Sorry about the May funday!

We're really, really, really sorry.

A diary clash with Hyde Town Hall - and a little bit of miscommunication on our part - meant that we absolutely had to cancel our May funday this weekend.

We were just as gutted as you were - and we made sure that all our future bookings with the Town Hall are in order.

Stuart from our team was down on the Saturday checking in case people turned up expecting the fun day to be on - and he said that lots of you did show up. But in case he didn’t see you… we’re sorry!

Our next Family Fun Day takes place at Hyde Town Hall on June 6, 11am-2pm. See you in June!

Vision rooted in God’s plans for the nations

"It's not just our bright idea that God wants to bless the people of Greater Manchester"

As we set out our vision for the city, it’s so important that we root it in the grand narrative of the Bible, nothing less than God’s great plan for the nations. This should give us real hope and confidence.

From the beginning, God created Adam and Eve to populate the nations:

Gen. 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God reaffirmed this after the flood to Noah:

Gen. 9:1: Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”

Sadly calamity struck again as people tried to make a name for themselves by building a tower in Babel that reached to heaven (Gen 11:4). This resulted in God scattering them and confusing the people by giving them many languages.

He then speaks to one man, Abraham, outlining his amazing plan, with a promise that lives on through us:

Gen. 12:1: The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

This was partly fulfilled as God gave his people a land of their own, but the psalmists and the prophets pointed still further ahead. Jesus himself carried on this great, all-encompassing theme, in his closing addresses to the apostles:

Matt. 28:19: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

It’s not just our bright idea that God wants to bless and save the people of Greater Manchester - it is part of the whole mission of God in the Bible, right up to the final curtain.

Rev. 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Our dream is that there will be many from Greater Manchester there at the final curtain.

Seeing dreams come true

"It’s not just dreams that are a gift from God – so are the strategies that must accompany them."

God created us to have dreams, and great leaders are great dreamers. Writer Bill Easum says, ‘Leaders have strong imaginations… they dream and daydream and in their minds and hearts go places most of us have never thought of, and they take us with them.’

Manchester needs people who find God’s grace to dream really big dreams. If we only dream about what we might achieve in our own resources, then our vision will be very small. Therefore we must keep asking God to give us vision.

I love being with leaders who have strong imaginations and the courage to take risks of faith.

One of the projects connected with CCM is the Oasis community project in Gorton and whenever I am available, I go down and wash a few dishes. They work with about 100 adults a week, many living on benefits, some struggling with debt, others with addictions, others with mental health issues.

Being with Victoria and the team from Oasis, seeing a dream they had a few years ago now a reality, is inspirational. And they’re not alone – many people are today running with dreams that just a few years ago were just that – dreams. 

But I’ve found it’s not just the dreams that are a gift from God – so are the strategies that must accompany them.

There are so many illustrations in the Bible about people who had amazing dreams. One of my favourites is Noah. God gave him a massive vision: the responsibility to save the world by building an ark to carry his family and two of every kind of animal. 

But more than this, He also gave him very specific dimensions and instructions, so that in his mind Noah could ‘see’ the finished ark before he had begun. This meant that he could stand against all the ridicule because he knew that one day his dream would become a reality.

Dreams have to be fleshed out in plans and strategies. Wishful thinking and sunny optimism won’t get the job done. Like Noah, the dream must have ‘an ark’ to carry the purposes of God. Having the right flexible structure for the church and churches God has told us to plant is vital for our dreams to become a reality.