Check It Out@Christmas…Hawkwell Baptist Church

Well yesterday was BKid’s birthday, today it’s Andys!!! A special day with Mum, Ruth (his sister), Isaiah and Jonathan who are currently staying at ours, it promised to be a real treat although we were due to head over to Hawkwell around lunchtime. So birthday breakfast, birthday presents and birthday madness filled the morning before piling into the van and heading over to our next Check It Out at Christmas event.

Ian Douthwaite is a real quality guy…totally passionate about the youngsters in his area and filled with desire to see them know Jesus. Willing to do almost anything to make sure they know how amazing He is Ian is always on the look out for things that will challenge and inspire. Last year we took the team to work with his youngsters for a week to write and record a song and a drama finally putting on a concert showcasing both, but this year he wanted to put on a special event which would draw their attention to the real meaning of Christmas in the hope that for some it could change their lives forever.

We arrived at the church in good time and again unloaded the van ready to set up in a new environment and one that would soon be transformed into a concert venue. We are always looked after so well when we come to Hawkwell with our very own chef, Simon, who treats us so well feeding us from the moment we walk on the door…hot roasted cashews straight out of the oven, fresh coffee on tap…jam doughnuts and the smell of curry keeping us going for the afternoon.

Again it was a good setup with a bit of a challenge when the projector refused to work, clearly a problem with one of the leads in the chain taking a while to isolate but with a combination of logic, grit and determination we eventually ascertained the dodgy cable and were then able to continue with set up and even had a short time to rehearse.

The concert itself was brilliant…fantastic atmosphere with huge encouragement especially for the new guys when we realised that La Roche was coming to see us and surprise visits from Laura, Keel, XTaste girly Hev Clarkson and our very lovely Kat Orr. It felt very special and was a real treat for Andy’s birthday to be surrounded by friends and family (who turned up part way through with presents) As the audience sang happy birthday party ‘cannons’ were released and added again to the atmosphere. Ian was really spoiling us. But the emphasis tonight was this very powerful message of God’s love and compassion for this world and Andy was able to preach and challenge the young people to understand what it meant for God to enter this world 2000 years ago, 2000 miles away, God with us continuing to impact our lives today. Brilliant, Brilliant night…

With one more event left in Finchampstead we were reminded that there is more snow on the way and we will have to make face some tough decisions over the next couple of days about whether we risk the journey…There’s a gospel message to share and we don’t want to shy away from any opportunity. Let’s pray that it’s not as bad as last time:-)

CHURCH ON THE HEATH…NORTHAMPTON

So Bkid’s birthday and we were up in Northampton working with Kings Heath Baptist church or Church on the Heath as it is now known…right in the middle of an estate in the centre of this town. This is an area of real challenges and little Christian influence. St Giles the town Centre Anglican Church had planted a small group on the estate to work with the local Baptist church. Andy the youth worker had joined the ministry 2.5 years ago and has been working hard to get alongside the young people on the estate, getting to know them and build up a trust with them. Even though there have been challenges and little growth in numbers of new people becoming Christians, it is clear that these people have a real heart for the lost and a desire to make Jesus known.

So we arrived 1.20 on this site ready & raring to go, looking forward to meeting the estate kids later on this evening but there was a lot of work to do before they got here. The venue had already been cleared and so all that was required was a brief reccie to decide where the screen should go, where we’d put the kit and then with Andy’s help we began to unload…(5 people in the venue and 3 called Andy!!!) Anyway, setup went well with few hitches.

It is really great working with BKid & Jonny, they are eager to please, hardworking and fun and so the time flies. After a brief sound check and rehearsal we just had some time for bangers and mash and a catch up with Andy to learn about the work that is already going on among the teenagers, the struggles, challenges and blessings. It was clear that he was a little nervous that they may not turn up tonight.

We needn’t have feared, doors opened at 6.15 and sure enough they turned up in dribs & drabs, some individuals from the estate who clearly felt quite at home in this place and a couple of families made up our audience, about 30 in all. We spent some time chatting and getting to know them before diving into the show, learning a few names and finding out a little bit about each one and then it was time to start.

It was a great night with a good atmosphere. The fact that it was beginning to snow outside and we were facing an uncertain journey home later on, just didn’t seem to matter in this moment where we had a unique opportunity to share Jesus to young people who still needed to discover him for themselves. Hot dogs & cheesy tortilla chips at break time provided sustenance for those who we had managed to coax onto the dance floor in the first half and then after another few songs and a party game it was time to think about the reality of the Christmas story and the difference that ‘God with us’ can make:-)

There was a certain amount of friendly banter during the main message with some saying that they had heard this story before but as Andy challenged them to make a decision for themselves you could see that many were listening and absorbing the impact of what this could mean with 4 of them responding to the offer to check it out. It was a brilliant time and a privilege to serve with these people who  have such a heart for their community and a deep desire to see Jesus shared in this place. We pray for you guys as you continue to share the truth…

Thundersley – 12 Dec 09

Now it’s time to visit Andy & my home church for the first time with this Check it Out Team line-up! As usual we’re expecting an amazing event, hosted by the extraordinary Richard Keeler and the incredibly talented Beth Maycock. With an anticipated 150-200 x 10-14s at the event it should be a really good evening.

Diversion will be making their first ever appearance here with  Ben as  6 year old ‘Jamie’ who is so excited about Christmas and all that it will bring and Laura whose monologue is proving to be incredibly powerful. Looking into her mirror as a 15 year old Mary who has just discovered that she is pregnant, she shares her worries, doubts and anxieties, but then as she steps back and takes her eyes off her own reflection and begins to think about the life that is growing inside her, what he will be like will he take after his ‘Father’? Then she takes another step to look at the Father and the amazing plan He has for her life and the life of His son, recognising that this changes everything, it’s the perfect setting for Andy to then talk about His plan for the world and what it means for us today.

So for Jack this was his opportunity to play in the church that has become his ‘spiritual home’ for this year and what a night it was. With all rooms around the church converted into venues where the young people can hang out and do whatever takes their fancy! From pampering to Sumo wrestling, from guitar or DJ hero to christmas card making, from pool to chillin’, there was every conceivable activity for these youngsters to enjoy. There must be at least 25 people from the church involved in converting the church into the most amazing aladdin’s cave, over a 12 hour period leading up to the event  and they are rewarded by this influx of youngsters every couple of months, curious, questioning and finding out more about this awesome Jesus.

This evening was no exception. The whole place was streaming with excited kids, full of excitement and Christmas anticipation. Rich, James & Beth did a brillinat job of entertaining the crowd and keeping them enthused and involved. The last part of the evening was over to Check it Out. With songs, sketches and games everything pointed to this opportunity to discover more and as the challenge was given the young people were offered the chance to chat and pray with some of the leaders in ‘The Aqaurium’…the place was packed out with people questioning, praying and generally discovering that this Jesus who came 2000 years ago can make a difference in their lives today…what a great night, 30 packs were taken, we pray that those youngsters who responded will take the next step and that this Christmas will mean so much more to them.

Hadleigh – 11th Dec 09

After a few hours sleep and a bit of a lie in it was time to pick up the guys from the office and then head over to Hadleigh Baptist to set up for this evening’s show. We arrived a little early only to find that we had gate-crashed their ‘ lawn bowls’ group! After politely declining the challenge of a game against these ‘professionals’ we soon realised that we were in the wrong venue and so headed down the corridor into the main church and began the whole transformation routine all over again.

Sadly we learnt that although Claire had really enjoyed being involved at Northampton and was really excited to declare – ‘I’m back’, her subsequent journey back to Essex via Southampton, combined with a persistant pain in her jaw meant that she was unable to join us for this event today. However it was so good to hear her singing again yesterday and we are confident that conquering this milestone will help her on the road back to full recovery:-)

Hadleigh Baptist has been gutted of pews and pulpits, now carpetted it provides the perfect setting for our Check it Out at Christmas show. A quick stack of all the chairs then blacking out of the stage end…followed by a flurry of activity as we immerse ourselves in the massive job of setting up all the gear once again. Everyone is completely focused as we each focus on our own area to eventually stand back and realise that once again this beautiful little church with it’s wooden beams and high ceiling is converted into a Christmas concert venue ready for young people to discover the good news of Jesus.

We are treated to an amazing Christmas dinner by the wonderful Michael & Carolyn with their army of helpers before getting together to pray, not only the Check it Out team  but the whole of the ‘Tuesday Club’ band of helpers all eager to pray for their young people. At 7pm the doors were opened and the church was soon full of an excited and expectant bunch ready to party the night away.

Amongst the hoards were previous Tasty Bass Player LukeC, his brother and long term Taste devotee – Dan, Martin Jee – honourary roadie, and the wonderful Mike Simmonds just popping in to see how the team are doing…they were in for a real treat! Then much to our delight the guys from our week in Hawkwell turned up, they really feel like friends now and it was so encouraging to see them all again.

It was a brilliant evening and again the young people were given an opportunity to take this Christmas story seriously and recognise that this same Jesus that we celebrate, 2000 years after his birth, has the power to change lives today!

Pack down seems to get quicker each time and with the amazing Martin as Ben’s right-hand-man it was even quicker than ever. God is good! What a privilege it is to serve Him!

We are a little concerned as Laura began to complain of a back ache that she’s been suffering with for a few days, so we pray for complete healing for her.

Northampton – 10th DEC 09

We arrived in Northampton at 1pm to set up at St Giles church, Andy’s mum’s home church. We received a very warm welcome when we arrived to the wonderful smell of the Lunch club dinner wafting into the carpark. We weren’t allowed any as it was just for the over 60s!!!!

After 3 hours of setting up a ton of gear decorated with tinsel and fairy lights the venue was ready for a christmas celebration to remember…Claire turned up at 3.30 having done the ‘scenic’ route (yes she got lost again but they say Northampton is very nice this time of the year!!!!)

So we had an extended rehearsal time making sure the new arrangements were note perfect and running through the set one more time, then at 6.45 we opened the doors to our adoring public…well all five of them! It took a while but 25 mins later the venue was looking pretty full with kids from all over Northampton and a particularly noisy group from Kings Heath. Later we discovered that the leaders had been round to pick up their young people from their local estate but after they’d been to a couple of houses they realised that they hadn’t brought enough cars and had to turn some of them away as the cars were full, the youngsters had wanted to come as they’d heard how good it was last year!

It was a great night with the un-churched youngsters engaging much more than last year as they really felt they knew the band this time…they even managed to quieten right down for Laura’s very moving monologue. The night was full of surprises with the lovely Naomi, X-Tasty girlie from two years ago!!! It was so brilliant to see her and just in time for ‘Side By Side’ too!! So of course she was invited up the front to demonstrate the dance and show the young people exactly what to do.

Then just as we went into the break we had a surprise for Andy. His mum and nephew who has flown over from Brazil to spend Christmas with his Grandma – had been busy baking all afternoon and produced the most delicious looking cake for his birthday which is in a weeks time. It was duly presented to him just before the interval as La Roche led the audience in a rendition of  ‘Happy Birthday to You’.

We were anticipating a bit of a battle when Andy spoke at the end but they all listened pretty well. The church is currently running a youth alpha and so we pray that these guys may have been challenged by this true life story in such a way that they take the next step and take the next step to discover more about Jesus. Cara and the team at St Giles were delighted with the evening and are talking about the possibility of going over to Kings Heath next year, so watch this space.

Well we’re heading home now and should be there around 1.15 in the morning so we’re hoping for a little bit of a lie in before we have to set it all up again. Off to Hadleigh Baptist tomorrow for another very special evening…night, night.

Becca loses her voice!!!

Well, we’d arranged to meet Becca at the venue as it was near her home town, she’d invited all her friends, family and most of the church!!! However when she turned up at 2pm, it was clear something was wrong, her throat was feeling very sore and pretty fragile. We set up, wondering how she would cope and then the moment of truth, 4.30 and time to sound check, sadly as she attempted to sing it became very apparent that there was nothing there!!!

It was devastating for Becca knowing that all these people were coming to see her and she wasn’t going to be able to sing! But there was nothing she could do so Andy & La Roche stepped into the breach. Thankfully they were able to rearrange some songs and put in a couple of worship songs to replace the songs that were impossible for a male voice to sing.

So Becca came and joined me at the tech desk and did a stirling job on the lights nipping up on stage to present a couple of the games during the evening. The event went incredibly well with around 50 people of varying ages in the audience, they didn’t even need much persuasion to get up and dance. Ben’s monologue was very funny and made a very amusing start to the show and then Laura’s was incredibly poignant providing the perfect setting for Andy to share the gospel message with the people there.

What a great night everyone was so impressed and challenged by the programme, praise God for His Power and His Presence. Heading home now, should be back by 1 am in the morning, then a couple of days rest after a hectic week. We pray that Becca will be well again very soon so she’ll be able to perform at the next event where we hope to welcome Claire back for the first time in 4 months. So bye  for now, speak to you soon:-) xx

Maidenhead – 5th DEC 09

Ok so, rehearsals now behind us, the van overloaded with Christmas fun, frivolity and surprises, rather like an oversized, bright orange Santa Sleigh!!, we are excited, expectant and ready to go:-)

Anticipating meeting a potential 1000 young people over the next two weeks we have Ben as a six-year-old boy, Laura as a pregnant teenager and Taste with a whole load of Carols rehearsed to perfection, ready to be performed as you’ve never heard them before – we have a show that will rock their socks off.

And so our Christmas tour begins…with that very special occasion only 20 days away we still have so much to do and so many opportunities to share the real meaning of the Christmas message with people around the country. Today, Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be full set ups at various venues up and down the country then Sunday ’til the following Friday we will be in the Plume school in Maldon presenting  a shortened version of Check it Out@Christmas to the students there. With between 30 + 60 young people in each session we will be delivering the performance 17 times culminating in an invitation to the final event where they have the opportunity to hear the gospel message on Friday evening.

What a challenge!!! But what an opportunity, please pray that it’ll be effective and that the churches involved along the way will be inspired and motivated to nurture those youngsters who are interested to know more!!

So for today we’re in Maidenhead URC where we will be performing to all ages, please pray that people will come and bring friends who don’t know him to this amazing event…to hear all about a child to came to make all the difference in the world!!!!