What is Foundations and Who is it for?

It's the start of a new year and Christmas is way behind us.  The resolutions have already started to be broken.  However, one of those resolutions might have been to come back to Jesus, or give your life to Him  for the first time, or even just to come back to the basics so that the Christian life doesn't feel quite so complex and hard theologically.  If that is you then this is for you.

On the last Tuesday of this month, Rachel Green and I will be hosting the first evening of our Foundations.  These evenings are called foundations for 2 reasons.

#1 The name of the book we use to stimulate discussion is called Foundations and is written by John Groves
#2 Because these evenings are to build grow and strengthen our foundations in Christ.

The evenings are designed to be open for all, meaning they are an ideal next step after Alpha, they are ideal if you are new in your faith and they are ideal as a refresher of why you believe and do all that you do in teh name of Jesus!

Foundations is a great way to get to know a new bunch of people, and a great place to get to understand why we do certain things as a church.

Each week we will journey through subjects in an easy and open environment:

Week 1: Personal Foundations - looking at faith and baptism in water and the Spirit
Week 2: A New Creation - a fresh reminder of who we are in Christ and all He achieved for us (you can never know this enough!)
Week 3: Kingdom Life - what does it mean to live as a Christian in all areas of our lives?
Week 4: Kingdom Warfare - we have a real enemy, how does he work and how do we live in the victory Christ won?
Week 5: Jesus is Building His Church - What is church and what does it mean to participate?
Week 6: Belonging to Church - As it says on the tin, but aimed at what it means to belong to RFC (you may already be a member but always good to be reminded)
Week 7: Sharing your Faith - These foundations could be the foundations for your friends and family as they come to know Jesus, we are called to invite them to meet Him!

You can book in by leaving a comment on here or by contacting me via the foundations page of the website found on this link.

The year ahead and why

A new year has ensued and it's probably time that I started updating this blog a little more often than I do.  I find that at times I have much to say and at other times I cannot even face looking at the icon on the computer screen that taunts me and tells me that i have not written for ages.  I decided before Christmas that I would start again in the new year and so here I am.  Anyway on with the post!

I am currently looking at a few events that the community of RFC can enjoy together.  The idea of the events is to provide an environment where people can socialize together, get to know new people and feel free to invite others in. They are not outright evangelistic but do provide a chance to showcase the talent that is in the church and further afield.  We are looking at another acoustic night, a choirs evening and a comedy night, spread throughout the year.

There will be two Alpha courses this year; one starting in April off the back of Easter Sunday and one at the end of September.  Alpha has always been the prominent way in which God has moved amongst us in salvation power.  Being in a place where people can feel free to ask questions and disagree, knowing that no one is going to judge them, is a wonderful thing in our culture.  When we stop seeing fruit we will stop doing Alpha, but for now we continue.

We are inviting a couple of guest evangelists to some and be with us this year one in either half of the year.  They are yet to confirm availability but I will of course let you know when I do.

This year sees the diamond jubilee of the queens coronation.  The council have asked if the churches of South Reading can put on some sort of event to feed the local community. We would like to put on a street party down Northumberland Avenue if the council agree the road closures.  We will be working with the other churches of South Reading to cater for some 4000 people over a 3 hour window.  This is such a great opportunity to serve and get to know the people in whose community we meet.

We will also be looking to put on a couple of Saturday mornings this year to do some training in evangelism.  We will look at some basics on why and some practical things that we can do.  Dates for this are to be confirmed.

Why do we do all of these things?  Why do we want to help others know this Jesus that we love and follow?  Because he told us to, well yes he did, but who ever did anything because they were told to and did it with a good heart?  We do it because we know that it is only in Jesus that we found true acceptance, significance and love.  We do it because we, like God, should want none to perish.  We do it because someone once loved us enough to introduce us to Jesus.  We do it because we are loved and we love.

None of these things save anyone, Jesus does, but we need to bring them to places where they can first have their presuppositions of Christianity eroded and then introduce them to Jesus through Alpha, visiting speakers, baptism meetings, father's day and mother's day, Easter and Christmas meetings and of course our Sunday gatherings.

I am looking forward to a year where we see salvation and I am praying we will see it like we have never seen it before.  When the carol singing season starts again this year, i am trusting that many more will be singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing not because it is a twee song to sing at that time of year, but because they firmly believe in the one the song is about.  My prayer is simple - LORD, USE ME!  Is yours the same?

Acoustic night and houses

The acoustic night on Saturday evening was a great event.  There was an eclectic mix of musical forms on show, each contributing to a diverse feel to the evening.  It is so good to be able to put on quality events like this to help build community and also giving us an opportunity to invite friends along.  I think the guys at South Street think it's amazing that a church would do this sort of thing!

On another note, last Friday we viewed a house and subsequently put in the asking price.  They have of course accepted the offer - however we now have the small matter of selling our lovely two bed semi in South Reading before anything else can change.  Please pray that we would be able to sell quickly and if you are indeed looking for a property like this please let me know.

These are exciting times, people are turning to Jesus, there are healings taking place among us, we are looking for a new Church building and we are now in the process of finding a buyer for our house. There is so much to thank God for and so we will!

Alpha so far

The Alpha course has been going really well.  A great team of cake bakers, coffee servers, and table leaders have served brilliantly and with great skill.  Edd has done a great job in hosting each of the evenings and we have known God's presence each team we have met.  Each persons personal story that we have each week has been powerful and has been about real life personal encounters and change.

Most of the guests have been able to be there each week with only a slight drop off from the first week, and they all seem to be enjoying it.  In fact 2 have already made a first time response to following Jesus - BRILLIANT!!!

One of those was on his way home from the 10th anniversary and gave his life on that walk back to his house.  The other one made her response at the day away.  The day away will always be extremely significant to her.  However it was also significant for others as they met with God and even those who would say that nothing happened, saw the power of God at work in people lives.

Last night was week 7 and that means we were talking about resisting evil.  As the discussion time came around, one of the guys on the course put his glasses on to read the bible.  However he found that putting his glasses on blurred his vision.  He took them back off again and found that he could read tiny print in dim lighting perfectly fine without them.  I have contacted him today and he says that this is still the case.  he cannot use the glasses because they blur his vision.  This is amazing considering we were not discussing healing, we were not praying for healing, he just healed him!

I for one still need my glasses, but Ben does not!  Now that is amazing and that is our God!

So that's just a quick update as to what has been going on.  Please continue to pray for the course and be considering who you can invite next time around.

Reading Post Article

The Reading Post were at our 10th anniversary celebrations at the town hall and have written a brief article.  It's good to see this sort of coverage in the local news.

Click here to see the article

Acoustic night

On Saturday November 12th, we will once again be at South Street Arts Centre, to enjoy an evening of meeting with friends and hearing quality live music from three talented acts (read bios below).

Lozi Boulton:  A local girl from Wokingham, Lozi has a beautiful voice that accompanies her guitar with wonderful clarity.  She sings songs that she has penned herself which tell something of her life's journey. Her gentle tones leave audiences spell bound and wanting more.

Mimi and Friends: Mimi hails from the African nation of Zimbabwe and with her friends bring that musical culture here to the UK.  She is an accomplished musician on native Zim instruments as well as guitar and vocals.  However Mimi is also great at getting the audience involved in complex clapping rhythms.  Be prepared to embrace a whole new musical genre.

Forerunner: After forming in the summer of 2009, Forerunner began playing the venues and clubs of the Brighton circuit, immediately winning fans with their energetic live shows and catchy melodies. From then on, they spread further afield into the South of England, building momentum with a strong internet presence. In Spring 2010 they were voted one of the top 10 live acts in Brighton, receiving the opportunity to play on the Heart radio stage at the Brighton marathon.  


It's now only 4 weeks until the event and tickets are now on sale by clicking on the photo or here. book now for you and your friends to avoid disappointment.

Taking the opportunities when they arise

Are we missing opportunities to help people in view of our faith because we think that they are not interested?  Do we stop short of saying the thing that may help them the most because we are afraid that they'll misunderstand us?

These last three evenings I have had an opportunity to make that call and each time I swallowed hard and went with it.  The strange thing is, instead of it being awkward it felt so natural.  I felt the Holy Spirit open the opportunity and then help me with what to say.  He helped me remember scriptures that were of note in the situations which I was then able to paraphrase and make it accessible.

When you feel it rising up and know that God wants you to say something I recommend going for.  Don't miss those divine opportunities to both help someone and also bring them that little closer to Jesus.