A good Good Friday
Have you ever had one of those days when you wonder if you are making any difference to world evangelisation at all? That is how Good Friday started for me.
I wasn't helped by an infuriating conversation I had with a man at the Churches Together open air witness that took place at the Market Cross in the centre of Northallerton.
He has only recently moved to our town and recognising me from another meeting we had both attended he came across to speak. He hadn't realised I was a Salvationist and asked the inevitable question. "Where is your hall?"
I explained that we don't have one. We have a small Resource Centre which we use as an office base and prayer room. For larger events we use the Town Hall and very soon we will be conducting our Sunday Worship in a room at the back of the Methodist Church.
"O", he replied so where is the nearest Salvation Army?
Patiently(well almost)I explained that he is standing right next to the Salvation Army indicating some members of our team. We are it.
But he couldn't get it at all, "But where is the nearest Citadel?"
I gave in and told him about Ripon and Darlington, which to him was the proper Salvation Army because they have a building they can call a citadel.
It was interesting because minutes before I had had a conversation with Emily. She moved to Northallerton to be near her family just before Christmas. Her daughter and grandson are committed members of our mission here. Emily's previous church was a proper church. In fact it was a large Cathedral in a major city. She has attended Good Friday services there for the past 30 years. Our meeting in our little Resource Centre down an alleyway is about as far removed from what she is used to as the moon is from Mars. She has never talked about Jesus or faith ever until a prayer day she attended a few weeks ago. Church attendence has been a social activity and a religious habit for her. Yesterday she said that what took place in our Good Friday Service was the most moving experience of her life and her eyes filled with tears. We begin an Alpha Course in her home the week after next.
Her grandson who is 12 was also heard to say that he didn't think that he was always a very good Christian but Good Friday had helped him and he was really amazed that Jesus had died for him, quickly adding that Jesus had died for other people too of course not just him.
It may not look like it, but I think our funny little room down an alleyway might be a citadel after all. Jesus seems to be able to find it anyway and meets with us there. And you know what world evangelisation suddenly seemed possible again?
God bless
Carol
Have you ever had one of those days when you wonder if you are making any difference to world evangelisation at all? That is how Good Friday started for me.
I wasn't helped by an infuriating conversation I had with a man at the Churches Together open air witness that took place at the Market Cross in the centre of Northallerton.
He has only recently moved to our town and recognising me from another meeting we had both attended he came across to speak. He hadn't realised I was a Salvationist and asked the inevitable question. "Where is your hall?"
I explained that we don't have one. We have a small Resource Centre which we use as an office base and prayer room. For larger events we use the Town Hall and very soon we will be conducting our Sunday Worship in a room at the back of the Methodist Church.
"O", he replied so where is the nearest Salvation Army?
Patiently(well almost)I explained that he is standing right next to the Salvation Army indicating some members of our team. We are it.
But he couldn't get it at all, "But where is the nearest Citadel?"
I gave in and told him about Ripon and Darlington, which to him was the proper Salvation Army because they have a building they can call a citadel.
It was interesting because minutes before I had had a conversation with Emily. She moved to Northallerton to be near her family just before Christmas. Her daughter and grandson are committed members of our mission here. Emily's previous church was a proper church. In fact it was a large Cathedral in a major city. She has attended Good Friday services there for the past 30 years. Our meeting in our little Resource Centre down an alleyway is about as far removed from what she is used to as the moon is from Mars. She has never talked about Jesus or faith ever until a prayer day she attended a few weeks ago. Church attendence has been a social activity and a religious habit for her. Yesterday she said that what took place in our Good Friday Service was the most moving experience of her life and her eyes filled with tears. We begin an Alpha Course in her home the week after next.
Her grandson who is 12 was also heard to say that he didn't think that he was always a very good Christian but Good Friday had helped him and he was really amazed that Jesus had died for him, quickly adding that Jesus had died for other people too of course not just him.
It may not look like it, but I think our funny little room down an alleyway might be a citadel after all. Jesus seems to be able to find it anyway and meets with us there. And you know what world evangelisation suddenly seemed possible again?
God bless
Carol
posted by Rehoboth at
1:12 PM
1 Comments:
Crol - you are the Army! Let no one tell you otherwise. You are more than a citadel- you are a stronghold. Like a Roman outpost at the edge of the empire - you are literally extending the boundaries of God's kingdom on earth - if that is not The Salvation Army what is?
Yours irrepressibly under Christ and over the devil!
Andrew
By
Andrew Bale, at 12:44 AM
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