Chads News - 30th January 2025
30 January 2025 12:00
Dear Church family,
On Saturday eight members of our church family are heading off on three different trips to see what God is doing elsewhere in the world and join in with it. It was a joy to pray for them last Sunday and let’s keep praying for them and those they are going to visit. Ann Russell, Andy Russell, Jan Ford and Graham Heywood are going to visit our mission partner Amar, they will be seeing the amazing work Amar and his team are doing and supporting and encouraging them in that work.
Andrew and Kirstie Goddard are visiting Burundi with Simon Guillebaud and Great Lakes Outreach. They will be seeing the impact of the work of Great Lakes and joining in with some of the outreach. Those who have heard Simon speak about his work in Burundi will know that it will be a wild adventure, so we look forward to hearing stories when they return. Loz Bettany and Nells Pennystan are also going to Burundi at the same time on a different tip. Loz works for another of our mission partners, Tearfund and he is leading a trip with a group to see the impact of the work of the local churches in Burundi. Nells is joining that trip in response to a tug on her heart from the Holy Spirit to expand our horizons and see what God is doing around the world. Tearfund is an amazing global charity which has at its heart the belief that God’s word is the answer to eradicating poverty. Part of the vision God has given Tearfund is to link the Church around the world in partnerships of learning from one another and sharing stories of God at work which spread like seeds to bring hope to other contexts.
We saw in the autumn the impact travelling and seeing what God is doing made on Katie, she was absolutely buzzing after visiting Uganda and continues to be inspired by her time there. We are praying for whatever God gives Ann, Andy, Graham, Jan, Kirstie, Andrew, Loz and Nells to be so planted in their hearts that it brings life and fresh faith to us. We are looking for ways for them to share their stories with us when they return. So when we pray for them, please also pray for those whom they will meet, encourage and learn from.
In addition to sending out many folk to far flung places, a number of women from our church are attending the NewWine Reset day in Manchester on Saturday. As head of women’s ministry for NewWine, Katie leads the team which is running the one event of Reset across nine venues around the country. Over 2,300 women are booked in across all the venues, so please pray for all those who attend for God to speak to them and inspire them afresh and for Katie as she leads the team across the whole event.
There is much more to share with you in this edition of Chads news. We have received some really beautiful messages from those whom we were able to bless through our Christmas generosity, so we have included a section of feedback about that this week, so that you can hear more about how your generosity has made an impact.
With love,
Richard