Follow us…

One last post before we head off… getting a train at 7.35am to kick off the journey! Posted our itinerary below so you can track with us. I should have plenty of net access Stateside anyway so will most likely blog a few times when we are away. Off we go!!

Tues 1st Aug: Travel out
Wed 2nd Aug: 1st Baptist Church Sycamore
Thurs 3rd Aug: Willow Creek Community Church
Fri 4th Aug: Orchard Valley Community Church
Sat 5ht Aug: Harvest Bible Chapel (& Evening service)
Sun 6th Aug: 1st Baptist Church Sycamore (& Extreme Connections)
Mon 7th Aug: Jesus People USA
Tues 8th Aug: Rest Day
Wed 9th Aug: Move to Willow’s Global Hospitality
Thurs 10th Aug: Leadership Summit
Fri 11th Aug: Leadership Summit
Sat 12th Aug: Leadership Summit
Sun 13th Aug: Service at Willow & travel back to Sycamore
Mon 14th Aug: Leave for home
Tues 15th Aug: Arrive home

At War

“You are dizzyingly busy, yet continually find yourself looking over your shoulder. There isn’t a moment that you completely relax, every moment fighting a war inside, simultaneously wanting to bump into him and wanting to avoid him at all costs.”

This is how I feel.

Ex-tend Ministry Tour 2006

Where?

* 1st Baptist Church Sycamore
* Harvest Bible Chapel
* Willow Creek Community Church
* Orchard Valley Community Church
* Jesus People USA
* Willow Creek Leadership Summit

Why?

The Ex-tend course is designed to multiply disciplers, to invest in those who want to build God’s Kingdom (2 Tim 2:2). The team members are: Trevor and Emma Loughridge (team leaders), Paula-Jean (PJ) Thompson, Alan Lynch, Emma Boyd, Georgine McMichael and Audrey Martin.

The team have met for four residentials before spending two weeks in Chicago on a ministry tour. The tour is designed to be an investment in member which in turn will result in an investment in others as team members return and minister to people. The team will visit ministries who are impacting their local community for God. From youth initiatives to financial planning to home groups to social issues, members will experience the different ways that church is acted out. The final weekend will be at Willow Creek Leadership summit.

It would be great if you would pray for us!!
* Our desire is to see how God’s purpose for His church is worked out withing different communities and age groups so that we would be able to be inspired and bring ideas back to our own church/ministry situations.
* For safety as we travel (Trev’s driving!!)
* Great contacts
* That the individuals on the team will be future disciplers who impact many.

Praying for Change

Some thoughts from Glenn Jordan’s seminar on Friday morning.

Key passage: Luke 11: 1-4 “Lord, teach us to pray.”

* There is an unspoken assumption that we pick up prayer naturally, but the disciples intentionally asked to be taught how to pray.

* Prayer isn’t all about the numbers at prayer meetings or how often you pray for something – if you pray for something 80 times, God doesn’t just say, ‘Sorry, I needed 82 prayers for that.’ In those instances it almost becomes like twisting God’s arm behind His back to get what we want.

* All authentic speaking and working for God first comes out of silence. If we learn the discipline of breaking silence, when we do speak it means more. That is, before we speak, we need to be in a position of listening.

* The name God reavealed to Moses, Yahweh, is made up of 3 ‘breathy’ letters (they made very ‘breathy’ sounds when you said them). This was a constant reminder that God is as close as your very breath.

* Sometimes we can hide in our prayers – if we pray for justice, for example, sometimes we have to get out there and act to bring about the answer to that prayer.