the building

You will be aware that for the last few months we have been working on lans to renovate the front of the church building. The scheme will vastly improve the entrance to the building and will provide permanent disabled access, improved toilet facilities and a specific toilet for the disabled.

The good news is that the building regulations have been passed and now we are waiting on the tender to go out. We are on schedule to start at the end of Jan/Feb 08.

Please continue to pray that all goes smoothly and the final parts of the finance comes through to make this project a success. We will also need to find alternative premises to meet for our Sunday meetings and some of the other things that we do. We would like to think thatb during this time it will be a chance for us to grow and see the church move forward into the things that God has prepared in advance for us to do!

carol service

Well it has been to long since that last post! We have our carol service coming up on Sunday evening (note there is NO morning service this week) at 6.00pm. Please pray that for any who are not yet Christians that they would respond to the gospel. Maybe you could pray and ask God to reveal who you could ask to come to the service, you know maybe it is just that one person who you have had conversations with about matters of faith before?

Pastorates

For the last few months we have been talking about "Pastorates". Now many may ask what they are, which would be a valid question.

At present we operate a house group system in which the focus has mainly been for bible study and fellowship which is all good but we felt that there had to be a bit more to it. The Pastorate then is a mid-size group consisting of no more that 35 people who meet to do all the things that you would expect but more. There is more of an outward focus to the Pastorates and a safe place for people to explore the God-given gifting. The groups will start off at around 20 people and once they get to big we will form another pastorate and so on. It is the aim of these groups to see growth in maturity of the believer and fruitfulness by people coming to faith in and through Christ.

Small groups will still operate but may be a little different as they will be formed out of the Pastorates and held on alternate weeks.

Please pray...

• That this concept will be communicated effectively
• That through this change of structure we will be effective in reaching friends and family with the gospel of Jesus
  
• That we will see people flourish in their gifting
• Pray for the team as they finalise and co-ordinate the change
• That people will catch the heart and values behind the change (values - fruitfulness, multiplication, maturity and transformation)
  

FOOD BANK

It has been a while since that last post for various reasons, so sorry if you have logged on expecting to see an update.

A few months ago we announced at church that we were going to be launching into a social enterprise called the Food Bank which aims to distribute emergency food to people who are in desperate need. We have signed up for the franchise and are currently putting plans in place to get other churches involved and get the thing up and running. It is a logistical challenge, there is so much to sort out and organize. It may seem like this has been a forgotten project, it is not! We are just wanting to make sure that it is all in place ready to start, to give the project the best chance of longevity and maximum impact on our town.

You might ask how this fits in with the big picture of the church. Well, we posted not so long back the text from Jeremiah 29 in which the prophet calls the people to work for the peace and welfare of the town. Our heart and one of our core values as a community at WBCC is just that, to love the town as seek its welfare.


Please pray...

• That the meeting planned for September between the church leaders and Jeremy of the Food Bank franchise will go well and that church will want to be involved in the project
• That we would locate appropriate premises to store food and distribute from.
• That the finances we need would be provided
• That we would find favour with the authorities as we seek to get this project off the ground
• That all the organising would be done well and logistics well planned and that we would know the wisdom of God for this task

evangelism

As I mentioned yesterday during the service, we (church session) would really value your prayer over the coming months. During the next series of meeting we will begin to look at our mission as a church and be asking some big questions. I fundatmentally believe that at the core of our being as a church has to be a desire to see people who at present are seperated from God because if sin and ignorance and see them encounter the risen Christ, who not only came to the earth to forgive sin but the transform us into the kind of people he intended us to be in the beginning. May it be so!

So to that end please pray...

• That we hear what the Spirit is saying
• That we would be led by the Spirit in thinking and planning through strategy for reaching the lost of West Bromwich
• That as a church we will be moved with compassion for this town and see many people come to faith
• That we would live out the values of the kingdom of heaven in the here and now.

Update on Brian

Just to let you know that Brian is now at home and recovering well. Please pray that he continues to regain strength and gets back to living an active life.

church session

The church session is meeting on Thursday to discuss church matter's and business. Please pray for us as we seek to discern what God is saying to us regarding WBCC's future and direction. I talked on Sunday about loving the town and seeking its welfare with practical demonstration of God's love. I very much believe that this will shape the direction we take, but we must hear what God is saying so as not just to jump on the latest bandwagon but do what God is calling us to do. We must build for something lasting not just a quick fix, this will mean developing strategy and setting some goals, but we must not think that plans alone will solve it! We must be empowered by the Spirit of God if we are to be effective in seeing people come to faith in Christ, not merely rely on our plans or effort.

Obviously this will not just be shaped in one evening but will be something that we will be working on over the coming months.

Pray...

• for wisdom
• for courage
  
• for ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying
• that we would be empowered by the Spirit of God in leading the church to be effective in mission/evangelism
• that we would be creative and imaginative as we think through the future

Brian

Please pray for Brian as he recovers from an operation in which a pacemaker was fitted. Pray that he will recover quickly, regain strength, that there will be no complications and that he will get back to leading the active life that he has known. He is hopeful of being home in a few days time. Please pray also for Pat, his wife.

what can you do?

I'm increasingly aware that there is so much to do or that could be done - but it all honesty the task is to great for one or for a small number of people - they will just get worn out very quickly. I firmly believe in teamwork and that each one has their part to play...Yet there seems to be a void between what is believed and what is practiced. We all say it, yet why is there so many holes when it comes to service? Service/ministry doesn't necessarily have to be "in church" - have we become to self orientated?

What you can do:

• Examine your heart are you serving yourself? If so repent (means to turn around and stop doing it!) and ask God to grant you the opportunities to serve others (by the way they are there you just have to look)
• Ask God if there is an area of service or ministry that He would have you be involved in (if so chat it through with one of the leadership who will help)
• Are you just plain lazy? If so repent and have a mind to work for the kingdom of God and His glory

I'd love to hear your stories of how you are involved in the service in ways that we may not know about. email at office@westbromchurch.org

praying for others

Many of you know that we people who are scattered across the globe who have in some way been connected to us here are WBCC.

Would be good to remember them in prayer

• Pray for Sandy and Liz who for many years where ministering here in West Brom. Last year they moved to Kilsyth in Scotland pray that God would bless them as the continue to serve the Lord.
• Pray for Hayley
• Pray for Amy as she studies at the Bible College of Wales
• Pray for Pauline as she comes to the end of her time in Holland
• Pray for Myles in Canada who has had a bit of a tough time lately with work and health issues
• Daisy and family

loving the town

I have been sharing with the other leaders a verse from Jeremiah 29. It is not the much quoted verse 11. Found a few verses before it is this lovely verse of scripture that I guess often gets over looked as many will always plump for the promise of "for i know the plans..."

The verse is this...Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper

How many of us could say that we live to seek the welfare or peace of the town? If we are in Christ we are exiles in the land. The Apostle Peter calls us aliens or foreigners in this world. We don't belong here! BUT we are here and until such at time as Jesus returns for his Bride -that is the church - we are to live in this world but we are no longer of it! We are to seek after this town's welfare and peace, work for the good of the town so that the LORD may be glorified through us and transformation may come.

I cannot help but think we must love this town. God loves this town and more importantly the people of the town. We must show this love in word and action, always praying for the town and it government officials.

West Bromwich has had bad press and people have believed it, I believe that this is a great place to live - why because it has the best of everything? Clearly not! I believe this because Jesus gave Himself for the people of this town, and if ever there was a place that need to know the hope of the kingdom of God it is West Bromwich. That is why this is a great place to live. Imagine we could be instrumental in the Regeneration of West Bromwich if only we begin to love this town the way Jesus does.

Pray...

• That as a church we would increasing love this town
• That the Spirit of God would lead us in decisions that we make and projects that would benefit the town
• That the churches would know an increased unity
• For the town and the issues that you know are affecting it - unemployment, alcohol abuse, drug abuse
• Pray for you local schools and its teachers

y.com

This is the name of the youth ministry at WBCC for 11-18 year olds. y.com stands for youth community. What we are trying to create is a community of young people who are passionate about living for Jesus and introducing friends to Him. Now with all new venture there comes challenges and this is going to be a long process so we would value your prayers in this.

Pray for...

• The young people as they seek to navigate through the maze of a changing world
• That they would know a developing relationship with Jesus
• They would be bold and courageous when opportunities arise to share their faith
• For an increase in people willing to work with these amazing young people
• Pray that we will see young people brought into relationship with Jesus - who is their only hope even if they do not realise it yet
• Plus anything else that may come to mind regarding young people who often get a bad press

Keeping you informed

Posted on here will be things that we as the leadership of WBCC would like you to join us in prayer about. We understand that life is busy and that it is not always possible for you to join in the corporate time of prayer during the week.

The idea of this prayer blog is that you will be able to keep up to date with issues that we are currently working through and would value your support in. The best thing for you to do is keep an eye on the blog and see what appears. Unless we pray and plan and then pray some more the best laid plans will go to waste!