God has been very good in the ministries that I have the opportunity to be a part of. Two of my favourite ministry sites are the after-school club called the “A-Zone” at the Albion High School on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and the Albert Park Youth Club on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Each of these ministry sites are run by my good friend and mentor Dave Fraser.
God has been laying down strong foundations with many new young people and enabling me to pour into them love, attention, worth, value, and encouragement. God has also been very good on building on previous relationships and enabling me to challenge on issues of illegal drugs, alcohol, sex, and racism while also enabling me to share my thoughts and beliefs as a follower of Christ.
I’m going away on a weekend holiday tomorrow with Dave, two other leaders and about 6 young people. The young people are super excited, as several of them have never been more than a few miles from their home. We are taking them to a conference or retreat with about 50 other young people from the area into a beautiful area of England called the Lakes District. Although it is a secular event, topics such as drug use, alcohol, sex, and racism will be addressed and the young people will be challenged to be leaders and step up in a positive manner when these issues arise.
Probably my favourite ministry moment over the past few days though was meeting our neighbours in about 10-12 surrounding homes. One of my favourite authors at the moment is Australian theologian Dave Andrews. Dave Andrews is one that believes that Jesus actually meant the things he said so when he says, “Love your neighbours . . . .” he literally means to love those people in the homes and apartments right next to you. I’ve been very challenged by those thoughts and decided to put words into action and organize an activity to meet our neighbours.
So, some of our FYM’s made some cookies yesterday and we split up into groups of 3 or 4 and went to meet the neighbours, literally. The first house we came to, directly next door in which we share a common wall with, had, had a family member pass away that morning. I had the opportunity to pray for peace and comfort for them during their difficult time. Another lady was shocked that we would bake her cookies and say hello. She told us that she had heard of people moving into communities and trying to make a difference. She couldn’t believe that there were some living on her street. The lady that runs the corner shop was completely taken back and could not believe we would do something so kind. Other’s invited us back for a game of pool and to watch a football (soccer) game time. Still others invited us over for a cup of tea whenever we’d like to stop by. We also made contact with several Polish neighbours who speak very broken English but you could tell were thrilled to have kind human contact. There was a story for every house we visited. We are making plans to put together a small neighbourhood event of tea and biscuits (cookies) on an upcoming Saturday and inviting the neighbours to stop by for a tea and chat.
Dave Andrews says:
The sayings of Jesus are simple and practical; simple enough to understand, practical enough for anyone to put them into practice. Dave Andrews “Can You Hear the Heartbeat?” p 119
Jesus’ simple and practical words were to “Love your neighbours. . . .” and that’s what we did yesterday. It was such a rewarding experience and I believe worked wonders in this broken and lonely community in which we live. I am so excited to see how God rewards our simple acts of faithfulness and living out the words and life of Jesus we say we so passionately believe.
To mouth the sayings of Jesus is religious – but to act on them is revolutionary. Dave Andrews “Can You Hear the Heartbeat?” p 119
Do you want to see a revolution of love? Do you want to be a revolutionary?
Go and Do!!
Chaddington
