Better late than never…

The fact this post is so late is entirely my fault… I am, it would appear, great at the art of  procrastination. Anywhere here is a catch up of some of the events and news in the life of the interns.

CROWN JESUS MINISTRY

Well Crown Jesus have now finished their project in the Newtonabbey area. It was a fantastic time having them working in the local community. During the week after Easter, Hollie, Michael and I got involved in streetreach. Streetreach is a scheme which involves random acts of kindness in a community, anything from cutting grass to painting a fence for someone. This was a great three-day event, we got to meet loads of different people and had a chance to make a difference to the New Mossley area.

Crown Jesus also ran a massive event called “One Way” this is their large youth event. It was a great night and we got treated to chips before hand, thanks Michael.  Mitch was the main speaker and gave a real challenge to each one of us and also gave a call to faith for anyone not yet a Christian, it was really amazing to see so many people go forward and receive prayer.

THE LINK

The Link has been back up and running now for a few weeks. It has been really good to see the guys back and enjoying themselves. Alot of the time it is just kids screaming at each other but occasionally you get a really fantastic conversation with one or two guys who really are interested in what we have to say. Next week is the last week of the club, but has been a really fantastic year with the guys and hopefully they really have enjoyed it too.

FUSION

Well the weekend happened… it was a fantastic few days with many of the younger members of Fusion. We did loads of activities, including, High ropes, Low ropes and archery. We had some amazing times in the Beacon (where all our sessions were held) where we heard from us (the interns) Michael Fryer and Michael Wylie. On the Saturday we had a great time to laugh at the leaders making a fool out of ourselves, singing our new theme tune “NUNCHUCK.” It was a great weekend and on behalf of the Interns a massive Thanks to everyone who helped make it the success it was.

YOUTH CLUB

Youth club is now finished, we had our final night on the 14th and it was a really good ending to a great year. We had an inflatable castle and inflatable run challenge in and our own gourmet chiefs cooked up a wonderful BBQ. The kids had a great night and was a nice way to end a long and busy year with youth club.

GENERAL NEWS

Hollie and I attended the CE BBQ, earlier this month and it was a great night. We played in the park then got some good burgers and hot dogs to gain back our energy. Being the humble person i am, i can admit Hollie beat me at every game we thought of that night.

We also have been staring in Carnmoney new again. We are the links and also the headlines for some of the articles in the video. Thanks Paul for putting in the awful recordings last month .

Bible college is finished. We have handed in our final assignments and reflecting on the year we have got alot out of our time there. It gave us an opportunity to work alongside people of different perspectives and to have fantastic conversations with them, challenging at times but always rewarding.

Well that is all I can think of at this time. I Promise i will be more attentive to my blogging and will ensure my next post is on time.

God Bless

David

God Moves…

I do apologise for the delay in this blog post, it is totally my fault…sorry!

Since the last time that we blogged there have been many things going on. We have been carrying on with our usual weekly bookings, although unfortunately with Carnmoney Primary busy working on their production of ‘Annie’ we haven’t been at ‘Impact’ for a few weeks. However, we are looking forward to the end result…not long now

CROWN JESUS MINISTRIES

As most of you already know, Crown Jesus Ministries have been knocking around the Church premises. They’ve been at the Boys’ Brigade, the Girls’ Brigade and the Junior Youth Club; combining fun with an important message, gripping the kids and giving them reasons to pay attention. I was on the Crown Jesus website and found some of the material written about the ministry was really inspiring, so here it is:

“Crown Jesus has a passionate desire to see revival in Ireland and has already reached thousands of people across this land with the gospel. With determination and infectious enthusiasm the team works out its vision, serving God and enabling the Church to break fresh ground in reaching the lost through wide-ranging and creative projects.

The inspiration that drives this team is a God-given vision:

‘To see the people of Ireland CROWN JESUS Lords of their lives.’” – www.crownjesus.org

Compare Crown Jesus’ vision with the vision of our own church…

“We have a daring and radical strategy for the next twelve years to deepen our relationship with Jesus, and to bring revival to the wider community of Newtownabbey. That strategy is called ’2020 Vision’.

‘To be a vibrant Community of Christ in the next twelve years and one where our members’ relationships with Jesus are deepening on a daily basis.’”

…And you’ll see that we are all working towards the same goal. Who says we can’t reach 80,000 people , I’m excited for where God is going to take us here in Carnmoney over the next few years.

FUSION

One of the highlights of this year came on Sunday the 27th of March, when David and I spoke on our journey so far. I initially found it quite challenging to write and prepare something for Fusion that would allow them to hear about me, but the main focus still being God. When it came down to the nitty-gritty the reality was that in being honest about my challenges and the truth of the Bible. I think God got a way in and used me as a tool. Well that’s how I see it, and I’m really quite honoured to have been used by God so far this year. Both of us are still on our journeys, but it’s good to look back and see what God has been doing. So those of you who keep prayer journals, why not look back and see what He’s been doing with you. Alternatively, why not start? God is always moving so prepare to be amazed!

Love,

Hollie

Another week…. but not an ordinary week.

Well i would love to remind you all about Fusion last week but some of you quick eyes ones will notice i wasnt there. Last weekend i was away in England visiting my sister. She is a student ministry trainee, means she does the same job as me except with students. it was a good weekend and got to see how they do things differently from us.

Wednesday was Carnmoney Primary school and Michaels turn to lead from the front. He taught us on what we are afraid of and what the Bible says about it. Hollie toke an amazing quiz which was a close score right up to the last minute. It was great and kids really enjoyed it. Ballyduff had another great week, great games and another chance to spread the love of Jesus in the lives of these kids.

On Thursday Michael led us through another chapter of Acts. This was really refreshing because as a team it was exactly what we needed to hear from God. God really challenged us that day and reminded us of his great mercy and grace. It really was a great turning point of the week!

Thursday night was BB night, with Crown Jesus Ministries in playing deal or no deal with big prizes. Ross managed to win himself an ipod shuffle. Terry kirkpatrick also did some hip hop with the guys and told us all a bit about himself and his life. It was a really good night and CJM will be involved in loads of different thing over the next few weeks in church.

Finally, the weekend just past, Saturday night was another great night of youth club, with everything running smoothly. Fusion was a fantastic night, we learnt what we should aim to be, and how God provides a way (Jesus) and a helper (Holy Spirit) to achieve these goals.

So Guys have an awesome week, be good! and always remember your creator in the days of your youth!

 

Godbless guys

The INTERNS

If You Could Ask One Question….



OK, since last time….

We have taken Sunday School, and taught the kids how to be content with what you have. This in itself is one lesson which I have to take note of, in a society which is soo caught up in the possession of material goods, i find it difficult to walk into shops and not purchase an item of some sort.

We have had another day at Belfast Bible College, where we discussed the idea of God’s call in our lives and how we explore that; I found this really interesting, after all, as Christians are we not all desperate to hear God’s call in our lives? But are we all listening intently or are we caught up in the hussle and bussle of our everyday lives? (This is another challenging thought for me.)

Impact at Carnmoney Primary School started up again on Wednesday, after half-term. Our topic for this week was, God is a Faithful God, and David made the distinction between our feeble promises and the unbreakable promises of God. That got me thinking, if I’m meant to be on a journey of sanctification ( a journey of being more Christ-like), then should my word and my promises not be as faithful as His? It’s a hard job, but I have the best Teacher to learn from.

On Thursday David and I were movie stars as Paul Elliot came into the office and stole us away to do some clips for “Carnmoney News”. We had a great laugh doing the little clips and theh anxiousness which I had about being on camera disappeared…until it dawned again that the congregation would be feasting their eyes on it. Ha! But I saw the final result last night, and really enjoyed it!

Finally, I was at a small course last Tuesday night, and we got asked this, “If Jesus walked into the room now and you could ask any question, what would you ask?” I struggled to think of a singular question that I would ask, but it was a question that sparked thoughts. And it’s always good to ask questions, that’s how you learn!

Hollie

Last full week of February!

Guys it feels like only a few days ago i was sitting down to blog us into 2011, and now its nearly March! scary biscuits! But being committed interns we are not scared by the fast marching months but are determined to get as much done as possible over these last few months we have here! So the past week has been a busy enough one! we “have been everywhere one, and some places twice” (Johnny cash reference anyone) Soo here is a brief outline of the last 7 days in the life of THE INTERNS…

 

SUNDAY SCHOOL!

Sunday morning was our chance to get to know the older Sunday school, we did loads of games with them and they got to know us aswell. Our teaching was on taming out tongues and how we should use our words to build people up and to praise God instead of saying nasty things. We used to common phrase of “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”  and our memory verse was:

“The lips of the Godly speak helpful words, but the mouths of the Godly speaks perverse words” Proverbs 10:32

 

IGNITE!

Seriously awesome night on Sunday night at ignite! amazing band, Thanks Kaz, Dave, David, Jordan, Sound guys for all you guys did to make it an epic night. The banter was good and really felt God with us that night as we worshiped him and learnt from one another how we communicate with Him. We had our special readers sharing their favourite verses of scripture and some amazing videos with all our teaching!

 

TEAM BIBLE STUDY!

On Thursday at around mid-day we met together for our bible study, well Beulah and Lynsey were late soo it was early afternoon. This week Hollie was taking us through Acts chapter 5 and we spent sometime together talking about things we got from it. Was a really amazing time together and each of us really grew from our time together. We then had some time to pray for what we learnt and for God to really push us in our lives!

C.E.

Well tonight we have CE and im not going to tell you anything about it…. im going to leave that for Hollie to tell you all next week, all im going to do is show you this picture:

Really does show how hard we work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REMEMBER MOMENTUM TONIGHT IN I56 @ 7.30

 

In Training…and God is our coach!

 

FUSION

In Fusion David and I took the younger guys in fusion and Craig Hunter took the oldies; looking at How the Holy is in Pursuit of us, how exciting is that?! God is looking for each of us individually, yet we cover up and hide behind things that can easily be taken away from us, like friends, money and talents. It’s time to wake up and realise that it is impossible to hid from the one who knows everything about you:

“O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely,  O Lord.” – Psalm 139.1-4

It never ceases to amaze me how someone could value me so much no matter how much I muck up and give into temptation, but yet in Christ Jesus all my sins are forgiven.

And Sunday past both Beulah and Sam started our new “Walkie Talkie” series and looked at how God speaks to us, and although I wasn’t there, I hear that it all went really well and I’m excited to learn how we talk to God this Sunday coming.

I thought you would appreciate this poem, following on from last weeks Fusion:

“The child whispered, “God, speak to me”
and a meadowlark sang.
But, the child did not hear.

So the child yelled, “God, speak to me”
and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But, the child did not listen.

The child looked around and said, “God, let me see you”
and a star shone brightly.
But, the child did not notice.

The child shouted, “God, show me a miracle!”
And a life was born.
But, the child did not see.

So, the child cried out in dispair, “Touch me God,
and let me know you are here!”
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the child.

But, the child brushed the butterfly away and walked on.”

BELFAST BIBLE COLLEGE We started back to Belfast Bible College on the 2nd of February to a new module for the semester, discipleship, and already I am loving an indepth look at a word or concept in the Bible that I may have been guilty of overlooking. Discipleship is a key part of the church, key to its growth and key to its intimacy with the Father.

“Discipleship implies growth, nurture, education, deepening intimacy, shared goals and life-direction, all facets of relationship with a person.” – Living the Story p19.

I am excited but equally anxious about how challenging this module is going to be with topics such as: Journey, Growth, Calling, Work, Identity, Community, Suffering, Sexuality, Witness and Citizenship; all being discussed from a different perspective.  And, sad as it may seem, I am looking forward to the assignments that are within this module as well, I think that I’ll learn new things about myself and that only leads to a further understanding of God himself.

 

MOMENTUM PLUG

All you 6th years: on the 25th of this month, this is February, we will be having a Momentum gathering in the House of Prayer, for pizza and just general fellowship…this is just a wee heads up and we will confirm the time on Sunday Night.

Looking forward to see you all soon!

Hollie

2011 Starting back with a bang!

well guys we aint spoken to you in a while! but what a busy start we have had to 2011 (still strange to think its 2011)

GB

well Tuesday night came round and we were invited to the Kingsmoss to take “a night with the interns.” this gave us a great chance to tell the girls there who we are, what we do and what has happened so far. It was a great night and God really moved in that place and we gained alot from the warmth we felt from all who were there.

IMPACT

we have done Two weeks of Impact since our last blog. The kids have learnt about “David and Jonathan” and also “the Good Shepherd.” We have sang, played games, learned memory verses and made some great friends. Hollie and myself have both been able to have teaching opportunities which we have taken.

YOUTH CLUB

When Michael was away Hollie and i got the chance to give a talk at youth club to the older folk. We spoke about them facing their giants in their lives and how God can use them, like David, to defeat their Goliath. We hope some of the young people toke what we said on board and are able to stand strong against the giants of this world.

FUSION

Thanks must go to Connie and Beulah, Sam and Michael for their great job at the talks on Sunday at fusion. Was a great night and God was present there. It was the first week of the new split teaching idea and i think everyone enjoyed the smaller groups and more personal approach.

Crown Jesus then joined us last Sunday, and we had Mitch (anyone know his full name?)  give us a stirring talk. God really blessed us that night and five young people made a commitment/re-commitment to Christ.

Now i have been informed that the winner of the “make a giraffe” competition has been a point of arguement. Lads, maybe next time, the GIRLS beat you fair and square!