What a start to the term

It was so good to get off to such a good start on Sunday with so many people in both Impact and Encounter!  In total we had 105 bodies in on Sunday and your enthusiam was catching!

We are genuinely excited about this term and all that God has in store for us - so a very warm welcome to it all if you're new to us, and do join us at Encounter on Sunday night to hear more of our plans for the term, and have your say as to what we should be doing.

The Return - this Sunday

We're back after a somewhat rested (and Swine-Flu infected!) time off!  If you too got struck down by the flu then we hope you've made a good recovery!  Somehow I (Jon) avoided it... so please don't give it to me now!!

Soul-ed out!

We're just back from one of the best Soul Survivors I've been to and am now happily in that blended space of exhaustion and spiritual life! It was of course, helped by the great weather, but it was also the blend of 42 great young people, 6 pretty hard working leaders, and some fantastic encounters with God that make this one especially memorable!

Back to it...

After weeks of playing up, I can again access the Blog!  Apologies if you've got bored silly returning here only to find no updates...

WE ARE WORKING ON IT!

Well. what an amazing July Project! It was just incredible to see our painting and decorating and gardening have such an immediate effect on people. One woman in particular who was very shy and reserved when I first met her, was just delighted to show me around her decorated flat.  She was under threat of being evicted last Tuesday if things hadn't improved. Others had very positive conversations with the young people, and one has attended church for the last few weeks!  Great stuff!

July Project this week!

After a busy but great day of Another Big Saturday, the site is at last allowing me in again! The most exciting week of our year is about to begin again as the July Project runs from 13th - 17th.  Many thanks to all who have signed up so far - anyone else should join us at 10am on Monday as we consider why we do this stuff, and talk through some of the situations we'll be working in.

We're Back!

Sorry but the blog had technical problems and got a bit stressed yesterday!  Now back to say WOW what a great weekend away Impact had and how much we have to thank God for with young people coming to Christ, and God doing great things amongst us!

And the weather was stunning as is the wonderful location of Branksome, Poole. Thanks to all who came and dared to spend a weekend in the same Hall as us all!  And special thanks to the leaders for all their hard work (and the cooked breakfast!).

It's PARTY TIME!

ENCOUNTER! Join us this Friday from 7-10pm for an awesome SUMMER BASH featuring games, BBQ and live music!  We'll start on Butts Field (opposite the Fire Station - meet us there) with games, and then go to St Paul's for a BBQ and more (wet) games, with some live music to entertain!  And all this for only £3!  But YOU MUST BOOK IN AD

Werner Oder's visit to Encounter

It was just great to have Werner with us on Sunday night, and to hear just a little of his testimony, and the way God has changed him from a Nazi background to a Christian Pastor in Tuckton, Bournemouth.  As promised, if you want to watch his testimony in full, here's the link: www.tucktonchristiancentre.co.uk/indexa.html and press play.  

http://werner.christianblogsites.com/blog/post/2009/05/25/testimony features a written account of his story more detail.

What a night!

Grand Designs was where it was all happening last night - as you can see from above!  Just wanted to record how much I enjoyed hanging out with the 5 lads and one leader who turned up last night at the Lounge.  It was just great to be part of lads being honest with one another, offering suggestions, and pledging to support one another in the longer term.  Given our "Authentic Church" theme, it was exactly that!  Loved it - and thanks for the Jeng

Summer's here!

Yep, we're back after a relaxing half term (apologies to those who revised through it!).  After a great prayer walk with Impact, and Holy Spirit night in Encounter last Sunday, we're really excited about all that God has for us this term!

In Impact, things step up a gear with a great DI on Fri 12th June as we take on the "Scrapheap Challenge", and get ready for the Weekend Away over 27-28 June.  Booking forms available NOW - so do get them in asap. Email me if you need one!  If the sun continues to shine, it'll be a great place to spend a weekend.