Last Sunday, we looked together at the rich and deeply challenging words of Romans 8 (if you missed it you can click here to watch or listen). My focus was on suffering, and the amazing hope we have as children of God, but as I studied the passage I was struck again by something else woven through Paul’s words: creation itself is caught up in this great drama of redemption.
Paul writes that “creation was subjected to frustration…in hope that it will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:20–21).
Creation is groaning. Waiting. Longing. Just like us.
Romans 8 includes a powerful reminder that the gospel is not only about our personal salvation; God’s plan is to redeem all things. He made the world and called it very good (Genesis 1:31). Psalm 104 is a beautiful song of praise that lingers over the wonder and detail of God’s handiwork in nature. And yet, because of human sin, creation too has been broken, frustrated, and subjected to decay.
We see this brokenness all around us – in news of droughts, floods, pollution, species loss, or even just in the exhaustion of land and sea. And sadly, the people who suffer most from environmental damage are often the poorest and most vulnerable.
This isn’t just a political or scientific issue; it’s a gospel one. This is about loving what God loves, caring for our neighbour, and longing for the full redemption of all things.
This is really a worship issue.
So what can we do as a church?
One simple step is to pray! Here are a few ideas you could use personally or in your Life Group:
Praise God for His amazing creation – maybe take a moment to read Psalm 104 and thank Him
Pray for those most vulnerable to environmental damage, especially in parts of the world where many in our church family have their roots
Pray for governments and leaders making key decisions about the environment – for wisdom, courage, and justice. This includes policies here in the UK, as well as global agreements like the UN Biodiversity Convention (supported by The World Evangelical Alliance and also by Tearfund)
Thank God that one day, creation itself will be set free and made new; it means that we live in hope of the future restoration and renewal of all things
An Eco Church
As a church, we’re taking some small but deliberate steps to live this out too. Thanks to the hard work of Helen and others, we’ve already received a Bronze Eco Church Award—and we’re now well on the way towards Silver. If you’d like to be part of this or just want to learn bit more, please do get in touch with Helen directly.
Romans 8 reminds us that creation groans, but it also reminds us that this groaning is not the end of the story. One day, the whole world will be renewed. It will be liberated into the glory of God’s coming kingdom. Until then, we wait, we pray, and we care – for creation, for one another, and for the world around us.
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At the beginning of May, children from School Years 4, 5 and 6 gathered at Walton Firs for our annual Welcome Kids Weekend Away.
Harriet wrote an encouraging update for us:
“The weekend away is always a wonderful occasion, where children spend time getting to know each other, getting to know the leaders and, most importantly, getting to know God. All the children left on Sunday very tired, but excited to share with their families the wonderful time they’d had.
“This year our learning focused on Psalm 23, and the characteristics of God. Inspired by these words, the children were encouraged to write their own Psalms which not only moved the leaders but also encouraged other children. Many of these Psalms were shared during our worship time which was truly wonderful.
“As well as our meetings, we also had a time each morning where we would gather as a group and delve into God’s Word. Our ‘Start the Day with Jesus’ session is one way we try to encourage our children to learn about spending time with God, equipping them for their own walk with Jesus.
Activities
“At Walton Firs, we are incredibly lucky to have a wide range of activities that the children can take part in. This year, we saw them climbing high ropes, stacking crates, completing obstacle courses (blindfolded!) and for the first time ever competing against each other to build structures that can withstand the weight of their team. On our first evening, we had a campfire, sang songs and toasted marshmallows. On our second evening the children danced the night away at our silent disco.
“As always, the children behaved brilliantly, and fully immersed themselves in all the different activities on offer. One of the best things for me was seeing them fully engaging in worship and coming up to share their own prayers.
It Takes a Team
“The Kids Weekend Away wouldn’t happen without an amazing team of servers who volunteer their time and encourage the children in developing friendships, sleeping away from home, pushing themselves in activities, and worshipping God & reading His Word. As a church we’re blessed to have such a wonderful group of servers who give up their time for this annual weekend. (And by the way, if you’d like to get involved in serving Welcome Kids, do let us know!)
“Finally, a huge thank you to all the parents and carers who brought delicious cakes for us to share across the weekend—these are definitely a highlight, not just for the children but for the leaders as well!“
A Big Thank You
On behalf of the whole Welcome Church team I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who put in their time and effort to make the event happen. What a blessing to have this event available for our kids.
I’ve added some photos of the event to give you a feel for what went on:
Save the date
Our Kids Weekend Away happens every year, so if your child will be in School Years 4, 5 or 6 in September 2025, make sure you save the date. Next year’s dates are: 22nd–24th May 2026. Booking details will be available nearer the time.
Feel Like You Missed Out?
If you feel like you missed out, or just wish you were young enough (or old enough) to go yourself, don’t forget that our Welcome Church Big Weekend Away takes place in August this year, at Braggers Wood in the New Forest, and that’s an event for all ages. All the details you need for booking can be found by clicking here. We still have a few places left, but don’t leave it too late to book!
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The deadline for people to let us know they’ll be moving to the 9am service is Easter Sunday, 20th April. Remember: this is all about our mission to Woking, and about making room for future growth
Please be praying for God to speak to people clearly about this move, maybe even to yourself!
The deadline for applications was last Friday, and we’re now in a process of working through to the next stage. We’ll share more information when we’re ready to do that, but please be reassured that the process is ongoing.
Please be praying for wisdom and for God’s guidance for all who are involved in the process, and for all who have applied – we want to find God’s person for this role.
Church Gate
Our Church Gate project (click here for information) is continuing to move forward, and over the last two weeks a number of contractors have been on site as part of preparing their quotes for the work to be done. These quotes will be coming in over the month ahead.
Please be praying that we get some great quotes, and for wisdom to pick the best possible contractor so that the work is done well and delivered on/ahead of time and on/under budget.
Community Grocery Grants
The grant team are continuing to apply for various grants to help fund the Community Grocery set up, and also some to help with the ongoing running costs. There is a lot of excellent work being done by this team.
Please be praying for successful applications, and for the release of lots of finance.
Guest Speaker
This Sunday Natalie Williams, who leads Jubilee+, will be preaching for us. Jubilee+ is a UK-based Christian charity, dedicated to equipping churches to effectively support and transform the lives of those experiencing poverty in their local community. They provide resources and training to empower churches to integrate mercy, justice and community renewal into their outreach plans.
Natalie is a gifted speaker and author, and we’re blessed to have her with us – especially as we work towards the launch of our Community Grocery in the autumn.
Please be praying for a great meeting on Sunday and for God to speak to us powerfully as a church and as individuals, laying in a great foundation for the future of all we do.
Easter Services
We have two big moments over the Easter weekend:
Good Friday, 6pm to 7.30pm: We’ll have an evening of extended worship, with a short talk, and we’ll also take communion together. Kids are welcome, though please be aware that there won’t be any separate groups for them, so we’ll be worshipping together as families.
Easter Sunday, 9am and 11am: Easter is one of those great moments in the year: it’s joyful, meaningful, and accessible, and it’s a brilliant time to invite someone to church. I want to encourage you to think especially about people who perhaps used to be part of church life and have drifted away, although this is definitely an invitation suitable for everyone.
This coming week is a natural moment to extend that invitation – gently, thoughtfully – and we’ve got invitation cards available to help with that, if you’d like them – you can pick them up on Sunday.
Please be praying for many guests to join us on Easter Sunday and for God’s wisdom about who YOU could invite. Please also pray that the presence of God is all over everything we do.
Please Pray For All Of These Things!
We believe in a God who answers prayer, so please bring these requests before God. And lastly, here’s a quick reminder that we’ll be gathering in person to pray on Sunday 11th May at Welcome Church from 6pm to 7pm – please put that in your diary now.
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Spring is in the air, daffodils and crocuses are appearing in the garden, and it will be March on Saturday. As we come to the end of February, here are a few Welcome Church Updates and prayer requests to keep you in the picture:
Grant Applications – some good news
Our grant application to Your Fund Surrey, who we are applying to for funding towards launching our new Community Grocery, went in last week. We received over 1000 positive comments on the Your Fund Surrey website, which we were very pleased with.
Here is a word cloud we received from Your Fund Surrey about the comments people made:
And here is a Pie Chart showing how positive people felt:
The application is for just under £500,000, and we will hear back about it in June. Please pray for a positive outcome.
In the meantime we also applied to an organisation called The Benefact Trust, who are a Christian grant funder. They replied very quickly with a “YES”, and we received a cheque from them this week for £80,000. This is a wonderful encouragement and a sign of God’s provision for us as a church.
We are looking at some other grant funders now too, and would love to raise £800,000 in total from grants, so do pray for this whole process.
Big Weekend Away
This month we opened the booking for our Welcome Church Big Weekend Away which takes place on the Bank Holiday weekend in August – Friday 22nd to Monday 25th August 2025.
Roughly half of the available places have been booked so far, so don’t delay booking – you could miss out. When it’s full it’s full!
The weekend away takes place at Braggers WoodCamp Site in the New Forest. We have the whole place to ourselves this year.
You’ll get to enjoy connecting with others from Welcome Church over delicious meals (all included), fun activities, day trips, or simply relaxing in our marquee. We will also seek God together as a church family, enjoying times of worship and teaching, and looking at what it means to belong to His family. We’d love to see you there; there is something for everyone!
This Sunday morning, 2nd March, we will be baptising people at our 9am and 11am meetings. We’ll be baptising a total of 8 people, 4 in each of our meetings.
Baptisms are always a great moment to celebrate what God is doing in our church and a great opportunity to invite friends to church too.
Please be praying for all those getting baptised this weekend.
We have had some interesting contacts so far, but please don’t hesitate to share this opportunity far and wide. In the mean time we would really value your prayers that God leads us to the right person to fill this key vacancy.
Some other employment opportunities will follow as the year goes by, so watch this space for those too.
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Hello! It’s Dub Everitt here, Outreach Pastor at Welcome Church, and I’m excited to be guest-writing Steve’s blog this week!
I want to update you on the renovation of our new building – the ‘Church Gate’ office block – and invite you to take action today to help make a huge difference in our community.
An Incredible Journey So Far
Many of you played a vital role in our gift days in November 2023 and June 2024, helping us raise an incredible £2 million toward the £3 million purchase of Church Gate, which we completed (with the help of a mortgage!) in May 2024. Of the money given so far, £400,000 has been set aside towards the renovation costs.
One of the key ways we’ll use this space is to launch a Community Grocery – a project that will provide affordable food and essential support services to those who need it most.
What Is A Community Grocery?
A Community Grocery is a ‘social supermarket’ designed to help families struggling with the cost of living. It’s an initiative founded by The Message Trust in Manchester, offering deeply discounted food while preserving dignity and choice for members, who can select the items they need to best support themselves.
For just £5 per year, people can sign up for membership, and then they can shop for between £5 and £12.50 a week, saving up to £50 per week—that’s £2,500 a year!
But it’s more than just groceries. Members can also connect to our other initiatives such as debt advice, money coaching, cooking courses, mental health & wellbeing groups, job clubs, and more. In 2024, we helped 169 individuals through these services, and this new space will allow us to expand our impact to reach 1,000 grocery members in our first year.
This is a project that will change lives in our community.
Where Are We Now?
We’ve been working closely with our architects, Plan A – the same team who were behind the design of our chapel, which we opened in 2020. The renovation plans for Church Gate are now complete, and the costs for redevelopment and for fitting out the building have been estimated at £1.2 million.
We have the first £400,000, and we’re now working hard to secure the remaining £800,000 through grants. If all goes to plan, we’ll start construction in June or July and open the doors before the end of the year.
It’s Time To Ask For Your Support!
We recently submitted our first grant application to a Christian Grant Funder, and the feedback was amazing:
“Hi Dub, just to let you know I’ve read your draft and it’s EXCELLENT! Honestly, brilliant. I have no doubt our trustees will want to make a contribution. I wanted to congratulate you on such a well-planned project that is clearly going to change (and probably save) lives.”
This funder will confirm their decision by mid-February, so let’s be praying for a positive outcome!
The largest grant we’re applying for is £497,000 from Your Fund Surrey, part of Surrey County Council. We’ve had great conversations with their team, and we’re preparing our application ahead of the February 28th deadline.
But we now need your help to get it across the line.
Here’s Your Call To Action!
To help our application to succeed, we need to show strong local support – and that’s where YOU come in. We are now looking to gain at least 1,000 comments on Surrey County Council’s “Have Your Say” webpage to demonstrate how much our community supports this project.
At the time of writing, we have 692 comments, which means we still need 308 more.
Can you take 2 minutes to help?
If so, it’s very quick and easy to do, and fairly self-explanatory. Here are the four steps:
1. Click on this link to go through to the Have Your Saywebpage
2. Hit the big smiley face on the page.
3. Leave a short comment about why you support the Community Grocery and any other comments you may want to make, and then add your email address when prompted to do so
4. Check your e-mails for a link to click on to confirm that the comments you made are yours. If the link doesn’t arrive do check your junk box too
That’s it—you’ll be done before your kettle boils!
Your endorsement, along with others, could help to secure nearly £500,000 to support people in need across our town.
One Last Thing: Please Spread the Word!
Once you’ve shared your comment, please pass the link to the Have Your Say webpage on to others: to your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, or anyone who cares about making a difference in our community. Please feel free to share it on your social media feeds too.
The more people we can get behind this, the greater the impact we can have together.
Thanks in advance for all your help
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Chris here – Steve has kindly allowed me to take the Christmas reins of his blog this week in order to follow up my talk on Sunday about Jesus as the Word of God. If you didn’t hear the message you can catch up here.
Colossians 3:16 says,“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. We want to be a church in which the word of Christ dwells in us richly, and I’m sure many of you individually would want to aim to make 2025 a year where God’s Word takes greater prominence in your life.
However, given that there are so many resources available, it can be difficult to know where to start, or difficult to know where to go next. So I’ve put some recommendations together to resource you in making plans for being in God’s Word more in 2025. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but hopefully a helpful starting place.
“But I’m not much of a reader…”
You’re in good company. Engaging with God’s Word and building your life upon it is not reliant on you being bookish, academic or studious. The Bible was predominantly heard, not read, for much of the church’s history. So if you’re not a big reader, don’t write yourself off, there are loads of resources that can help you, including an increasing number of audiobook versions of the Bible. It’s also important to remember that feeding on God’s Word is not all about the reading, just as eating involves more than just shoving food in your mouth! Memorising, reflecting, discussing with others, and most importantly, applying God’s Word to our lives are key to feeding on “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4).
Something for everyone
Whether you’re someone who is new to reading the Bible, or you’ve never had a regular practice of reading the Bible, or you’re a seasoned reader looking for a restart or a fresh challenge, these resources might be a great place to start…
Bible-in-a-Year & other reading plans
A structured programme of reading can be an invaluable help to get going with the Bible. Reading the Bible in one year will take you roughly 10-15 minutes of reading per day, which is manageable for almost everyone. The most famous plan is the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan, developed by the 19th Century Scottish Pastor. You can print the plan and use your own Bible, simples! You’ll read sections from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, which helps when reading through trickier sections of the Bible (hello Leviticus!).
However, if you want a ‘one-stop-shop’ reading plan in a book, you can buy a Bible split up into the reading plan for each day of the year. The One Year Bible makes this very easy to follow, and it comes in various translations – more on that below!
However, my personal preference is for a 5-day reading plan, rather than a 7-day reading plan. I’ve found it helpful to have the weekends to catch up any readings I’ve missed without feeling guilty or worried that I am ‘getting behind’! Five-Day Bible Reading is a free resource that structures this for you, and is one of the most popular plans around.
If you know you can commit to reading for a bit longer, I thoroughly recommend a long-form reading plan. These lead you through the Bible in shorter timeframes, meaning you’ll read for between 30 mins – 1 hour a day. On a 5-day reading plan, 12 chapters a day will get you through the Old Testament in 90 days, and 6 chapters a day will get you through the New Testament in 60 days. The benefit with this approach is that you make rapid progress (which is encouraging!), but also that you read the Bible in bigger narrative units, enjoying the full scope of each book, and enabling you to pick up on the big picture themes of each book. You can find various plans online that take this approach, like this New Testament one here.
Finally, if you fancy reading in your own time at your own speed, but would really like to track your progress through the Bible, this is a great resource to print out and keep inside your Bible cover.
Which Bible translation is the right one?
There is no one translation of the Bible that is ‘right’. The Bible was not written in English, and so we rely on Bible translators to be able to understand God’s Word in our mother tongue. However, translation is not straight forward, as anyone in our church who speaks multiple languages will tell you, especially when it comes to idioms, phrases, sayings, poetry and prophecy!!
So what’s the difference? Mainly it’s in the approach each translation takes and what they are hoping to achieve. Some Bibles aim translate the original text on a word-for-word basis, like the English Standard Version (ESV). These are better if you are doing a close reading of a passage or book, but do tend to be harder to read, as they are aiming for a literal translation rather than a text that reads intuitively.
Other Bibles aim to translate the meaning of the text on a thought-for-thought basis, like the New Living Translation (NLT). These sacrifice some accuracy on the individual words, but are much more fluent to read and are generally easier to understand, because the emphasis is on capturing the meaning of the text.
Right in the middle of these two approaches sits the New International Version (NIV), which is the version we tend to use on a Sunday, as if offers you the best of both worlds. If you don’t know which one to read, just read the NIV!
Everyone loves Eugene Peterson’s ‘The Message’, which I highly recommend, and consider a work of genius by a highly esteemed pastor and artist – but just remember that it’s not a ‘Bible translation’ in the strict sense, as Peterson allows himself a lot of freedom in communicating each text he transliterates.
Devotionals
A different way of engaging with the Bible is to use a devotional, which gives you a Bible verse each day, as well as a short reflection written by a pastor or author, that helps you reflect on the verse. A devotional resource is really a ‘jumping off point’, that helps you get going before the coffee has hit your bloodstream!
Me and Sarah have enjoyed dipping in and out of The Way of Wisdom by Tim & Kathy Keller, which is a highly insightful way to read, discuss and pray through the Wisdom writings. The Kellers also wrote a devotional called My Rock, My Refuge which walks through the Psalms. A classic devotional is My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, as is The Promises of God by Charles Spurgeon, or you could look at Everyday Gospel, by Paul David Tripp, which tracks alongside a Bible-in-a-Year reading plan. The very talented and inspiring Jackie Hill Perry has recently published a 60-day devotional called Upon Waking. I’m sure there are hundreds more that others could recommend, so please don’t be offended that I haven’t mentioned them all!
A devotional is no substitute for reading the Bible yourself (don’t outsource – you can do it!), but it can be a really helpful tool for reflection and applying the Bible to your life. God wants us to live by his Word, and to grow closer to him through his Word, not just become more knowledgeable of his Word.
Bible Studies
If you’re looking go deeper into one book of the Bible (rather than further through the scope of the Bible), you’ll probably want to pick a book and read a more in-depth commentary on it, to help you see beneath the surface. We should not expect the Bible to be simple to understand all the time – it is the most profound book ever written! Many of its riches are buried beyond what first meets the eye and a skilled pastor or author can help you see what you’re not already seeing.
I’ve found these two series of study books enjoyable, readable and helpful in going deeper, as well as applying the Bible to everyday life.
If you’re looking for a different global perspective on the Bible, I would highly recommend Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey, who brings together Middle Eastern interpretation and insights that are eye-opening.
Memorisation, Q&A and AudioBibles
I have found memorising Scripture to be a game-changer for how God’s Word comes alive in me. I first came across the Topical Memory System many years ago, which I inherited from someone, somewhere, in a tatty old version of the book. The idea is simple: you are given 2 verses each week that are connected thematically (e.g. 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 2:20), and you are helped to memorise those verses with tear-out cue cards.
Once memorised, you can then spend time reflecting on the verses, and gradually over the weeks you build up your own internal library of Bible verses. Here’s the irony: I’ve never got very far into the weekly plan! Maybe 2025 will be my year?! However, what I can confidently say is that all of the verses that I memorised years ago I can still remember now, and they are still benefitting my walk with God. Once you’ve really learnt a verse, you’ve got it for life. There are other versions of this book, and other books about the science of memorisation, but if you want to keep it simple, stick a verse on your fridge/bathroom mirror/child’s forehead, and try to memorise it through the week!
Alternatively… There is a different kind of memorisation approach that the church has used historically to teach Bible beliefs, (rather than Bible verses), called ‘catechesis’, an odd word which simply means ‘question and answer’ teaching. A ‘catechesis’ is a set of 50-150 questions and answers that cover the key teachings of the Bible as a whole. Here’s an example from the very famous Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q:What is man’s chief end in life?
A:Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever
You learn the question, and the answer, and then reflect/discuss the content.
Because these catechisms come from a different era, their language can be an obstacle for a lot of people, but there has been a renaissance of this memorisation approach recently and this year I’ve dipped into the New City Catechism Devotional, which is highly accessible and superbly put together, with a Q&A for each day, and some devotional writings, ancient and modern, alongside. Lovely stuff!
Finally there are an increasing number of superbly produced audiobook versions of the Bible. The ESV online platform is truly impressive, offering not just one audiobook, but your choice of a range of different readers, including Michael Reeves, Ray Ortland, Kristyn Getty and Jackie Hill Perry. It’s like the old days of sat nav where you could choose your voice! David Suchet has done a version of the NIV on audio, which comes as both a whole bible, or in the Bible-in-a-Year format. You can access this on Audible, Spotify, Apple Music or buy it hard copy online.
Mobile-Bible or Phoning it in?
On Sunday I was a bit disparaging of Bible resources that are available on your smart phone! I’m aware that for some people they really enjoy and rely on excellent resources that they access on their phone. The YouVersion Bible App is completely free and has been downloaded by a bazillion people, and has all kinds of reading plans to help you make progress. Personally, I use the Logos Bible App, because it syncs well with other digital study resources that I use.
However, my pastoral concern about smart phone resources is a fairly obvious one. Smart Phones are distraction centres and highly addictive, and our society is gradually waking up to this reality, especially in managing young people’s use and access. Wisdom therefore should tell us that if we want to spend more quality time with God in his Word, we will put the phone out of reach and pick up a hard copy Bible that will not notify us of anything else that is going on in the world!
Research has shown that to stop your brain thinking about your phone it needs to be put away, in a drawer or a bag. It’s insights like this that make me highly skeptical of a Bible reading plan that relies on me using my phone a lot. I just don’t trust myself! That’s not to set any kind of rule for anyone else – perhaps you’re a commuter and you find using your phone the best way to remember your reading for the day – crack on I say! But let’s be wise and remember our aim is not simply convenience or ticking a box, it’s communing with the Living God!
Reading with Kids
Lastly, I just wanted to add a section here for those who are raising children and might want to think about doing something new as a family, or 1-on-1 with a child.
Kids Bibles come in different forms. Some are Bibles i.e. they are fully translated versions of the whole Bible. Others are Storybooks, where they tell the stories of the Bible in contemporary English that is child-friendly. Both of these approaches are excellent resource for young readers.
For a Kids Bible, I would highly recommend the NIrV version, where the ‘r’ stands for ‘readers’. It’s the NIV translation, but rendered in such a way for young readers or those for whom English is a second language. It’s highly readable for children, and comes in various forms. You can buy the plain text like this, or a far more exciting illustrated version like this.
For a Storybook Bible, I love the Jesus Storybook Bible, which is also available on audiobook, read by the marvellous David Suchet – a ‘classic’ in my house, find it on Spotify, Audible etc. Then there’s Kevin DeYoung & Don Clark’s The Biggest Story which is stunningly written and illustrated, and I’ve heard people enjoy the Action Storybook Bible which is laid out like a comic strip.
For memorisation and Q&A, there is the Topical Memory System for Kids, and there is also a New City Catechism for Kids, which comes in a tiny little book and is about £2! These would definitely require more parental involvement, but that can be a great source of fun and a challenge to do together.
May God bless you as you read his Word in 2025, and remember that God really wants to speak to you – you don’t need to twist his arm! God has spoken to us through Jesus, let’s be eager to listen to him this year.
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As part of our Autumn programme this year, we’re inviting everyone in Welcome Church to attend one of our ‘Taste Of Alpha’ evenings.
I attended the first one last night 🙂
These evenings are a chance for us all to experience what the first evening of an Alpha course is like, building our confidence to make invitations to our Autumn Alpha course which starts with ‘Try Alpha’ on October 16th. (In case anyone is unsure, Alpha is an 8 week course that we run, and is intended for people who want to explore what the Christian faith is all about)
What I experienced
On arrival the front hall was packed with people from Welcome Church who’d signed up for the first Taste of Alpha experience. We were greeted with ‘Mocktails’, before being seated on pre-arranged tables, finding our name on a wedding style seating plan. Dub then welcomed us all and introduced Nnamdi, who led us through the full experience of the first night of an Alpha course.
The evening consisted of:
A excellent two course meal, with every table hosted by friendly table leaders who quickly got us chatting (my thanks to Edward and NG on my table)
A game of ‘Kahoot!’ – an interactive quiz, which our table sadly didn’t win
Some contemporary live music from Steve B on guitar and vocals
A screening of the new style week 1 Alpha video
Some table discussions built around two thought provoking questions
We then finished with a short chat from Dub about what we’d just experienced, and the chance to pray together on our tables and to provide feedback on the evening.
My observations
As someone who’s been very familiar with Alpha over a number of years, and who’s even spoken on several past courses, I wondered if I really needed to be there – after all, I already know all about Alpha, right???
Wrong!
I came away with three key observations:
First: I’m incredibly proud of our team. The evening was well run and brilliantly organised in every aspect. There was high quality food, the seating had been well thought through and the whole ‘production’ was great. Everything was designed to put you at ease. I want to say well done to everyone involved in making it happen. If you’d brought a friend along, you really would be proud to say that this was your church.
Second: The Alpha videos have changed A LOT, and all for the better. They were always good, but no longer is it Nicky Gumble preaching at you for 30 minutes. The videos are bright, clear and well put together with a variety of people (including Nicky) communicating the message in different ways, with regular pauses for discussion on key questions. I found myself quickly drawn in and would have been comfortable for any friend I’d invited to watch them. This change of the style to the Alpha course’s content is the biggest thing I spotted, and it’s very positive change.
Third: It actually made we want to do Alpha again! It made me feel like, if I wasn’t a Christian already, I’d definitely have wanted to book in for the actual course. I even found the questions and discussion times to be personally thought provoking again, and I went home with a few things to think about – I really didn’t expect that!
In summary, any friends that we bring along to the ‘Try Alpha’ evening on October 16th are almost certainly going to want to sign up for the whole course. In fact, the biggest takeaway for me was this:
we can safely invite people to our church’s Alpha Course with confidence that they will have a positive experience and we won’t regret bringing them
To be honest, I think I knew that anyway, but now I’ve seen it and experienced it for myself.
What’s next?
There are 3 more chances to experience A Taste Of Alpha, on each of the next three Wednesdays. If you haven’t signed up yet, please follow this link to do so. One quick warning, the final evening is almost full.
And let’s keep on praying for our friends so that we’re ready to make lots of invitations to the actual Alpha course which starts with ‘Try Alpha’ on Wednesday 16th October.
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The new term is well under way, our prayer week is almost over and the summer holidays are starting to feel like a distant memory, especially with this recent cold snap. Before I forget I wanted to mention three books I read this summer that I would recommend to us all:
1. “Jesus Through The Eyes of Women” by Rebecca McLaughlin
In this book Rebecca explores some of the life-changing accounts of women in the Bible who met Jesus, and what we can learn about Jesus from them. It’s easy to read, very encouraging and the chapters have great discussion questions at the end. This could actually work well for a Life Group to read chapter by chapter and discuss the questions together, or just read it yourself like I did.
2. “Tis Mercy All” by Natalie Williams
Natalie runs Jubilee Plus and is based in Hastings UK. She is well known to some of us at Welcome Church. Her latest book is on the topic of God’s outrageous mercy and what it means for us to love mercy and to be mercy bringers in a world that lacks it. It’s thoughtful, practical and very applicable to our daily lives and our work places. When I’d finished this one, Jo read it too and she also loved it. I’m hoping Natalie will come and preach for us at some point in 2025.
3. “Born Again This Way” by Rachel Gilson
In this powerful and personal book, Rachel describes her own unexpected journey of first ‘coming out’ and of then coming to faith in Jesus, and what came next. She addresses the questions this raises for every Christian, but most especially for Christians who live with same sex attraction. Christopher and I heard Rachel speak recently at an event we attended and, to be honest, her session was the highlight for us both.
Don’t forget you can get all of these from Origin Books in Woking.
Happy reading!
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We would love you all to be praying for our church in the weeks ahead. Here are a few key items to pray for this summer:
Church Gate
The Gift Sundays have been great and it was wonderful to celebrate together in worship last week as we drew them to a close. It was a joy to see so many people taking part: people of all ages, and from so many of the different nationalities that make up our church; people who’ve been with us for many years and others who have just arrived. I loved it!
This Sunday we’ll announce the Gift Day results and, without saying too much, they are excellent once again. Don’t forget that it’s not too late to add your gift if you haven’t given yet – you can do that here. Why not step out in faith?
Please pray:
For great results from our Gift Days and for all the finance we need to deliver this project well to be released
For wisdom and insight during our meetings with the architect as he draws up the plans and helps to bring life and vision to the eventual layout of Church Gate, both inside and out. We’re working with the same company who designed the chapel – Plan A UK – and we’re excited to work with them once again.
For the grocery team as they look at the various requirements to fully deliver the Community Grocery and the new Welcome Cafe. There is a lot to consider, including legal issues, charity issues, finance issues and more, including some grant applications that we would love to come through
Welcome Youth
Welcome Youth will be off to the New Day Festival on July 29th, and this year they are taking around 90 young people with them. This is always a great event where our youth can connect with God and grow in their faith.
Please Pray:
For our youth team: they will be working very hard and usually come back both encouraged and exhausted
For the serving teams: they will be cooking food and helping with various practical issues to help free up the youth team to lead well
For the youth: that they meet with God and find a fresh sense of calling and that they grow in their identity in Christ
For the event itself: they have great speakers lined up this year and the worship is always high quality, but there’s lots more at Newday besides the main meetings. Please pray for the whole event to be safe, for the sun to shine and for the young people to meet with Jesus
Commission Festival
We’ll be off to the Commission Festival as a church over the bank Holiday weekend at the end of August (so no Sunday meetings at Welcome Church on August 25th!) If you haven’t booked in yet it’s not too late and you can do that here. Day tickets will also be available so do check them out if you can’t make the whole thing.
We’re taking a big group from Welcome Church again this year, and we’ll be camping together, eating together (food provided) and no doubt having a lot of fun in our marquee in the evenings (please bring ear plugs if like to go to bed early 🙂)
Please Pray
For Dub: he’s running a stream of seminars this year and will be speaking twice, with Christopher covering one of the slots too
For Jo: not only does she lead our worship team here, she’s leading the worship for the whole event. Reuben, Owen, Sophie and Paul from our team are also involved in worship this year, alongside people from various other Commission churches
For me: I’ll be anchoring all of the main meetings which is all about getting the right people in the right place at the right time and making sure they know what they are doing and stick to the programme! It’s an ‘invisible job’ so you won’t see me. If I get it right no one will notice anything I do; if I get wrong everyone will!
For Darren: he’s helping to organise the whole Festival, supporting Tom who is the Ops Manager for Commission. It’s a big responsibility and another invisible job.
For our team of chefs who are sorting out the food (too many names to mention)
For the weather: sunshine please
For each of us to encounter Jesus and grow in our faith
For our church to grow deeper in love and friendship with one another
For our children and young people to encounter Jesus
For all who are serving in various ways (another list too long to mention)
For the whole event to be fun, safe and successful
Thanks
Thanks in advance for your prayers. Don’t forget that Welcome Church is meeting every Sunday across the summer at 9am and 11am, except for the 25th August. This Sunday we’ll be back to our series on Exodus. Christopher is speaking and I’m looking forward to it.
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The following are a few updates about life at Welcome Church:
Church Gate
I’m please to announce that this afternoon – Friday May 17th – we have completed on our purchase of Church Gate (for details about Church Gate please click here!) We are now the owners of this building. The real work now begins to make it useable!
Please do book a slot to visit Church Gate during one of our upcoming Open Days – (to do that please click here). Places are going fast so don’t delay. Visits will be by guided tour only at this stage and you will need to book to attend – don’t miss out.
We’ll give out more information on Church Gate on Sunday mornings in the weeks ahead, so do be there to find out more.
Compassion
We had a great Sunday with Tim Robertson from Compassion UK last week and it was good to find out about the impact that our sponsorship of children in Togo has been having. (I know that some also sponsor children in other countries – that’s great too). Tim preached brilliantly so do listen to the download if you missed it.
I’ve also attached some of the slides we showed on Sunday, including one with pictures of all the children we sponsor – see if you can spot yours. Please don’t forget about the importance of writing letters too.
Dr Amy Orr-Ewing – speaking this Sunday
We have a great guest speaker this Sunday: Dr Amy Orr-Ewing.
Amy is passionate about Christian apologetics – presenting and defending the Christian faith in a way that engages with culture. Over the last twenty years, Amy has given talks and answered hundreds of questions on university campuses around the world. She has also addressed Parliamentarians in the Speakers Rooms and Chapel at the UK Parliament, and staffers on Capitol Hill and at the West Wing of the White House. You find out more about Amy by clicking here.
This Sunday she will be speaking about “Where is God in all the suffering?” This is a great chance to invite friends to join you at church. Let’s be on the front foot to invite people.
Faith At Work – a new learn group
Both Freedom In Christ and The Bible Course are up and running now, and I know people are enjoying them. We have one more ‘Learn Group’ starting this term: the Faith At Work course. This is a new course and it’s for anyone who’s working. It doesn’t matter what your job is, if you are at work then this is for you.
Faith at Work you will be filled with hope and faith for God’s purposes in your workplace. It’ll include really practical teaching and reflection in small groups, on subjects such as: Our work is God’s work, How can I make a difference? How can I share my faith at work? and Work/Life balance.
It’s taking place over 3 consecutive Monday evenings – the 10th, 17th and 24th June – from 7:30-9:30pm – and there will be a follow up meal on 15th July to celebrate what God has been doing at our places of work!
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