We have reached the end of our mission with Northmead Anglican! We had an incredibly fun and encouraging time spent with the church. And we learnt so much along the way! Here is a recap of what we did in the past three days.
Friday
Cage – by Lucy He
Cage is a kids club for those in year 5-6. Praise God two new kids came along through the invite of their friends and heard through the
talk that Jesus is more powerful than any superhero! We all need help but he rescues and gives us life as friends with God. One girl in the discussion group afterwards asked “what does it look like to be friends with God forever?”
Gamers’ Night – by Thomas Murray
As tiredness kicked in towards the latter half of the week, friday night came like a brick to the face. After an early 7am start at the coffee carts and bus stop leaflet drops, the team were freed up to enjoy a short prep/rest time, before the onslaught of back to back youth events that evening. An action packed CAGE (years 5-6) and 4GYC (years 7-12) programme was closely followed by a GAMERS NIGHT, and whether you were a pro gamer, console junky or a board game novice, there was something for everyone to enjoy.
The LAN/Ethernet gaming set up was a hit amongst not only the pro-gamers but amongst some ‘dark horses’ in the team too. Ironically set up inside the neighbouring pre-school, Lauren Baker took a lot of the guys ‘back to school’ in an ‘Age of Empires’ display that can only be described as ‘MEDIEVAL’.
With some 40+ pizzas devoured, not to mention the copious amounts of crisps, sweets and carbonated sugary beverages, is it any wonder this event went on to the ‘wee’ hours of the night? But of course this evening was focused upon more than just ‘fun and games’, and the informal setting provided much ‘food for thought’ and great opportunities for gospel conversations throughout. A respectful crowd of some 80+ gamers heard the gospel message shared by our very own Steve Beattie. And the group was left to consider this powerful message: ‘Who’s team do you want to be in? Adam’s or Christ’s? It is the difference between life and death’
Saturday – Street Food Night
Saturday evening held a very special event for the church which saw the building completely transformed into a multi-ethic food market. It was a massive effort by the church, everyone got involved from the organising, cooking, welcoming, and even constructing the wooden stalls – what a labour of love! Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, American, Slovenian, or Scandinavian – you could’ve tried any of these great cuisines. Pick up something to eat, walk around, have a chat, grab more food – the cycle kept going. And it looked like everyone had a great time! The church was absolutely packed, what a great response from the local community and those that were invited by their friends from the church. After the cooking demonstration Philip had the chance to share from Isaiah 55, inviting everyone to accept God’s invitation to join him at His banquet.
Sunday
Our last day had finally come, and it was bittersweet. We loved spending time with those at the church, getting to know their stories, and seeing how they lived out their faith today. Another massive day for the team as we read the Bible, prayed, played music, ran the Kid’s Spot, preached or shared our testimony. It was a great day of proclaiming Jesus, encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ at Northmead, and being encouraged ourselves.
Four things to pray for:
- Thank God for an amazing week partnering with Northmead Anglican.
- Pray that God will continue to grow and build up the church.
- Pray for all the people who came to church or the events, who heard the gospel, were door knocked, or spoke to someone from the church or mission team.
- Pray that God will continue to put in the hearts of the church and Moore mission team a desire to see more people saved by the gospel of Jesus.