Our Church
the church should be god’s heart, hands and feet here on planet earth
our church aims to be – reaching out to adults and young people by reaching into their hearts
Go and make disciples!
The very last thing that Jesus said to his disciples was that they should go into the world and make disciples – “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28 verse 19)
The line that follows “teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you,” is too often forgotten or at least not emphasised strongly enough. As people who love to learn you won’t be surprised to learn that this is a verse we love.
teach them to obey everything i have commanded you
In 2002 two people (Judi and Terry Mott) experienced a massive change in their lives because of an encounter with God. They both knew that it must have been God who changed them because up until that point Terry had been a confirmed atheist – hostile to all religions but especially Christianity, and Judi had lost all faith in the God she’d taught children about in Sunday school when she was in her teens. As a result of that experience Judi and Terry became committed Christians and two years later took their children, Tom and Elli, to Kenya for a year to start the work that has now become Hope and Kindness. Neither Judi or Terry would claim to have all the answers to the problems of life or to be anything other than imperfect people who are still trying to learn “all that Jesus taught.” They would say that they still have an unshakeable faith that has enabled them to cope with all of the ups and downs of serving God through the work of Hope and Kindness and encouraging a team of people from Kenya to serve with them. The whole team shares a faith that makes them wholeheartedly committed to Matthew 28 and the whole discipleship mandate.
Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them!
For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children (mark 10:14)
It is a great joy working with young people and encouraging them to learn from Jesus, the greatest teacher who ever lived. Jesus was more than just a ‘good man.’ Christians believe that He is the Son of God, who came to live among people on earth to help them know what the Kingdom of God is. When we pray “your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven” we are doing more than mouthing platitudes. We are declaring that the Kingdom of God is real and that we can experience a taste of it now by following the teaching and example that Jesus sets for us. Many Young people, all over the world, are dismissive of the Christian faith because of the hypocrisy they believe they see in the church. We understand their thinking, but see the consequences of such a view as tragic. Jesus encouraged the children to come to Him and to trust Him. We want to help our children and young people to take up that invitation.
youth church – bringing out the best in young people
We believe that investing in young people is one of the best things that anybody can do. Our Youth Church is led by young people who grew up as part of Hope and Kindness. They are dedicated to helping the young people who come to our school to get to know Jesus through the Christian Union meeting that they run every Tuesday and the Friday ‘Sunday School’ with our younger children. On Sunday young people from our community meet together to worship God, study the Bible together and support each other through prayer and friendship. Our approach is informal but serious! We believe in encouraging our young people to reach out in love to their neighbours in practical ways as well.
