Prayer Meeting for Outside Light 23rd November

Please spread the word and get the date into your diaries that we are having a prayer meeting for Outside Light from 7.30 to 9.30 pm on the 23rd of November at Holy Trinity Church, Chobham Road, Knaphill, GU21 2SX - link

It will be a time of fellowship, worship, some short teaching and prayer. We think these are vital meetings and really important for the volunteers to come to in order to receive prayer and support.

Could you pass this on to prayer partners, supporters, interested parties and encourage as many along as you can to join us. 

Grace, Grace, Grace

George

Thursday, 4th November

After hearing of disruptions at the Tuesday meetings in Old Woking, I dropped in – after an absence of five months – in case an extra pair of hands would help. Had I kept up with the most recent news I might have been prepared for what I witnessed, but I hadn’t. It was truly shocking.

There was no aggravation, only a really good vibe; no punch-ups or verbal fisticuffs, only polite conversation. When Nick called ‘time’, the majority walked without a murmur, and those that stayed got stuck into tidying up. I even had a broom taken off me by one of the boys because the job had been allocated to him. And after everything was tidy, five boys joined us for the prayer de-brief, where the broom-boy straightaway opened up about difficulties at school and his concern that things were unravelling again; he wanted it to be put right. The difference in him during the evening had probably been the most remarkable, but it was by no means the only change.

One girl who had been a school-refuser told me how she had a plan in place with a new school where she felt really comfortable. It was so refreshing to see her smiling. Another, who had been exploring the boundary-line last time I was around, was chatty and showed me her art-work, a talent I never knew she had before. What humbled me the most was their warmth after I had taken a necessary (but unexplained) step back from their lives; their acceptance reminded me what an honour it is to have been involved in this corner of God’s work.

God has made sure that the recent disruption has been put to His use. Prayer is central – that vibe couldn’t have been achieved without the prayer support from various homes. Judging by Tuesday night, the strong line taken in recent weeks has really hit home and the young people have responded by reining in their behaviour and taking responsibility with both hands. It was always the plan to enable them to become responsible for themselves and others in the running of the ‘club’ (their word) and it’s a huge encouragement to see that starting to evolve.

Sure, the devil doesn’t like to see things going well and there’s no guarantee that things will be so rosy next week, but all those involved should be encouraged and motivated to keep going and to PRAY because a lot of ground has been covered and it won’t go to waste!

Isaiah 40:26-31

Nancy

Friday Update

God was moving on the streets of Woking again last night. He is so faithful! Hallelujah and Amen!

We started the evening off with 1 Corinthians 12 and reflected on how we all have a vital part to play in the body of Christ and how we are meant to be interdependent not independent.

We were a small team of 5 and once again perfectly formed ;-) I would like to welcome Naomi to our team. Naomi attends Send Evangelical Church and the Holy Spirit spoke to her last Sunday morning. Her work shift finished earlier than expected so she was able to come! She fitted in so well with the team and God used her in many conversations. Praise God!

I also want to thank the other team members (you know who you are!) for their unfailing faithfulness and their love for the broken people we are privileged to minister to.

We christened the new Thermos flasks and enjoyed very hot drinks!

We talked to lots of people and prayed with several and each of us have our own memories of people who touched us.

I would ask you to pray for A, a singer songwriter who periodically attends the catholic Church. Pray that the Holy Spirit touches her heart and she hears a call to come back to Jesus to know Him in an intimate and personal way. She gave Andrew her contact details and partly suggested she may be interested in getting involved.

G has lost a close friend and she was asking lots of questions, bravely ignoring the jeering of her friends. She allowed us to pray for her and Amanda did this with sensitivity. Her friends were trying to pull her away and she told them to give her a few minutes. She is a neighbour of Jack's. Pray that  she will wake up today and remember what God was saying to her, that she will gain strength and comfort and that Jack will be able to come alongside her and direct her to appropriate support.

B caught us at the end of the evening. We were all pretty sure we've seen him before. He was fixated on how black people came to the world, given that Adam and Eve were 'white'. He was pretty calm but argumentative and really didn't want to hear what we were saying........but he just kept on coming back for more!!! Pray that his ears will be opened and that God will speak to him.

Please pray for Graham. He was not there last night and we were not totally sure of the outcome of Monday. I hope that he may be able to pick up emails  at some point......not sure though. Please pray for peace, strength and an overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit now and over the next few months.

There were more people we spoke to so,  finally, please pray for them too!

We are hoping to arrange some training on reaching out to other faiths. It will be on a Friday night, prior to going out. I will let you know the details as soon as I have a date.

Its all for the glory of Jesus!!

Miracles Do Happen in Old Woking

You might recall that we've had some difficulties in Old Woking these past few weeks; fire extinguishers being let off, kids on the church roof, another running up my van bonnet onto its roof, personal abuse, stones thrown, physical harm to a volunteer, etc etc etc. And so it was last evening that our team felt led to fight the same war but on different battle fields. Nick and I opened while others in our team prayed! The effect of this was powerful!


The night before last night Nick and I prayed together with Rachael his wife in preparation for last evening, that as Jesus did in Mark 6, he'd get into the boat with us and calm the storm. We really believed before we got there that the spiritual atmosphere would change at the drop-in, and that's exactly what happened.


The evening's highlight for me was the help given to us by a couple of the older lads. Not only did they help control the younger ones, but they also helped get equipment out and put it away again - and they hoovered, mopped, washed up and cleared up. They were brilliant - and the big surprise was that one of them last year was obnoxious to the point that I had to leave the building for half an hour before I did something very unChristian to him. I can't believe the change in him - and I put that entirely down to prayer. It was another specific prayer the night before last that we'd see a change in this lad - and I know that Nick has been praying for that for some time.


Nick and I would like to thank, firstly, the other volunteers and numerous others for supporting the evening in prayer. It worked - big time! We'd like to thank the New Life Church Elders for their support - they decided not to charge Outside Light for the earlier damage caused. They understand what we're trying to do and they support us. We feel really blessed by that. And we'd like to thank Jesus for getting into the boat with us and stilling the storm - we know that He WAS the difference.  Mark 6: 47-51. 


A couple of points that I take from this passage: 1) is that we're not promised there will be no storms, but we must have faith that He's in control. 2) Jesus was about to pass them by until they cried out. That bit's very interesting.


Thanks to Him
John

Thursdays - Relationships are building

Hello Everyone

Outside Light on Thursday Light is proving to be succesful.  We are starting
to forge some good relationships with the local kids and have had the
opportunity to hold some interesting conversations and gain an understanding
on what's happening in their lives. Some of the kids, who at the beginning
didnt want to talk to us, are starting to open up and its been great to see
this transformation.  Last night we had an unusual situation when an
estranged dad turned up and judging by the girl's reaction it wasn't an
entirely welcomed visit. JD explained to him that he couldnt stay as adults
need a valid CRB and after about 10 minutes he went. He looked the worse for
wear. Prayers were said afterwards for the girl and her family.

It's nearly always best at the end of the evening when the kids leave -
several have started to say thanks. Others call us by our name - one lad
(who only a few weeks ago behaved as though he was from another planet)
shook hands!

We also gave up several copies of Tony Anthony's book, Taming the tiger and
we hope and pray that the words leap off the pages and into the hearts of
the readers and we see transformation.

Many thanks and blessings to you all,

John Holland

Church without walls....

Angels and gardners!

 

I am really excited at what is happening in Woking, particularly over the weekend on the streets! I had another meeting with Street Angels today as we talked about working together to reach out to Woking. I am overjoyed that there is more presence on the streets of Woking.

 

Street Angels are a group of like minded people who will be hitting the streets in Feb 2011 to help the police take care of those people who are a little worse for wear, struggling or just needing some help. Mainly built up from Christians in Woking with Christ at the centre of why they are doing this they are going to provide a valuable service to the public and totally support Outside Light in what we are doing.

 

It will be great to work together, although we have slightly different aims, I can see Street Angels referring those who want to talk about Christianity to us, and those who come to us with cuts or health issues or simply needing help we cannot provide we can point to Street Angels. Another exciting partnership is being formed in Woking.

 

Street Angels are running a series or training events in January including, personal safety, Relating effectively, drugs & alcohol and are inviting all Outside Light members and associates to these training events. They are being run every week on one evening in the week from January 12th and also running on Saturday's in January and Feb. Let me know if you are interested in this valuable training - georgeosborn@avantiministries.com

 

In addition the Friday night team are looking to run training sessions before going out on Friday's, with experts in each area being invited to come and share with the team. We will keep you posted as this develops.

 

We continue to value your prayers as we visit Send church this Sunday morning at 10.30am to share about the work God is doing through Outside Light.

 

Thursday nights is going great guns, being run by John Holland who I know would value prayers for more leaders to come forward.

 

Tuesday nights is continuing to ask for prayer for breakthrough with some tough contacts who maintain coming up against the team.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.....

 

Much love

George

 

 

Check out our gospel presentation - http://www.avantiministries.com/think.php

 

For His Glory
George Osborn
Evangelist
 
Avanti Ministries Ltd
6 Clarence Road
Southend-on-Sea
Essex    SS1 1AN
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 1702 333 319
 
Email:     georgeosborn@avantiministries.com

 

Website:    www.avantiministries.com
                  www.releaseconference.com
                  www.outsidelight.org

 

Blog:     www.georgeosborn.blogspot.com
latest news: www.4shared.com/get/ou9r3Vz4/George_Newsletter_Autumn_10.html
My story:   www.sendec.org/media/sermons/?sermon_id=105

 

I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the mission the Lord Jesus gave me, that of testifying to the gospel of God's grace...acts 20:24

We Didn't Open This Evening

Following on from last week's episode we decided again this evening not to open the Old Woking drop-in.

There was a point, as late as 6.30, when we would have opened with a skeleton staff, but then several things happened that made us think we weren't meant to be there this evening. Firstly we were very short in terms of volunteer numbers, then it rained - hard. We also needed to collect the key from Send, but there'd been a bad accident on the A3 that meant Send was gridlocked.

Please pray for our volunteers - several of whom felt this evening a reluctance to open up the drop-in because they are disturbed by recent bad behaviour.. 

Please pray for more volunteers - we're at a point where, unlike Knaphill, Old Woking can't be safely run without an adequate ratio of adults to young people

Please pray for the vast majority of Old Woking youngsters who we are well-behaved and who would also have been disappointed that we've been unable to open for a second week.

Please pray for those few young people who are so badly behaved - but remember that there is much in their backgrounds that makes this unsurprising.

Please pray for wisdom for Outside Light volunteers