February in Three Words
February in three words: 1. mobilize, 2. Israel, and 3. RAIN.
Umbrellas, rain coats, and that huddled fast-walk from front door to car door is the picture you need of Winter in Manchester.
Joe evaded much of the weather by going to the desert of Israel. He was invited to join a group of 20 millennial church leaders on a sponsored trip to the Holy Land with Robert Stearns and Eagles’ Wings. Joe was interviewed by CBN about the trip, which you can watch online.
Needless to say, the most common phrase in our house at the moment is, “When I was in Israel . . .”. Thankfully, his stories are worth it!
Youth Mentorship
This month, I’ve focused on launching the next season of our youth mentorship program. For a one-year commitment, we pair a young adult from Ramp Church with one of our youth. We have over two dozen young people involved in the program and impacted through one-on-one mentorship this year.
I thought you'd enjoy some testimonies from three different mentees:
The mentorship has really provided emotional support for me as I navigate the difficulties of school, friendships, and life in general. I have been able to receive a lot of wisdom.
The mentorship program helped me because I felt like I had someone there I could reach out to for support whenever I needed it.
The mentorship has helped me a lot by venting and asking for advice from my mentor. I always reached out to them if anything came up, and they were always there.
Ramp Church Communities
We launched the next season of Ramp Church Communities (basically, house churches that meet across Greater Manchester) in February. No exaggeration here: It was our most exciting launch yet. The Communities filled in a matter of hours, moving us to add four more groups.
Our largest growth is in our university-age and young adults Communities—tragically, a demographic in massive decline across the church more generally. And in the UK specifically, a generation is growing up with almost no connection to Christianity.
But God is moving in incredible ways in young adults in Manchester!
Growing in Love
We’ve been teaching on how loving God and others, Jesus’ two main commandments, transforms our lives. We know we can’t love Christ without loving his people. It’s our love and commitment to each other that expresses and reveals our true commitment and love for Christ—one reveals the other.
There are two messages from this series I think you should hear:
Joe gives five relationships every person needs to thrive. It's so good.
In this message, I lay out a call to learn a new way to love.
Thank You
Thank you for partnering with us. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. And it takes a village—or a whole body of believers as Jesus and Paul put it—to disciple this next generation.
Your support is providing pastoral care for young people in Greater Manchester, and you’re making opportunities for them to encounter the love and care of Christ.