The Lord of the harvest
(as well as the dance)

At a recent conference with the Very excellent Bishop of Chelmsford (sorry about the name dropping), he reminded a room full of evangelists (some people’s idea of a nightmare) that the Lord is the Lord of the harvest (Matthew 9 v 38) not us.  But more than that, picking up the harvest theme, the sower in the parable of the sower would have been seen at the time Jesus first talked about it as useless.  The seed was valuable, it meant food and income for the sower and others.  Why then waste it on (or by) the path, why not have a scarecrow to stop birds eating it, why not get rid of the stones first?  But despite all that, some seed did get to good soil, did grow and did produce an amazing harvest.  No thanks to him.

Or is it?  Yes only the Lord makes it grow (1 Cor 3 v 6) but it is up to us to sow and water however it goes. No sow no grow?

Isn’t that an encouragement for us, that whatever our efforts in sowing the seed, that the Lord is Lord of the harvest not us.

Highlights include…

St Luke’s family event – none of the families invited came but we went out onto the streets and invited people in.  One woman said it was the best thing to happen to her all week.  We reviewed the event and now have a broader plan.  The evangelism team now has its own mission vision.

Visited a new Cafe Church service and was able to feedback from my experiences of Cafe Church some suggestions.

Met with Tile Kiln Chapel elder about possible long term evangelism work with the church to build on the work it is already doing and encourage personal evangelism.

Had an evening with Great Leighs Free Church leadership about where the church is with evangelism and how a strategy and culture for evangelism might be developed in the long term.

What’s to come…

2nd Nov  Evening at Fox and Hounds pub with local churches

4th Nov Meeting with St Michael’s evangelism team to review Mission weekend.

6th Nov  Meeting with Journey into Wholeness team about Spirit of life festival

9th Nov Preaching at Tile Kiln Chapel about sharing faith

23rd Nov Preaching at Great Leighs Free church about the Great commission

29th Nov St Luke’s Christmas crafts and bakes event

Please pray for…

The churches, the people, the leaders, the people they are reaching and hoping to reach, the ongoing work, the new initiatives, current opportunities I am involved with, new opportunities on the horizon and over the horizon, my family and myself.

Thanks for being part of the work.

E-quipping: Recommended resources 

It is encouraging to know that in a recent survey 66% teenagers still said that the friends they knew personally were more important than those online: see http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/29457870 for that plus some other interesting results concerning social media.  Although of course that means a third did not say that.  There are many great resources online that might not replace asking someone some questions over a coffee or sharing some real life experiences together, but can be a great starting point or additional support.  Here are some I have found recently that are interesting to look into:

http://peacewithgod.net/ has 4 steps to explore life and a relationship with Jesus which can lead to an ongoing relationship with an online mentor to support a decision to follow.

http://www.rejesus.co.uk/ focuses on the life of Jesus, his followers then and now, spirituality and uses art and creative ways to do it.

http://www.messagetothemasses.com/home looks at questions of faith with video answers and people can submit their own questions to be answered.

http://www.iamsecond.com/ has testimonies from people about living for God from all sorts of backgrounds.

http://www.trypraying.org/ does what it says on the tin: encourages people whatever their belief to pray plus has information to explore about life, faith and Jesus.

http://uncover.org.uk/ is aimed at students but can be for anyone.  It explores the evidence for Jesus through an interactive Luke’s gospel.

http://www.nowachristian.org/ sends emails every day for people who are new Christians about the difference following Jesus makes.

If you know some other interesting ones, please let me know!

Evangelism consultancy – Pass it on

I have recently added to the Speaking / Strengthening / Strategising / Supporting pages on the website some examples of what I have been doing.  Evangelism consultancy is not a well known phrase so many people don’t know what it is; some people have thought it means I am charging hundreds of pounds for it as some consultants in the business world are known for doing.  So please pass on what it is / the website / contact details to any churches you know of who might need help with evangelism.  We all do..

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