Passion for Life

29th March 2010, posted by Richard Morgan

I've just come back from the 'Passion for Life' week in Wallington, Surrey. A team of 15 of us spent the week sharing our experience of faith, and explaining who Jesus is and how you put your faith in him. We met hundreds of people across two parishes. A good number of people decided to ask God into their lives for the first time - which is what we were there for - so a great week.

The heart of the week was 'coffee parties' - either morning or evening, where people from the church invited their friends to hear our stories of faith, and to talk. We went two by two, and one or both of us would share our story of faith, followed by a fairly wide ranging discussion; then one us the team would give a simple explanation of what a real Christian was and how you became one, after which we offered to pray for people. There were something like fifty of these meetings - I went to six and also went to 'Charged' (Holy Trinity's mid-week youth group) to give a presentation along the same lines.

At either end of the week we ran the Sunday services and on the final Saturday evening there was a three course dinner served us by young people from both churches after which my dad (Roger Morgan) spoke.

Our team was drawn from all over the place - with the common link being a connection with my father (who led the team). The team was diverse but gelled really well. Some had spent a lifetime serving in full time Christian ministry, others only come to faith a couple of years ago. Each brought a story of how Jesus had come to be the central focus of their lives and a readiness to invite others into that same relationship.

My story of the week is full of people who moved forward in their understanding of Christian faith. A lad I met on the first Saturday had committed his life to Jesus by the end of the week. On Sunday I led the service at Trinity in the morning and 3 people came forward to ask Jesus into their lives at the end. I spoke with a couple at a coffee party on Monday morning - he was a new Christian and she wasn't - but she made that prayer of putting her faith in Jesus by the weekend. Wednesday I spoke with a Boys Brigade leader, who needed questions answered and was unsure about commitment, but got there after meeting more of the team on the Friday evening. Thursday, half a dozen from the youth group I was speaking at decided to become Christians. Saturday we went to help a woman the team had met earlier in the week tidy and clean her house (so I was with the St Paul's 'Big Saturday team' at least in Spirit!) and invited her to church the next day - she came. In the evening the woman I was sat next to at dinner prayed a prayer asking Jesus into her heart at the end of the evening (with 7 others). Sunday morning I was leading children's work at St Patrick's and 5 or 6 of those prayed a prayer inviting Jesus to be at the centre of their lives.

There are plenty of other stories too, but those are some of my highlights. Even where people were a long way from Christian faith, they warmed to us, and in God's providence we trust they moved just a bit further forward in their journeys of faith.

It was a great privilege to be invited by the two churches. We were welcomed with open arms into their lives, and trusted to explain the faith to their friends. We pray that God will continue his work in the churches and in the lives of those who came to know Him for the first time this week.