The Power of Ceasing
Over the past few months, in response to what we sensed God was speaking to us, Love Sandwell shut down all of our existing activity and created a blank canvas upon which God could write.
Ceasing all of your activity in order to give time for God to speak can be a scary but also incredibly liberating process. In a network like Love Black Country, where so many of the other boroughs are increasing their activities in response to God’s leading, laying down all of Love Sandwell’s was a difficult decision to make but one we were convinced was right in order to truly seek God’s heart for the future plans of the borough network. It would have been far easier to just “keep on keeping on” but sometimes, if we want to challenge the status quo, radical steps have to be taken and in Christendom, any church leader will tell you that there’s nothing more radical than cancelling long established meetings!
However, we stuck to our guns and did what we felt God was telling us to do. We took time out and reflected, prayed and listened to what He was saying.
We’re so glad we did.
A new Love Sandwell Core Team, made up of leaders from across the borough, have been meeting to pray about what God might be saying and how He might be leading the network forward and we’re excited to announce that we now have some plans in place for 2019.
Leaders Space
A Love Sandwell Leaders Space will be re-launched with meetings held monthly throughout 2019. This space is intended to be a good way to engage with other leaders, build relationships, share resources as well as becoming a safe space in which to share and an opportunity to retreat and spend time with God together through mutual trust and accountability. It is also intended to be a space where we can be envisioned for what God wants to do in our borough.
Wider Church Leadership Teams
We also have plans to gather Wider Church Leadership Teams in Sandwell on a quarterly basis. In doing so, we hope to continue to enable relationships, trust, accountability and shared vision to be passed down beyond senior church leaders into the wider leadership teams that play such crucial roles in the work that their churches do. The first of these meetings will take place on Monday 14th October, 7:30-9:30pm, venue TBC.
Kids and Youth Hub
We have other plans in the pipeline including a Love Sandwell Children/Youth/Family Focus drawing children’s, youth and family workers/volunteers in local Sandwell churches to meet together. The first of these meetings will take place on Tuesday 7th May, 7:30pm at Kings Community Church, Oldbury, B68 0JP.
Statistically, Sandwell is one of the most deprived places in the country but we believe that God is the master of taking the “least” and using it to achieve great things. As we listen to God and work together, we know that He will transform our borough.
Together we are stronger.
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