News
07 Sep 2010
First Sunday thoughts by Adam Stanton.
This Sunday saw the next step on the Godfirst church journey as we transitioned from a Tuesday gathering to meeting on a Sunday morning. Our 'soft-launch' allowed us to seamlessly move to Sunday mornings whilst still developing their shape.
Although we might not admit it there is something special about plugging into the day the early church choose to celebrate Jesus, no longer the day God rested from creation but the day Jesus rose again to bring about the dawn of new creation!
After a trial set-up on Wednesday which took 2 ½ hours we had just an hour to set up the small but comfortable Hesters Way Resource Centre. So it was all hands on deck for Godfirst launch Team as we arrived early to set up the meeting room, complete with new PA, set up kids rooms, sound check and have enough time left over to chat, pray and relax before we started.
Our worship time drew the church together to focusing on God's eternal faithfulness, and reminding us of his goodness and grace as we sang, prayed and read scriptures. Following this Sarah's increasingly legendary cup cakes and coffee provided an excellent opportunity during the short break for people to catch up and meet new people before Howard began his new sermon series.
Entitled the "Epic - surpassing the ordinary" series Howard spoke on "Epic - newness surpassing the ordinary". The crux (literally) of the sermon was how the events of the Jesus Cross and Resurrection were the Epic events of that changed the world forever. Quoting Peter Lewis "the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead altered everything! Jesus resurrection from the dead was not merely an epic event upon the plane of human history but an act that breaks into history with the power of new age and reality" Howard encouraged us to live lives in light of that new reality, with the forever new, forever young gospel as our ultimate breaking news.
Howard was a little gutted that the only PA teething problem was the sermon failed to record (thank you Nascam flash recorder - so no G1 podcast yet, maybe next week?)
It was great to have our children "meeting" with us for the first time and after G1Kids it was evident that they had an excellent time, one little girl remarking that she could not wait till next week.
In celebration of our ‘soft launch' the church and 50% of our visitors (one young couple) gathered around Howard and Naomi's for spaghetti bolognaise and a variety of puddings (can we have the Pavlova again Lucy?). It was great to reflect on how much God has done over the past 12 months.
Please feel free to come and visit because the joy of church is next week we will be doing it all again! Kids work, lively worship, and the second in the ‘Epic' sermons series Epic-Love surpassing the ordinary" and yes there will be lunch together afterwards at Howard and Naomi's rumour has it that it's lasagne! See you there Adam (Stan) Stanton.
07 Aug 2010
Sunday morning meetings from 5th September
Godfirst Church Cheltenham takes its first steps on Sunday morning 5th September 2010. After an extensive search for a venue we have finally settled on the small but comfortable Hesters Way Community Resource Centre Cassin Drive, Cheltenham GL51 7SU. The building has plenty of parking to the rear and there will be signage to point you to our meeting.
Our informal and relational morning meeting will begin at 10.30am and include a mixture of authentic worship, challenging relevant and bible based preaching, and prayer. We intend to break for refreshments before the preacher gets to work (no reflection on any need for caffeine before Howard speaks). We aim to finish around 12:15pm but don't plan to shoot off as Howard and Naomi or one of our launch team are likely to invite you to lunch.
If you have children from toddlers up to eleven year olds then we have some fantastic activities for your kids to enjoy in G1-kids! At present we don't have the capacity to offer a crèche but as the need arises we are sure that will change. We want to create a stimulating but safe environment for G1-kids so have a child protection policy and all our volunteers are CRB checked.
Although The Hesters Way Resources Centre will not be our permanent Sunday venue, whilst we are meeting in this area we really want to serve the people of this particular part of Cheltenham. At present we have people living in St Marks, Leckhampton, ChristChurch, St Pauls, Prestbury, and Bishops Cleeve so whether you are from Hesters Way or further a field you are really welcome to join us on any Sunday from the 5th of September.
10 Jun 2010
Months or Years?
One of the truisms that you need to remember in church leadership and particularly when starting a church from scratch is "leaders over estimate what they can achieve in a year and under estimate what can be achieved in five years".
The encouragement to examine your work over years rather than months is a good one, most of the larger churches I know now set five year goals, however when you are church planting the time scales you live with are days and weeks. You rightly want to use each day to move the church plant forward and you want visitors to check out your group every week.
So keeping the one year - five year statement in view I thought I would use the news feed to briefly reflect on Godfirst Cheltenham two months short of a year.
On 1st September 2009 Godfirst Cheltenham was myself, Naomi and our three children, we had no job and were living in a rented house.
On 1st June, this year, we were twenty adults and eight children: two school places have been gained on appeal and three other children have settled into schools, nine jobs have been found, three houses have been bought (Tom, Lucy and family move from Worcester tomorrow), five flats/ houses have been rented,18 000 leaflets have been distributed, and we have had 10 000 visits to our website.
However, as Paul and I looked around Cheltenham for Sunday venues, my temptation was to over estimate where we would be at this stage acutely aware that twenty eight would be rather a small number to launch out in September. Paul helpfully kept the five year horizon in view "We would be able to move into that adjoining hall seating 200 after four or five years."
So am I satisfied? Yes and no; yes because we have a great launch team who have taken huge steps of faith to join us from across the UK and no because I am impatient for lost people to get saved, for the disconnected to be enfolded in community and for the drifting to catch hold of the Godfirst vision.
But as Roxanna joins us this month with a desire to be trained to plant churches in Africa and Josh and Jana pray for their flat in Coventry to sell to join us with a view to planting churches in the Czech Republic, I believe five years from now we will be gathering hundreds on Sunday mornings, we will have seen scores of people saved, we will have sent church planters within the UK and the nations, and established projects that have touched the lives for hundreds of poor and vulnerable in Cheltenham.
So if you receive the news feed and are praying for us can I ask you to seek God for big things for us in the next five years, but also would you join us as we pray in the next four months for:
- A high quality affordable venue for our Sunday mornings in September
- A worship leader to draw together our team of talented musicians
- More people of faith, particularly core families and twenties, to join the launch team over the summer ready for our Sunday meetings.
- For students who are coming to Cheltenham in the new term to join us, roll up their sleeves and connect to Godfirst.
- For a part time employment opportunity for me (Howard) as my one term teaching contract finishes in July.
Howard
23 Apr 2010
Getting Connected
Getting connected.
We have had a great couple of months at the D'Fly with visitors checking us out and looking to join us every time we have met, so we are confident this will continue as we go weekly in the second week of May.
Although less news worthy than more people joining us, one of the most vital things when you are starting a church from scratch is relationally connecting to the town you are trying to serve.
Much of our Godfirst prayer in the first few months was praying for houses to be sold around the UK and bought in Cheltenham and for jobs to be found. Yes we still are praying hard for Josh and Jana to sell their flat in Coventry and move here for the summer, and we are still believing God for the right openings for Adam and Mark. We are hopeful that a job opening in a local primary school where Adam has been doing supply teaching will be the open door he needs.
But now with Paul, Sarah and family finally moving into a great home in Bishop's Cleeve and Tom moving from Cardiff to work in a government job in town, our focus has been more about connecting with people in Cheltenham.
I am now employed three days a week this term in a local comprehensive, which is a brilliant way to freshen up my teaching skills having been out of the profession for 13 years. I had prayed for this exact job each morning, whilst travelling to Bristol on my return to teaching placement. So after spending two days preparing for the interview I was told that I was the only candidate they had chosen to interview, it really was the job made in heaven. The school is great and I am praying to make some real relational connections with other staff.
Liz is loving her job mobilising volunteers for a charity working with vulnerable adults and has made loads of new friends, and had some great God chats.
Naomi continues to love going to CLC striders, fresh from her Vet 40 half marathon triumph in Bournemouth. Andy has hooked up with a football team and I am heading for Charlton Kings Tennis Club next Thursday, and my sons and daughter are joining cricket and net ball teams.
Andy and Adam, our long term lodgers, and Tom have landed a flat in the town centre . We have shared so much of our lives over the last eight months that it will feel like having family members grow up and leave home; I can see our 14 year old making it his second home. We are praying that this flat is real community hub. Guys I await my house warming invite!
Talking of house warmings we have ours on Saturday. My daughter and I went to knock on the doors of a dozen neighbours to invite them round. We don't know who will come from the street but we're really hoping to get to know some people. Thankfully we have friends from Naomi's running club, and the parents of a friend of my daughters, plus the Godfirst crowd. Please pray that we will make some new friends and feel that bit more connected.
In fact we could be busy with house warming this summer as Mark and Liz, Sophie, Paul and Sarah all have plans and when Tom, Lucy and a family, have moved in to their house in Prestbury later this month and Tom has completely rebuilt it as only a master builder can, that should be another.
Please pray for:
- The Godfirst community to make continued connections with the people of Cheltenham.
- For more visitors to Tuesdays at D'Fly as we go weekly in the second week of May. Pray for me as I teach our foundations series from the book of Nehemiah.
- Gifted worship leaders to join us.
- Our September 2010 launch plans as Paul and I investigate venues.
Howard
19 Mar 2010
Tim Hughes visits Godfirst.
Tim Hughes visits Godfirst.
In our Christian celebrity culture Tim Hughes is a name that grabs your attention. So much so that the ITV cameraman of that name who came to film Godfirst Church two weeks ago told me that every time he introduces himself to a Christian they always tell him of the worship leader Tim Hughes.
But it was good to have Tim and Ken from ITV Bristol with us earlier this month. They spent an hour and a half filming our worship and breaking bread. You didn't quite know whether to put you hands in the air and close your eyes as you might normally do and look like a cult member or smile at the camera and look like a photo opportunity politician on the news. Most of the twenty or so Godfirst launch team just worshipped God and forgot the cameras.
Ken chose to interview a cross section of us, everybody did really well, we gave no sound bites that could be used to make us look anything less than the biblical Christians that we are! Ken expected us to be negative about other churches as if we are in competition with them, but we are not, so no hostages there. He also suggested that midweek in a bar was a strange time and place for a church to meet, but I said "Christians meet in church building on Sundays as a celebration of the risen Jesus not because the building or the day are special but the fact that Jesus is alive, changes everything and we can celebrate that any place, any time."
Finally, very gently, Ken hinted that people might think we are a cult because people are relocating families, houses and jobs to be with us. I told him that people are rightly weary of cults that thrive on manipulation and control but why should people be concerned when they see passion and commitment shown by the followers of Jesus? Perhaps, I suggested, it is because the church has often lacked the passion and commitment that characterised Jesus' first followers.
As I write we are still in the "can", deep in the vaults of ITV Bristol. We were told that they will run the five minute report when it's a slower news day. So after watching West Country Tonight on Sky+ at x12 speed twelve times and seeing a few tumbleweed news days, it is dawning on me that the report may never see the light of day. Thankfully we are not the controversial, off the wall, religious nut jobs that make a good story but a lousy church. If it ever gets aired I promise I will post it on my blog.
Now the other news as they say on TV.
It was great to have Don Smith with us, from Eastbourne, at this Wednesday's D'Fly. Don started Kings Church with seventeen people in his house eighteen years ago, the church is now 800 plus. The massive impact of Don's encouragement will shape our focus as we build up to our Sunday morning launch in September 2010.
Godfirst at D'Fly is moving to Tuesday nights after Wednesday 31st March. The confirmed dates are April 13th and 27th and then on May 11th the plan is to move to meeting weekly.
On Sunday afternoons from 11th April will have a more outdoor social feel with walks, BBQs, games in the park, as well the current mix of eating together at different homes.
And Finally....
After four months of waiting, Tom and Lucy accepted an offer on their house, so should be moving into Cheltenham soon!
Keep praying for:
- Josh and Jana to sell their house in Coventry and join us.
- Jobs for Adam, Mark and Jana.
- My interview next Thursday for part- time geography teaching next term at a local comprehensive school.
- Gifted worship leaders to join us.
- People from Cheltenham who have been checking out the website to connect with us at D'Fly or our Sunday socials.
- Our September 2010 launch plans.
01 Mar 2010
Making Waves
No internet and distant travels means that Howard has been unable to write a news post this week. However so many brilliant things have happened that I'm taking the plunge and am filling in for him (Sophie Moir)
This month has seen Godfirst featured on the Evangelical Alliance's website and Howard interviewed on Star Radio. In Fact Godfirst is making such stir that ITV are coming to the DFly on Wednesday to film us!
Last week saw the Kelletts christen their new house by celebrating Howard's 50th birthday. It was a brilliant evening shared with friends and family who had travelled from all over the country to be there. I could hardily believe that the Kelletts had only been living on the Shurdington Road for 6 days, it was party central!
The celebrations have continued as Liz started a new job last Wednesday. Naomi too has got work at a local primary school which started after half term. Paul and Sarah have signed on the dotted line and are renting an amazing house in Bishops Cleeve at the beginning of April.
Howard has been down in Bristol this last week putting his teaching skills to the test. After a decade of not teaching his zeal for geography is as alive as ever and he hopes to get 2-3 days teaching in the Cheltenham area over the next term.
Last but not least L and N, couple with a very global flavour moved to Cheltenham 3 weeks ago. They checked out our website, with L coming along to the DFly. It was brilliant to have a visitor and this Wednesday their both hoping to make it (even though L has walking pneumonia).
Please keep praying for new people to be checking us out, that house moves go smoothly and for lots more ‘yeses'.
Soph
09 Feb 2010
Out of the box.
Whilst the Kelletts have been packing boxes as Naomi, myself and family move to the Shurdington Road (hopefully next week), Godfirst has met as a church for the first time outside a home. Last Wednesday evening ,the 3rd of February, we all gathered together in the upper room at the D'Fly Bar and Restaurant. It was great to get Godfirst out of the box! We felt the excitement of worshipping together as a mission community. I spoke on God's grace out of Isaiah 6, reminding us "that God's not safe but he is good". We ended by breaking bread altogether for the first time. Jesus was present, by His Spirit in that upper room as we had our "first supper". The imagery wasn't lost by the fact that we were fifteen rather than twelve.
It was particularly brilliant that evening to have Kath and a couple from the midlands with us!
Kath, a super lively and bright 80 year old had chosen to join us the week earlier. Kath had for many years been with Dave Carr at Renewal Christian Centre Solihull and had seen it grow from 30 members in a small hall to a community of over 2000 people. We felt faith grow as we know that if this nation is to be changed God surely wants to do that again and again!
J and J, a young couple in their twenties, were exploring a call to join our launch team from a Newfrontiers church in the West Midlands. They seemed to meet with God and as we stayed behind for a drink with us afterwards, I felt sure that they were to be the next piece in the Godfirst puzzle. So it was absolutely brilliant when they called me later to say they had put their flat on the market and were planning to move to Cheltenham to join us. Although we don't know what the future holds, it would be brilliant if in the years to come, Godfirst was able to send them trained and equipped to follow their dream to build new churches, new mission communities, in central Europe.
It is interesting pulling a launch team in an economic downturn. It's just a fact that houses take longer to sell and jobs are harder to find. So can I encourage you to keep praying for us? For Paul and Sarah to find a house in Bishops Cleeve, after obtaining a tenant for their property in Birmingham; that their children find school places and their coffee shop and B&B in Broadway prospers. For Tom and Lucy who have had some good viewings of their house in Worcester but need they find a buyer soon and for J and J that their flat sells quickly and they find a groovy apartment in town!
Liz has a couple of interviews on Thursday and its looks like Naomi, fresh from her team gold and personal silver and bronze in the county cross country championships, may have work in a local school after half term. Please pray the right employment for all the Godfirst team as we seek to put roots down in Cheltenham and connect with those that don't know Jesus.
Lastly looks like our press release about meeting at the D'Fly will be in an article in the Gloucestershire Echo tomorrow. I will post the article on my blog as soon as it is published
Howard
23 Jan 2010
Cold Calling.
This last week has brought a thaw after what seems like a month of frozen conditions which brought so much to standstill. It seems that Godfirst is emerging from a similar Christmas standstill, even church plants it seems stop in the run up to the holidays. Even so it was great to hand delivery with Tom, Andy, Adam and Sophie over 2000 leaflets during the snow. It gave a new definition to "cold calling".
We finally managed to gather to pray last week and Liz and Mark told me they had received a measure of healing after a great prayer meeting. I had spent that evening with the prayer for Hatherley group; it was good to receive such a warm welcome.
Last Sunday I spoke at Christian Life Church Hereford, which was a real pleasure. Tim leads a warm and spirited church of almost two hundred people and was really big hearted in allowing me to encourage people to join us in Cheltenham. One interesting encounter was with a lovely South African couple, who had travelled from Derbyshire because in prayer they felt prompted to visit Hereford. The snow had prevented them the week before. So they left asking if God had directed them to Hereford so they could hear me speak and join Godfirst, as until we start at the D'Fly on Wednesday 3rd February they couldn't have heard me speak in Cheltenham.
Incidentally over the next ten weeks I am speaking in Reading, Ringwood, Poole, Salisbury and Solihull. So please pray that I bless those churches and God stirs some people to join us at Godfirst.
On a personal front, pray for success for Adam in his job interview on Tuesday. Naomi has been offered three afternoons teaching in Gloucester but we are still praying for an opening in a local Cheltenham school. I am pursuing part time work in school and have planned two week school placement with the aim of getting my teaching up to speed after fourteen years on a church staff. Pray that I get the right teaching opening to help me better connect with Cheltenham and ease the pressure on the Godfirst bank account.
Lastly we are expecting five visitors to our launch team this Sunday afternoon; a top notch couple from Coventry making their second visit, lady from town who has been attending the Newfrontiers church in Solihull, and Sophie has some friends down from the West Midlands. Pray that God adds to our launch team.
06 Jan 2010
A 3rd Space for Godfirst.
D'Fly the 3rd Space.
It seems that Gloucestershire's heaviest snowfall for years on January 6th means that our first Godfirst prayer meeting of 2010 is likely to be a more exclusive event than expected. However the snow was unable to prevent Naomi and I walking into town to meet Karl at D'Fly and confirm our midweek meeting dates.
We have been exploring a third space that is between a full scale church meeting and our house. A third space that is easier for people from Cheltenham to visit and but does not commit the small launch team to a regular weekly meeting.
So from Wednesday 3rd February Godfirst will be meeting at The Buzz Room D'Fly 1A Crescent Place GL50 3NX at 7:45pm. The place has a great atmosphere with sofas, bar stools and soft lighting. We will begin with coffee and great cakes (fresh from Paul and Sarah's Small Talk coffee shop in Broadway) followed by worship, teaching and prayer, finishing about 9:30pm. I am sure most of us will stay around afterwards.
The confirmed Wednesday dates are: 3rd & 17th February, 3rd 17th & 31st March. On the other weeks we will be meeting for prayer at our new house on the Shurdington Road.
Please pray for the right mix of new people (we still need a worship leader and more musicians) to check us out and commit to being part of our launch team, as we build capacity to go live on Sundays later in the year.
Howard.
11 Dec 2009
The word made flesh.
As Christmas approaches we think of Jesus "the word made flesh" but actually at the same time we are able to reflect on Godfirst moving from being simply a word to a growing community of people.
We have made real progress over the last four months. When Naomi and I moved to Cheltenham, Godfirst Cheltenham was only a name, but since then Nyasha, Andrew, Sophie, Mark and Liz have all moved safely to Cheltenham, with Sophie getting a promotion this week and Mark landing an interview next week. At last Adam moves into Cheltenham this week, and has teaching interviews on Monday and Wednesday. We are still praying for Tom and Lucy, Paul and Sarah and their families to move into town early in the New Year.
However like any bridgehead we need continued news of a second wave of re-enforcements. So it was really encouraging to hear that Roxanna has been offered her junior doctor placement in the Severn Deanery, and should land at Cheltenham General in the summer. Also whilst I was teaching on the Doctrine of God to Newfrontiers Impact students in Bristol this week I also spoke to a great guy who is looking to check us out. Plus I know of six or seven other people from inside and outside Cheltenham who are praying through a move to Godfirst.
Our website had more than 1000 visitors (26,000 hits) in October and again in November so I know that there are people across the UK and in Cheltenham who are investigating the church plant. So we are praying that these will become part of the next wave of troops for the launch team, as we begin to meet midweek in a cool bar / restaurant in the centre of town in the spring.
So thanks for those who are praying, keep the intensity this week for jobs and house moves, so that when we meet for the launch team party on 20th we have more to celebrate.
Howard
02 Dec 2009
1st of December first's
Andy Allen standing in for Howard to bring you this weeks G1 (Godfirst) news feed.
As the month rolled into December we had a number of Godfirst firsts to fill you all in on.
It would have been easy for us to be disappointed that for the first time we didn't have anyone new checking us out for the G1 open house. However on a positive note, for the first time we had everyone from the launch team present (Ok Nyasha was at the Delirious final gig so we forgive her). The atmosphere was buzzing as nineteen adults and eight kids packed out the house for the afternoon.
Another first for the week was my first G1 3D (discipleship three) experience. We gathered early morning, encouraged to get out of bed by being enticed by a brew accompanied by warm croissants. Good job Mr Jennings.
A few of the G1 team made the short trip across the M5 to City Church Gloucester, to hear Howard preach the first of many Sunday sermons in Gloucestershire. It was great to join Mark Jones and the team as they seek to reach out to their community.
Naomi also had the privilege of being given the title of 'Strider of the Month' for the first time at CLC Striders. as she helped the women's team into first place at the recent Gloucestershire Cross Country League meeting. Naomi really is enjoying making new friends with super fit people!
We continue to pray for God's purposes to be clear for those still making the decision on whether to join the Godfirst launch team. Also please pray for Adam as he applies for teaching jobs in the area, and Tom and Lucy, and Paul and Sarah as they seek house moves into town.
Andy
21 Nov 2009
We keep moving.
Moving seems to be an appropriate title for the latest Godfirst news feed. We do seem to have a developing sense of momentum about the church plant.
Sophie moved from Birmingham into her new flat in Overton Park on Monday. Andy excitedly commented after checking it out that same day, that she had a widescreen TV and an PS3. Mark and Liz finally made St Mark's, Cheltenham their home, two and half years after first expressing a desire to work alongside Naomi and myself. It's great to have them with us! Please pray for jobs and friendships to open up in town.
Our house in Manchester exchanged this week. It was satisfying on Thursday to return and tie up the loose ends and pray in every room, thanking God for eight years of family fun, amazing salvations, passionate prayer meetings, and loads of meals with friends and strangers (true hospitality) that happened in our home.
Naomi and three great young women met this week at Costa for coffee, the first Godfirst Discipleship Three (3D). I meet in my first 3D group next Wednesday morning. I am certain these groups will be the start of many more! (See my blog on Fellowship of the Mat )
The week began with Rachel and Adam interviewing for the same teaching job in Gloucester. At least we had a Godfirst result with Rachel being successful. Keep praying for Adam, that he gets a job by the New Year.
Our launch team meal moves to every week on Sundays at 4pm from tomorrow, and we look set to continue the sequence of having new people looking in every time we meet. This week we have two brilliant twenty something couples checking us out.
Please pray for God to continue to add to the G1 launch team, as we look toward meeting publically midweek from the New Year.
12 Nov 2009
God is in the detail.
When God answers prayer you are not meant to say I can't believe it! But such were the apparently overwhelming odds against our boys gaining school places at a massively over-subscribed School in Cheltenham, that when we opened the letter saying we had won our school appeal, I was in floods of tears and Naomi kept saying "I can't believe it". But although God makes no promises to get your children into the school you feel would suit them best, it would have been more unbelievable if we had lost given the weight of intercession from friends across the nation. Thanks to all who prayed!!
More good news on the housing front, Mark and Liz complete their house move on 19th November, it will be great to have them in town, and we were told today that we should complete the sale of our Manchester house on 23rd November.
One of our prayer goals has been that every time the launch team gather we would new people looking in, so it was great to have Paul's sister Naomi check us out last Sunday. We still have some great people looking in! Please pray for clarity and faith as these people seek God purposes for their lives.
I spoke at launch team on Sunday about how we are going to build an ethos of discipleship and mission, check out my next few blogs for details.
We are planning to meet as a launch team for food and connecting at 4pm every Sunday from 22nd November. Visitors are really welcome, complete the webform on the connect page and we will send you more details.
Please pray for R and A as they both go for the same teaching job in Gloucester on Friday and Monday. God is sovereign just make it another win for the Godfirst launch team.
And finally please pray for me as I preach the gospel and pray for the sick in Ringwood this Sunday that God would demonstrate his coming Kingdom by saving the lost and healing many!
Howard
03 Nov 2009
No news is good news!
In the last nineteen days since my last news, the good news still flows.
R a medical student from Christchurch London has applied to do her junior doctor years in the area. She will be moving to Cheltenham in the summer!
Sophie Moir has found a funky pad in town and moves down from Birmingham on the 17th of November.
Andy has started work, so I am feeling short of a prayer buddy to storm heaven with!
Naomi has met with some mums who are praying for Cheltenham schools. I had an excellent meeting with a local christian borough councillor.
Please pray for a successful School Admissions Appeal for my two boys this Friday; and my debut talk at the University of Gloucestershire Christian Union next Tuesday. Actually it's not my debut as I spoke at CU when I was a student there.
Remember we have G1 launch team open house at 4pm this Sunday 8th November. Hope to see you all there.
Howard
16 Oct 2009
A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step.
We have no launch team meal this Sunday, as Naomi and I are attending Newfrontiers Base Camp with 50 other potential church plant pioneers.
On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, five of us gathered with 600 plus newfrontiers leaders for two days of powerful prayer and fasting. It was great to be reminded how far we have come together in the last 20 years. I still keep bumping into younger guys who I knew as kids or students in London or Manchester who are now leading ministries and even churches.
This weeks good news is that Sophie Moir confirmed she is moving to join the Godfirst launch team!! You can check out Sophie's blog at http://sophiemoir.blogspot.com/. I think Sophie is going to a real asset to the team, even if she did call me weird on her blog.
Tom and Lucy's and Paul and Sarah's houses in Worcester and Birmingham go on the market this weekend, so please pray that they sell and get moved asap.
We continue to have interest of all kinds from our website, with one or two people from Cheltenham checking us out. Please pray for wisdom for Naomi and myself as we build bridges with God's people in the town.
I know we are all looking forward to getting together again on Sunday 25th October, and don't forget men it's our turn in the Kitchen!
Howard
09 Oct 2009
God really is the best church builder!
The week began with Andrew getting a job working with ex-offenders, we celebrated with a Tesco vouchers meal at an empty Bella Italia on the prom.
On Wednesday I had coffee with a church leader from town, it was great to meet with such an open hearted guy, followed by a lunch with a really excellent young man, whose brother and sister encouraged him to check us out. Then Tom and Lucy from Worcester texted to say they were definitely joining the launch team!! I slept well that night!!!
Thursday whilst I was hanging doors (not my forte) and eating bacon sandwiches (definitely a forte) at Paul and Sarah's in Birmingham, we heard that Mark and Liz had an offer accepted on a house in St Marks.
Friday I was deluged with prayer and amazing promises at a great new frontiers regional leaders gathering.
So with no open house this weekend or next as we are out of town, we are confident that God is answering prayers and gathering a great launch team to serve this beautiful town. Howard
05 Oct 2009
Another piece in the puzzle
It's official, another piece of the puzzle is in for Godfirst today. Andy was successful in his job interview and will be starting work sometime in the next week with ex-offenders.
Please pray for Adam as he looks for teaching jobs in the area and Mark and Liz who have made an offer on a house in St Marks.
03 Oct 2009
Sunday Food
In October the Godfirst launch team will be meeting on Sunday 4th and 25th at 3pm until to around 6pm. This week Sarah is doing a chilli, and we welcoming Adam, Josh and Jana for the first time. All are welcome to get involved, simply visit our connect page and e-mail your details. Howard
22 Sep 2009
Celebrating every win!
Three stories from the last seven days. As P and S (sorry no names yet) were driving to Godfirst open house, their eldest daughter asks "why are we going to Cheltenham?" S replies "because we are going to meet some people who are starting a church". The child like reply was "Mum are we moving to Cheltenham to start a church?" P replies "would you to?" "yes!" replied their children. Well that was a huge parental answer to prayer. Just friends to tell and houses to sell. (More about P in my blog in the next week or two).
Naomi and I accepted an offer on our house in Manchester. As I rang my father in law, Ben Davies, to get his perspective, he said "I have just stepped out of an elders meeting (at Kerith Community Church Bracknell) where we had prayed that you would sell your house today." Thanks Kerith and Simon Benham, you are truly a church of prayer and faith.
We prayed again this morning for Andrew's job application to work with ex-offenders in Cheltenham. We heard this lunchtime he has an interview!! Just the business suit to dust off and the answers to polish up. Howard
16 Sep 2009
A great week for Godfirst
This has been a great week for the Godfirst launch community, Andrew joined us from Manchester. Mark and Liz finally sold their house and are on their way, and a great guy from Bristol (still to tell his mates - so no names yet) looks like he's in!! That makes us 12 already in Cheltenham with another 12 seeking God about moving into town to join our mission!
02 Sep 2009
Open House
We are planning our first Sunday afternoon open house with food, news update and vision from 4pm at Howard and Naomi's on 20th September. We would love all those looking in to join us. Please e-mail joinus@godfirst.org.uk so we can organise catering.
