have you caught it!

WOW – Sunday was awesome! Maybe we are getting to that ‘awesome’ place quicker than we think!

I hope and pray that you caught hold of the vision of building a church that loves people for who they are and inspires then to become all that they can be.

Can I encourage you that we are now beginning the journey; we have merely arrived at the building site; we have crossed the starting line & the adventure has just begun. We have far from made it, we are embryonic.

Paul writes in Romans ‘I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him’ [Romans 12 The Message]

We are going through tremendous blessing and we have to ensure that Jesus has all the praise – after all, it’s His work & His House!

 Let’s enjoy the season and begin to build toward the future!

Happy new year

Welcome to the Cultural Revolution. Welcome to Bethel. Welcome to the hotplate of activity in Stoke On Trent this December.

Happy New Year!

I came into my office for the first time of the year and a mountain of post and emails awaited me! After wading through the mail I listened to the guys downstairs removing all the decorations and it began to dawn on me that at the moment of stepping into the future, the ‘stuff’ from the past had to be removed. The awesome thing about this time of year is that we are able to re-align our focus onto the things that are ahead and remove the ‘stuff’ from the past.

2008 here at Bethel is the beginning of the adventure of a life time and all the guys on leadership are absolutely convinced that this is going to be a phenomenal year.

Can I encourage you from Matthew 21:10 that our whole city can be stirred and ask about Jesus! This is what we are about in 2008! Church is excellent at being the best kept secret in town and this year we are going to champion Jesus and church for the 21st century. We are not peripheral to the world any more and Stoke on Trent will be stirred into asking ‘who is this Jesus?’ I would love to tell you more but you’ll have to wait until Vision Sunday [13th 10.30am]. Please be ready and full of faith; please bring your whole family, mates, street and anyone else you think needs to be a part of this awesome adventure!

The magnitude of what lies ahead is daunting and terrifying and yet adrenaline filled and God inspired. We are looking to live beyond ourselves and pursue God into unknown territory that wonderfully feels SO natural to us all as a leadership. The foundations are huge after many years of many people giving their lives to this church. The future is awesome as we pick up the mantle and fulfil Bethels destiny!

Be at VISION SUNDAY – let’s pack the place out and experience church where the bounce is in the house!

Keep going for it,

James

Get Ready

Hey,2007 has been a year to remember for many. It has carried it’s highs and demonstrated that sometimes life doesn’t happen how one desires.

One thing I am sure of now more than ever is that Jesus is awesome!

2008 is here. The year ahead will see things move up a gear here at Bethel as we begin to champion Jesus and church for the 21st century.

Stoke on Trent will never be the same again as we take Matthew 21:10 as our scripture for 2008. It says:

“The whole city was stirred and asked ‘Who is this?’“

Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime as 2008 see’s Bethel reposition for an awesome future!

Keep going for it

James

A sign of things to come…

I want to take this opportunity to say how privileged Becky and I are to be leading a church made up of such awesome people. The enthusiasm and zeal for Jesus and the house is unprecedented! You are phenomenal. This church is so exciting to be apart of and there is more to come.

I recognise that numbers from a biblical perspective are extremely important, especially regarding symbolism. I also note that to demand a self census is a dangerous thing because it can lead to pride. However, in this e.newsletter, I wanted to highlight that if the principle of ‘all healthy things grow’ is true, then as a church we are healthy.

September 2^nd, our first Sunday in Stoke on Trent, the congregation consisted of 82 people including 20 that travelled with Becky and myself. Yesterday, the attendance for both services was 360. The total number of actual individuals was in excess of 250. Our finances are in a much healthier state, we are seeing people saved and restored; added and transplanted and our general well being is also very good. We are showing great signs of health!

Church, this advancement is not one to brag on but to praise for. God is smiling upon Bethel!

As we are making preparations for the coming year ahead, I am reminded of the scripture that talks of God restoring Bethel to His original purpose. 1 Kings 13:3 says that ‘the same day’ there was a ‘sign’ given. Church, the intensity and growth that we see in this place, I believe, is a sign of things to come.

God is restoring Bethel to His original purpose!

Back in the 1900’s Bethel, established by a man who travelled from south Wales, was significant, substantial and strategic in the city of Stoke on Trent. Yesterday, as I looked across and saw the volume of young people in the house, I had to stand in awe because we have left that ‘certain place’ and we are fast approaching the ‘awesome place’ that is God designed for church in the 21^st century. Our future, together, is truly awesome!

As I saw the many generations represented, I saw the wisdom and experience standing alongside the raw energy combining to create enthusiasm and readiness for the building of a church that loves people for who they are and inspiring them to become all that they can be!

Enjoy your Christmas preparations.

Carry in your heart the bounce that is in the house. God is smiling upon you!

Bethel News vol 8

This week:

Friday 14^th 9pm –  PLC – Prayers, Laughs & Curry – the men’s night of prayer is taking an earlier fixture this month due to festivities in the home. Come on guys; get yourself along for a great night.

Sunday 16^th 10.30am – The Sunday Gathering – great praise, life application teaching, carols, friends and a little bit of fun thrown in the mix as the saints gather in the church where to the bounce is in the house.

Sunday 16^th 4.45pm – Christmas Extravaganza – bring your street to the best Christmas party in the city! The team have been working hard getting ready a great night of Christmas fun!

Future:

Sunday 23^rd 10.30am – Christmas Family Service – a great morning for all the family!

Tuesday 25^th 10am – CHRISTMAS DAY – kick start your day with a traditional carol hour here at Bethel

Sunday 30^th 10.30am – Sunday Gathering – the gathering of champions (that’s you!) as we get ready for the New Year!

Saturday 5^th early! – Men’s Breakfast – great praise, great preaching, great mates & awesome fried breakfast!

Sunday 6^th 10.30 FIRST FRUITS SUNDAY – get ready to give in the most celebrated offering of the year as we honour God with our wealth and give in abundance toward 2008. Be encouraged to give beyond yourself; give in faith; and give from a cheerful heart! In one go we can demolish the poverty mentality that grips church in this city!

Mon 7^th/ Tues 8^th/ Wed 9^th – Prayer & Fasting – chasing God on behalf of the church & city!

For more information keep an eye on the web – www.ourc1ty.org

enjoy yourself this Christmas!

The month of December is given over to enjoying this Christmas season.

Please.

Enjoy.

Don’t get wrapped up in the stress of everything having to be perfect. Don’t get in debt. Don’t forget Jesus amidst the celebrations.

Rest.

From January we begin to build! We begin to establish the house. The plans are being finalised. The scaffolding is being erected and the materials are being delivered on site. 2008 is going to be phenomenal as we begin the process of building a church that loves people for who they are and inspires them to be all that they can be. Get ready for the adventure of a life time.

I assure you that we won’t break your heart. Becky and I both understand that in church life, vision is often set and yet many people live with the frustration of unfulfilled dreams and desires. Please hear us! We don’t say stuff that we will not deliver! We are giving our lives to this church and city! We are in this for the long haul! This church has moved from the certain place and it will become that awesome place! Be encouraged!

Can I invite you, as the armour bearer followed Jonathon, to follow us with your heart and soul? As Numbers 10:29 says ‘Come with us and we will do you good!’

speak life

I wanted to say ‘thank you’. You guys are awesome. Bethel has definitely left that ‘certain’ place and is now fast approaching the ‘awesome’ place that we believe for. I recognise for some that this has been a daunting prospect & for the majority it is something that has been a desire for along time. Again, seeing the evidence of growth numerically and, in particularly, the core of the congregation expanding in number and depth, I recognise that Bethel is preparing herself for a significant future.

 

In order that we continue to prepare ourselves for the phenomenal future that is before us, let me draw you attention to 2 scriptures:

Deuteronomy 30:19 says

 

“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”;

 

and James 3:6

 

“By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”

 

Church, let me grab your attention by letting you know that you can help the in the journey to becoming that ‘awesome’ place by speaking words of LIFE. Make a choice so that the next generation may live! This is challenging stuff. The first Sunday that Becky and I were here, I preached a sermon entitled ‘armchair or adventure’. Everybody unanimously decided upon adventure. In order to fulfil the adventure we have to irradiate gossip and negative speech. Choose LIFE! Speak LIFE! If you hear wrong or negative speech, stamp it out! It causes damage. Don’t allow yourself to get embroiled in negative conversation, it lingers and has a negative effect on YOU and the house.

 

We are committed to building a house that loves people for who they are and inspires them to become all that they can be. This is done by breathing & speaking LIFE into situations not death. Irradiate gossip, remove the negative and choose LIFE! You can help the fulfilment of the dream by speaking words of LIFE!

Remember – Choose LIFE!

 Keep going for it,

 James

 

Bethel news

Thursday is our final evening this year of Music, Creative Arts & Leadership [7.30pm] Saturday is the strategic leadership consultation day where young leaders from across the nation will gather. You are invited. Please contact rhi@conceptministries.org for more details.
Saturday 7.30pm is our INDUCTION service. Robert Mountford of City Vision Ministries will be speaking. You are personally invited to the momentous occasion.
Sunday is NOMOREEMPTYSEATS Sunday.

Future:
Sunday December 9th Abbey Christmas – Community Christmas service Sunday December 16th Christmas Extravaganza Sunday January 6th First Fruits Sunday Sunday January 13th Vision Sunday

Finally, be encouaged that we are most definitely moving forward. Again can I take this opportunity to thank you for responding so well to us! Thank you for letting us become part of your life. It is a wonderful thing to be walking this journey of life with you. Thank you!

Don’t forget to bring people this Sunday

The day of Small Beginnings

Many years ago, as a young and eager youth pastor, my father taught me a simple, yet profound lesson. The lesson was when I was yearning to lead a huge youth ministry that would change the world, that I never neglected the 20 or 30 that actually turned up. He taught me that the focus had to be on what God had entrusted to me and not why the other 20,000 hadn’t managed to hear about the phenomenal youth ministry.

As in Zechariah 4: 10, my father would say ‘don’t despise the day of small beginnings’.

Church, I stand here in awe.

Several years on from my fathers advice.

10 weeks into our journey together here at Bethel.

We have doubled in size. We are invited to the Civic Centre where the councillors and MP’s are endorsing www.lovestoke.org . Almost daily meetings with the most influencial people in the city. Continued favour with God and man. Awesome times together corporately. The fast track in development of leadership gifting and excellence of ministry in the House. The advancement of the Kingdom. The growth of the church. People’s lives transformed. Tangable release and evidenced enhancement in the life of Bethel.

These are the day of small beginnings.

What magnitude does the future hold?

We know and recognise that the awesome things that are happening now are only seed samples of what the future holds. We also know that God has asked 4 things of us:

Humility.

Sensitivity.

Obedience.

Leadership.

Each day we hold as precious and focus on what God is releasing into our hand. We are so privileged.

We don’t despise these days. They are precious. Thank you!

Getting stressed?

This is a stressful time for us as we look to move house, we spent yesterday looking at dentists to try to secure Debs a new job, timing is everything as we need it all to come together as soon as possible yet so much of it seems out of my control

The book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that God has set a proper time for everything under heaven (see chapter 3). He is the controller of the universe, so I don’t have to be. There will be mistakes, things that fall through the cracks, and misunderstandings, but I believe we can trust God to work out every problem. As Solomon said, “He makes all things beautiful in His time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Instead of stressing over the move and everything else, I am determined to use this time as a faith-building experience, and trust God to take care of us and steer us through

What are the things that you need to let go of and Trust God?