Newtownabbey 18-20th January 2008
The leaders of Newtownabbey Methodist Mission invited a Lay Witness team to conduct a weekend mission in January 2008.
David Blevins, Oliver Hetherington and Melanie McCloskey led the team.
David Blevins, Oliver Hetherington and Melanie McCloskey led the team.
Weekend Reports and Photos
Katrina Boucher and Cheryl Patterson, Local Co-ordinators, write…
The 18th – 20th January 2008 was a time of great encouragement and revival for Newtownabbey Methodist Mission. This was mainly due to the 13 wonderful people on the Lay Witness team that came to our church and shared their testimonies, gifts and their walk with God.
Our church had been going through a time of weariness and discouragement, with many of our leaders and members wondering if we had lost some of the joy of being children of our amazing God due to busyness and a lack of true fellowship.
David Blevins, Oliver Hetherington and Melanie McCloskey led an amazing team and in our meetings with them it became clear to us all that our theme for the weekend had to be “Revive, Refresh, Recharge.” David and his co-leaders were so helpful and enthusiastic from the start and we knew that their passion for God would be a great blessing and their lovely lively personalities could help breathe life into our church again.
The team that Lay Witness put together was just what we had been praying for- they were open, warm, encouraging, Godly and with big hearts for God and reaching out for Him.
Our church was looking forward to the weekend and all the practical arrangements including finding hosts for the Lay witness team, prayer partners and coffee morning hosts began to fall into place. We were also looking for willing volunteers from outside our church to organise the catering and help with our children’s programme to give our leaders a break for the weekend. About 20 members of Glengormley Methodist Church stepped in and gave of their time to help us out in these ways and we are so grateful to them for their kindness! Their servant hearts were one of the many great blessings of the weekend.
Over the course of the weekend the Lay Witness Team shared with us over meals, coffee mornings, youth breakfasts and late night events, worship services and lead our Sunday morning service. Their moving and honest accounts of their love for God and how He has blessed them, given them hope and enriched their lives really challenged, inspired and touched our church.
Members of our church who hosted team members in their homes really benefited from and enjoyed their company and fellowship. The coffee mornings were lead by team members and the focus was “letting go of baggage”. These proved to be great times of sharing, openness, and fun, and for some members of our church the first time they had enjoyed true fellowship with other church members in a long time.
A real highlight of the weekend was our Sunday evening service, which was open and relaxed, and an opportunity of our congregation to share what they had learnt, experienced and enjoyed over the weekend. It was one of the most powerful and moving services our church had ever experienced. The service lasted three hours and there wasn’t a dry eye as people opened up, shared, cried, let go of hurts and praised God for an amazing weekend and reminding us how much he loves our church.
The words revived, refreshed and recharged were used by many which had been what we had been hoping and praying for. Our God is good and faithful.
We decided as a church that we should move forward with our renewed sense of love for God, our church and for one another and not allow the weekend to fade into the distance. We arranged a coffee morning to discuss what our hopes were for the future, and through this a church weekend, cell groups and men’s and women’s ministries are all currently being enthusiastically planned and eagerly awaited.
We praise God for His faithfulness, for the amazing people on the Lay Witness team who sacrifice their time to bless others, for those in our church who have come to God and for those who have been renewed in their faith.
“But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles…” Isaiah 40 v 31.
The 18th – 20th January 2008 was a time of great encouragement and revival for Newtownabbey Methodist Mission. This was mainly due to the 13 wonderful people on the Lay Witness team that came to our church and shared their testimonies, gifts and their walk with God.
Our church had been going through a time of weariness and discouragement, with many of our leaders and members wondering if we had lost some of the joy of being children of our amazing God due to busyness and a lack of true fellowship.
David Blevins, Oliver Hetherington and Melanie McCloskey led an amazing team and in our meetings with them it became clear to us all that our theme for the weekend had to be “Revive, Refresh, Recharge.” David and his co-leaders were so helpful and enthusiastic from the start and we knew that their passion for God would be a great blessing and their lovely lively personalities could help breathe life into our church again.
The team that Lay Witness put together was just what we had been praying for- they were open, warm, encouraging, Godly and with big hearts for God and reaching out for Him.
Our church was looking forward to the weekend and all the practical arrangements including finding hosts for the Lay witness team, prayer partners and coffee morning hosts began to fall into place. We were also looking for willing volunteers from outside our church to organise the catering and help with our children’s programme to give our leaders a break for the weekend. About 20 members of Glengormley Methodist Church stepped in and gave of their time to help us out in these ways and we are so grateful to them for their kindness! Their servant hearts were one of the many great blessings of the weekend.
Over the course of the weekend the Lay Witness Team shared with us over meals, coffee mornings, youth breakfasts and late night events, worship services and lead our Sunday morning service. Their moving and honest accounts of their love for God and how He has blessed them, given them hope and enriched their lives really challenged, inspired and touched our church.
Members of our church who hosted team members in their homes really benefited from and enjoyed their company and fellowship. The coffee mornings were lead by team members and the focus was “letting go of baggage”. These proved to be great times of sharing, openness, and fun, and for some members of our church the first time they had enjoyed true fellowship with other church members in a long time.
A real highlight of the weekend was our Sunday evening service, which was open and relaxed, and an opportunity of our congregation to share what they had learnt, experienced and enjoyed over the weekend. It was one of the most powerful and moving services our church had ever experienced. The service lasted three hours and there wasn’t a dry eye as people opened up, shared, cried, let go of hurts and praised God for an amazing weekend and reminding us how much he loves our church.
The words revived, refreshed and recharged were used by many which had been what we had been hoping and praying for. Our God is good and faithful.
We decided as a church that we should move forward with our renewed sense of love for God, our church and for one another and not allow the weekend to fade into the distance. We arranged a coffee morning to discuss what our hopes were for the future, and through this a church weekend, cell groups and men’s and women’s ministries are all currently being enthusiastically planned and eagerly awaited.
We praise God for His faithfulness, for the amazing people on the Lay Witness team who sacrifice their time to bless others, for those in our church who have come to God and for those who have been renewed in their faith.
“But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles…” Isaiah 40 v 31.
Anita Wilkinson, team member for the first time, writes…
I had never experienced a Lay Witness weekend and was very surprised when I was asked to be part of a team. At the start of December the team met together in Newtownabbey to pray together as a team and discuss what would be happening during the weekend. The team were just fantastic. A real mixture of characters and ages but mixed together expertly by the hand of God. The title given to the weekend was ‘Refresh. Revive. Recharge’
We were all asked to prepare our testimony, making sure that it was OUR story and not a message or preaching which was totally ok by me. We were assigned a prayer partner who was a member of the church and it was fantastic to be in contact with them and know that I personally was being lifted up in prayer specifically for preparation for the weekend.
Before I realised, it was suddenly the week of the Lay Witness Weekend. I prepared my testimony and during the week received a phone call from a member of the steering group to ask me how things were going and to encourage me about the weekend. The thing was that although I had prepared my story it wasn’t until that phone call that it really dawned on me that I would definitely be sharing it.
We arrived at the church on Friday for a brief meeting before sharing together in fellowship over food with members of the church. At the meeting I was informed that I was one of the people who would be sharing my story that evening as part of the worship. We were totally dependent on the Holy Spirit for that night and the whole weekend and He supported and spoke through us.
Coffee mornings happened on Saturday morning where there were more times of sharing. On Saturday evening there was another opportunity for sharing and worshipping together and again on Sunday morning. My host family were great and made me feel really welcome in their home.
I was so blessed by the weekend it’s hard to explain it. I went along with the job of giving and I received so much through others’ stories, through fellowship with the team and members of the church and God choosing to use me and bless me!
I had never experienced a Lay Witness weekend and was very surprised when I was asked to be part of a team. At the start of December the team met together in Newtownabbey to pray together as a team and discuss what would be happening during the weekend. The team were just fantastic. A real mixture of characters and ages but mixed together expertly by the hand of God. The title given to the weekend was ‘Refresh. Revive. Recharge’
We were all asked to prepare our testimony, making sure that it was OUR story and not a message or preaching which was totally ok by me. We were assigned a prayer partner who was a member of the church and it was fantastic to be in contact with them and know that I personally was being lifted up in prayer specifically for preparation for the weekend.
Before I realised, it was suddenly the week of the Lay Witness Weekend. I prepared my testimony and during the week received a phone call from a member of the steering group to ask me how things were going and to encourage me about the weekend. The thing was that although I had prepared my story it wasn’t until that phone call that it really dawned on me that I would definitely be sharing it.
We arrived at the church on Friday for a brief meeting before sharing together in fellowship over food with members of the church. At the meeting I was informed that I was one of the people who would be sharing my story that evening as part of the worship. We were totally dependent on the Holy Spirit for that night and the whole weekend and He supported and spoke through us.
Coffee mornings happened on Saturday morning where there were more times of sharing. On Saturday evening there was another opportunity for sharing and worshipping together and again on Sunday morning. My host family were great and made me feel really welcome in their home.
I was so blessed by the weekend it’s hard to explain it. I went along with the job of giving and I received so much through others’ stories, through fellowship with the team and members of the church and God choosing to use me and bless me!