At Third Space Ministries, we have spent January in a prayerful listening posture, seeking to hear God speaking to our hearts and into our plans for 2023. We have been reflecting about the times we find ourselves in and the hope that we carry into the world
I am occasionally asked to comment on news stories on Christian radio stations and recently, in preparation, I scoured news websites and newspapers hoping a story would catch my eye. I found myself becoming increasingly despondent and heavy hearted. I talk to friends who tell me that they cannot handle the headlines right now and I too often need to put a limit on my intake of news. There is good reason why mental health experts advise us not to read or watch the news before going to bed.
I persevered in my quest and dug deep for good news stories and am pleased to say that I eventually found them. We all need to hear good news to bring a smile to our face, lift our spirits and give us hope. On the deepest of all levels, the world needs to hear THE good news right now. The hope of Jesus, whose presence in our lives can bring about a peace and security beyond understanding.
I have chosen to read through the Psalms this year and I was struck by Psalm 9:1
“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds…”
Telling others of God’s goodness appears many times in the Psalms, and it acts as a challenge for us to live this out. I certainly felt a nudge to consider what ways I am ‘telling of God’s wonderful deeds.’ The world may be in turmoil, but the goodness of God never changes and people need to hear this clearly and personally.
One of the challenging news stories that caught my eye in December was research from Savanta ComRes, in collaboration with faith-based charity Operation Mobilisation, which shows only 49 per cent of adult Christians questioned believe that evangelism is important.
Alongside this, the 2022 Talking Jesus report highlights that 52 per cent of Christians surveyed feel that others are far better at talking about faith than they are.
In light of this, we have decided to run our evangelism course ‘First Steps: Sharing Jesus in Your Everyday’ during Lent this year. We are passionate about taking the fear out of evangelism, equipping Christians to feel confident in sharing their faith, and stripping it back to basics. If you feel that you wouldn’t normally do a course on evangelism then this is for you!
The course will be run over Zoom and each evening will include a live talk from myself, with some questions to discuss in groups, and some gentle encouragements along the way as we seek to put it into practice. Over 6 weeks there is space to develop new habits, try things out, and be released into an evangelism shape that works for you. The course is free, although if you wish to make a donation to the work then that would be appreciated.
The dates are:
Monday 27th February – Monday 27th March (plus one follow up session after Easter)
Times: 7.30 – 9pm
To register for the course email contact@thirdspaceministries.co.uk
Let us be spurred on to be the light that shines, to be the bringers of hope and peace, to be truly good news people. Let us regularly consider how we can tell of God’s wonderful deeds in all the spaces we find ourselves in.