Getting Harder - Getting Better

We were down to three of us this evening, colds and sore throats took their toll on the rest of our team and I found myself disappointed and a bit annoyed that I was perfectly healthy :o). My only faint excuse was hardly good enough - 'Lord' I prayed, 'I'd rather be tucked up in bed'. A week of Christian seminar/training would put a dent in most people's constitution and I'm an old bloke now - I feel the cold, especially in my feet :o)

After half an hour of chat and prayer, ever-enthusiastic George said, 'let's go'. My heart sunk and we walked up to Alexandra Gardens to the car park and, result!, there was nobody there - time to go home to the warm. But no, Mary said let's pray around the area. So we wondered up to the church, prayed around there and walked back past the car park. 'That's the roar of young people', George said. And he wasn't wrong. On the other side of the car park by The Vyne, there were a half dozen or so of our younger boys and girls. 

One, lets call her Haley, about 4'6" and with a cigarette on the go, says she's been visiting hospital because of a leg problem and was happy for George to pray for her. The lads were really keen to get hold of some of George's £20 notes - they look like £20 notes but they're really Christian tracts. At first we didn't know why the boys were so keen to get their hands on them until an unsuspecting lady wondered past, bent over and picked one up off the floor, (we hadn't seen it being dropped), putting it into her handbag - which of course caused great hilarity amongst the boys. There were some good conversations with the boys as well. They were really open, keen to chat and were very good company. 

I've been asked by Woking BC to find a young person to put their name to a funding application for lighting the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA). Now the boys want nothing more than this, but they're naturally reticent to stick their heads above the parapet. One lad, let's call him Tim, eventually said he'd do it but, he says, his writing and reading isn't that great, so we've said we'll lend him a hand. We have to keep in mind though that it's important that he uses his own words to explain how lighting would benefit him and other young people. 

We've known Tim a long while now. He was one of the first lads we met when we started visiting Alexandra Gardens. This evening he stepped away from his mates for a while and chatted to us about God. He's a 'science man' and his biggest problem is understanding who made God. Big question that one (if you find it hard to accept God's timelessness), especially bearing in mind that much of mankind is confused about who made us and believes we evolved from starfish. I asked Tim if he believed that too. After a couple of seconds he pointed out that it was unlikely as starfish have the ability to regenerate lost legs and we don't. Not bad for a lad who finds reading and writing difficult.

Finishing off at the end of the evening the three of us reflected on a great time out. The harder it is, the better it gets. But come next Monday, I'll still be thinking I wish I had a cold - unless I catch one between then and now, in which case no doubt I'll wish I could be going out with the others. But then, I'm only human.

Much love

John

New Opportunities

Monday was, well, wet! One of the few wet evenings since April - the third to be precise. Over the past seven months Tuesday evenings have remained dry with just a couple of drizzly spells. How good is that? Statistically, what are the chances? Anyway, we used Monday for prayer and fellowship and sorting out our thoughts on several issues. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at a Christian conference, so Phil's kindly provided the following report on what happened on Tuesday:

New Opportunities:

So Tuesday evening again, 7pm. What's in store for us tonight? Visiting youth and families we have got to know over the last four years? With team numbers low, it being dark outside and a little drizzly, it looked like it was going to be a quiet evening. Maybe we'll just stay in and pray. Stop right there! We serve a God who loves people and we are ready to serve him, all three and a half of us (Helen went home early, not well). With anticipation and past experience we know anything can happen. First of all a mother appears with four kids in tow 'is this the Tuesday club?' she asks. She comes from nearby flats and has heard from one of our regulars that the church runs a club for kids on a Tuesday night. Nancy and Helen explain to her that we are not a club as such but that we go out on a Tuesday night and meet teenagers in the streets and more frequently in their homes. They take her address and plan to contact her about kids club that meets on a Thursday. She walks off taking the four youngsters with her. Next a teenager turns up who we have had a lot of contact with, she wants to do some maths with Nancy, not because she's good at maths but because somewhere deep down and with so many failings at school she knows she has a need to be taught and to learn, to be good at something or if not good at it to just do something. Then a policeman turns up to introduce himself, that livens things up a bit, the mearest glimpse of a bobby's uniform sends some of these kids into a state of hyper activity and potential fitting, now three more young people have turned up outside. The language and behaviour becoming a bit near the mark, but the policeman's a pro, he's on our side and he's a good contact. We're really pleased to see him.

We make ourselves a coffee and after some chatting we decide to pray, its now 8.15pm. Prayer is always good on a Tuesday. It's honest, talking to God. He's our boss in this work and He has the final say, we try to follow His leading every step of the way and He really does love people, I feel His aching sometimes when I'm out on the street and I wish we could do more. Be there more.

Nancy suggests that we go and find the woman from the flats and give her the Kids Club leaflets. We all decide to go, all three of us. The least we can do is help out by giving these kids somewhere to go for 1 Saturday a month.  Nancy has the number of the flat. We go through Gloster Road and get to the flats; it's dark and we're unsure which flat it is. Looking up we see this guy leaning out of a window having a cigarette.

He says that the flat we are looking for is up where he is. It turns out that it's his flat and it was his partner that brought the kids down earlier. We end up sitting round the table talking to the parents with kids running around getting ready for bed. We decide to come back next week. It's a good contact. Yet another friendly contact in amoungst so many people with various needs. As we wander back we remember the prayers we prayed for this particular block of flats over a year ago now. We stood outside in the early hours of the morning one Saturday night and prayed that God would give us a link with these flats - a way in. 

Was this all a coincidence? Sometimes I find myself smiling, just thinking about how his timing is perfect and how good it is to be working for Him. This is typical of what happens on a quiet night these days. It's things like this that make me want to spend time seeking Him and praying for more, it also hurts because He hurts. There is so much need, once you start scratching the surface big chunks of hurting people are exposed. It may be hidden and not obviously seen but it's there. 

We'll go back there next week and He is going to be with us because this is His plan not ours.  

Phil

 

ASBO Candidates

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31868170@N07/show/

Pictures of those we're really worried about.

Antisocial Behaviour Problem Increases

Link

Above is an interesting link that shows how serious the problem of antisocial behaviour is becoming in the UK.

Part of Outside Light's vision is to reach out to people outside and to show them they're valued. Behaviours like those shown in the above clip can deteriorate especially where groups are left to their own devices. Individually I'd bet that these people are as charming as those we meet in the streets in Knaphill and Old Woking - but in groups their behaviour changes - groups like this can appear intimidating and, understandably this causes neighbours to complain.

Volunteers are needed to reach out to people like these before they get involved in alcohol or other substances.

Outside Light needs You!

What is Evangelism?

Link - What is Evangelism

Here's something worth watching, especially if you're fed up with the likes of Brand and Ross and your hope is for the world to get back to God and good.

Love

John

Prayer Works

You'll remember that one of the lads we've been talking to is now in jail. He'd written to Phil saying that he had given his mum a VO (Visting Order) for Phil so that he'd be able to go and see him. Tonight we went to the house to see whether it had arrived, but we found only the lad's father there, who invited the four of us in for a cup of tea. It turned out that the mum was in church! A 'Travellers'' church near to Slough.

Phil and George visited the family home a month or so back and the mother explained then that she had once been a Christian but due to a falling out with someone she felt an unforgiveness that made it difficult for her to keep going. Phil and George following their visit both prayed that she would be able to overcome that - tonight they found out that their prayers had been answered.

Tonight we found the father in reflective mood, asking us questions, expressing a belief in God, knowing too that there's a devil, not quite grasping that the Gospel message was for him too. This has to be the current main prayer focus for those who support our work. Will you do that for him, please?

Please pray too for next Tuesday evening when we hope to hold a bbq in the Gloster Road area - we want to invite local people to come along. We'd like to invite you, too. If you want to see what it's like to go out but don't want to make a commitment without knowing more, then perhaps this would be a good opportunity for you to get a feel of what goes on. If you can't come then your prayers for good weather would be appreciated. Tonight was the first wet Tuesday evening since April, so we have plenty to be thankful for, but it would be good if the weather next week could be conducive to a good turnout.

Lots of love

John

Because They're Worth It

What with one thing and another I've not been out to the youngsters for a couple of weeks and it's surprising how a) I've missed it and b) the fear's built up. How crazy is it that when the time's rolling up to 6pm on a Monday, you find yourself simultaneously looking forward to seeing what'll happen and hoping from the depths of your heart that something else will crop up (trip and break a leg perhaps :o)) so that you'll have a great excuse for not going out? Talk about mixed feelings!

I've been tied to my pc today trying to work through the charity stuff - only a few forms really but they may as well be in Chinese. Without the help and advice of a good solicitor and accountant friend I'd be stuck up the Basingstoke Canal without a paddle. He provides.

All of which my brothers and sisters reminded me, suggests we're probably on the right path. It's when we're at our weakest that the Lord uses us the most.

Tonight there were 15 kids, unbelievable given the cold, as usual hanging around the car park, playing football. My thoughts were as much for the neighbouring residents as for the kids themselves. The kids don't mean to be thoughtless, they just are and it's really frustrating that at the moment we can't offer them an alternative that's away from the houses. Despite that, we again had some really good conversations with young people. They were genuinely pleased to see us.

Hopefully things will change soon. Meanwhile there doesn't seem much option other than to keep on going. We'd like to encourage others who feel God's talking to them about young people, to come out with us. A number of people are convinced that God's moving His church out of the comfort-zone of Sunday church, into the war-zone. Won't you join us? Mixed feelings guaranteed. But this could be your best chance yet of finding out what it's really like to walk with the Lord - because they're worth it.

Love

JD

Actions, Not Words - It's Good to Make Mistakes

I've just noticed this in The Temptation of Jesus - Luke 4: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil".   

I think that we can take some encouragement from this. There are times when we feel we're up against all kinds of difficulties - e.g. barriers that get in the way of our works, and we attribute these to Satan; so then we pray to our God to protect us from him. From personal experience this kind of situation might also lead to self-questioning - "I keep taking the wrong path and seem to be getting a lot of things wrong" type of thing. This can then cause us to ask whether that means we're not led by the Spirit; whereas maybe it's realistic to consider that it's actually sometimes God leading us toward the precipice, perhaps as a test, perhaps to show us what we're up against? Are we inclined to forget the Victory has already been won?

As an adjunct, here's a situation where Jesus is led by the Spirit toward a place where the devil can tempt him with all kinds of inducements, and in effect offers Jesus an easy way out. The devil then cleverly uses Scripture to try and justify Jesus jumping so that He'll be caught by angels. Does he sometimes do that with us too - perhaps giving us a dodgy interpretation of something we've read in order that we might confuse ourselves or, worse, confuse someone else? Is this the reason that, sometimes, people develop many different tests of their own before doing what the Lord has laid on their hearts? Or might it be the case that the tests are a simple device to get out of what they've promised to do? The thing here is that Jesus followed the Spirit into the desert and there he met with the devil. He didn't stay at home with his mug of hot, sweet tea watching Corrie. In the desert he resisted the devil and thus demonstrated His integrity - ok this isn't what actually happened, apart from anything else it's an anachronism but you can see what I'm driving at here, I hope.

Words, words, words… Is there something you promised to God that you would do that is still waiting to be done? Consider before God whether it’s time to take action and how. (This paragraph taken rom today's Scripture Union Notes)

God bless

John
PS I'm nobody, certainly not a theologian and I've almost certainly got everything wrong above according to conventional biblical wisdom. If I have done that today then I apologise - but I suspect that if that's the case then perhaps making a mistake is a good thing because it may well have prompted you or someone else to think - we should all be prepared to make mistakes. All of which reminds me that there's urgent stuff I must now do for Outside Light and have been putting off. Nobody's perfect ;o)

Steady As She Goes

Yet another mild evening - for 5 months now we've been blessed with good weather on all but one Monday evening, and for 7 months every Tuesday evening has been fine too! 

This evening Phil and I met with the Elders at New Life Church who wanted an update on what progress we were making, as well as assuring us of their support for our work. We are thankful to them for suggesting we consider the means by which we deal with our spiritual accountability - which we think amounts to us finding someone to whom we can take our spiritual issues as they arise. They feel that we need someone in authority - perhaps someone already formally appointed elsewhere. To Phil and me there is great wisdom in this and therefore it'll be very much a subject for prayer these coming weeks. 

This evening was the first using the new format that arose out of our recent prayer evenings. Back at base there were two of our team who prayed the whole of the time that we were out. When Phil and I finished our meeting with the Elders, we joined up with the team at Alexandra Gardens where they had been playing football in the MUGA (multi-use games area) which is at present unlit except for the streetlights that are some distance away - so it's not ideal. George's first comment was that the evening had been really peaceful, with plenty of hot chocolate handed out and really good conversations with soft-hearted young people. We all felt that the sense of peace there was very much down to the prayer support back at base. We're hopeful that the residents this evening would have noticed a difference too.

Working with prayer support back at base was possible because of the size of the team we had this evening. It's really important to us to maintain the that prayer support while we're out on Mondays and Tuesdays. Prayer while we are out is a priority and any suggestions how this might be achieved would be very much appreciated.

Please in the meantime pray for tomorrow evening.

Love

John

Play Interrupts Prayer

Funny how all the time since getting involved with the Old Woking team - since April - it's not rained once on a Tuesday evening, so we've never had a 'rain interrupts play' situation. But ready to greet us this evening when we met for prayer at New Life Church there were four young people waiting for us, anxious for our attention, wanting to chat, play and drink hot chocolate.

So prayer didn't get started for a while, instead we played a couple of ball-games with them in the large room upstairs. But we were torn because of our commitment to pray this evening, between playing and praying; so we explained what we wanted to do and suggested that they might go home. However, they didn't want to go, so instead they agreed to come and and listen to our prayer. I told them a story, read a bit from the Bible, then Phil, Helen and Nancy prayed for them. Afterwards they went home.

There was a feeling that this was one of those appointments that might well turn out to be quite a defining experience in the formation of Outside Light? These kids were a little giggly, but bearing in mind three didn't know us and we didn't know them, praying and reading from the Bible could have been quite a risky thing to do - they could have been totally disrespectful, which might have left us wondering what else we might have done with them and whether we had done the right thing. Instead they seemed quite touched by the story and prayers and they left in a calmer mood than when they arrived. All very interesting.

Is it possible, maybe, that praying and worship will become a regular and organised part of Outside Light? It's something to pray for.

Much love and thanks for your prayers. We know you're supporting us in that way and really grateful for that.

John

Thought this worth sharing

I thought the quote below could apply to a few of us. Is it natural to draw attention to what you think, who you are, what you believe; or is it easier to sit quietly in the corner? I know that for me I was a corner-sitter for many years. The guy who moved the chairs back after a meeting, the bod who would help with the washing up. The person who said, and probably therefore, thought nothing. Is there a sense that we need permission to speak? Maybe since we were children, we've been keeping quiet "while there are adults around" - "being seen and not heard'? What benefit was there to anyone as a result? Well, over the years there were a lot of chairs stacked and a line of dishes that could reach from here to the moon. But as for defining me as a human being, and a child of God...?

And now the quote...

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech

I've heard it said that the purpose of religion is to control the masses. Actually I'd say that the opposite is true. Certainly what underlies Christianity is love which leads to freedom. As Christians we're free, we're not slaves. We're therefore called to explore the many freedoms available to us. Freedom to serve for example. 

Are you frightened, still?

Nothing to do with me!

Hi all

I've been away so please  forgive the lack of communication. George has, though, penned some words about recent evenings out, a little further down. 

There's a growing sense that we need to step back from going out this Monday and Tuesday, so that instead we can devote the whole of both evenings to prayer. Whether we pray outside, prayer-walking, or inside isn't yet decided but there is a sense that we have to pray and reinforce that firm foundation for our future work outside. Of course we pray every time we go out, every time we come back and very often while we're out as well. BUT there are times when we feel we need to spend the whole of an evening devoted to prayer, thanking Him for what He's done for us and for our work, seeking renewal and guidance too. It's our relationship with God and trust in Him that gives us the strength to GO and Do. We need that as surely as we need water to drink.

Here's a question. If you feel that you're being called OUT to where the people are, do you wait for God to tell you where, specifically, or do you just GO? Bear in mind, please, it's not as though Going is a new and radical idea. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations", seems pretty clear to me.

I strongly suspect there are very many good people who wait for the registered letter, BUT I wonder if that's right - are they missing the point? I'm no theologian but I strongly suspect that if God lays a burden on you to go out to people where they are, it's a little like the sergeant major telling you to jump. You don't ask 'when?'. You probably don't even ask 'how high?' You just drop everything else you're doing and JUMP!

From experience (speaking as someone who for many years ignored God), just GOing is all that He asks to begin with. It starts small - like giving someone a glass of water - then grows. I have the confidence in Him to reassure anyone who is called and Goes in obedience, that they'll never regret it. If you really want a close relationship with God and to SEE him working, then just GO! Almost inevitably there will be sacrifice involved of one sort or another - but just GO and see what happens. God will either be with you (or not). If He's laid something on your heart it'd be quite a surprise if, after GOing, you were to return disappointed.

How do I put this more plainly... GO!

http://www.livingwaterunity.org/music-program/Hymns/here-i-am-lord.htm

Much love

John

From George...

It is so easy to get distracted and knocked off course! Earlier this week I had a really good night with Outside Light but I had also been feeling discouraged that gospel conversations weren't always resulting in the outcome I wanted. Then Phil reminded me this is not my job, I have been tasked with proclaiming the truth not achieving results, not the way people react. It is a bit like working in a restaurant and being told to peel the potatoes and then getting upset that people aren't eating the carrots.

Jesus told us to GO into all the world and proclaim the gospel, that's it, he does the rest! Thanks for the reminder, Phil.

Last Monday I had a really clear gospel conversation and the boy asked me for the next bit to the story, "I really want to know the next bit, what do I have to do.." I pray that he went home that night and got on his knees and prayed.

If anyone reading this feels that they are being called to GO and proclaim, as the Bible asks us all to do, then there are some dates you might like to note down for your diary... as below.

These are primarily for outreach and equipping - so just need the people now!

11th Oct - 10.00am outreach at St Johns (meet at church - go out and talk to people)
12th Oct - 11.30 am equipping session and valuable teaching
1st Nov - Outreach, at St Johns (meet at church - go out and talk to people)
16th Nov - Asif Mall, sharing your faith with Muslims @11.30am St Johns

George

PS from John - anyone who hasn't been on one of these training days might like to give it a try. It's easier than you think to talk to strangers and to share the Gospel with them. Again this isn't something that I thought would come naturally, but really it's not that hard

Books and Covers

What an interesting 10 days! A week last Friday saw Phil trying to explain to around 70 residents of Alexandra Gardens why we were taking hot chocolate and bbq's to the young people who hang around their estate. These kids are noisy, and residents feel intimidated by them. In fairness to the residents, nobody would welcome large numbers of youths gathering outside their bedroom window late at night, talking loudly, sometimes shouting and always leaving behind litter. On the other hand, these are not exactly crimes of the century and neither are they indicative that these young people have bad intent. Despite their slightly intimidating appearance (they're often in large groups), we know from our contact with them that individually many are polite, intelligent, engaging and, frankly, not unlike many of the residents' own young children will likely be in years to come - or at the very least, not unlike the majority of young people of today whose choice is to not join regular groups like the Scouts, or stay at home. Their most heinous 'crime' to date is thoughtlessness. Books and covers.

And so, with some intensity of feeling, the residents made it clear to Phil that Outside Light is not welcome in Alexandra Gardens. Phil bravely faced a barrage of negative comments when he stood before them - 'We don't mind you doing your youth work, we just wish you'd do it somewhere else'. Also, they said that the kids were there because of us. Although only a small number spoke, I can see how easy it would have been to have believed that all of the residents were against the work we're doing there. But you'll see later that that wasn't the case.

Monday (following the residents' Friday meeting) we re-visited Alexandra Gardens this time not taking hot chocolate, (we didn't want to show disrespect for the residents but at the same time wanted to show faith with the young people by going). We did, however, meet Enid there who has been advising Eileen (KRA) about young people (the non-joiners) around Knaphill. What they told her was the same as they've been telling us, which is that they're not there to wind-up the residents; they're there only because of the 'outside' light in the car park, not because of Outside Light; and because they don't have anywhere else to hang around with their mates. 

So far, neither do they seem interested in 'hanging out' somewhere inside. That's a challenge. Why? Let's look at the options we're left with:

1. We leave them alone.
   Result: no change other than increasing tension between residents and them
2. We examine providing an indoor facility and making it really attractive
   Problem: even with huge investment, there's no guarantee they'd use it, especially if the facility is geographically not where they want to be
3. We meet these young people where they are and look at influencing behaviours
   Problem: what happens when it's wet and cold?
4. We try to make a bridge between young people, residents and council/councillors/KRA and to improve each group's understanding of the other two groups.
   Potential Result: We find something that the young people want to do - like playing football, and we somehow facilitate that by either providing floodlighting or by perhaps using football facilities at Winston Churchill School. Effectively taking them away from houses, to a place they'd rather be. A positive result all around.

All of which has taken me off the point of this particular blog - which is that what seems to be, isn't always what is. Books and covers..

Tuesday following the special meeting of residents at Alexandra Gardens, KRA held its own meeting (which had been organised some time ago), at which Ray Morgan (Chief Executive of Woking Borough Council) was to speak.

Again I wasn't there - I was chairing a meeting of Horsell Common - but I'm told that Alexandra Gardens residents once more turned out in numbers and that comments were made by the Chair of KRA and by Ray Morgan in support of Outside Light that led to around ten of them walking out of the meeting. This left a similar number whom Phil approached at the end of the meeting, but this time he found them to be broadly supportive and understanding of the fact that we're trying to help. Which brings me back to my opening point; which is that in the same way that residents have made judgement on young people whom they have yet to meet, I probably was guilty of having formed opinions of residents, only one of whom I'd actually met. My opinions were that: 

• the residents had a problem, 
  
• I could sympathise with their problem, 
  
• that their unforgiving response to the problem was unlikely to produce the result they demanded. In short, and somewhat ironically, I thought them very judgemental, lacking in human concern and not terribly bright insofar that through newspaper reports, they had succeeded in making their quite pleasant residential road sound like a sink estate in one of our larger cities.

All of which goes to show that the saying that one should never judge a book by its cover, is spot-on. In fact, I've said before in this blog that it's probably better just not to judge others at all - it's a shame that on this occasion I didn't stick to my personal rule. As a result of the Chair of the KRA and Ray Morgan speaking plainly to the residents, and because of Phil bravely walking up to those residents who stayed until the end of the meeting, there is now a glimmer of hope. It seems too that some of the residents were unhappy with the way Phil was spoken to at the earlier meeting, and they have since been talking amongst themselves - all of which resulted in an email being circulated indicating that they are prepared to partake in a panel to 'help solve the problem'. Books and covers.

With all of this said, anyone new to this blog would be forgiven for asking what Outside Light is all about? What's it for and what motivates us? Are we just a bunch of do-gooders looking to involve ourselves in a problem that doesn't affect any of us individually? Here are some pointers:

• Outside Light is unashamedly about sharing the love of Jesus. 
• Jesus sometimes taught in temples but his only sermon was delivered on a mountain. We believe that church is a great place for Sunday worship but we also believe that it could be far more than that. It could be 'Mission Control' - the place from where Mission to the community is coordinated. Outside Light is, therefore, for outreach. But since Outside Light is primarily for sharing the love of Jesus, it is not exclusively for church outreach. Outside Light is also very much engaged in Direct Youth Work - simply, we work with and serve young people where they are - outside.
  
• We know Jesus as someone who took action. We too are therefore called to action if we are to lead the life that God intends for us.
• Phil and I have considered of these young people - particularly the ones that live in Old Woking - how would we feel if these were our children? With a different God-design, my son Tom could be James (the boy with the foul mouth) or Phil's son Jack could be Sam, (the lad in prison).
• We also leave the comfort of our church and homes because we believe that Christians have a place in society and that according to our Faith, we have responsibilities to the world as defined in the Bible.
• We're concerned as to the vulnerability of some of the younger kids - some of the girls hanging around with the older lads, are very young. Although we're not certain that they are at any risk.
• We think that without adult interest, the behaviour of young people in large groups might degenerate further than it does when we're there. In fact we think that when we're there, their behaviour tends to be quite good. Since the residents suggest that behaviour is really bad most times, it might be fair to conclude that we're actually having a positive influence when we're there. Taking hot chocolate is a simple service that helps us show these young people that they're valued. I think it's accurate to claim that when people don't feel valued they're more inclined to let their behaviour decline.
• We've noticed as well that very often older people in cars leave when we arrive.
• Outside Light is also an expression of our love of God. It's a place for experiencing strong fellowship and it's therefore a place that Christians grow deeper into their Christian faith as a result of working and walking together, and of seeing God at work, especially in the lives of the young people we're serving.

I know that this blog is regularly read by people who as yet do not have a Christian faith. Several months ago it was a dilemma for me as to what we should therefore say about our walk in faith. How much should we emphasise the social aspect of our work compared with the Christian motivation for Going and Doing? Would our Christian motives affect any chances of funding? Yes, we do need funding, hot chocolate and milk doesn't pay for itself :o)

But to hide that we do this work because of our love for Jesus would be a denial of Him and that's simply one thing that we're unable to do. Let this edition of the blog be a declaration, therefore, that as well as serving young people, we're here very much to challenge what has become the traditional and popularly held perception of Christianity - but as an idea is in fact many miles away from the true tradition of the Faith - which is that Christians go to church on Sundays and they are irrelevant to the wider world.

Outside Light therefore challenges conventional ideas of Christianity that are held equally by those with no faith and (somewhat disturbingly) by some WITH faith. We very much believe that our God wants his people to look outside of church buildings and to start relating to their communities. Church buildings are good, yes - but unless we corporately look outside of the doors, GO and DO within our communities, our church will bear little relevance to anyone other than those inside! In this sense, Outside Light is intended to do exactly what it says on the tin - which is to spread the light of Jesus Christ, Outside. In this sense, Outside Light proves the exception to the Books and Covers rule. COME AND JOIN US.

Lots of love

John

Go and make disciples of all nations

I don't know about you but when I read the passage where Jesus commands us to go to all the nations, I get images of Christians donning their rucksacks, packing up home and venturing off to the four corners. I do not think this is what Jesus had in mind though, which begs the question, 'what is a nation?'...

According to Wikipedia, a nation is a human, cultural and social community. If that's the case then we have nations surrounding us here in sunny Woking by the bucket load...

Tuesday night was Outside Light in Old Woking. My day leading up to this had been somewhat strange and as I settle into my new role as an evangelist working for St John the Baptist Church in St John's, one of the challenges I face is being able to switch off, knowing when work stops and rest starts, trying to find those quiet moments to re-charge. 

In all honesty I've been feeling really tired and drained. So in a funny way, arriving at Old Woking on Tuesday was encouraging - but not in ways you might expect. EVERYONE was feeling awful, tired, family issues, work obstacles, illness and so on. We had prayed the night before for a big night, we were expecting more from God, we just hoped it would be someone else doing it! On reflection the encouragement was, however, that our experience tells us that these are usually the best nights. When we are at our weakest, God's strength is able to shine out. It's actually more fun going out for Him when you feel least like doing it!

We decided to visit the young lad's family, the lad that is in prison. Once again we were welcomed in. We had been speaking with the prison about arranging an official visit, but this option was only open to official ministers. Tonight we wanted to talk to the family about visiting and to see how the young lad was. 

We spent the next hour in a God-ordained, Holy Spirit-filled, Jesus-centred meeting of people. This gypsy/traveller family were so open and welcoming and it was fascinating to hear about their backgrounds, their stories, their lives. The Mum has a strong background of knowing Jesus personally although this was some 20 years ago. When she spoke of it there was a tenderness and for my part you could see Jesus in her, albeit tucked away. 

She had been a committed Christian, until another family had treated them appallingly; death threats, accusations and all the hallmarks of Satan's handiwork. Unfortunately this had created unforgiveness and eventually this kept her away from the church. As you're reading this, please pray with all your might and wrestle with the Lord for Him to bring his daughter back. 

The young lad's sister was there and she kept saying, "This is really nice, I am really enjoying talking to you's, keep praying for us". We prayed for them at the end and it was a touching moment; my heart was so touched for this family by God when I was praying and all through the night. The sister went off and brought back a leather bookmark that she wanted to give us, it was a real token of how touched she had been. This was a present bound for her brother but she wanted to give it to us. They have talked about coming to church, keep praying. 

Before we go out each evening we pray and talk through the plan. Two of the young girls who we usually meet, arrived at the church and wanted to join us. We asked them to wait in the lounge as we didn't want them to know the intimate details of those we were praying for; however halfway through they entered the room and sat there praying with us. We prayed for them. The room was full of the Holy Spirit and it was a special moment. One of the girls said to me afterwards, "Did you pray for me because you love me?" My answer is not important, God is touching their hearts. 

Nancy and Helen had some special moments with some of the young people on the rec, some persecution too. There is a sense of deepening relationships and a bonding between us on the team as we go out to serve, I felt so much unity in our struggles and supporting each other. Helen and Nancy had some one-on-one time with some of the girls and the difference in their mood when they came back was tangible.

I hope as you read this you don't feel that we are parading good deeds before men, announcing our news with trumpets. We really want to encourage people, more than anything, that God is moving and he is using us ordinary, sin-filled, jars of clay to do his work and it is amazing and inspiring. We want you to share in that, come and join us. Take that plunge...

George

Monday

I echo George's feelings about what happened on Tuesday. This has been a strange week tiring yet exciting - and all of it positive.

The newspaper printed their story about the young people at Alexandra Gardens, along with our photo and, (with my permission), my telephone number. This resulted in quite a long call on Sunday afternoon from a parent who was quite angry that a small boy who was shown in that photo, had hit his son which - along with my positive comments about the young people - was taken as me condoning the 'beating up' of his son. Nothing of course could be further from the truth but interestingly the parent's tone didn't really soften until I said that we have regular talks with the kids, in groups, about God. The idea being that kids who are prepared to engage intelligently about God and are prepared to listen, can't all be that bad. 

Additional to the above, I had new calls from two councillors, one a lovely Christian lady Rosie Sharpley, who believes in what we're doing and will do her best to obtain support for us. Cllr Johns has already been a great help, and Cllr Kingsbury has also kindly made contact and made some suggestions. The Police have also been very supportive - my grateful thanks to everyone who is interested in what we're doing, and especially those who are prepared to help.

I'll say here again, that I have never witnessed violence when I've been out to the young people in that location. I suppose anything is possible but to date it hasn't happened in my sight. Tomorrow, (Friday) there's a meeting of residents, Police and, hopefully, youth at Holy Trinity Church Hall at 7pm. Phil will be there, I cannot be. Please pray for Phil, the residents, young people and Police/Council attendees that they might look at this whole issue calmly and seek a positive outcome for all concerned. 

Most of my evening was taken up getting signatures for the KRA petition for improved youth facilities. This gave me opportunity, however, to speak to a lot of young people, many of them sitting in cars - not unlike me at that age. Again, any swearing in my presence was swiftly pounced on by others who were talking to me, they were all polite, helpful and said they understood the issues that residents have with them, but there's nowhere else for them to go to meet up. Surely the answer is to find somewhere. BUT, it has to be a place that they'll go to. It's no good otherwise, because they'll just gravitate back to the car park.

Please pray that the Council will look seriously at providing floodlights for the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) - it's well away from houses and that's where the kids really want to be if it's able to be lit up. Also, almost without exception, the boys all want to play football. If anyone knows anything about how Winston Churchill's excellent floodlit facilities can be accessed, please will they talk to me about that. It could be that we'll be able to organise for them to put teams together to enter a league - don't know, these are just early thoughts that I haven't yet discussed with my Outside Light brothers and sisters.

The rest of the evening was spent with someone I knew from years ago, who came along to the field as a result of the newspaper article. I have to confess that at first I found this awkward, because I really wanted to chat to the young people and encourage them to go to the meeting on Friday. But it turned out that this man and I had a really interesting talk about evolution vs creation. When you stop to think about the bits of the evolution story that don't add up, such as - what are the chances of male and female of each species evolving simultaneously for purposes of reproduction? Missing fossils (scales to feathers etc) where are they? Inability of different species to reproduce with one another, so how do you get from single cell creatures to the huge variety of species we have now? Missing link, where is the evidence? etc etc etc - it appears that the theory of evolution is much less believable than the idea of creation and therefore, (it hurts to say this but I believe it's accurate) requires greater faith. He wasn't so certain of his belief by the end of the evening. Another for your prayer list, please.

Wednesday evening we met at St John's church to consider the direction that we believe God is pointing Outside Light towards. At the meeting we agreed to apply to the Inland Revenue so that we might be able to be recognised as a charity. It's getting late now so I'll not go into the where's and whyfors about this tonight, except to say that we're all truly excited about moving forward with this project and, hopefully, encouraging others to experience the fellowship that comes when you step out together with fellow believers as Jesus intended.

I'll echo George's invitation. If you want to come along for a taster to see what it's all about, experience heartfelt prayer, witness God at work in the lives of young and not so young people, then give me a call - 01483 474737 - no obligation. I'll be pleased to tell you where and when we're next meeting. You'd be more than welcome.

God bless and thanks  - sorry it's another long one.

Love

John

O Ye of Little Faith

Last night was a significant milestone in the development of Outside Light. We knew the pressure was on - it was to be the End of Holiday BBQ, Mike Kerslake was videoing it, Tom from New Life conducting interviews with young people and Outside Light leaders, and we were expecting to be visited by our (genuine) friends from the police, out of uniform but no doubt interested on a professional level as to just how the evening would pan out. BUT the big question was, would it rain?

Umpteen burgers and sausages defrosted, a couple of gallons of hot chocolate made and, other lovely people from New Life and Holy Trinity Church recruited to give us a hand, I for one was certainly nervous and felt under pressure that it could all be a washout. But I had no need to be - Monday turned out to be one of the best evenings so far. No rain (as usual), great time and a first rate opportunity for us to engage with one of the residents; for Tina and Josh (police) to chat to the youngsters without the barrier of their uniform; and for Gabby from Woking Council to find out why these kids spend so much time in the car park next to the houses, when there's an open playing field opposite and they could instead stay away from people who don't much like them.

Our usual team were joined by other members of Holy Trinity Church, Eric, Malcolm and Christina, each mucking in and rolling up their sleeves to serve these young people. My evening was spent, as usual, running around collecting stuff I'd forgotten to bring :o) You'd never guess I did memory training twenty years ago and have a surefire technique that can help me recall lists of up to 15 items with little difficulty. The big problem with that system is that I have to remember to use it :)

When the evening was in full swing, Phil told me he'd just been visited by one of the residents who had complained, fairly vocally, about the number of young people hanging around. Tina (police), Gabby (WBC) and I took a walk around to the resident's house to see him. The gentleman is, I think, representative of many residents who live in that area. He finds the kids intimidating, dislikes their litter-dropping habits, rejects their behaviour (they're noisy) and doesn't understand why they're there.

I've sympathy for all of his points of view. However I know from meeting the kids that they're not violent, individually they're really polite; many ARE, though, thoughtless; they lack focus and they're there - as was eloquently explained by a small group to Tina, Gabby and me - because the car park has floodlighting. They'd be somewhere else outside, if it was away from houses, if that had floodlighting instead. 'We'd be over there' said one, pointing to the Multi-Use Games Area, 'if it was lit up'.

In the context, therefore, of understanding what motivates these kids to group together at night, Monday night was a valuable insight not just for us, but for Tina and Gabby. Maybe we can all build on that and work together to find solutions to the questions we're left with. How do we provide positive focus for these young people? How do we better the relations between them and residents? How may we best serve them?

In the midst of all this was George, with his shoulder bag, wondering amongst these kids, having conversations - really powerful conversations - what he described as 'the best night I've had doing this work'. Here's George's account. He wrote this while he was still high on the Spirit. It's vintage George and I hope it'll get across to you his enthusiasm for our Lord and desire to share Him with others...

"I can't believe we have been going out since April and I can't believe where we are at. Sometimes it is just good to pause and reflect. What a journey, and we're only 5 months along. Look back at those earlier blogs and be amazed at what God is doing - but there is sooo much more He wants to do.

Not for the first time I felt dazed when arriving at the rec. We have faith that there is some sort of plan before we arrive but you just don't know what you're going to arrive into. For a bit of fun, try and picture us as an army, God's army going into battle; weapons of the Spirit ready, barbecues armed, hot chocolate machine on, sword of God's word ready to fire.

We didn't quite arrive in helicopters, however I think that what we do on a Monday parallels quite nicely with the approach an army might take to a theatre of war situation. What struck me last night (other than a beautifully cooked burger), was that on arrival it was hard to know where to begin. Picture groups all over the field; where do you 'attack' first? I radioed for back-up, my commanding officer sent me off in a couple of directions, (not both at the same time, thankfully). He is a great commander as he knows exactly what is happening all the time, what to do, where the biggest need is.

I saw my colleague Captain Hazelden off in the car park conducting an information raid. I found an area where the young lads were coming to me, telling me stuff about their lives, talking about starting college etc. One lad was scared of being in a minority, he doesn't like big groups - which was kind of ironic given the feeling the residents have about him and his friends.

He fired a shot of reincarnation at me when I asked him what he thought life was all about, we kept getting interrupted by sniper attacks and I couldn't get a decent shot off. My commanding officer assured me he had some inside information and this man would soon be back in our cross-hairs. It wasn't long before operation Outside Light had thrown in a couple of smoke bombs, the smell of the barbecue hit the car park and drew the crowd over to the field. Brigadier Durrant was flying back and forth to barracks bringing in supplies. Field Marshalls Hill and Pepper were cooking up a storm on the barbecue. But the distraction and genuine acts of love and kindness had lowered the barriers for me to come in with some heavy artillery, I hit about 20 of the young people with gospel tracts.

One group were determined to fight back and I took a couple of hits, persecution and ridicule mixed in with some swearing. I radioed in to my commanding officer, He sent the weapon of mass construction, (the Holy Spirit), closely followed by this group asking me some great questions. The Holy Spirit enabled me to share the gospel with the four of them, the big guns came out and they were really struck by this black book with the words "holy Bible" written on it. It penetrated and we were soon into some deep debate, I was struggling to hold all of them, then Major H Morrow swooped in to cover the rear and was engaged in battle with two of them, which allowed me time to focus on the other two.

We had a great conversation, one of the lads allowed me to link up with our Commanding Officer and to pray for him, I challenged him to do his own praying at home later that night.

I loved it; no, I love Jesus; I love Him. Before I go into battle I hate the thought, I dread the conversations, I am not sure how I am going to start them; but if any of us didn't feel fear and anticipation then it would be all about us. Thankfully it is all about Christ - without him none of us would be here and we would certainly not be talking to these people in power without Him!

We are part of an army, lets not give up fighting the good fight. Operation Outside Light needs more soldiers; full training given, the best weaponry in the universe provided, survival not guaranteed, rewards are immeasurable...let me lay a challenge, if God said he would give you £10,000 every time you went out or shared the gospel would you do it? I am ashamed to say I know I would do more, yet we are serving something of infinitely more value than money and with infinitely greater reward...Outside Light needs you, God wants you!


George "


TUESDAY

Well, if you'll recall, Tuesday for much of the day was what might be described as 'inclement'. Again we had planned a bbq for Old Woking but this time the sun came out later in the afternoon and God gave us yet another great weather evening to enjoy. In Knaphill on Monday there must have been 60+ kids. In Old Woking there were perhaps only 30 but somehow they managed to consume the same amount of food - maybe more. Within minutes of arriving and before setting up the bbq, a 16-year old girl bravely came up to me and asked if we were 'funding' everything ourselves. 'Are you loaded?' And, 'if you're paying, why are you doing that for us?'

Happily I've been watching George and found it relatively natural to simply say that, 'What we are doing is a practical demonstration of God's love for you' and from there to share the Gospel. We got onto how she believed God probably exists and that she prays to Him when she's got problems. Seems odd, doesn't it, for this sort of conversation to be happening with young people. If a Martian landed on earth and took his 'knowledge' of their behaviour solely from the newspapers, he'd be forgiven for thinking that all teenagers were shallow, unthinking, uncaring and completely lacking any spiritual dimension. But here was a young girl who was thoughtful enough to ask how and why we were caring for her and her friends, and brave enough to admit her feeling that God is someone she can turn to when things get rough.

There followed another evening abundant in conversation, with George being sought-after by young lads keen to read his tracts and to ask questions. Helen (Len) found herself having interesting conversations too, with one particular girl about the life that her friend is living - which was quite disturbing and worrying.

After all the burgers had been polished-off and the bbq put away, Nancy and I went in search of 'James' who surprisingly hadn't turned up for a burger but had spent all his time playing football at the other end of the field. We started walking home with him and encountered an older man moving bikes that had been left outside his house. More Holy Spirit stuff came out of this conversation, resulting in an invitation to him to join New Life on Sunday. He's a 'history' and was happy with our offer to pray for him. We must have spent 10 minutes with that chap and interestingly James and his two mates hung around to walk back with us. That's an interesting dynamic - not sure if they were looking after us or we were looking after them.

Our walk back to Jame's house was hilarious. Really, every other word is a swear word but these are punctuated with the kind of wit that would have Billy Connolly fans rolling in the aisles. Nancy and I both tried listening to the funny bits - varied conversations ranging from the number of planets in our Solar system, to the number of galaxies there are, to how he hates hedgehogs because they frighten him. I know it doesn't sound funny here, but that's the art of a great story-teller. It's the way you tell-em, in other words. I've said before, I've reason to believe this boy will be powerful for Outside Light in years to come. His ability to tell stories is going to be a part of that, I feel certain.

When we got back to church, Phil and George were in the prayer room with "Sam's" mate, "Joe". You'll remember that Sam's in prison. Joe had come along to the church knowing that Phil and George were going to be there. He wanted to talk about Sam and about various other stuff going on in his life that's worrying him. He was happy for Phil and George to pray with him.

Getting together at the end of the evening we talked of the possibility that we might be able to run an outside church for young people. This seems natural and Nick, our vicar at Holy Trinity Church, is encouraging us to explore this. We also deeply feel the need for prayer-walkers, especially in the Knaphill area. It's significant to Phil that for years before the Gloster Road group got started, there were people from New Life walking the area and praying for it and its residents. We all believe that this has softened-up the area and has made the people there more accepting, and the devil incapable of response. In Gloster Road the feeling is that this area is wide open to Jesus - but in Knaphill, we believe there is much spiritual battle still to be done. We'd love it if other churches in the area could help us in this and prepare and anoint the area in and around Knaphill, soaking it in prayer, laying the salt that's the Word of our God and preparing the way.

Below is a video - poor quality picture - it was dark - really just to let you listen in on a typical conversation with a couple of younger boys. It's not word perfect - and you'll hear the voice of a boy who's reading from a cartoon tract about someone called, 'Mr Nice Guy, who is nice but sinful. It gets interrupted by another young boy but then continues - it'll give you a bit of a feeling for the process of sowing the seed that we have the privilege of taking part in.