the 9am service Robert Batten explained how he got invoved with Church on the Bus and another project that has developed from it for the homeless. About ten years ago St Thomas’ was supporting a scheme for the homeless in Chesterfield called Rootstock providing them with housing. It was for 18-25 year olds and was part of a larger project run by Social Services to provide housing. However there were a lot of complaints about anti-social behaviour from these houses and the Social Services project, including Rootstock, was closed down. However the need did not go away. In 2004 Chesterfield Baptist Church held a meeting about homelessness. Representatives from a number of organisations attended. One of the people there was an Alan Park and he spoke about a bus he had and the work he wanted to start with the homeless. Being interested in homelessness and being qualified to drive a bus (though not a bus driver) Robert joined the fledgling Bus team becoming their driver. The team started parking the bus one night a week outside Chesterfield Town Hall. (They now have two buses going out four nights a week going to Clay Cross and Matlock as well.) Robert said they make no apology for proclaiming that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. They don’t overwhelm the people. However they do talk about Jesus, pray, study the Bible and give out tracts. People who come to the bus accept this. In 2006 Alan said to Robert that they needed to do more. People come to the Bus but then where did they go? They went back to sleeping rough. People needed a home. And within two months they had acquired a house! They started taking people in and to date they have had thirty seven people living in this house –some for a few days, others for over a year. Their prayer is that they can rehabilitate those who use the house. Robert says they are sowing the seed of the Gospel. Psalm 126 says ‘we sow in tears but reap in joy’. It has been hard. There have been tears. The police have been called a number of times to deal with problems. But there have been happy times and laughter as well. Robert describes Alan as a wonderful person. He is fearless, committed and absolutely focused on this work. He has an affinity for these people, having been homeless himself for seven years. Alan has prospered with Church on the Bus and the Bus has prospered with Alan. Robert said he thanked St Thomas’ for the financial support, prayers and encouragement for Church on the Bus over the last five years. They are looking forward to the next five years. Listen to the Sunday services here Listen to Alan’s testimony here
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