Today I ordered our flight tickets to Zambia. Why Zambia, why now, what will we do, how will we do it? Where did it all start?
Once upon a time is a convenient start to a story, but it is often frustrating to the reader; did nothing happen before Snow White’s parents met? Why was the wicked stepmother wicked? We aren’t told, and the Snow White story can be told without these details. Our Zambia story has a beginning in our understanding, but as we plan, I am conscious of a bigger story, that will shape ours’ and go beyond ‘The End’.
Once upon a time...In January of 2009 Newfrontiers Churches in South London and Surrey held a Churches Together weekend in Butlins at Bognor. During one of the meetings, Wendy Virgo shared a series of prophetic pictures, all of them with the sense of transition or change. The pictures included birds migrating South, fish returning to the place of their birth to spawn and a bear preparing for hibernation by filling themselves in preparation for what was to come. The picture of the bear particularly spoke to me, eating a lot and then sleeping a lot will always attract my attention.
We were aware that we were reaching a stage of life where the parenting of our 3 children: Esther, Jonny and Hannah was going to change. Esther and Jonny would start Uni in September of 2009, Hannah would start the next September. With the children away from home for most the time, parenting would change and perhaps a new stage of life was coming. This was our thinking when we went to Bognor.
As a result of hearing Wendy's picture, Elizabeth suggested that I attend the Newfrontiers Leadership training Course. I hope to post more about this in the future.
The migrating urge was upon us, but where to go and what to do? The next piece of jigsaw fell into place in July of 2009. I was attending Newfrontier's Together On A Mission conference in Brighton. Whilst walking to my seat before the start of a session, I had the clear sense of God talking to me. "Are you prepared to risk a year for me?" It wasn't an audible voice, but I felt that I had been spoken to. I am not a risk taker by nature, I grew up as a good Baptist boy where even raffles were frowned on. The idea of risk, transformed how I viewed the future, until then, I was trying to work out how to fit my life into what God might have for us, now God was saying in effect, let's start with a blank piece of paper and let me deal with the details.
Whilst at the conference, I attended an informal meeting of people considering planting a church in Lusaka. The group was led by Gary Welsh who is a longstanding friend of mine. We had been at Downham Way Family Church before Gary and his wife Nicky moved to South Africa to serve God there. At the time Gary was living in Durban, but travelling all over Southern Africa. Gary also is part of a small Charity called Ukuthasa. I have the privilege to be the chair of trustees of Ukuthasa and because we have projects in Zambia had already been to Zambia to be part of the Launch of Jubilee Church, Livingstone and to find out more about the projects we were hoping to run in Zambia.
As I met with the group, discussing the plans for the Church plant, I felt God say, "Here is where you can take risks"
I returned from the conference wondering how to explain to Elizabeth that I thought God might be calling us to a year in Zambia.
I hope to share how we tested the sense of calling in the next post.
Once upon a time is a convenient start to a story, but it is often frustrating to the reader; did nothing happen before Snow White’s parents met? Why was the wicked stepmother wicked? We aren’t told, and the Snow White story can be told without these details. Our Zambia story has a beginning in our understanding, but as we plan, I am conscious of a bigger story, that will shape ours’ and go beyond ‘The End’.
Once upon a time...In January of 2009 Newfrontiers Churches in South London and Surrey held a Churches Together weekend in Butlins at Bognor. During one of the meetings, Wendy Virgo shared a series of prophetic pictures, all of them with the sense of transition or change. The pictures included birds migrating South, fish returning to the place of their birth to spawn and a bear preparing for hibernation by filling themselves in preparation for what was to come. The picture of the bear particularly spoke to me, eating a lot and then sleeping a lot will always attract my attention.
We were aware that we were reaching a stage of life where the parenting of our 3 children: Esther, Jonny and Hannah was going to change. Esther and Jonny would start Uni in September of 2009, Hannah would start the next September. With the children away from home for most the time, parenting would change and perhaps a new stage of life was coming. This was our thinking when we went to Bognor.
As a result of hearing Wendy's picture, Elizabeth suggested that I attend the Newfrontiers Leadership training Course. I hope to post more about this in the future.
The migrating urge was upon us, but where to go and what to do? The next piece of jigsaw fell into place in July of 2009. I was attending Newfrontier's Together On A Mission conference in Brighton. Whilst walking to my seat before the start of a session, I had the clear sense of God talking to me. "Are you prepared to risk a year for me?" It wasn't an audible voice, but I felt that I had been spoken to. I am not a risk taker by nature, I grew up as a good Baptist boy where even raffles were frowned on. The idea of risk, transformed how I viewed the future, until then, I was trying to work out how to fit my life into what God might have for us, now God was saying in effect, let's start with a blank piece of paper and let me deal with the details.
Whilst at the conference, I attended an informal meeting of people considering planting a church in Lusaka. The group was led by Gary Welsh who is a longstanding friend of mine. We had been at Downham Way Family Church before Gary and his wife Nicky moved to South Africa to serve God there. At the time Gary was living in Durban, but travelling all over Southern Africa. Gary also is part of a small Charity called Ukuthasa. I have the privilege to be the chair of trustees of Ukuthasa and because we have projects in Zambia had already been to Zambia to be part of the Launch of Jubilee Church, Livingstone and to find out more about the projects we were hoping to run in Zambia.
As I met with the group, discussing the plans for the Church plant, I felt God say, "Here is where you can take risks"
I returned from the conference wondering how to explain to Elizabeth that I thought God might be calling us to a year in Zambia.
I hope to share how we tested the sense of calling in the next post.
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