From Dreams to Reality. Andy Hawthorne - The Message Trust
October 25 2013 9.00am Part 1
www.message.org.uk
Andy began this session with his testimony, and that of his brother. God works in the most remarkable ways. "I knew Jesus had accepted me. When I woke up in the morning I wanted to tell people about Jesus."
Key scripture for The Message
Isaiah 43:18-21
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
Inner city Manchester was like a desert, and the young men were like jackals.
There was great evangelism and many coming to Christ at events, but not many were staying with Jesus. Too many were falling away. How to change this? Recruit missionaries to move into the estate. These became known as Eden Teams.
You need a strategy for your youth ministry. Something that is like a city on a hill that gets them excited and shows the leaders have faith. But you also need something like salt and yeast, someone that works consistently and quietly with the individuals.
We have been charged with the duty of making disciples.
Damaged people need three things:
Great supportive church community
A safe home
A good job
Every month, one day would be spent in prayer. A local minister would come and share the day with them. This is integral to The Message Trust
Creative Arts
Community Transformation
Eden Workers (think five years minimum)
Ex-Prisoners
Christ-Centered Enterprise
Work is a key part
Second Key Scripture is Psalm 37:5-11
Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret –it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
A Five Stage Process from Dream to Reality
Matthew 10 shows a turning point in the life of Jesus and his Disciples
1. See
Jesus saw the crowds (Mt 9:36-37)
(Andy's grandfather was Robert Hawthorne, a Salvo missionary to India)
We've got to see what's going on around us, beyond our safe youth group.
2. Feel
Jesus was moved with compassion (Matt 9:36)
Surely we have to feel something for the lost
Do we believe people could be living lives of worth and purpose with Christ?
Find an area we can determine will hear the gospel of Jesus.
Ps 37:4 - God's desires on our hearts
3. Pray
Jesus tells them to pray for workers with a certain purpose (Matt 9:37)
Jesus doesn't say a lot about what we should pray for, but this is clear.
Andy's main job description
-Keep Mission Hot
-Keep Prayer Hot
Read the story of revivals
We're not going to get the job done without praying to The Lord of the harvest
4. Get
Get some authority. Get some workers
Jesus sent the disciples out to fill this task (Matt 10:1)
He gave them authority
5. Go
We've got to go. We've got to be encouraging our young people to go.
So much of our ministry is making people come, when Jesus is calling us to go.
Go with preaching (10:7)
Go to the poor and needy (10:8)
Go in faith (10:10)
-how much would you be stuffed if God didn't turn up?
If I want to dream big dreams, I first need to be aware of the needs that are around me. Then I need to pray, and keep on praying.
"I'd rather fail spectacularly trying to reach the lost and the poor than do nothing."
Part 2 11.00am
Mark your church/ministry out of 10
How good are we at seeing the needs of our community?
How much do we Feel for the community?
How are we at prayer?
How are we at getting fresh vision/power from the Holy Spirit?
How are we with Going?
(Results of this survey in our room: See - 5.2; Feeling - 4.9; Praying - 4.7; Getting - 5; Going 4.5)
If there are 10% of people in the church who are gifted as evangelists, you will only find them, they will shine brightest, when you and they are involved in mission.
"Intimacy with Jesus and engagement with culture". The sweet spot is where these join.
Developing your own evangelistic strategy
Acts 20:24
The note from William Booth that is still remembered is the telegram that said "Others".
2 Chron 16:9
The Lord isn't looking for talent, sexiness, strength etc. Instead he's looking for a heart.
Any evangelistic strategy must be
1. birthed in prayer and worship
nothing unites people in care for the lost like praying together for them
-lost-centred worship
Share the stories and celebrate the transformed life
2. Must include everybody
-must be experienced by every member
-teach them about evangelism and how to share the faith
-make this a core part of your youth ministry
3. Needs to be modelled by the leadership
-reach some lost people
-have stories to share about YOUR evangelistic efforts
4. Needs to be focussed
-ask questions like "What's our geographic area?" "Who are the people we're trying to reach?" "How could everybody in this area hear the gospel in a way they can understand?" "What is the time frame for this?"
"What kind of youth group (church) are we going to be if we're going to reach these people?"
5. Needs to be relational
-an incarnational kind of ministry
-so many efforts fail because they have no connection to the community
8. Needs to be repeated
-don't give up when they hear the news one time.
-research suggest people need to hear the news seven times
7. Need to be relevant
-anything that's irrelevant but we do it just because we like it, kick it out
8. Need to be persuasive
-find and use the evangelists
-give people the opportunity
-use big evangelistic events
9. Needs to be faith-fillled
-the Bible shows that faith is important.
-take big risks
-we can rely on God putting his resources into such a task
10. We need to be excellent
-non-Christians won't put up with shoddy efforts
-we spend millions on a church extension, but thousands on reaching the lost
11. Need to make sure it's Jesus centred and Bible based.
-2 Tim 3:16 shows us that we have everything we need here.
No comments:
Post a Comment