Church Planting Passion
Thea, UK
I am writing from an affluent, elderly, seaside town in the South East of England called Eastbourne. I am an alien to these parts as I herald from Manchester, England. Manchester is a metropolitan city in the industrial North West of the country. The last three months since God called me to Eastbourne have been challenging, but this season has been full of growth and refinement – praise God! I have come to Eastbourne as this is where my husband-to-be lives, his family have generously and lovingly opened their home to me until we are married – what a blessing that has been! Until now, I didn’t realise one could have culture shock staying within your home country! Eastbourne and Manchester are poles apart and as such ministering in these two places are starkly different.
In Manchester, I lived on a troubled post-world war two satellite council estate where I could truly feel the presence of God, where lives and communities were changing because of the good news of Jesus Christ and where I met some of the most humble, generous and servant-hearted Brothers and Sisters of the Kingdom. Ministering in Partington; the town I lived in required Christians and the Church to go to the people and meet them where they were at. To name a few, this was done through holding Alpha courses in public places, conducting detached youth work and making Church services accessible and relevant for all. The area had a bad reputation for high crime rates and large numbers of children being known to social services, so local people were used to feeling unwelcome and ashamed. Ministry in Partington was all about loving people and affirming the truth and freedom of life in Christ. God loves Partington even if the world struggles to at times – Amen!
Ministering in Eastbourne is a whole different kettle of fish! It is fair to say that God has given me a heart for the poor and marginalised, Eastbourne doesn’t fit this criterion, and it has been a season of struggle to see what God wants for me here as my heart, gifting’s and competencies don’t lend itself naturally to my new home. I have found myself in an area full to the brim with Churches which are mainly depleting, ageing and dry. Christianity for many here is like a social status and part of being ‘a good middle-class family’ with the real rulers of the town being materialism, consumerism, greed, money and envy. The cost of living in this part of the world is extraordinarily high, and so debt advises and witnessing to the love, peace and joy of a modest way of life lived to the full in the Lord are two essential elements of ministry here. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit needs to be reinstated to set this town on fire – God is not a bloke in a book, He is alive! God is doing an amazing work with me to teach me how to love all His people and for that I am grateful for his grace on my failings and his faithfulness for using unremarkable people like me to work through. I believe that God is working things out in me so that I can love people from all over the UK regardless of class, denomination, etc. I have come a long way since becoming a Christian, but I have a long way still to go.
I was saved six years ago, from a local Church in Partington, Manchester. I gave my life and was Baptised after doing the Alpha course. God has transformed me, and I am truly a new creation – praise is to the King of Kings! God met me in a place of brokenness and hopelessness after being the victim of a violent relationship and wanting to take my life. He has saved me and given me life in abundance. The path has not been easy, and I have stumbled on many occasions, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat – I love you, Jesus! I feel so blessed because He not only is a God who has answered my prayers but has exceeded my expectations awesomely every time. The two prayers on my heart when I came to faith were that my Mother would be saved and that God would have a Christian man for me to marry. Both prayers have been answered – thank you, Lord! Coming to faith has changed my life forever.
My ministerial calling beckoned three years ago. In the interests of honesty, I was very reluctant to take up the call because I felt totally unworthy. I have been well supported and tested in Manchester through the Church of England who has granted me opportunities in different areas of leadership and Church life to explore this call. I was blessed with the opportunity to go forward for ordination training through the Anglican Church, but I didn’t feel that was what God wanted. Despite this, I am thankful for their mentoring, love, wisdom and generosity as it has brought me to CLI. The calling that I have a Church planting passion for the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. My husband-to-be also feels the same call – he is a wonderful blessing on my life. Only tonight have we had another word of confirmation of this calling. I feel an urgency to equip myself, so I am ready to serve him wholeheartedly to His glory for when the time comes to go. A recurring key experience in my life which prompted me to both give my life and to pursue ministry is God speaking to me through dreams. While doing the Alpha course, I dreamt of a Church which I later attended and my first call to ministry came in a dream in which I saw myself in Church at the front leading. I adore that the Lord penetrates the busyness of life and the fullness of my mind to speak to me. I am so grateful that God keeps giving me confirmation and steps to take – He is a good, good Father.
I have been blessed to live all over the world due to my parent’s work, but since coming to faith, I have had a real heart for the UK. The UK is in a season of political and economic uncertainty which is fuelling those who want us to divine. In this time, I feel that the light of Jesus needs to shine out to those living in fear and darkness of the world. With the Lord as my strength, I will go in peace to love and serve Him in the Hebrides. I love God; I love the UK, and I pray for His Kingdom come in this place. Some of the unique challenges to the Hebrides are that it is very isolated from the UK mainland, it has an ageing and decreasing population which is scattered over a rugged and rural terrain, 90% of the population consider themselves Roman Catholic, but Church attendance is low, and poverty levels are exceptionally high which manifests in short life expectancy, high crime, low education and so on. As I am sure you know, the Hebrides had a revival. However, the spiritual atmosphere in general (not everywhere – there are pockets of wind) is very dry there again now. Praying for revival!
My family; my husband-to-be (Anthony), my mother and my father are all interested in coming to Church plant. Anthony has been ordained with the help of CLI – thank you for blessing him! He is a wonderful teacher and has such an anointing for evangelising men from difficult backgrounds. My mother; Elaine has given her life to Jesus this year after six years of searching and falling away – Alleluia! Elaine has such warmth that people flock to her as a maternal figure, her spiritual giftings are already being revealed as she evangelises at work, extends hospitality to all who cross her path, and gifts administration to the Church. My husband-to-be has family who will pray fervently for us and will visit us regularly. We are very blessed to be so wonderfully supported.
I come from a loving family who have always supported me as does Anthony, however, we do not come from a wealthy background. A scholarship at CLI is essential to my ministry dream because I do not want to be a heretic, damage the Kingdom or give anything less than my best to God. CLI will mean that I am better academically equipped in Bible and theological studies which alongside my practical experience and training will make me an all-round better servant for God on this quest. CLI and its mission just blow my brain; it does set a standard in Kingdom mindset and generosity – thank you so much!
I thank you in advance for your prayers. Please pray that I hear God’s will clearly, that I obey Him fully as I walk His path and that I love the Lord, my future husband, my family, my Church and all who cross my walk with a salty wind of love and light!
In the name of Jesus, I bless you, Lord! Peace be with you Brothers and Sisters.
Youth Pastoring
My name is Adam Mack, and I live in Pennsylvania, the USA with a buddy and his family who are all a wonderful, loving Christian family who have helped me with my walk with God.
I grew up living a secular lifestyle because my family were not believers. I have early memories of going to church a few times, but we all stopped going, and I was never brought up on biblical principles. I went to public school and played soccer and basketball and had the typical secular mindset growing up. My parents got divorced when I was in 8th grade, and that took a toll on me even though I didn’t think so for the longest time.
I ended up resorting to partying, and doing /taking drugs, and all the other bad things that come with the territory of a teenager who just wants attention and to be cool. Through the years of partying and bouncing from house to house, I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun due to a drug deal went wrong. Though I survived it, I began drinking to the point where I would throw up in my sleep. My parents were disappointed in me, my friends were disappointed in me, and I was disappointed in me as well as scared that I would never amount to anything.
I had a Christian friend that attended Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA and I called him up one day and made plans to visit him for five days in which I did a few days later. Through the whole experience of just getting away and meeting new people and experiencing the Christian culture and feeling the Holy Spirit working on me, I declared that Jesus was my Lord and Savior in November 2012. My partying did not stop there, but I did end up attending Baptist Bible College in August of 2013 for one full academic year. Through that experience, I met a lot of great people, played soccer for them which was Division 3 NCAA, and learned a lot about Jesus, and how to study God’s Word.
I could not attend the following year due to how expensive the tuition was at school. Though I’ve had my ups and downs since then, I have always tried and stayed on the path of Lord. I have always felt that God has wanted me to do something with the youth as well as sports, but also to be a church planter and a Christian leader of some sort, but I just could not identify where God is leading me. So my ministry dream I believe is to start a sports ministry, but as well as be a Pastor and or be a Christian Leader/Speaker. Sports was a big part of my life growing up. I can interact with the youth and the constant telling from my peers that I should do something with youth ministry. God has laid youth pastoring on my heart. The challenges I face here is that I am in the mountains of the Poconos and everything is just too far to walk too, so it makes it hard for people to just show up to an event of any sort, or to do anything.
The church I attend currently, Community Church, I have just started going to, so I don’t know many people yet, but they are encouraging in me becoming very active. The church also does not have any sport ministry or anything to do with sports, which for me is a good thing, because it opens a door for a possibility for someone, meaning me, to try and start something up at this church. The possibilities seem endless here!
This scholarship is so important for me, because I have tried over and over again to try and attend school not only just to get an education, but to learn ministry, and God’s calling for me, but I have not been able to do so, because I just have no financial backing to actually attend school.
Ministries, churches, and organizations want to see that you have some experience and degree to back you before they put any trust and responsibility on you, so that is also another reason why I want the CLI scholarship. Learning more about God’s Word and how to minister to others is something I’ve wanted to harness ever since I became friends with Jesus.
Church Media Ministry Training
Gary McAdams – I was born in Houston in 1972, and have lived the majority of my life in Texas. I was born to a Christian mother and a father who, to my knowledge, never came to a faith in Christ before his death in 1989. The experience of losing a parent and not knowing their eternal fate, gave me a burden to insure that my children never had to ask those questions.
In February of 1996 I met Caroline, the love of my life at an MLM business development event and we were married four months later. While attending a small church in San Antonio, TX, my wife volunteered her “techie” husband who enjoyed messing around with computers to help run PowerPoint for song lyrics. While I grumbled at the time, this experience led me on a path to discover a true passion for church media. I have spent the past fifteen years in both volunteer and paid roles in multiple churches helping create environments for people to have an encounter with the living God.
I am still seeking the Father’s direction as to what His dream is for my future in ministry, but I feel strongly that He is calling me to a ministry leadership role. I believe that my love of technology and media, along with a desire to build up volunteer teams for service, will be used for the Kingdom. I am currently serving on a team at a small church plant that sets up and tears down the meeting room every week. I also have been working with the tech team, working towards creating a live web stream of our service, for those who are unable to attend.
While America is the most blessed nation on Earth, our successes have lead to a self-reliant attitude amongst a large majority of the population. It is a very common belief in the US that since we have so many opportunities to provide for ourselves, there is little need to seek God for the desires of our hearts. It can be challenging in a country with so much abundance, to help people see their need for God in their lives.
CLI offers me Church Media Ministry Training – Not so much the media techniques but the content the help me serve my church better.
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