We are at that time of year again when we can ponder and enjoy the amazing truth of Almighty God taking on human flesh. “Joy to the world” barely begins to describe it.
As always the school year has flown by and it has been very busy. There have been a number of developments and new contacts in the work. Children and teachers alike continue to respond positively to the God of the bible. He continues to show himself to be the only true God.
My church is right next to Derby High School, one of Bury’s biggest high schools. For many years churches and Christian groups in the town have tried to build relationships with the school, but without any success. I wrote to them about 18 months ago to offer my help with RE lessons, but got no response. So I was really grateful to God when the head of RE got in touch with me a few weeks ago to invite me in to help with some RE lessons. By the time we break up for Christmas I will have had the opportunity to speak to about 100 of their pupils about the Christian perspective on heaven and how to get there. About 30 other pupils are visiting soon to see our baptismal pool and listen to me explain why we do baptism as we do in a Baptist church. About half of the pupils will be Muslim and I expect they will be surprised by what the bible actually says about God’s grace. The head of RE at the school is already talking in terms of a long-term relationship she would like to see developing between the church and the school. This is a wonderful answer to prayer, coming out of the disappointment of being stopped from going into the local CofE high school because I was not in a “Churches Together” church. For me, this situation reminds me of Isaiah 45: 2 where God says . . .
“I will go before you and make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron”
In September I began trying to make contact with schools in Collyhurst, near central Manchester. I am now delighted to be regularly visiting 3 schools in that area. One of them is a large Catholic school, St Patricks. It was a bit tough at first to persuade the head teacher to let me in. She reluctantly agreed to give Bible Explorer a go. When I arrived for the second session of Bible Explorer I was summoned to her office. Expecting the worst I walked into her office with a forced smile on my face. She immediately exploded into a long rant about how much “amazing feedback” she had received from teachers and pupils alike from the previous week’s session. It took a good few minutes for her to calm down, and all the while she was shaking my hand vigorously! She is also trying to find a way to bring me in to do Bible Explorer with the entire staff! I have since been booked in to “accidentally on purpose” coincide with their RE inspection just before Christmas, which is a common thing for CASCOT workers. But what really pleased me was her statement that she is going to recommend Bible Explorer to all the head teachers of the Catholic schools in North Manchester. Once again, God’s word expresses the situation well . . .
“Behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it” (Revelation 3:8)
God continues to bless the church as well. We have had further professions of faith and baptisms, with more to come.
Plans for the new year include; making contact with a local home for young homeless men to offer help and support; more door-to-door / street work around the local area of the church.
On the home front, things are going well. The boys are growing up and William started school in September. He seems to be doing well and enjoying it. We are all looking forward to a cozy family Christmas.
May God bless you this Christmas.
Tom King.
No comments:
Post a Comment